Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The instant she was seen through, a chill raced across her entire body.

Her breathing was squeezed under heavy pressure, becoming light and ethereal—as if the slightest increase would force the truth to spill out.

Pei Chuzhi’s back pressed against the shelf. A protruding round nail head dug into her skin.

Xing Ye lowered his head. The way he looked at her was like gazing at prey: “One more time—where were you?”

“In my room.”

She tried her best to control the tremor in her voice, lifting her face defiantly, refusing to show weakness.

Xing Ye let out a soft laugh, as though mocking her futile struggle.

Their warm breaths mingled and tangled in the narrow space between them.

Yet the air brewing around them held no sweet, honeyed ambiguity—only the taut pull of mutual probing.

A deliberately exaggerated cough came through the microphone from the director: “Sorry to interrupt, but could you two separate a little? This segment is way too… you know. It’s not suitable for broadcast.”

Xing Ye’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He stepped back half a pace, though he still kept her within his controllable range.

In the observation room, the director wiped sweat from his forehead.

He’d heard long ago that Pei Chuzhi was able to serve as a permanent host only because Xing Ye had used himself as bargaining power. But just now the two of them had been so close—he had to speak up, or he was genuinely afraid Xing Ye would kiss her right there.

That’s how it always went in dramas, wasn’t it?

A disobedient girlfriend—pin her down, kiss her a few times, and she’d behave.

The air finally began to circulate again.

In that brief window of breath, Pei Chuzhi sorted out her thoughts.

When she spoke again, a faint smile curved her lips: “Fine, I admit I lied. Tong Yang wasn’t lying.”

“Hm?”

“I never slept at all from the beginning. So when she knocked, I heard it.”

Pei Chuzhi curved her brows and smiled sweetly. “But I deliberately didn’t open the door for her.”

“Why?”

Pei Chuzhi didn’t pause for even a second. She rattled off her freshly made-up excuse in one breath:

“I wanted to know why she was knocking. Because right before Ding Yang went downstairs, he said something. He told her to act fast—if Tong Yang came out of the shower and found him gone, she’d definitely throw a tantrum at him.”

“Don’t you think that line was strange? Even if Tong Yang got upset about not finding Ding Yang, couldn’t she just call and ask? Why emphasize acting fast?”

“So at that moment I thought—could they have some secret plan that would be hard for Tong Yang to carry out alone if Ding Yang wasn’t there?”

Xing Ye’s gaze darkened: “You wanted to see what Tong Yang would do if you didn’t open the door?”

Pei Chuzhi nodded: “I only thought of pretending to be out after I heard Teacher Ji wasn’t in her room.”

Since Tong Yang had already been eliminated, she couldn’t jump out to clarify the order of her knocking.

“But later I realized I overthought it. Tong Yang is probably innocent. The real question now is…”

She took the newspapers from Xing Ye’s hand and pointed to the news report about the antique shop owner: “What exactly was behind Sister Wang’s death—revenge killing, or murder for money?”

No matter which one Xing Ye decided on, it would rule out Ding Yang and Ji Yingshan as the killer.

Pei Chuzhi had just silently finished that thought when the director announced that evidence collection was over and they were moving into the clue exchange phase.

She exchanged a glance with Xing Ye and asked, “Who are you planning to trade with?”

“Ding Yang.”

·

Xing Ye’s choice to trade clues with Ding Yang caught Pei Chuzhi completely off guard.

She had assumed he would use the information from the newspaper to directly vote Ding Yang out in the next round.

But once the two of them returned to the first floor, she understood.

Although they had cooperated fairly smoothly since recording began, in the end she and Xing Ye were not on the same side.

They were simply using each other.

Once she realized this, a subtle feeling rose in her chest.

She sighed softly, watching Xing Ye and Ding Yang walk side by side toward the backyard.

Only Xie Yiqian and Ji Yingshan remained in the living room, but she already knew the clues both of them held.

Xie Yiqian glanced around and suggested, “How about my wife and I trade clues? Otherwise she’ll have no participation in this round.”

“Or I can trade with her?” Pei Chuzhi offered.

