nightingale
"Xia Yiru tried to run away last night but we stopped her in time. She's in your office now."
Cheng Xiaoxiang went to the door to pick up Chen An, and heard Xia Yiru's voice as soon as he entered.
"I said I was just going to work. How am I going to explain this to the film company if you stop me like this?"
"Didn't the police say that it's best not to leave the province at will during the investigation? Besides, why did you leave in the early morning without saying goodbye? What on earth were you going to do?" Lu Yuyao put his hands on the table and looked down at her condescendingly.
Xia Yiru swallowed twice unnaturally, then looked away. "I, I already said that it was the film company that contacted me. Now that Xiaoyun is dead, I have to deal with the copyright issue. Besides, there is so much controversy online now, I have to respond. You can't keep me trapped here..."
"Before you respond, you should answer a few of my questions first." Chen An waited at the door for a while before pushing it open. Seeing him coming, Lu Yuyao took over the recording task.
He sat in front of Xia Yiru, looking at the woman calmly. Her hair was messy, her eyes were black and blue, and some of her lipstick had been rubbed out somehow. She looked very embarrassed.
"Since Miss Xia is in a hurry, I won't waste any more time. What did you do in Fuyao Community at 8 o'clock in the morning on June 6th?"
Xia Yiru's face turned pale and her mind immediately returned to that terrifying morning.
Chen An didn't urge her. He folded his hands on the table and stared at her every expression.
"I, I have something to ask her."
"What's up?"
"About the publishing." Xia Yiru said, as if she was afraid he wouldn't believe her. "She's still sleeping, so I left."
Chen An was silent for a moment, then pushed the cup in front of her and casually changed the subject, "Did you know each other in college?"
When asked about her daily life, she relaxed a little and nodded, "Yeah, we were college classmates and lived in the same dormitory."
"What's her personality like?"
Xia Yiru frowned slightly, "I used to be quiet and gentle, but later I became irritable."
"What prompted her to change like this?"
Xia Yiru answered cautiously, "I think, maybe... she's famous."
She gripped the cup tightly with both hands, the warmth she felt from the cup walls bringing some peace of mind. "She was very self-conscious when she was in college, and she was very frugal with her food, clothing, and daily expenses. We were in the same dorm, but we weren't familiar with each other at the beginning of the semester. It wasn't until I ran into her working part-time at a barbecue restaurant that we became close friends."
"We're a private college, so tuition and living expenses are not cheap. She worked very hard, studying while working three part-time jobs. She'd actually tried writing at that time, but she never got a contract, which made her doubt herself. She eventually gave up writing, claiming she had no talent, and continued working odd jobs."
A smile appeared on her face when she mentioned that time. "Xiaoyun is actually a very nice person. I originally thought she only participated in paid activities, but later on, she was there many times when I volunteered. I saw her helping a girl who had fallen to her feet, and I also saw her serving water and towels to athletes on the field. Those were probably the simplest and most relaxing days we had."
Xia Yiru's eyes drifted, her gaze landing on the grayish-blue tabletop. Her tone changed, "Later, we graduated. I failed the postgraduate entrance exam, and she didn't get the civil service exam either. So, we were pushed into society like that."
"We shared a room. She found a job in customer service, working eleven hours a day, and I became a web editor, spending every day at home reading manuscripts. Life was pretty good, but..."
She frowned slightly. "She said she didn't want to live such a mediocre life and wanted to pick up her hobby of writing again, so she set out with great enthusiasm. At first, she wrote two books, but no one was interested. She was anxious and angry. The salary in customer service was low and the work was very demanding. She almost used up her sleep time to achieve this dream, but reality is often more bleak than we imagine."
Seeing her voice getting lower and lower, and her expression hesitant, Chen An gave her a push, "So she thought of plagiarizing?"
Xia Yiru had long thought that these things could not be hidden from the police, and admitted: "One day she saw the manuscript I reviewed and came up with the idea of splicing it. I strongly opposed it at the time, and we had a quarrel. We reconciled when her first work, "The Legend of Liu Guang", was taking off. I didn't expect her to be so successful. After only 20 chapters, it already has 3,000 collections, and this was without a contract or a chart."
"She took the initiative to reconcile with me and even asked me to quit my job as a web editor to write this book with her. I agreed. At first, we didn't dare to push too far. The entire text of "Liu Guang Chuan" is over 400 chapters. In the first few chapters, we typed it out word by word and discussed each plot point one by one. After 200 chapters, she had accumulated a lot of popularity, but her inspiration had dried up. So our plan began. I was responsible for sifting through the charts and finding plot points, and she was responsible for condensing the plot into words. In this way, we stumbled and finished the first book."
