Chapter 57 "The Culprit is You" (Part 2) - 15,000 words bonus chapter combined with another chapter...
Jiang Tinghan immediately panicked: "That sounds like my father's voice!"
Yoo Jae-suk: "Yeah, I heard that too. Where's the key? If all else fails, we'll have to break down the door."
Jiang Tinghan, who had been clutching her skirt tightly, looked up and saw the entire corridor from the end of the corridor. Although she looked flustered, she still said calmly, "Although I don't know where the key is, my father has a habit of making a spare key. He likes puzzles, so perhaps there will be clues in this corridor."
“A clue…” Lee Kwang-soo followed Jiang Tinghan’s gaze and looked in the direction he was looking. “There are a lot of paintings here. Could it be under the frames?”
He tried to lift the nearest picture frame, but it was too sturdy to open.
Yoo Jae-suk: "If you just put it under the frame, what kind of puzzle is that?"
Park Min-young: "But Oppa is right, these drawings should be clues."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Entrance hall, smooth wooden floor, three... are these peacocks? A stone lantern under the eaves, what a mess."
Park Min-young: "Could it be hidden under the floorboards?"
Jiang Tinghan was also thinking. After a two-second silence, he said, "I know, it's under the third stone brick under the threshold."
Yoo Jae-suk: "Wu ei? How did you confirm that?"
Jiang Tinghan: "The hall floor, Gan-Ba-Dak, doesn't that mean the floor under the threshold? Two of these three peacocks are looking up, but the third one is looking down, so that means 'the third' or 'number three'. Connecting it to the last stone, it means the third stone brick under the threshold."
Yoo Jae-suk clapped his hands: "Great, another mystery solver has arrived."
Everyone quickly lifted the carpet under their feet and searched the third stone brick in front of the audiovisual room door. After feeling around for a while, they found that one corner of the floor was made of rough wood. When they opened it, they found a small key.
As Lee Kwang-soo opened the door to the video room, he looked at Kim Jong-min and said, "Hyung, you were just stepping on this, didn't you even notice?"
Kim Jong-min gave a somewhat goofy yet slightly annoyed smile: "Sigh, my shoes have such thick soles, how can I possibly..."
Yoo Jae-suk: "You guys should also try to understand Coldyxi's feelings, he's so worried!"
The crowd hurriedly opened the door and, as expected, saw the wealthy businessman lying in a pool of blood, blood seeping from his head. They checked his pulse.
"It seems he's already dead."
There was another thud as someone fell to the ground. Everyone looked back and saw that the girl in the wheelchair who had been sitting at the door had fallen off. She seemed to have been too eager to get over and forgot that her legs were no longer usable, so she fell directly. Her already pale face turned even paler.
Judging from the sound, it looked very painful. Kim Se-jeong quickly helped her up. Oh Se-hun was also nearby and politely offered a hand, pulling Jiang Tinghan's wrist. The two of them helped Jiang Tinghan back into her wheelchair.
She acted so realistically! If people didn't know that Coldy was physically healthy and had no limbs, they would really think that she actually had a problem with her legs.
Kim Se-jeong asked with concern, "Are you alright, Coldy?"
“It’s okay… I want to go over and see my father.”
The crowd quickly made way, and Wu Shixun pushed Jiang Tinghan to the rich man's body. Everyone offered words of condolence in varying voices: "Please accept our condolences."
Jiang Tinghan immediately raised her hand to cover her mouth, lowered her head, and her long hair covered her entire face, but judging from the trembling of her body, it seemed that she was crying.
She even punched her leg in a fit of emotion, as if she hated herself for being unable to even touch her father.
"Hey, hey, hey, let's sort this out properly. Don't hurt yourself," Yoo Jae-suk quickly stopped him.
"Um, aren't you a detective team?" When Jiang Tinghan looked up again, her eyes were already red, but she still tried to remain calm. "I am now formally entrusting you with the task of finding the murderer who killed my father."
The seemingly delicate girl was biting her lip and straightening her back with strength, which made her even more pitiful.
The detective team is determined to accomplish their mission: "We will definitely help you!"
We'll start by investigating the crime scene.
Yoo Jae-suk: "This is a locked room. I don't know if there are any other keys. One key is on the table and the other is on the floor outside. But we were all outside when the sound came out and we didn't see any suspicious people going in or out."
Lee Kwang-soo: "How did that person just disappear into thin air?"
“A window?” Yoo Jae-suk looked around the narrow and gloomy home theater and found a window. “But it’s too small, like an exhaust fan, no one can fit through.”
Jiang Tinghan then whispered to Wu Shixun for help: "Senior, could you help me push it a little closer?"
Wu Shixun replied softly, "Okay."
Jiang Tinghan reached out and touched the rich man's corpse, then touched the bloodstains on his head without any disgust.
Yoo Jae-suk glanced at Jiang Tinghan, wondering what he was doing now, trying to feel his father's last bit of warmth.
Warmth... temperature...
A thought suddenly struck him, and he immediately asked, "Coldyxi, is your uncle's body still warm?"