“No need. Giving out clues could disadvantage you,” Xie Yiqian said calmly. His voice was clear and gentle. “I’m your idol and your senior—I should take care of you.”

The soul that had been immersed in the killer’s identity finally detached at that moment: “Then, Teacher Xie, after recording ends today—can we take a photo together?”

A fan’s heart fluttered with anticipation, making even her tone cautious and soft.

Xie Yiqian smiled and nodded: “Sure. Do you want an autograph too?”

“Yes, yes!”

Pei Chuzhi nodded repeatedly. Inside, her little fangirl was already cheering and celebrating.

When the empty living room held only her, the overwhelming joy of being favored was too much to contain. She leaned against the wall and quietly laughed to herself.

When Xing Ye returned, what he saw was Pei Chuzhi facing the wall, stealing secret smiles.

He let out a soft hum and sat on the sofa. “What did Teacher Xie promise you?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Pei Chuzhi blinked before turning around. Surprised, she asked, “How did you know?”

Xing Ye frowned impatiently: “Guessed.”

A faint irritation stirred inside him. It was just an autograph and photo—such a small thing. Did she have to be this happy?

He remembered when he’d signed for her earlier—she had seemed perfectly calm the whole time…

Xing Ye tsked. An unnamed fire suddenly flared in his chest, rampaging through him until his eyes darkened even more.

“Speaking of which.” After a brief silence, he spoke again. “Have you ever suspected I was the killer?”

Pei Chuzhi froze, instinctively shaking her head: “Not yet. But if evidence points to you later, I probably will.”

“…”

Xing Ye pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, voice still restrained: “Meaning you’d vote for me? Then what about Teacher Xie—would you suspect him?”

Pei Chuzhi: “???”

What was this “justice vs. idol—which would you choose” impossible question?

And now that he mentioned it, Pei Chuzhi suddenly remembered—if she wanted to win until the end…

Wouldn’t that mean becoming enemies with her idol?

Maybe it was better to just admit defeat?

Watching the bright, vivid girl’s face cloud over with inner conflict, Xing Ye’s heart sank along with it.

So in her eyes, he might be a partner she cooperated with smoothly, but never someone she would abandon her principles to protect.

Xing Ye gave a self-mocking low laugh and softly called her name: “Zhi Zhi.”

“Hm?”

Pei Chuzhi was instantly on guard, afraid he was about to throw another headache-inducing question at her.

But Xing Ye slowly exhaled. His pitch-black eyes churned with suppressed emotion as they looked at her.

“Except for me—don’t trust anyone else.”

·

When the second round of discussion began, Pei Chuzhi’s mood was still extremely complicated.

What Xing Ye had said earlier was too serious.

So serious that for a moment she actually wavered, feeling deeply immoral for deceiving him all this time.

It was just a variety show…

She muttered to herself in her heart, then rallied her spirits and refocused on the discussion.

This time the first to speak was Xie Yiqian.

He took a notebook from behind a cushion and slowly opened it: “This round of evidence collection, my wife and I went to Sister Wang’s room.”

Everyone silently turned their gazes toward the closed door on the first floor.

The sound of pages turning filled the living room.

Xie Yiqian paused when he reached the middle page: “This is Sister Wang’s ledger for recording income and expenses—almost all entries are related to inn operations and daily costs. But three days ago, there’s a record of a large deposit received.”

He passed the notebook to Ji Yingshan, who handed it left to Ding Yang, then to Xing Ye.

Xing Ye’s gaze froze.

Pei Chuzhi leaned over to look and alarm bells rang in her heart.

Clearly written was one line: [100,000 yuan deposit – Mr. X.]

Presumably the deposit for purchasing antiques.

Just as they could find old newspapers in the basement, others could discover case-related information in various rooms of the villa.

Ding Yang took the notebook back to look again: “Mr. X isn’t specified—whoever it is, both Xie and Xing start with X, right?”

Xie Yiqian clearly came prepared: “Exactly. So in this round, one of the two X’s should leave.”

