Chapter 78 When will you think of me more?
In the newly established studio in Beijing, in the bright and clean reception room, Fang Xingu and two others sat in silence.
It wasn't until quite a while later that Fang Xingu broke free from his memories. He briefly recounted to the other two how he visited the set of "We Have No Tomorrow" in Ancheng, learned about Qin Zhe's story from Jing Yitong, and how he eventually wrote the song "Please Listen to His Defendant" for this tragic character.
His tone was very calm, making it impossible to discern his underlying emotions, as if he had completely processed the fact that his creative work had been plagiarized over the past six years, leaving him without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Jiang He was younger; he was just a junior high school student when "Us Without Tomorrow" was released. He only remembered that he went to the cinema to see the movie, but he didn't remember the specific details. So he picked up his phone and searched for explanations about the movie.
The film begins with a factory manager reporting his son, Zhu Juncai, missing. The police begin searching for Zhu Juncai, but ultimately only find scattered human remains. Upon learning of his son's death, the factory manager is devastated and insists the killer is Qin Zhe, the younger brother of one of his former employees.
Police summoned Qin Zhe, but Qin Zhe seemed surprised by Zhu Juncai's death, as if he knew nothing about it. In addition, Qin Zhe had an alibi, so the police felt that there was nothing suspicious about him and released him.
The factory manager insisted that Qin Zhe was the problem, but whenever the police asked him why, he was vague and only said that two years ago, there was an employee in his factory named Qin Si, who was Qin Zhe's sister. Qin Si disappeared and has not been found since, so Qin Zhe might hold a grudge against them.
The police began searching along this lead, but unearthed a two-year-old cold case—Qin Si might not have disappeared, but rather died at the hands of Zhu Juncai.
Qin Zhe was born into a poor family. His father passed away when he was young, and his mother was seriously ill and bedridden. He also had an older sister, Qin Si.
To support her broken family, Qin Si dropped out of high school to work in a factory. With her meager wages, her mother was able to continue her treatment in the hospital, and Qin Zhe was able to continue his studies. Fortunately, Qin Zhe was also a good student and a filial son, working odd jobs in his spare time to supplement the family income.
The family should have continued living a simple but happy life, but two years ago, in the winter, something changed.
With a smart younger brother like Qin Zhe, Qin Si is naturally very bright as well. She is hardworking, diligent, and willing to use her brain. Through years of working in the factory, she discovered that by adding a simple device to the factory's machines, the production quality could be improved.
After Qin Zhe found out, he encouraged his sister to apply for a patent so that they could earn money from it in the future. No matter how much or how little they earned, it would still be extra income. Qin Si was interested and planned to wait until Qin Zhe came home on the weekend to work on the project together.
To everyone's surprise, Zhu Juncai also found out about this. He believed that once Qin Si applied for the patent, she would definitely charge his own factory that used the patent. Not only would this increase his production costs, but if other factories also bought the patent, they would lose their last production advantage.
Zhu Juncai then planned to secretly dismantle Qin Si's device while she was off guard, and apply for a patent before her, thus appropriating Qin Si's work for himself. However, his scheme was quickly discovered by Qin Si, and the two got into an argument. In a moment of desperation, Zhu Juncai impulsively murdered Qin Si.
After the factory manager learned of this, he scolded his son severely, but he couldn't really watch his son go to jail. The two of them secretly disposed of Qin Si's body and fed it to the dogs at the dog farm.
Unfortunately, Qin Si's family consisted only of her hospitalized mother and her younger brother who was boarding at school. In that era of poor communication, no one initially noticed that Qin Si was dead. In the end, it was the factory manager who cried wolf and called the police, saying that his factory's employees had not come to work for four days and could not be contacted, suspecting that they had disappeared.
Unfortunately, four days passed, and all traces were buried by heavy snow. Moreover, the investigation technology was limited at that time, and the police could not find Qin Si's body. At that time, cases of trafficking in women were frequent, and a woman had just been trafficked in the area a month earlier. Everyone subconsciously thought that Qin Si had been trafficked, and the investigation was misguided.
Qin Zhe had suspected the factory manager's family, but it was just a gut feeling that something was wrong with them. Besides, the Zhu family's house and the factory had already been thoroughly searched, but no clues were found. Even more tragically, not long after, Qin Zhe's mother also passed away from grief over her daughter's disappearance. Busy with handling his mother's funeral arrangements and lacking evidence to prove anything about the Zhu family, Qin Zhe eventually gave up after several unsuccessful attempts to cause trouble at the police station.