"Thankfully, our time has come." Xia Yiru actually smiled with relief. She looked at Chen An and felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment well up inside her. "Subsequent books won't require us to write them ourselves. Yihe also took the initiative to sign a contract with Xiaoyun. Through our collaboration, we've sold the copyright to one book after another, including film, television, animation, comics, radio dramas, and peripheral products. We've truly made a breakthrough."
Chen An asked, "Do you think you are right and are proud of it?"
Xia Yiru seemed to be suddenly awakened by a basin of cold water, and the arrogant look on her face suddenly disappeared.
"I know you all look down on this kind of behavior, but we have become rich, haven't we?"
Chen An remained rational throughout. Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Xia Yiru continued, "But I have to admit that people become bad when they have money. After Xiaoyun became famous, her temper became more and more violent. She would curse at the people below her if she was not satisfied. I have told her many times, but she has not changed."
"I have no choice. The studio is very busy and I don't have the energy to discipline her every day. It's really my fault that she made so many enemies outside. If, if I had stayed with her, maybe she wouldn't have been killed." As she said this, she covered her face with her hands and tears flowed from between her fingers.
Chen An asked, "Why did you look for her that day?"
Xia Yiru struggled for a long time. She knew she couldn't escape this question. Wiping away her tears, she said, "I originally wanted to talk to her about the start of filming for 'The Legend of Liuguang'."
"Actually..." She had some concerns in her heart, but there were some things she had to say, "Actually, I don't agree with letting Lin Ran play Shen Qi."
Chen An asked: "Why?"
Xia Yiru seemed unhappy when Lin Ran was mentioned, and even her words became contemptuous. "I'm just worried. He's a person with negative news. The film and television dramas are so bad now. What if his work is ruined before it is broadcast? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"
Chen An narrowed his eyes. "But isn't this the drama's business? You guys shouldn't worry about it, right?"
"So what?" Xia Yiru was very excited. "The Legend of Liuguang is the hard work of Xiaoyun and I. We can't let him ruin it!"
Chen An leaned back in his chair and said calmly but firmly, "You hate Lin Ran."
"Yes, I just hate Lin Ran. Officer, it's normal for me to have people I hate."
"Tell me why you hate him."
Xia Yiru pursed her lips and said awkwardly, "No reason."
"Is it because Wu Danyun likes Lin Ran?"
Xia Yiru's heart skipped a beat, and anger burst out from her heart. After a few minutes, she suppressed her annoyance and glared at him, "How did you know?"
Chen An said casually, "I guessed."
She straightened her back. "Xiao Yun does like Lin Ran. In fact, when she sold the copyright to Director Hong, she attached a condition that Lin Ran must play the protagonist Shen Qi. At first, I thought she just admired him. It wasn't until she said she wanted to use Lin Ran as the prototype for the new book and she would personally write it, that I realized she might really..."
Chen An looked at Xia Yiru's dazed look. Her eyes changed from initial confusion to anger and then to furious hatred.
"Is he really that good? No! He's not. Xiaoyun has no idea what kind of person Lin Ran is. He's not that glamorous at all. All this is just a disguise. Xiaoyun shouldn't like this kind of person!"
Chen An said, "Because you like Wu Danyun, right?"
Xia Yiru suddenly fell silent.
Chen An took this opportunity to explain, "Wu Danyun likes Lin Ran and wants to make her famous through her book. But you like Wu Danyun, and 'The Legend of Liuguang' means a lot to you. So on the morning of the 6th, are you planning to continue arguing with Wu Danyun and persuade her to replace the male lead?" At this point, he suddenly frowned. "No, you're not here to discuss this with her. Because of Lin Ran, there's a conflict between you two, and you want to take away the contract, right?"
Xia Yiru stopped struggling. "Yes! I've already discussed it with the director and screenwriter. We've chosen a more famous new generation actor. He's a thousand times more suitable than Lin Ran. I did go to get the contract."
Chen An asked, "Was Wu Danyun still alive when you arrived?"
"Alive?" Xia Yiru said, "I didn't see her at all. She wasn't there when I opened the door."
Chen An was puzzled. "Not inside?"
"Yes." Xia Yiru said, "I didn't see her. She wasn't in the bedroom. I thought she went out and wanted to grab her things and leave quickly."
Chen An frowned, "Are you sure there's no one in the house?"
Xia Yiru shook her head. "No, it was very quiet when I went in." She recalled, "When Cen Yun left, she sent me a message saying she was sleeping."
Chen An said, "Do you remember that the bathroom door was open?"
"It was...open." Xia Yiru thought carefully and only remembered the frosted glass door. She couldn't remember whether it was closed or not. "I, I was afraid that she would come back suddenly, find the contract and leave. I really don't remember."
That’s strange. When did Wu Danyun die?
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