Jiang Tinghan: "Detective Liu is indeed worthy of his reputation. I was just about to say that the blood seeping from my father's head was still warm, but very faint. We were only outside for less than ten minutes before we came in. The temperature of a corpse in that time should be almost the same as that of a living person. However, the temperature of his blood and skin was much lower than that of an ordinary person. He had been dead for at least forty minutes to an hour."
Yoo Jae-suk: "Wow... you can even deduce time. May I ask, what is your major...?"
Jiang Tinghan blinked twice: "I'm still a high school student, don't I look like one?"
Yoo Jae-suk: "So alike, so alike. So you went abroad to study when you were a teenager? Your father must be very worried."
But it's okay, Dad won't worry anymore.
Jiang Tinghan: "Yes, because my mother is abroad, and she takes care of me."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Is it in Europe?"
Yoo Jae-suk: "Why are you gossiping so much? People are getting into trouble now, can't you just focus on something?"
Lee Kwang-soo: "Hey, no, are you the only one allowed to ask but I'm not? I'm also gathering clues."
Yoo Jae-suk: "Aish, this sounds more like you're trying to pick someone up."
Jiang Tinghan answered in a very serious tone: "In China."
Although it was very inappropriate, the detective team couldn't help but laugh.
Chinese students studying in China – what a humorous line.
[kkk Although it's really immoral to laugh right after my father's death, I just can't help it. Who wrote the script that made Coldy study in China?]
That certainly won't cause the wealthy man any worry, after all, that's his daughter's original hometown.
[Our Coldy's acting is really good, but is she really okay after that fall? I'm so worried.]
Something must have happened. I saw that Coldy's arm was all red. He shouldn't push himself so hard next time. What if he falls and gets injured?
[It really feels like we've gained another member to our think tank. I always feel very reliable with Coldy around.]
[As always, Daesung and Kwangsoo have a love-hate relationship; they've argued countless times since the beginning.]
So, the whole "rich man arguing with someone" thing was fake? It couldn't possibly have lasted forty minutes, could it?
Sure enough, they soon found the tape recorder. Pressing play brought up the same sound: a voice saying, "Don't make the same mistake again," followed by a "bang."
Yoo Jae-suk looked at Jiang Tinghan: "I think your father should be gone a long time ago. That sound just now was just a timed recording, so the secret room no longer exists."
Jiang Tinghan: "Inside, we can use the spare key to open the door, kill my father, and then go out."
"But only my father knows where the spare key is."
Lee Kwang-soo: "You just found the location of the key based on your knowledge of your father."
Jiang Tinghan widened his eyes slightly, pointed to himself, and said incredulously, "Detective Li, do you suspect me?"
Lee Kwang-soo immediately changed his tune: "Ani, I meant that anyone familiar with your father could be the source of the spare key, like the butler or something."
【Kwang-soo, this is really going too far. Look at the height of the millionaire compared to Coldy. The millionaire isn't a dwarf, how could she possibly hit her head? It's hard to sit in a wheelchair without attracting attention, isn't it?】
[Maybe she's faking it! If she weren't disabled and didn't harbor resentment towards her father, Coldy could very well be the murderer. And if this recording isn't discovered, it would be most advantageous for her, because she has an alibi as she's with the detective team.]
[If that's the case, there's no need for her to point out that the body's temperature was off; even a fool would know it wasn't her.]
Park Min-young: "Shouldn't we go find the housekeeper and the other people staying here?"
Yoo Jae-suk: "That's right, then let's split up and do our own thing."
“Coldy, you’re familiar with this house, so please lead the way to the housekeeper. Kwangsoo, please help Coldy push his wheelchair.”
Lee Kwang-soo: "Huh? Why me? I want to stay here and investigate the crime scene."
Yoo Jae-suk: "You've offended people so many times just now, consider this an apology."
Lee Kwang-soo: "...Okay."
He turned his head and saw that Jiang Tinghan's initial smile was gone, replaced by a cold and aloof expression.
Yoo Jae-suk: "Who else wants to come along?"
The sense of security... is also lacking. Ahn Jae-wook, a very strong detective, joined the team, while Kim Se-jeong and the very smart and reliable Min-young detective stayed behind, along with Yoo Jae-suk, Oh Se-hun, and Kim Jong-min.
Before leaving, Yoo Jae-suk urgently asked Jiang Tinghan another question: "Coldy, do you know why your father comes to the media room? What does he usually watch here?"
Jiang Tinghan: "I think it must be a recording of Ms. Yin Suya's performance."
Shortly after the team left, Yoo Jae-suk found the computer that controlled the central console, but it required a password.
"Ugh... Coldy should have stayed."
Oh Sehun: "Hyung, why don't you give her a call?"
Yoo Jae-suk laughed and said, "Morako? I don't have her phone number... Sigh, it seems I do."
He certainly wouldn't have the phone number of a wealthy businessman's daughter, but he did have Coldy's.
Park Min-young ignored the two people who were sneakily trying to cheat and was seriously searching for clues.
Kim Jong-min was completely clueless when it came to using his brain. While his mind was blank, he squatted down and began to investigate the murder weapon.
The murder weapon was lying on the ground; it was a trophy with the words "Golden Conch" printed on it, and the winner's name was "Yin Suya".
"Oh, this is Yoon So-ah's trophy."
Yoo Jae-suk: "How did Yoon So-ah's trophy end up with the rich man?"
