Chapter 100

The evidence found indicated that the injured crazy aunt in the hospital had a grudge against the village chief's son.

But even if the crazy aunt had a motive, she didn't have the tools.

All the explorable places were searched thoroughly, and all the people who knew the situation were questioned, but still no evidence was found to identify the arsonist.

From 3 or 4 p.m. until filming wrapped at 6 or 7 p.m., no new clues were discovered, no new plot developments occurred, and they were stuck in a deadlock. Even so, they received no hints or instructions from the director.

After three hours that felt like being in jail, everyone had expressions of anxiety or fatigue.

As the sun sets, the NPCs and the staff working in the dark leave the scene to rest, signaling the end of the main filming work for the day.

"It seems like there won't be any new events happening today." Xinlong was a little discouraged. "Did we miss any clues?"

"We've searched everywhere." Xin Chi shook his head.

"Don't panic, maybe there will be new progress tomorrow morning." Xinran comforted.

Xinlong blinked, unconvinced. She thought, with so much free time in the afternoon, even if they didn't move up the filming schedule for the next day, they should at least finish the main shoot early and do some post-production, commercials, or something.

In this case, if no new events occur in the evening, it must mean that they have not found the key clues to advance the plot.

The production crew sent us boxed lunches and we all sat around the table to eat together.

The meeting had lasted for a long time in the afternoon, and no one was interested in talking anymore.

Ranlong was just picking chili seeds from Qiu An's hand-shredded cabbage when she heard Xinlong break the silence: "What do you think? Is it possible that the criminal is among us?"

Ranlong's tightly clenched chopsticks suddenly crossed, and the wood rubbed against each other, making a slight sound.

"Do you have any evidence?" Ranlong asked her.

"There's no evidence yet, it's just a guess. You remember that Crazy Auntie had a daughter who ran away, right? She was about the same age as us. I was wondering if her eldest daughter could be among us?"

"Why don't you suspect it's the tour guide? The tour guide is the same age as us, right?"

"If the tour guide wanted to kill or burn people, he wouldn't have chosen to do it when we were traveling, right?"

Ranlong couldn't respond.

For some reason, she was very disgusted by Xinlong's suspicion of her own people. Maybe it was related to trust and friendship, she was not sure.

"What were everyone doing the night of the explosion?" Xinlong started the conversation. "I think I was chatting with Sister Xiaoran in the room. Am I remembering correctly, Sister Xiaoran?"

Ranlong lowered his head and frowned, without responding.

Xinran continued, "My second sister and I were lying in bed, preparing to put on a face mask. We had just opened the package when the explosion happened. I was so scared that I accidentally threw the mask into the trash can."

The three girls turned their gazes towards Qiu An. Before Qiu An could say anything, Ran Long pounded the table to express his dissatisfaction: "What do you mean, little sister? Do you want everyone's alibi? The five of us came out immediately when the explosion happened that day. We can all prove each other's alibi, right?"

Xinlong didn't back down. She put her words on the table and said, "That's right. What I want to say is that when the explosion happened, only Sister Xiaoan was out of sight. With modern technology, it's not difficult to remotely control the explosion, so I want to remain skeptical of Sister Xiaoan for the time being."

Xinran and Xinchi nodded, obviously standing on their sister's side.

Qiu An was alone, and there was no reason for Ran Long not to speak up for her:

"Room assignments are decided by drawing lots. How could it be such a coincidence that Xiao An got the room? Don't think you can bully others just because you have more people! According to what you said, the eldest sister might also be an accomplice. After all, she made the paper lot. She has the means to ensure that Xiao An gets a single room! Besides, aren't time bombs more common? Even if I'm chatting with you and they're applying face masks, it doesn't mean anything!"

"You have a point." Xinlong said calmly, "We can search everyone's room one by one, maybe we can find some clues."

The act of searching the room is not uncommon in reasoning variety shows, but their rooms are used for daily living, and personal belongings are piled everywhere. It is not appropriate to expose them to the camera and be rummaged through.

The heart-stealing girls have the upper hand in numbers, so they will definitely conduct a targeted search of Qiu An's room.