It wasn't until a year later that Qin Zhe unexpectedly discovered that the device Qin Si had mentioned wanting to patent had actually become Zhu Juncai's patent. Only then did he finally realize that the Zhu family was definitely involved in his sister's disappearance.
He went to the police station to report the case again, but the police did not file a case because it was all Qin Zhe's deduction and he could not produce any evidence. He could not even prove that the device was originally created by his sister. Even the few people who knew about the patent had long been taken care of by the Zhu family father and son and would not mention the matter.
Repeated disappointments and setbacks distorted Qin Zhe's still-developing values. He dropped out of school and secretly followed Zhu Juncai and the factory manager for a whole year, discovering many of their secrets. He was basically certain that the Zhu father and son had brutally murdered Qin Si in order to plagiarize her work.
At this time, Qin Zhe, only seventeen years old, no longer trusted anyone. He only wanted to avenge his sister on his own. So he plotted a revenge killing. After killing Zhu Juncai, he dismembered him and scattered the pieces in various places. He also forged an alibi and used his own methods to avenge Qin Si, but he also got himself killed in the process.
But in the end, justice prevailed. While solving Zhu Juncai's murder case, the police also discovered that Qin Zhe was the murderer who killed Zhu Juncai.
The movie ends with the police surrounding Qin Zhe's house. At this moment, Qin Zhe sees the police finally find out the cause of Qin Si's death, and the factory manager who survived has also been arrested. He believes he has completed his mission and finally chooses to commit suicide at home.
After reviewing the entire plot, Jiang He was initially a little confused, wondering what the plot had to do with Fang Xingu's refusal to expose Tan Zhi. But upon further reflection, he realized that the relationship between Qin Si and Zhu Juncai was remarkably similar to that between Fang Xingu and Tan Zhi.
In the play, Zhu Juncai plagiarized Qin Si's work, while in real life, Tan Zhi plagiarized Fang Xingu's work.
However, Jing Yitong is different. In the play, he plays a dragon-slaying youth who wants to avenge his sister, but off-screen, he has benefited greatly from the role of Qin Zhe and the drama "Please Listen to His Defend".
Jiang He thought that if he hadn't known about Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong's relationship beforehand, he would have found it all too ironic. Even if the actor Jing Yitong was innocent and had nothing to do with these disputes, how many people could completely distance themselves from him?
There will definitely be many people who will take this opportunity to mock or even criticize Jing Yitong, this beneficiary of the system.
Qi Qiu had obviously thought of this long ago, but he angrily got up and smacked Fang Xingu on the head: "You swallowed your anger for six years just because you were afraid of affecting Jing Yitong's reputation? Do you think Jing Yitong would be moved when he finds out about this!"
Fang Xingu's eyes twitched, and he rubbed his head, trying to remain calm as he explained, "The main problem is that the plot is too coincidental with reality. At the time, my brother wanted to use the role of 'Qin Zhe' to compete for awards, and I really didn't dare to gamble."
Qi Qiu was furious at Tan Zhi for daring to steal Fang Xingu's song, and also angry at Fang Xingu's submissive behavior. His anger was about to explode: "If you control the public opinion well, the wind will eventually blow in your favor. What do you have to be afraid of!"
Fang Xingu exhaled: "Have you forgotten that I was just an ordinary person back then, and my brother was just a nobody with limited ability to control public opinion? At that time, he had just become famous because of this movie. This industry is inherently jealous of others' success. Many people were ready to crush him once he rose to prominence. I couldn't just go up and hand him a knife at that time."
After finishing speaking, Fang Xingu paused and added, "And there is another important reason."
Qi Qiu and Jiang He both turned to look at him. He said, "...When I found out about this, the first thing I did when I returned to China was to ask Tan Zhi for an explanation, but Tan Zhi didn't give me any reply. Also, because I submitted the song to him anonymously back then, he still doesn't know that I was actually the lyricist and composer."
A few days later, You Zhicheng asked me to help record "Star Journey". I wanted to refuse, but You Zhicheng said to me, "In the industry, creators who aren't famous have no status and can be impersonated at any time. What if I write a song for my brother again and encounter this situation again? Do I have to put up with it like this?"