Oh Sehun: "Could it be that you've been collecting Yoon So-ah's belongings all along?"
Yoo Jae-suk: "Is it really just a matter of kindred spirits?"
Park Min-young quickly asked, "Oppa, is there a date on it?"
Kim Jong-min: "Yes... August 9, 2013."
Yoo Jae-suk: "It was just three days ago, ten years ago."
Park Min-young quickly said, "Try this password, maybe it's the computer password."
Yoo Jae-suk entered the password: "An, that's not the password."
We have to start searching again.
Wu Shixun thought for a moment: "Could it be that it was ten years ago today? The date is so close, and the wealthy businessman even held a banquet today."
Yoo Jae-suk: "It's possible that his first words were a tribute to the deceased Ms. Yoon So-ah, which could very well be the anniversary of her death."
He entered the password, and this time it was correct.
Using the anniversary of someone's death as a computer password—is it to remind yourself not to forget that day?
There's a video on my computer; when I click on it, it's a recording of Yoon So-ah's performance. She sang exceptionally well; it's at a national level.
The above shows that it has been viewed more than 7,000 times, which is almost twice a day for the past ten years. This kind of obsessive attitude makes people even more suspicious.
Kim Jong-min: "She has been coming here to watch Yoon So-ah's videos without interruption for ten years. Her obsession is too deep."
Yoo Jae-suk: "But then someone used Yoon So-ah's trophy to kill him."
Oh Sehun: "Hyung, there's still a record here. Delete the record. The time is—fifty minutes ago."
Yoo Jae-suk: "Can you see what was deleted?"
I opened the recycle bin, but it was empty.
Park Min-young: "If it were fifty minutes ago, we would have been delayed here for about ten minutes, or forty minutes, which would have been around the time the rich man died."
Yoo Jae-suk raised his finger and looked at it: "There's blood on the mouse. Did the culprit delete it?"
Unfortunately, the bloodstains are not blood fingerprints, and there are no blood fingerprints on the trophy either. Judging from the marks, this part must have been wiped off.
Oh Sehun: "Hyung, call Coldyxi again to confirm what day it is today."
"Hey Sehun, why are you so interested in Coldyxi's phone number? Do you want it too?"
Oh Sehun quickly denied it: "No, hyung, I just think that instead of guessing here, we should ask someone who knows the truth directly."
"Ah...I see." Yoo Jae-suk wasn't sure if he believed it or not. "Looks like I'll have to make a call."
Something's not right.
[The wealthy businessman used to invite EXO to perform; Coldy might have even watched it from the audience.]
[Don't take this seriously, they even invited Lumera! Is Coldy going to split himself up? Or is he going to invite his twin sister?]
[kkk is probably just creating a show effect.]
[This is hilarious! He called Coldy from Lumera while impersonating Yoo Jae-suk...]
Is the story of falling in love with a murderer from season one going to repeat itself?
[What? Who said Coldy is a murderer? Look at her innocent face, how could you say that?]
[A handsome man and a beautiful woman, they really look like a good match, especially when they were pushing the wheelchair and tugging at each other's sleeves for help.]
She looked so sweet even when being helped into the wheelchair.
[It's just the older brother taking care of his younger sister, after all, Coldy is the youngest among them, and she's only 22 years old.]
This just shows that Sehun is a really good person, so please don't create random pairings between them!
Kwon Ji-yong then turned off the bullet comments, slightly losing his composure.
Damn it, who started this trend of shipping handsome young men and beautiful women as a couple just because they appear in the same frame?
But thinking back on their interaction... they probably exchanged a few words while pushing the wheelchair, and they kept pushing for so long, only a step and the back of the wheelchair between them, which is really close!
And how could everyone go into the room and leave Coldy at the door? His girlfriend fell down. Although Jiang Tinghan fell down on her own, how could Jiang Tinghan be at fault in Quan Zhilong's eyes?
He silently gave Yoo Jae-suk a thumbs up in his heart. It was good that he had separated his girlfriend from this junior. Lee Kwang-soo didn't seem to be a competitor... no, it made him feel more at ease.
Kwon Ji-yong turned on the live chat again and typed, "Don't ship any couples randomly. Our Coldy wouldn't like a man she just met."
Then he was choked up by the screen full of "Oh Sehun is so handsome," and stared at it for a while—
Okay, that's true.
Sigh, one of the consequences of having a young and beautiful girlfriend is that my anxiety about my appearance is getting worse and worse.
After considering it for a few moments, Kwon Ji-yong decided to leave the comments on to cover up his 'love rival's' face.
He thought sourly, "I don't want to watch this side anymore, quickly switch the camera to his Tinghan."
"Oh no!" The production crew seemed to have heard his request and switched to the side where they were splitting up.
Jiang Tinghan took out her phone and was quite surprised to see the caller ID. Could this show really rely on off-site connections?
"Senior Jae-seok... Ah, Detective Liu, have you encountered any difficulties?"
Lee Kwang-soo immediately leaned closer, feigning ignorance, and asked, "How did you get their phone numbers?"
"They probably unlocked my father's phone and found my number," Jiang Tinghan said casually, covering the microphone.