He paused slightly, then continued in a gentle, guiding tone: “Everyone still remembers the blackout in the villa, right? If I recall correctly, it was Teacher Xing who found the breaker in the basement.”

Xing Ye lifted his eyes: “Is there a problem?”

“Of course there is.” Xie Yiqian didn’t back down, still smiling. “The moment the power went out, why didn’t you call Sister Wang to handle it? Why did you choose to search for the breaker yourself?”

Pei Chuzhi held her breath.

She too had found this suspicious very early on.

If she weren’t hiding her fake-couple status with Xing Ye, she would really want to ask right now: “Yeah, why?”

“Unless you already knew Sister Wang was gone.”

Ji Yingshan chimed in perfectly with her husband, pointing the spear directly at Xing Ye.

Ding Yang raised a brow and teased: “Maybe he just likes fixing breakers?”

The couple across from him twitched at the corners of their mouths. Xing Ye also gave a small laugh.

But Pei Chuzhi couldn’t laugh at all.

She turned to look at Xing Ye, waiting for him to defend himself.

Yet Xing Ye’s Adam’s apple rolled, and what came out wasn’t very convincing: “No special reason.”

Pei Chuzhi: “…”

That’s it???

Brother, do you even realize your current situation?

She blinked in astonishment, feeling certain Xing Ye was hiding something important.

But after that sentence he said nothing more. He simply sat there calmly, eyes gently lowered, gaze falling somewhere unknown.

Even Ding Yang was stunned by him: “Bro, face-to-face speaking doesn’t cost extra airtime—say a few more words! Where’s that energy you had when you got my girlfriend eliminated?”

Xie Yiqian hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly either, but he quickly masked his surprise: “We all know Sister Wang had antiques. If I’m not mistaken, you should be an antique dealer. Three days ago you paid Sister Wang a deposit, then came here under the guise of travel to complete the transaction with her.”

“And then you two couldn’t agree on the price, so you killed her and took the goods?”

Ding Yang dramatically clutched his chest. “Bro, bit of a temper, huh?”

“It wasn’t me who killed her.”

Xing Ye finally spoke, but his eyes were on Pei Chuzhi—as though the words were meant only as an explanation for her.

Pei Chuzhi stared blankly for a few seconds, suddenly remembering what Xing Ye had said before discussion began.

“Except for me—don’t trust anyone else.”

She did know the killer wasn’t Xing Ye. She did suspect he was hiding something. But at such a critical moment, she couldn’t just let him be voted out.

Pei Chuzhi slowed her breathing and steadied herself.

“Is it because you wrongly suspected Tong Yang’s little sister that you’re being so cautious now? It’s okay—deductions aren’t supposed to be right the first time.”

She clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention to herself: “I have a bold idea. Does anyone mind if I share it?”

“If we minded, would you not say it?” Ding Yang tossed in a timely tease to lighten the mood.

Pei Chuzhi smiled, voice bright: “I’m saying it anyway.”

“Actually, after Tong Yang was eliminated, I kept thinking about what she said. She judged that Teacher Ji was deliberately guiding everyone to believe it was revenge killing. Now that we know Tong Yang isn’t the killer, I think her testimony deserves more weight.”

“Teacher Ji’s basis for leaning toward revenge was that Sister Wang’s face was slashed, right?”

Ji Yingshan furrowed her delicate brows: “Yes. Killing someone is one thing, but slashing her face afterward—that’s clearly venting rage.”

Pei Chuzhi curled her fingers tightly. Every word from here on was crucial.

“Now the question is: a vengeful, brutal killer with a knife in hand, standing in front of their enemy—why choose the roundabout method of one stab plus face-slashing instead of…”

Her voice gradually cooled: “…just stabbing her body multiple times?”

Ji Yingshan quietly straightened.

Pei Chuzhi’s gaze carried wind as it swept toward her: “So I believe the wounds on Sister Wang’s body and face were inflicted by someone who returned to the scene a second time, trying to stage it as revenge killing.”

Ding Yang rubbed his arms stiffly: “Damn… sorry, please edit that swear word out in post.”

