Yu Hanjiang carefully observed Zhou Yuanyuan's expression. The woman's gaze was indifferent as she spoke while smoking. If it weren't for the scars on her face that marred her delicate features, she would have been a very special female celebrity.
Based on the information found, Zhou Yuanyuan's popularity was comparable to Lin Yiyan's, and they were even nominated for "Best Actress" at the same film festival. However, Lin Yiyan won the grand prize at that film festival, while Zhou Yuanyuan unfortunately lost. Afterwards, Zhou Yuanyuan politely retweeted the official Weibo post to congratulate her. At that time, their relationship didn't seem so strained.
The turning point came last year.
The clues provided by Qiao Xuening were verified by Yu Hanjiang through Shao Qingge with the production company. It turned out that Qiao Xuening was right. The female lead for the big IP drama "Red Dust" was indeed originally intended for Zhou Yuanyuan. The director liked her very much, and the salary and schedule had been agreed upon. Zhou Yuanyuan's studio had even drafted the contract, and Zhou Yuanyuan had signed it. They were just waiting for the other party to sign and stamp it.
However, before the contract could be sent out, the production company suddenly broke the contract, saying they had found another female lead.
Zhou Yuanyuan's studio worked hard for over a month, only to end up with nothing. Naturally, they were furious and argued with the production company, whose reason was that Zhou Yuanyuan's image did not match the female lead's image.
But since the director chose her, it proves that she is capable of playing the lead role in this drama, there must be some inside story behind it.
Shao Qingge investigated through his network and concluded that Lin Yiyan was able to snatch the role because her manager arranged for her to attend a drinking party with the investors. What happened at the party remains unknown. Afterwards, the investors insisted the director replace the female lead, and the director, having received their money, had no choice but to comply.
Lin Yiyan has both good looks and acting skills. If she replaced Zhou Yuanyuan as the female lead, the drama wouldn't be a disaster. So, the production team happily signed the contract with Lin Yiyan, and Zhou Yuanyuan's project, which she had been preparing for a month, was canceled.
After learning the truth, Zhou Yuanyuan was so angry that she almost vomited blood. On her way to the airport, she was involved in a rear-end collision and suffered serious injuries, including lacerations to her face that required skin grafts for repair.
This secret is known to very few people, and it's kept secret from the outside world by Zhou Yuanyuan. The manager's version of events was: an accident.
Lin Yiyan, no matter how unscrupulous she is, still relies on the powerful " Starlight Entertainment Company " behind her. Obviously, Zhou Yuanyuan's manager doesn't want to openly confront Starlight Entertainment Company, so she can only swallow this insult for now.
It seems that Zhou Yuanyuan has recovered quite well, but the scars on her face are hard to hide, and her career is probably ruined.
Yu Hanjiang cut straight to the point, asking, "Ms. Zhou, what's your relationship with Lin Yiyan like? Have you seen her recently?"
Zhou Yuanyuan paused, probably not expecting the other party to ask about Lin Yiyan. She frowned slightly, forcefully stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm not in the same management company as her, and we're not close in private."
Yu Hanjiang said, "She stole the role that was originally yours and even caused your car accident. Don't you hate her?"
Zhou Yuanyuan's expression changed, and she clenched her fists tightly: "How did you know about this?!"
Yu Hanjiang said, "We naturally have ways to find out. Last year, when casting for 'Red Dust' was underway, you were originally chosen to play the female lead, but before you could sign the contract, Lin Yiyan snatched the role away."
Zhou Yuanyuan took a deep breath, steadied herself, and said coldly, " Lin Yiyan pretends to be a gentle and ladylike person on the surface, but she's incredibly dirty in private. I can't even count how many people she's slept with. My role was stolen because she seduced the investor's son and slept with him in exchange for it?"
Yu Hanjiang: "Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?"
Zhou Yuanyuan said, "For specific details, you can ask the investor's son, that rich second-generation."
She stood up and said, "I don't want to mention this person anymore. Just hearing her name makes me feel disgusted. If you're asking me to investigate Lin Yiyan, I'm sorry, I don't know anything about it. Please leave."
Zhou Yuanyuan immediately dismissed him and turned to leave.
Yu Hanjiang stood up from the sofa and said in a low voice, " Lin Yiyan is dead."