"Today? Vest Vest, it is indeed the tenth anniversary of Miss Yin Suya's death."
"The Golden Conch is an award given by our island to those who make outstanding contributions. Ms. Yoon So-ah has it, and there is another recipient in front of us, Director Choi Myung-woo, who used to work in the theater and created the world-renowned opera 'The Conch Girl'."
"Okay, let's investigate first, then we'll meet up later."
Jiang Tinghan hung up the phone.
Lee Kwang-soo, bored, rocked his wheelchair back and forth a couple of times: "Hey, why didn't you call me?"
Jiang Tinghan: "?"
She turned to look at Lee Kwang-soo: "Detective Lee, this isn't a toy, okay? And why didn't you call me? You should look for the reasons within yourself."
"Oh no!"
Before Lee Kwang-soo could retort, Jiang Tinghan looked at the housekeeper in front of him, as well as the four people cooking army stew and spare ribs on the side.
They are Choi Myung-woo, whom we just mentioned; Lee Jae-in, the tenor who was second only to Yoon So-ah back then; Park Jin-woong, the theater manager at the time and now the gallery owner; and the last woman, Yoon Jung-won, who is Yoon So-ah's sister and is currently an art restorer.
Jiang Tinghan told her father's four close friends in a heavy tone, "My father... was just murdered in the media room on the second floor."
The expressions of the suspects in front of them changed instantly, filled with surprise, confusion, and heart-wrenching pain: "How could this be..."
"This is terrible."
Some people even started crying.
Jiang Tinghan: "These are some very famous detectives. The rain is too heavy right now, and it will take the sheriff time to get here. I have already asked them to investigate first."
Butler Jiang frowned, his face full of worry, and said, "Miss, you look terrible. Why don't you go and rest?"
Jiang Tinghan waved his hand: "It's okay, I can't get a proper rest until we find the murderer."
The detective team began to take action.
Ahn Jae-wook was the first to question, "When did you all get together? What were you doing an hour ago?"
Lee Kwang-soo was also about to slip away when he said to Butler Jiang, "I'm leaving your young lady in your care."
Butler Jiang said, "No, please ask this detective to look after my young lady for me. I need to take the keys to help the detectives upstairs now."
Lee Kwang-soo: "..."
He looked down at Jiang Tinghan and saw that the other was smiling at him.
Oh dear, it's retaliation.
Butler Jiang then asked, "Detective, why is my young lady still wearing her raincoat and hasn't taken it off?"
Lee Kwang-soo: "
Ever since Jiang Tinghan came in, I've been asking her questions non-stop, completely forgetting that she's wearing a transparent raincoat.
"Oh my, your young lady is still so beautiful and charming even when she's wearing a raincoat."
Butler Jiang said confidently, "Of course, there are quite a few talented young men on the island who are pursuing my young lady."
"Aigoo, you can't start dating too early," Lee Kwang-soo said earnestly.
"That's none of your business, Detective Li." Jiang Tinghan had already silently taken off the upper part of her raincoat and reached out to Butler Jiang, gesturing for her to help her up and take off the lower part.
After she took off her raincoat, everyone could clearly see what she was wearing: a typical outfit students would wear when going out to play—a loose, off-the-shoulder T-shirt, denim shorts, and a pair of black leather boots. It was relatively waterproof, so even after being caught in artificial rain, she remained dry.
But there was a long, horrifying scar on his bare leg, as if he had suffered some serious injury.
Faced with such a beautiful woman, Lee Kwang-soo seemed unable to maintain his usual "noisy" persona on variety shows.
I'm dying of laughter! What's wrong with your detective team?! Your service is so poor!
[Exactly! My sister's clothes are completely dry from the rain! She practically dried herself out by hanging them out to dry!]
[But thankfully I was wearing a raincoat, which provided some protection; I only had bruises from the fall but no abrasions.]
[kkkColdy's expression upon seeing the phone call was indeed one of shock.]
[Your outfit looks so youthful! You really look like a high school girl!]
[Such fair skin...such long legs! Who wouldn't stare? But that's where the secret lies, isn't it? The legs of disabled people atrophy from lack of exercise.]
[After all, Coldy isn't actually disabled, so there's nothing we can do; they've already used special effects makeup to fix it.]
[She's not wearing a skirt to cover her scars, is she doing this on purpose so the detective team can see them? Does it prove she's really injured?]
Butler Jiang left first, carrying a raincoat.
The four friends didn't speak up so easily. Sometimes they said, "Maybe it was half an hour ago?" and other times they said, "It seems like we've been eating for an hour and a half."
Several wine glasses were placed in front of him. Jiang Tinghan glanced at them only once and said, "Let's ask Miss Yin Jingyuan."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Why?"
“Look at the wine glasses in front of you. The wine in everyone else’s glasses has been reduced by a lot, but the wine in Miss Jingyuan’s glass is still near the rim.”
Lee Kwang-soo: "Well, maybe they poured a new cup."
Jiang Tinghan: "The rims of the other people's glasses were wet, but Miss Jingyuan's was clean. There was also a glass of lemon water that was about half-drunk next to her, which clearly showed that she only drank lemon water and did not drink alcohol."
"Aren't you detectives?" Jiang Tinghan crossed his arms and questioned, "Shouldn't you have noticed this simple detail much earlier than I did?"