He seemed genuinely creeped out but still spoke clearly: “If we follow this logic, all our previous deductions were wrong.”

Pei Chuzhi: “The crime could have taken only a few minutes.”

Ding Yang: “Then doesn’t that mean everyone’s possible?”

“Not everyone.”

Xing Ye’s low, husky voice sounded at that moment: “Using the blackout as the dividing line. Before the blackout, the three of us were in the backyard. After the blackout, Zhi Zhi and Tong Yang were in the second-floor room, and we returned to the backyard.”

Xie Yiqian, who had suspected Xing Ye earlier, couldn’t help joining the analysis: “But we can’t determine whether Sister Wang died before or after the blackout.”

Xing Ye gave a soft “mm” and continued: “But the instant the power came back on, I wasn’t the only one in the basement.”

He took out his phone and showed the others photos he had taken during evidence collection.

“From the pictures, you can see the blackout was caused by someone accidentally tripping the breaker. I was the closest to the basement and went down without encountering anyone. If someone had been hiding in the rooms further back, of course I wouldn’t have seen them.”

“But the basement has no windows, and the rain outside didn’t affect sound much. So if someone left the basement while I was looking for the breaker, I should have heard at least something. And there was no need for them to take the risk—they could have waited until I left.”

“After the breaker was flipped back on, I went straight to the first floor, met Teacher Xie in the living room, and then we went to the backyard and saw Ding Yang.”

Ding Yang recalled the scene: “You came out with Teacher Xie, and Tong Yang said she heard Zhi Zhi knocking upstairs before the power came back.”

Pei Chuzhi nodded: “So at that time, only one person didn’t meet anyone else.”

Unless they had a guilty conscience, there was no reason for that person to hide.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Ji Yingshan.

She gripped the sofa cushion tightly. Her returning gaze was somewhat panicked.

Xie Yiqian also lowered his voice: “Was it you?”

Ji Yingshan bit her lip hard. After half a minute she seemed to give up and said softly, “It was me hiding there.”

She paused, then raised her volume: “But when the power came back and I went into the kitchen, Sister Wang was already dead.”

Because she had stayed in the basement too long, discovering the body left Ji Yingshan in panic.

She had originally wanted to find where Sister Wang hid the antiques—that’s why she acted alone, even deliberately asking Sister Wang about the pharmacy as an excuse to explain her long absence.

After finding nothing in the basement, she returned to the first floor intending to question Sister Wang in the kitchen.

Instead she was greeted by a cold corpse.

Ji Yingshan rubbed her brow: “My alibi can’t hold up at all. I knew you would definitely suspect me, so I tried to stage it as revenge killing.”

Pei Chuzhi listened and found it stranger and stranger: “I remember the public clue said a large number of antiques were stolen. Teacher Ji looks delicate—can you really carry all those antiques alone?”

“Of course I can.”

The answer came in a low male voice.

Xing Ye lightly tapped the microphone twice: “Director, in a situation where clues clearly point to someone, is it against the rules to reveal privately obtained information?”

The director’s reply came through the mic: “Not against the rules, but if your judgment is wrong, you’ll be eliminated immediately. Are you revealing the clue now?”

Xing Ye lowered his eyes and said briefly: “Revealing.”

Without waiting for further confirmation from the director, he continued: “The first clue I received was: ‘In the robbery case, someone escaped punishment.’”

Ji Yingshan stared wide-eyed in shock.

Xing Ye slowly lifted his gaze and asked word by word: “Teacher Ji—are you Sister Wang’s accomplice?”

Author’s note: Sorry for being late today _(:з」∠)_

And to the little cutie who commented wanting an extra update—I’ll reply in the author’s note: this humble author really can’t do it. Just outlining one chapter’s plot every day is already making me pull my hair out. Next time I absolutely won’t write another brain-burning variety show! Of course, the good news is—we’ll finish recording the variety show tomorrow!

Thank you to all the little angels who voted or sent nutrient solution between 2019-12-07 21:16:32 ~ 2019-12-08 21:44:42~

Thanks for the nutrient solution: Jia Bao ovo 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support—I’ll keep working hard!