Zhou Yuanyuan's back stiffened, and she turned around abruptly, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "What?"
"Her time of death was between 3:30 and 4:00 AM on the 17th, and the location was the villa across from your house. Ms. Zhou, you have a personal grudge against her. If you cannot provide an alibi, we have grounds to detain you as a criminal suspect and conduct a detailed investigation." Yu Hanjiang looked sharply at Zhou Yuanyuan: "Ms. Zhou, please think carefully again, where were you in the early morning of the 17th?"
"..." Zhou Yuanyuan's face turned pale and then red. She trembled all over, then suddenly burst into wild laughter, leaning on the sofa: "Hahaha, dead! That bitch is actually dead?! Hahaha, retribution, it really is retribution!"
Mr. Zhou immediately stepped forward and said sternly, "Yuanyuan, what nonsense are you talking about! Stop talking!"
With tears in her eyes, Zhou's mother went over and gently took her daughter's hand, choking back sobs as she said, "
My daughter, Yuanyuan, was hospitalized for a year and suffered some emotional trauma, but she would never kill anyone. Officer, you must investigate this thoroughly!
Yu Hanjiang said, "Ms. Zhou, we are going to search your house now. This is the search warrant."
He took out a printed search warrant and showed it to the three of them, then went upstairs with Xiao Lou.
Zhou's mother tried to stop them, but Zhou's father said with a stern face, "Let them search! Our Yuanyuan couldn't have killed anyone. The innocent will clear themselves!"
However, as soon as the two reached the upper floor, they saw a telescope by the window at the corner of the stairs. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance, walked to the telescope, and looked outside through the lens…
This is a very professional astronomical telescope.
However, by slightly adjusting the angle and lens, Lin Yiyan's house can be clearly seen.
Yu Hanjiang turned and went to the kitchen, where he found a sharp long knife about 5cm wide and 30cm long in a drawer. The shape of the knife was exactly the same as the murder weapon drawn by Xiao Lou after he dissected the body and reconstructed the model based on the wound marks.
Yu Hanjiang then searched Zhou Yuanyuan's bedroom.
Upon entering the bedroom, both of them were startled—the walls of her bedroom were covered with promotional photos of Lin Yiyan, each one marked with a red cross, and the faces in the photos were drawn in a grotesque manner! The posters with their bright smiles were now marred by the grotesque red marks on their faces, sending chills down their spines.
In addition, some disposable gloves were found inside the house.
Yu Hanjiang photographed all the evidence at the scene, called his colleagues who were waiting at the entrance of the residential area, and several police officers entered the house and took all the physical evidence back. Yu Hanjiang handcuffed Zhou Yuanyuan's hands and said calmly, "Ms. Zhou, we are now formally arresting you. Please come back to the police station for investigation."
Zhou Yuanyuan sneered, "I didn't kill anyone."
When Zhou's mother saw the bloody photos found in the bedroom, her legs went weak and she collapsed onto the sofa—all the photos were marked with a red cross, and Zhou Yuanyuan's hatred for Lin Yiyan was clearly conveyed to everyone through the photos of her slashed face.
Mr. Zhou said in a trembling voice, "Yuanyuan wouldn't kill anyone. Even if she hates this Miss Lin, she would never lay a hand on someone..."
Zhou's mother couldn't believe it either, and rushed over to grab Yu Hanjiang's arm tightly: "Officer, my daughter is definitely innocent! You can't take her away, she wouldn't kill anyone! How could she kill someone?!"
Her parents were somewhat agitated, but Zhou Yuanyuan remained calm and said coldly, "I do wish that bitch Lin Yiyan would die ten or eight times over!" She then changed the subject seriously, saying, "But I didn't kill anyone. Taking me back won't do you any good. Can you convict me without evidence?!"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Let's go. If you are truly innocent, we will naturally not wrong you. But if you are guilty, we will not let any criminal go unpunished."
Yu Hanjiang arrested Zhou Yuanyuan in accordance with regulations.
He could tell that the woman's mental state was very abnormal, and she might do something crazy. Moreover, Zhou Yuanyuan had no alibi; she said she was at home, and no one could verify that.
The binoculars found in her home, the sharp knife that matched the murder weapon, the poster of Lin Yiyan covered in red crosses in her bedroom... She had ample motive and time to commit the crime. Coupled with this evidence, the suspicion was too great, and she had no choice but to be arrested.