Lee Kwang-soo scratched his head: "Ani, we're not that type of detectives."
[Hahaha, these are the famously goofy detectives; sometimes they can be a little careless.]
Our detective team is the type to directly question the murderer: "Did you kill him?"
Kwang-soo, you've really found a powerful patron! You could have just had Coldy help you solve the case.
[A high-IQ detective in a wheelchair, hehehe, I like it even more... A dream come true for those who love the sick and weak!]
[If there were no script, Coldy would really be observing all the time; he's always the first to spot the details!]
[Actually, this arrangement is quite good. With the daughter of this acquaintance present, these uncles and aunts should be more likely to speak. After all, there are only dead people over there, and you can't let the dead speak.]
[I think the author arranged it this way to prevent Coldy from constantly facing his father's corpse; it's quite gentle.]
[Thumbs up! He's truly a master of high emotional intelligence! (Thumbs up!)]
Lee Kwang-soo arrived in front of Yoon Jung-won as Coldy had instructed, but now that he felt a bit more responsible, he brought Jiang Ting-han along as well.
"Ms. Yin, when did you all get together? Do you remember the exact time?"
Yoon Jung-won hadn't said a word, but she didn't answer Lee Kwang-soo's question either: "Sigh, I've been really troubled lately..."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Is there anything we can help you with?"
"That day, I was strolling around outside Dior when I suddenly saw a very fashionable woman. She had a faint fragrance of bergamot, rose and peony on her, which smelled sweet. She was wearing a peach and bean paste lipstick with a grayish-orange tone. Ah... I really want to have that too."
Yin Jingyuan opened her phone and showed several pictures of perfumes and lipsticks, asking, "Can you help me find the one I want?"
Lee Kwang-soo couldn't help but complain, "My friend died, and yet there are still..."
Yin Jingyuan's expression changed instantly, revealing a hint of contempt and disdain: "This is a good thing, of course we should celebrate."
Lee Kwang-soo: "!"
Wasn't that her who was just crying?
"So it was tears of joy." Jiang Tinghan muttered.
Lee Kwang-soo glanced back at Jiang Tinghan and sensed something was amiss.
She was not angry at seeing people so indifferent to her father's death, even clapping and cheering.
Could it be... that both women are acting geniuses?!
He felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.
Lee Kwang-soo hurriedly approached Kim Se-jeong, the only one left on the scene: "Se-jeong, Se-jeong, I need your help, it all looks the same."
He repeated Yoon Jung-won's request again, and Kim Se-jeong began to study it. After a while, he pointed to the answer: "It's this perfume—and this lipstick, right?"
Yin Jingyuan crossed her legs, striking a pose of ease: "I don't think so."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Not a single one is correct?"
Yin Jingyuan simply smiled.
Lee Kwang-soo immediately retorted, "Ani, if that's the case, you must know the correct answer, so why are you asking us?"
Yin Jingyuan looked completely innocent: "I don't know."
Kim Se-jeong: "It seems like we can only use the process of elimination, Oppa, but I think the lipstick should be this one, Velvet 772."
Yin Jingyuan nodded slightly.
"Oh right, Sejeong, daebak!" Lee Kwang-soo scratched his head impatiently, "Then all that's left is perfume."
"this!"
"no."
"this?"
"no."
"Wow, there are so many perfumes!"
Jiang Tinghan's voice drifted over softly: "Detective Li, find Dior's Blooming Bouquet."
Lee Kwang-soo flipped through the picture several times: "No, there are no words, I can't find them."
"Then give me your phone."
Jiang Tinghan took the phone from Li Guangzhu: "Isn't this it? Blooming Bouquet."
Lee Kwang-soo said matter-of-factly, "It's in English, how could I possibly understand it?"
Yoon Jung-won: "Ah...it seems to be one of these two. I'll look for it when I get back."
What do you want to know?
“We want to know—” Lee Kwang-soo was interrupted by Jiang Tinghan before he could finish speaking, “Why didn’t you even say thank you after I solved the problem?”
Lee Kwang-soo could only turn his head and praise, "Thank you, the great Miss Coldy, you are the smartest woman in the world. You have helped us so much along the way, isn't that enough?"
Jiang Tinghan's expression was very strained: "More or less."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Next time I'll write you a 500-word thank-you letter, Ms. Coldy."
Jiang Tinghan rested his elbow on the armrest of his wheelchair, propping his chin up with his hand: "Too long to read."
Hahaha, the interaction between these two is really funny!
[It feels like these guys don't even need to solve a case to have enough screen time together.]
Coldy is really amazing, he found the perfume right away!
[KKK's perfume is quite popular; maybe Coldy has used it.]
Kwon Ji-yong, who gifted Jiang Tinghan Dior Blooming Bouquet and Velvet 772, kept his good deeds hidden.
But why does this interaction look so jarring?
All male creatures around Coldy, except for Haha and iye, should be exterminated.
Yoon Jung-won finally revealed the news: "We gathered here at 9:30. I arrived the earliest. At 9:30, I was the only one there. Then it was Myung-woo oppa, Jin-woong oppa, and Jae-in oppa. We arrived about two minutes apart."
