After Joining the Same Variety Show as My Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 13

The fact that Jian Lan actually agreed instantly drew a chorus of exclamations. Even Gu Jingxi could not help turning her head.

She knew Jian Lan could cook, but…

She had never tasted it before.

Don’t ask. If asked, it was because arch-enemies definitely did not eat food made by each other.

However, now, she probably had no choice tonight.

If she did not eat, that would be openly telling everyone that she and Jian Lan did not get along. And the consequences of doing that publicly…

Gu Jingxi subconsciously shivered.

Fu Wen would shark her! Absolutely!

So right now, she could only smile along, suffering bitterly in her heart with no way to speak of it. Even when Owen’s food entered her mouth, it nearly lost all flavor.

After lunch, Gu Jingxi volunteered to wash the dishes. Luo Wentao went to help, while Jian Lan and the others wiped the dining table clean and then placed all the clues they had collected onto the table one by one.

After the two finished washing the dishes, they returned and sat back down.

“Alright, now let us sort through the clues we currently have.” As the captain, Owen signaled for everyone to quiet down.

“Teacher Owen was busy just now, so this is a good time for us to reorganize things too,” Fang Zixu said. “Earlier, Teacher Jian and Xiao Gu found an altered photo in her room. It’s this one.”

As Fang Zixu spoke, he placed the photo in the very center.

“This is currently the only clue from which we can infer all the people involved, so let’s put it in the middle first.”

“Next, based on the photo, the diary in Xiao Gu’s room, and the workbook from Xiao Luo’s room, we can infer that the room where the ‘female corpse’ was hidden—Xiao Luo’s room—belonged to the deceased’s son, Xiao Wen.” Fang Zixu pointed at the diary and workbook.

“So that means, for now, the identities of these two rooms can be confirmed?” Owen said.

“Yes.” Fang Zixu nodded.

“What else?” Owen asked again.

“As for the rest, there’s the love letter found in my room, the string of numbers from Teacher Jian’s room, the locked box in Xiao Gu’s room, and the somewhat strange music box in Lu Bin’s room. Teacher Owen, what about your side?” Fang Zixu asked.

“My side is quite thought-provoking.” Owen smiled and pushed two documents forward.

“What are these?” The others looked at the blank covers in surprise.

“A bone marrow donation agreement, and an inheritance document.” Owen opened the two documents as he spoke.

Jian Lan took one of them. Gu Jingxi and Lu Bin, who were sitting on this side, both leaned their heads over to look.

“Bone marrow donation agreement. Donor: Second Uncle Xu. Beneficiary: Xiao Wen,” Jian Lan read aloud.

“Xiao Wen is a child with leukemia?!” Lu Bin exclaimed.

“If that’s the case, it seems to explain why his workbook was filled entirely with the word ‘death,’” Gu Jingxi said, glancing at the workbook not far away.

“Indeed. Hey, what about your side?” Lu Bin looked at Fang Zixu.

Fang Zixu opened the document and read, “Inheritance document. Testator: Master Xu. Heir… still Xiao Wen?”

Everyone looked at one another.

“Now, so many clues have mentioned this child Xiao Wen, and the room where the body was found was also Xiao Wen’s bedroom. It seems the mystery here is most likely inseparable from this child,” Owen said.

“Then what should we do next? We’ve already searched upstairs, and these are all the clues we have right now,” Luo Wentao said with a frown.

“I remember… in the text message that Mysterious Person M sent us, there was a sentence like this,” Gu Jingxi said.

“But the clues will not appear before your eyes at once. As time passes, and as you discover more clues, they will gradually unfold before your eyes,” she and Jian Lan said in unison.

After saying this, Gu Jingxi could not help glancing at Jian Lan.

Unfortunately, Jian Lan looked extremely serious and proper, without even the slightest bit of embarrassment over speaking at the same time as her.

“So that means we need to wait and see for the remaining clues?” Lu Bin said.

“Everyone, don’t forget, we only searched the second floor. We still haven’t searched the first floor,” Owen said, lightly tapping his knuckle against the table.

“Then what are we waiting for? Search now?” Luo Wentao looked eager to try.

“Just right. Treat it as some exercise after lunch. Downstairs, aside from the living room and dining room, I saw two other rooms, and there’s also a storage room at the back. Shall we divide the areas?”

“The downstairs area is quite large. I suggest we split into pairs. That way, it will be harder to miss clues,” Jian Lan said. “The living room and dining room can be left for last, and we can search them together. What do you think?”

“Mm, I agree with Teacher Jian’s suggestion.” Owen was the first to nod.

“Ai, I agree too.” Seeing that his idol had spoken, Luo Wentao hurriedly raised his hand.

“Great! Then I want to be in a group with Brother Fang!” Lu Bin was the first to speak up.

“Huh? Why?” Luo Wentao asked instinctively.

“Brother Fang practices martial arts. In this kind of place, being with Brother Fang gives such a sense of security!” Lu Bin said with a grin.

“Good kid, so that’s what you were planning!” Luo Wentao was shocked.

“Speaking of which, even if Brother Fang practices martial arts, you still have to take it easy. After all, these are props the production team invested money in. If you break them, you’ll have to pay,” Owen said with a smile.