Yu Hanjiang took her to the interrogation room.
Zhou Yuanyuan maintained a cold expression and repeated, "I didn't kill him."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "How do you explain a telescope?"
Zhou Yuanyuan shrugged: "I've loved astronomy since I was a child. I bought a telescope. Is it wrong for me to look at the stars when I'm bored?"
Yu Hanjiang: "Where's this knife?"
Zhou Yuanyuan said, "For cutting watermelons."
Yu Hanjiang took out disposable gloves and posters of Lin Yiyan with her face drawn on them, which he had found in the bedroom.
Zhou Yuanyuan explained, "I need to apply medication to my surgical wound frequently, and the gloves are for that purpose. As for these posters... I just really dislike Lin Yiyan. Destroying her posters isn't a crime, is it?"
She had an excuse for each piece of evidence, but none of the excuses were very credible.
After interrogating Zhou Yuanyuan for an hour, Yu Hanjiang stopped and returned to his office.
She kept repeating: "I was sleeping at home on the 17th," "I didn't know Lin Yiyan was dead," and "I didn't do it."
The interrogation reached a stalemate, so Yu Hanjiang simply told her to calm down first.
Back in the office, Xiao Lou rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and said, " Zhou Yuanyuan's words sound particularly absurd. Using a telescope to look at the stars? How could she say something like that? But, strangely enough, I feel like... what she said is true? Finding so much physical evidence in her house is too much of a coincidence, isn't it? It doesn't quite fit the murderer's meticulous style."
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "She is not the murderer."
Xiao Lou was taken aback: " How did Captain Yu determine that?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "First, the murderer is meticulous and has a thorough plan. He wouldn't be foolish enough to leave the murder weapon and so much evidence at home and wait for the police to come looking for them. Second, Zhou Yuanyuan's hatred for Lin Yiyan is justifiable. When she destroyed Lin Yiyan's poster, did you notice a key detail?"
Xiao Lou quickly realized: "A slashed face?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Yes, on every poster, Lin Yiyan's face is crossed out with red pen because Zhou Yuanyuan was disfigured by Lin Yiyan. She makes no attempt to hide her hatred for Lin Yiyan. Her long hospital stay caused her some mental problems, and she puts up posters of Lin Yiyan's disfigurement in her bedroom to vent her negative emotions. If..."
If she really wanted to kill Lin Yiyan, what would be her first step?
Xiao Lou's eyes lit up: "She's going to ruin Lin Yiyan's face?"
Yu Hanjiang said with admiration, "If the murderer is Zhou Yuanyuan, from the perspective of criminal psychology, if she wanted to take revenge on Lin Yiyan, she should have first destroyed Lin Yiyan's face, then put Lin Yiyan in the car and pushed her down the mountain… instead of freezing the body in the bathtub with ice."
The man paused, his long, slender fingers tapping lightly on the table. He said thoughtfully, "The ice cube must have a special meaning in this case. Otherwise, if the murderer wanted to destroy evidence, the best course of action would have been to put Lin Yiyan in the trunk, take her to a mountain road, push the car down the mountain, and let it explode. Lin Yiyan's body would be burned to ashes. Even if the police found her, they would assume Lin Yiyan had accidentally gotten into a car accident."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "That's right! The murderer had better ways to dispose of the body, so why did he choose to freeze it in the bathtub? It must be to satisfy a particular psychological fetish?"
What exactly did the ice cube represent? The two of them were completely baffled.
Just then, a message popped up in the WeChat group. It was from Ye Qi: "@Everyone, the concert is about to start. I saw 505 Girl Group backstage. They all seemed very happy and were putting on makeup. They didn't look out of the ordinary."
Old Mo complained in the group: "The opening ceremony this afternoon went as planned. Actors are amazing. Yesterday, Captain Yu and Professor Xiao came to the set to investigate the case. Cheng Yu and Qiao Xuening both knew about the death of the lover /best friend, but at today's opening ceremony, the two of them were smiling brightly, as if they were not affected at all!"
Liu Qiao said, "Yes, these people's acting skills are really top-notch. I definitely wouldn't be able to laugh if it were me."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance.
Acting skills: These celebrities in the entertainment industry are all top-notch actors. So who is acting and whose words are true?