Based on the time estimate, the wealthy man's time of death should be between 9:15 and 9:35. It would take about three minutes to run from the audiovisual room at the end of the second floor to this place. If he killed someone at 9:15, he would have plenty of time to get here.
The three detectives exchanged glances, so all four of them were potential suspects.
"What about the butler? Has the butler always been here?"
Yin Jingyuan: "The housekeeper must have arrived a long time ago. When I arrived, the dishes were already prepared. This braised pork ribs was freshly made and still piping hot. The flavor was just right."
Jiang Tinghan casually remarked, "Ah...it smells delicious. Such delicious braised pork ribs would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes to make. Hot pork ribs are the best."
If Yoon Jung-won is right, then the housekeeper should be here by 9:15 at the latest.
"That way, the housekeeper can be cleared of suspicion."
"Ms. Yin Jingyuan, if I may ask, why do you dislike the rich man so much? Did he do something to you?"
Yoon Jung-won: "Damn it... It's all because this person is like a pervert collecting my sister's belongings. We, the real family members, can't keep much of it."
"This person used to chase after my sister everywhere, and I didn't expect him to still be like this even after he died." Yin Jingyuan's expression was full of disgust, and she didn't care at all that the rich man's daughter was right there.
Ahn Jae-wook: "Then why did you become friends with him? Only his close friends would stay here overnight."
Looking at the several drunken men around her, who were now even more distressed by the death of the wealthy man, Yin Jingyuan moved away somewhat unhappily: "It's all about money, money."
“His gallery was owned by a wealthy businessman who had collected many items. I was a restorer, so the businessman hired me and paid me a good fee.”
Their shared interests bound them tightly together.
The detectives immediately began to whisper among themselves: "It seems that Park Jin-woong and Yoon Jung-won have a weak motive for murder. Can they still make money after the wealthy businessman dies?"
"Simply stealing my sister's belongings shouldn't warrant murder, right?"
"But her habit of not drinking is similar to her sister's, so maybe they have a very good relationship? If something particularly valuable is taken away from her, she might very well kill it."
"Let's ask again."
Yin Jingyuan took another sip of water and, through the glass, saw the deep, unfathomable gaze of the quiet girl reflected on the water's surface.
She put down her water glass, stared intently at Jiang Tinghan, and then quickly looked away as if she had been burned.
Those deep black eyes seemed to see right through her heart and expose her lies.
The three men were completely drunk. The three detectives overcame several obstacles to find a hangover cure and fed it to them, but they could only wait for them to wake up.
The others pressed Yin Jingyuan further, asking, "Is there anything else unusual?"
Yin Jingyuan thought for a moment: "It seems... before I came out of the room, I heard the sound of high heels on the ground outside the door."
"High heels?!" Everyone immediately got goosebumps.
“Miss Jingyuan, you were in your room. The housekeeper was wearing flat shoes. At that time, you were still at the dock. How could there be... the sound of high heels?” Jin Shizheng’s voice trembled slightly, and he couldn’t help but swallow.
"Could it be some other sound, and you've misheard it?"
Yin Jingyuan shook her head: "No, I wear high heels every day, I'm very familiar with the sound of them."
“My sister also loves high heels; she has a whole shoe cabinet full of them.”
Ahn Jae-wook: "They shouldn't be with the businessman right now, right?"
Yin Jingyuan: "No, they're not here."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed they hadn't gone that far.
Jiang Tinghan still smiled, but it looked rather forced.
Please stop hurting our Coldy.
The detective team that best understands corpse-whipping has arrived!
What kind of question is this?!
[But if Yoon So-ah also likes high heels... could it be... Yoon So-ah's ghost?]
[Yes, Coldy said it, right? Some people say that Yoon So-ah's ghost still lingers in the theater.]
No, this is getting a little scary!
I'm terrified of ghosts and stuff like that, please don't let them appear...
The detective team also considered this.
"So it might be... your sister's ghost?"
Yoon Jung-won: "Who knows? I called out 'Unnie' but no one answered. When I opened the door, there was no one there."
The detective team chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe..."
Of course no one would answer; only ghosts would, right?
Jiang Tinghan: "Let's investigate everyone's rooms first; maybe we can find some clues."
One person per room, just right, but there just happened to be one person with mobility issues.
Jiang Tinghan said proactively, "It's okay, I can investigate myself."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Ah, if you can't even reach things on high places, how can you check them carefully? Let me help you take charge of two rooms."
They split up again and entered Park Woong-jin's room. Most of the items were the same as they were originally placed there, with not much information.
But Jiang Tinghan found a petition under the bed sheet.
"The rental price for collectible paintings is significantly higher than the market price. Could you lower the price?"
"The first two discussions didn't go very well, but this time I'm here with the sincerity of a long-term partnership, regarding profit sharing..."
The two of them quickly understood that the wealthy businessman wasn't providing Park Woong-jin with the paintings for free; he was charging a fee, and at a price significantly higher than the market value, which meant Park Woong-jin was earning less. They had already discussed this issue at least twice.
What if it happened in the home theater, making it the third time? Did they have a falling out, and in a fit of anger, he killed the wealthy businessman?
Because the petition still lacks the wealthy businessman's signature, and where his signature should have been, the word "Shiba" is now written.