“Cough, cough.” Lu Bin quickly said, “No, no, I just feel safe, that’s all.”

Owen nodded very solemnly, then said, “Indeed, Brother Fang is the steadiest among us. Then Brother Fang, we’ll trouble you two to search the storage room. Xiao Luo will be with me. Xiao Gu will go with Teacher Jian. We’ll search the inner rooms.”

The moment Lu Bin heard this, he howled on the spot.

“No way! In horror stories, the storage room is the easiest place for something to happen.”

Luo Wentao burst out laughing right there. “Brother Lu, good luck! This is the captain’s order!”

Lu Bin wanted to cry but had no tears.

Gu Jingxi did not even get a chance to speak before Owen arbitrarily assigned her to a group with Jian Lan.

“In that case, there’s no time to lose. Let’s begin, Xixi.” Jian Lan turned her head to look at her.

That gaze was calm, as if Jian Lan was simply trying to find the clues and solve the mystery as soon as possible. It left Gu Jingxi speechless.

Clearly, Jian Lan was recording the show very seriously. In terms of status, Jian Lan far surpassed her, but her attitude was more earnest and responsible than Gu Jingxi’s.

Meanwhile, Gu Jingxi had kept fussing over their past matters, behaving deliberately and stiffly. She had completely failed to show the proper professionalism an actress should have, bringing her own emotions into work.

This realization made Gu Jingxi reflect deeply. Then she took a deep breath and looked at Jian Lan seriously.

“Okay, Teacher Jian.”

Jian Lan’s expression was stunned for an instant, but very quickly, a smile curved at the edge of her lips.

“Mm.”

Owen watched everything clearly from the side, then smiled and said, “Then it’s settled. I’ll gather all the clues first, just in case.”

“Okay.”

Everyone answered. Then they got up one after another and walked toward their assigned rooms.

Jian Lan chose the room close to the back courtyard. The moment she pushed open the door, they saw rows of bookshelves surrounding the entire room. In the middle was a set of sofas and a coffee table, meant for reading and resting. By the window, there was a large office desk piled with messy folders.

It seemed to be a study.

Gu Jingxi, following behind Jian Lan, thought this to herself.

“Alright, search carefully. There are quite a lot of things here. Be careful not to miss any clues.” Jian Lan looked back at her.

Meeting those deep eyes hidden behind the lenses, Gu Jingxi froze for a moment, then nodded stiffly.

…

Unlike the filming site, not long ago, at Xingwen Entertainment Company in the city center, Fu Wen was looking expressionlessly at her younger brother.

“So, instead of going to the filming site to watch over things, why did you come to me?” Fu Wen looked at Fu Hang and asked.

“Aiya, the filming is all being recorded in real time. The assistant director and the others are watching from outside. Nothing will happen. I came back because I wanted to ask Sister for a favor,” Fu Hang said with a cheerful smile.

“What? Speak plainly. I’m very busy.” Fu Wen picked up the coffee beside her and took a sip.

Fu Hang: “Sister Jian is the special permanent guest on my show.”

“Pfft—cough, cough… You… cough, cough… What did you say?!”

Fu Wen nearly got sent away on the spot by her coffee because of Fu Hang’s words. She practically shouted, no longer caring about her image.

“Sister, calm down. Take a moment first!” Fu Hang hurriedly said.

Fu Wen raised a hand to signal him not to speak. After a long while, when she finally recovered, she looked at Fu Hang and said, “Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

Fu Hang touched his nose and said, “Sister Jian only joined the production after Xixi signed the contract. And she brought funding with her! Huge funding! You know my funding chain was already lacking. Sister Jian directly filled that gap. There was really no way to refuse!”

Seeing Fu Wen’s face darken more and more, he hurriedly continued, “Besides, Sister Jian has done so much for Xixi over the years, right? She has always stayed behind the scenes. This time, she finally agreed to take the initiative and appear in front of her, to partner with her. No matter what, shouldn’t we help a little?”

Fu Hang spoke carefully, watching Fu Wen’s expression as he did, afraid that Fu Wen would grab a stick and beat him.

“Heh. So you get to play the good person, is that it? Have you thought about Xixi’s personality? After finding out about this situation, what do you think she might do?” Fu Wen sneered and simply crossed her arms as she looked at Fu Hang.

“So isn’t that why I collected her phone immediately?” Fu Hang muttered quietly.

Fu Wen’s brow throbbed. Then she gritted her teeth and said, “Have you forgotten what happened two years ago?! That girl and Jian Lan together are practically a firecracker. Who knows when she’ll explode? No. Get up. We’re going there.”

Fu Hang looked completely confused. “Where are we going?”

Fu Wen looked at him as if he had failed to live up to expectations. “To the filming site, of course! Before that little ancestor causes trouble for me, I need to watch her!”

“I really must owe all of you from my past life. One after another, you only know how to find trouble for me! Are you all too idle?! If you’re that idle, come help this old lady manage the company!”

Fu Wen cursed as she took her bag, then grabbed Fu Hang’s collar with one hand and dragged him outside.

“Hey! No! Sister! Let go of me! I can walk by myself, Sister! I lose so much face when you do this.”

Fu Hang struggled.

“Shut up. Say one more word and see whether I beat you or not.”

Fu Hang: “…”

Alright. He shut up.