Fang Xin still remembers what You Zhicheng said that day: "I understand your songwriting ability, and I know your singing skills very well. With such talent, why can't you sing your own songs instead of borrowing the voices of a group of people who are no match for you? Don't you want to give Yi Tong a song that is entirely yours?"
With just this one sentence, Fang Xingu was hooked by You Zhicheng.
Fang Xingu continued, "So later, I agreed to go and record 'Star Journey' with You Zhicheng. Sigh, talent shows are really too exhausting. Not only do you have to hand over your phone, but you're also exhausted from practicing dance every day. Who has the energy to care about Tan Zhi's matter?"
After listening to his words, Qi Qiu strangely veered off-topic: "Didn't you tell me that you recorded 'Star Journey' to repay You Zhicheng's favor? How come it's now that you recorded 'Star Journey' for Jing Yitong?"
Fang Xin Gu:
Qi Qiu saw through his thoughts, and Fang Xin awkwardly changed the subject: "...Why don't we get back to the main point and deal with Jiang Zhou's matter first? Tan Zhi's matter is not urgent. I'm planning to give him a big one."
Jiang He then came to his senses. Oh right, they were originally sitting together because Jiang Zhou had framed the crew of "Water Devours Sand," but they ended up talking about a scandal from six years ago.
Qi Qiu rolled his eyes: "Fine, remember to send me a copy of the evidence on your phone related to 'Please Listen to His Explanation'."
Fang Xin thought of the content on his alternate account that he absolutely couldn't show to outsiders, and fell silent again. After a long while, he said guiltily, "Wait a bit, I'll organize it and send it to you later." When he got home, he set all the daily posts related to Jing Yitong to be visible only to himself!
Qi Qiu didn't think much of it, just nodded in agreement, and continued, "Actually, I suspect that Tan Zhi didn't know at all that Jiang Zhou was going to use his demo as evidence."
Fang Xingu also agreed with his point of view: "Indeed, Tan Zhi knows best that the source of his demo is problematic. At this time, he still agrees to let Jiang Zhou produce it as evidence. He probably wants to die sooner rather than later."
“Okay, I’ll go and find out about Tan Zhi’s situation tomorrow, and then we’ll make a plan,” Qi Qiu rolled his eyes. “This matter has completely blown up online, and the storyboarding issues from ‘Water Devouring Sand’ have been brought up again, but the ‘Water Devouring Sand’ production team hasn’t responded yet. I wonder if they’re brewing something big.”
Fang Xingu nodded: "I'll ask my brother about their plans tonight. Xiao Jiang, could you also go back and organize the relevant records of your senior brother's songwriting and your song adaptations? They can all be used as evidence later."
Jiang He agreed: "Okay."
The three of them assigned their tasks and then went home.
After arriving home, Fang Xingu sat on the carpet in the living room for a while. The secret he had kept in his heart for six years was finally being shared with someone else. But thinking about what Qi Qiu had said today, Fang Xingu felt a little lost. Was it really right for him to keep this a secret for six years?
Will his actions, which he believes are for Jing Yitong's benefit, actually put pressure on Jing Yitong?
Fang Xingu felt a mix of emotions. He subconsciously picked up his phone and, unusually, made a video call to Jing Yitong.
Jing Yitong answered the phone quickly, but he obviously didn't realize it was a video call. Fang Xin only saw Jing Yitong's slightly stunned face appear on the screen after the call connected: "Huh? A video call?"
Seeing that his clothes didn't look like he was on a film set or at home, but rather like he was out, and that the room was decorated quite elegantly, like a teahouse, Fang Xingu asked, "Do you have work? If it's not convenient to answer now, I'll hang up."
Jing Yitong laughed and said, "No need, I'm free now. Why did you suddenly video call me?"
Fang Xingu stared at Jing Yitong for a while, his heart filled with a mix of emotions, including a bittersweet feeling. He didn't mention anything serious, but instead softened his voice and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "I miss you a little."
Jing Yitong looked back at him through the phone screen, her eyes filled with both amusement and helplessness: "Why do you always only think of me 'a little'? When will you think of me more?"
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Author's note: It'll be either tomorrow or the day after; we'll definitely break the ice! [Angry]
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