This was a case of bullying by the majority against the minority. Ran Long couldn't tolerate this happening to Qiu An. She couldn't help but speak anxiously, "Excuse me, are you a police officer? Do you have the right to search someone else's room at will? If you suspect Xiao An did it, then produce evidence. Why search without evidence?"

Xinlong became quite angry after being scolded like this.

She slammed her chopsticks on the table, stood up with her hands on her hips, and released her emotions: "You and Sister Xiao An are in the same group, right? Why are you so biased towards her?"

Xinran gently stroked Xinlong's back to comfort her, and Xinchi calmly analyzed, "They shouldn't be in the same group. When they were assigned rooms, the eldest sister offered them the opportunity to live together, but they both refused."

Xinlong said aggrievedly, "Even if Sister Xiaoran isn't the arsonist, it's wrong for her to be so partial to Sister Xiaoan! If she finds a clue and doesn't tell us, or even keeps it to herself, that's just too unfair!"

Ranlong was furious. He also pushed his chair and stood up. Leveraging his height advantage, he glared down at Xinlong. "What are you talking about? I'm not biased towards Xiaoan! I think you three are in the same group! You're singing the same tune. When did you come together to frame others? You have more people, so even if we have to vote, you have the upper hand. It's unfair to us!"

Xinlong and Ranlong argued back and forth, their faces flushed with anger. Xinlong insisted that Ranlong was partial to Qiu An, but Ranlong said she was talking nonsense.

It wasn't until Qiu An gently tugged at the corner of Ran Long's clothes that Ran Long's anger subsided. He sat back on the stool, looking at Qiu An with bright eyes: "Do you have something to say to me?"

His expression changed so quickly that the three people on the opposite side couldn't bear to watch.

Under the dining table, Qiu An hooked her finger with Ran Long's and said softly, "It's okay, you can let them search my room."

"this……"

Ranlong was still hesitating when Xinlong interrupted with a smile on her face, "Yes, if you're not the murderer, you should be so open and honest! Sister Xiaoan herself agrees, so you don't have any objections, right?"

"Don't be so arrogant!" Ranlong raised his index finger at her, "She didn't have to prove herself like this! It's you who is making false accusations!"

The two wanted to argue again, but Xinran and Xinchi each tied one of Xinlong's arms and pulled her back to her seat.

Qiu An hooked her finger with Ran Long again, and she calmed down.

Ranlong said, "Well, it's so late today, why not wait until tomorrow. If everyone is up tomorrow morning and nothing else has happened, we can search the room."

Xinlong wanted to speak, but Ranlong knew what she was going to say and cut her off in advance: "She can't go anywhere since we're all in the B&B. If you're worried that she'll destroy the evidence, then you can sleep in a different room with her and I'll help keep an eye on her!"

When Xinlong heard that she had to sleep in a room by herself, she shook her head repeatedly.

Finally, they reached a consensus and calmed down. Everyone cleared the table and returned to their rooms to rest.

Ranlong saw Xinlong come in, climb onto the bed with her coat on, and hide under the quilt, crying.

You were so arrogant just now, why are you pretending to be pitiful?

Ranlong took the tissue from the bedside table and threw it at the bulge on the bed. The bulge was hit hard, and a small crack opened. A small tentacle stretched out from it and hooked the tissue in.

After a while, Xinlong poked her head out again: "Sister Xiaoran, do you really think you are not favoring Sister Xiaoan?"

Xinlong's tone was soft, not really a question, but rather a bit confused. Ranlong then said good-naturedly, "No, why do you feel that way?"

"That's exactly how I feel. You get so nervous whenever anything related to Sister Xiao An comes up. You might not think so, but I feel like your subconscious is favoring her. Maybe you've even convinced yourself that you've already made excuses for her."

Is that so?

Ranlong was a little suspicious, but she didn't doubt Xinlong. She was doubting herself.

She went into the bathroom and took a shower. The temperature in the bathroom was low and the warm air was unevenly distributed. It warmed her head but not her feet, and the range was limited. It was not as comfortable as the heating in Beiji.

He takes his time taking off his clothes, and when he’s done washing, he doesn’t want to turn off the water.