Lee Kwang-soo suddenly realized: "He has a grudge against your father because they didn't share the spoils equally."
Lee Kwang-soo covered his mouth again under Jiang Tinghan's indifferent gaze.
Are you polite?
Lee Kwang-soo - A person with negative emotional intelligence
Where did Kwang-soo get into trouble again today?
[Where did kkk say it was stolen money? Why are they bringing up the issue of unequal distribution of the spoils?]
[Can someone count how many times Coldy gave Kwang-soo a speechless look?]
[They've been making hellish jokes the whole time.]
They searched the room for a while longer and found the shredded paper.
Lee Kwang-soo pieced the shredded paper back together: "...'The Song of the Sea' (Ba-da-eui No-rae)?"
"Ah, is that the 'Requiem for the Sea' written by Yin Suya? Does he know where the sheet music is?"
Jiang Tinghan spread the papers out on the table, glanced at them a few times, rotated one of the papers 180 degrees, and then put them back together to form a new word.
"Yes, it's 'Era's Wrath' (E-ra-eui Bun-no)."
"I feel like I've heard that somewhere before. Oh, it was mentioned in the petition just now. This painting is particularly expensive." Lee Kwang-soo, who had misspelled the word, gave an awkward laugh.
They started searching online and found out the origin of the painting.
"Stolen from a European museum in 1987?! It really was stolen goods! I wasn't wrong." Lee Kwang-soo sounded like he had won a battle.
“This painting was provided by my father, who is a famous philanthropist. If it is exhibited and its origin is found to be questionable, it may damage my father’s reputation.” Jiang Tinghan began to speculate, “Perhaps my father arranged for him to come and take back the painting.”
"On the other hand, people don't know that the real owner of this painting is my father. They only think it belongs to Mr. Park Jin-woong, the owner of the gallery. He may also have discovered that there was something wrong with the painting and thought that my father wanted to ruin his reputation in this way."
Lee Kwang-soo said with certainty, "That's him."
But when they entered Cui Mingyu's room, the hatred deepened!
They found a heart-shaped pocket watch that looked very old. When opened, it revealed an intimate photo of Cui Mingyu and a woman.
Jiang Tinghan pointed at the woman: "This is Miss Yin Suya."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Ah, the opera director used to be in a relationship with Yoon So-ah?!"
"It could also be a crime of passion."
Lee Kwang-soo pressed further, "Do you know what your father's attitude is towards Miss Yoon So-ah? Is it just admiration? Or is there some other kind of feeling?"
Jiang Tinghan's eyes flickered slightly: "It should be like those famous paintings, it's about wanting to obtain them and then treasuring them."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Wow, that's really weird."
Jiang Tinghan nodded: "Agreed."
Lee Kwang-soo became suspicious: "? Aren't you the one who loves your father the most?"
Jiang Tinghan calmly said, "But I didn't know these things before. I know my father likes Miss Yin Suya very much, but my parents divorced when I was one or two years old. I support my father in pursuing happiness, but I didn't expect that Miss Yin Suya already has a lover."
[Ms. Coldy, with very sound values]
[That's terrible, after investigating all this today, Coldy is completely disillusioned with her dad.]
[It's alright, it's normal for businessmen to be a little profit-driven, and besides, he might not even know that Yoon So-ah has a lover.]
[Coldy: I've investigated and found a bunch of bad evidence against my dad, what should I do!]
Jiang Tinghan noticed that the curve of the photo was not right, and scratched the edge of the pocket watch with his hand.
Lee Kwang-soo: "What are you doing! I understand how you feel, but you can't destroy evidence to vent your anger."
Jiang Tinghan had already skillfully ignored him, cut out the photo, and sure enough, there was something underneath.
They were two tickets folded together, very thin, basically just a thin film with words printed on the surface. One belonged to Yoon So-ah, and the other to Choi Myung-woo.
Lee Kwang-soo apologized instantly: "My dear, I was blind."
The ferry ticket was for ten years ago today, at 10:30 pm, when I left Hotwind Island for the mainland.
“10:30…Logically speaking, this should already be the time for the victory celebration banquet,” Jiang Tinghan said.
"Miss Yin Suya attended the celebration banquet but did not board the ship. Instead, she fell to her death afterward."
Lee Kwang-soo also started to think, and a crucial clue came to mind: "Who hosted the celebration banquet? Was it your father?"
“Yes.” Jiang Tinghan nodded.
Lee Kwang-soo slapped his palm: "Then it's very likely that in Choi Myung-woo's eyes, Yoon So-ah chose the wealthy businessman instead of him. Originally, they were supposed to leave the island together, but she didn't go. Instead, she attended the celebration party after the performance."
What was the exact time of Yoon So-ah's fatal fall?
Jiang Tinghan: "Around eleven o'clock."
Lee Kwang-soo: "That's perfectly fine. You said it only takes twenty minutes to get here from the pier, even if you're driving in the rain and getting stuck in the mud. The actual time will be even shorter, enough for Choi Myung-woo to arrive at the celebration banquet after the boarding time has passed and make a move on Yoon So-ah."
[Kwang-soo shines!]
[Unbelievable! Kwang-soo actually has a knack for reasoning!]