Winter is so troublesome. Taking a shower requires you to step out of your comfort zone twice.

As he stood under the hot water, Ranlong's heart calmed down.

She thought, what Xinlong said was actually correct. It was just a variety show, not a real case. Assuming the result and working backwards from the process, searching the room to find evidence was a very common plot.

Why is she so nervous?

Is it because you realized long ago that the arsonist might really be Xiao An?

Is she trying to avoid such a consequence, so she chooses not to face it?

It was as if... she was indeed still brooding over something, but she didn't ask Qiu An, even though Qiu An took the initiative to ask her and told her, "No matter what it is, I will answer."

She just silently resented Yuan Chengyin. She was unhappy just thinking about her, and even more unhappy just seeing her. It was as if she had vented all her annoyance on her.

Thinking about it this way, maybe I really did secretly excuse Qiu An.

After taking a shower and walking out of the bathroom, she saw Xinlong lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze, and she was not crying anymore.

"Don't you miss your sisters?"

"I do, but my tears have dried up. Let me take a day off today."

“…”

Ranlong put on a thick coat over her plush home clothes. Xinlong asked her, "Where are you going?"

"Um...going on a date with the suspect?"

Without waiting for Xinlong to show a disgusted expression, Ranlong left the room and walked to Qiu An's door.

But……

It's been so long, is there really any need to ask? Even if Qiu An is willing to explain, it doesn't mean she wants to explain.

Ranlong hesitated in front of the door for a while, and when he was about to leave, the door opened with a click.

It was like those nights visiting friends on the set of "The Sound of Falling Leaves". Ranlong couldn't help but feel nostalgic, but it was a pity that there were cameras in the rooms here too, so he couldn't do some pleasant things.

"Xiao Ran? Are you looking for me?"

"How did you know I was at the door?"

"I don't know. I wanted to find you too."

"Shall we go out for a walk together?"

Qiu An nodded. Ranlong looked him up and down, and touched him with his hands to make sure that Qiu An was dressed warmly enough before he prepared to go out.

"Wait a moment."

Qiu An returned to the room, took out a scarf and wrapped it around Ranlong's neck.

"You're only concerned about me, but you don't wear more clothes yourself?"

"Isn't this someone who is worried about me?"

Ranlong chuckled, took Qiu An's hand, and put it in his pocket as usual.

They snuggled up to each other and plunged into the cold wind outside.

The temperature at night was much lower than during the day, and the chilly air that invaded my nasal cavity was unpleasant. As I talked, every breath condensed into a white mist, which, over time, stained my scarf with moisture, wrapping my jaw in a damp, cold atmosphere, making it very uncomfortable.

With a lovely person around, this little discomfort is insignificant.

There were no cameras following them. They walked to a grove of trees at the end of the village and sat down on a stone bench under a street lamp.

Ranlong had a premonition that what Qiu An wanted to say to her and what she wanted to ask Qiu An were the same thing.

The street lights were high and far away, and even the most dazzling lights became soft when they fell on them.

Qiu An leaned against Ran Long, tilted his head slightly, and looked at her profile. Her eyelashes were shimmering with a faint halo, and they blinked beautifully.

Ranlong wondered if she was making a big deal out of nothing.

Even if Qiu An and Yuan Chengyin had a past, it was a very ordinary and normal thing, wasn't it?

Regardless of whether a person is in an intimate relationship or not, she should be an independent and autonomous individual. All her experiences constitute her and all her choices enrich her.

It’s not right to dye it, and I don’t mind it.

So, actually, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t ask or doesn’t know.

Well, theory is theory, and conclusion is conclusion.

Not minding doesn't mean not caring. She still wants to hear what Qiu An has to say.

If she could accept the truth no matter what it was, she shouldn't be afraid to ask Juan for the truth.

Even if Xiao An had really set the fire, so what? The person she wanted to hurt wasn't a good person to begin with. She didn't need to be sneaky; she could have stood by Xiao An openly and understood every choice she made.

"Well, I do have another question for you."

"What on earth is going on with that sexy lingerie I saw and that chat record?"