【That makes perfect sense! And considering that Cui Mingyu is still just a friend to the tycoon, he's quite good at hiding his true feelings. People who are usually reserved on the outside are ruthless on the inside, and he might very well have killed his girlfriend at the time.】
[His motive for murder was also very strong. Don't forget that today's banquet hosted by the wealthy businessman was to commemorate the deceased Yoon So-ah. It may have triggered his painful memories, leading him to commit the murder.]
[My rival openly declared in front of me that he wanted to toast my ex-girlfriend—that's pure provocation!]
Coldy is such a helpful tip-taker; he even gave hints about the cooking time for the pork ribs before.
"It's not impossible."
Jiang Tinghan flipped the ticket to the back and read the code: "When the bells of Act III toll for the death of the swan, the stage will no longer need a false king. When the lights go out, it will be your eternal curtain call."
Lee Kwang-soo: "A curtain call, that means you're going to kill someone, right?"
Jiang Tinghan: "In the opera 'Black Swan,' the third act is the tragic climax of the heroine's murder. The 'bell' is a very important sound effect in this opera, representing the start of the murder."
Lee Kwang-soo: "It was this bastard who did it."
"But the false king—does that refer to himself? Is Miss Yoon So-ah's affection for him fake?"
“In Black Swan, the king is the murderer of the female protagonist. The fake king might mean that he didn’t kill her, but the female protagonist’s death is closely related to him.” Jiang Tinghan lowered his eyes. “It should be my father.”
"And the lights go out—the lights in the audience are turned off when watching a performance in a theater, and the lights are also turned off when watching a video in the video room."
Lee Kwang-soo: "That's right, when we went in, there was only very dim lighting."
"I need to call Jae-seok right away, it's a major discovery! We think we've identified the culprit!"
[Ahhh, as expected, we need Coldy's highlight to deduce so much information from such a small clue.]
Thankfully, Coldy showed up. He's really amazing; he deciphered the code of "Black Swan" in no time.
[While it makes sense, there's no evidence, only a coded message.]
So handsome!
"Ugh, this place is so creepy." Lee Kwang-soo looked up at the dark curtains and the pet incubator. Inside wasn't any normal pet; it was a huge spider that gave him goosebumps.
His hands trembled as he took out the phone.
Fortunately, it says "non-toxic" in the upper right corner.
"Beep beep—Hello? Jae-seok hyung."
"What? There's a sensor under the spare key that recorded how many times it was taken, and only once? Doesn't that mean no one but us has used the spare key?"
"Is this really a locked room?"
"The housekeeper also said there's no spare key... Ah..."
Jiang Tinghan originally wanted to snatch the phone from Li Guangzhu, but she was too weak to do so. She could only shout, "Is it possible that after using the key, it was put back on the table from outside the door using fishing line or tape?"
Lee Kwang-soo glanced at her and repeated her words.
Kwangsoo was scolded by Yoo Jae-suk on the other end of the phone: "Kwangsoo, I can hear you, okay?"
"It can't be done by such means. We've searched everywhere and haven't found any fishing line. Even if the fishing line was recovered, there would definitely be residue. Besides, we've tested it. This home theater is very deep. It would be very difficult to put the key on the table from the door."
"So we prefer to believe there is a secret passage."
"The rooms on the same floor are deeper than the audiovisual room. We haven't found the entrance yet. If there is a secret passage, I think it will connect to your rooms. Please help us look for it."
Lee Kwang-soo put the phone on speakerphone and placed it between the two of them to ensure they could both hear.
Lee Kwang-soo then went on to recount their findings.
Yoo Jae-suk: "Arasso, Sehun and I will come down right away and catch the murderer for questioning."
The call ended.
"Secret passage? Where is the secret passage?" Lee Kwang-soo started pacing around again.
Jiang Tinghan silently raised his hand: "I think I know. There are handprints on that glass tank, and dust on the lid, but not on the open part. It must be opened frequently."
"Detective Li, why don't you go take a look?"
"Should I go?" Lee Kwang-soo pointed to his nose, screaming in terror just from getting close to the large, hairy spider.
"Aaaaaah—!!!"
He was sweating profusely and carefully opened the lid, then examined it closely.
"Yes, there is a key here, but it's right below the spider."
It was obviously impossible for Lee Kwang-soo to pick it up by hand, and the glass tank was too heavy to move, so he could only use a tool to hook it out. But every time the spider moved, he would let go, and he couldn't hook it out even after a thousand attempts.
Jiang Tinghan sighed: "Pick me up, I'll go get it."
Lee Kwang-soo: "Great idea!"
Coldy wishes medical miracles would just spring up on the spot.
[I understand now, this disability setting is to get Coldy banned.]
What a useless man!
[Remember, it was Min-young and Se-jeong who retrieved the snake before.]
[But to be honest, I'm scared too. Coldy isn't afraid of giant spiders?]
What a brave woman! She's got maximum girlfriend potential!
[Coldy is already quite frail in a wheelchair, but Kwangsoo looks so scared he's practically trembling on her lap. How can someone who's 1.9 meters tall be even more frail?]
Why reward him? He's not allowed to lie down!
[Aaaaaah, no hugging allowed either! Who gave permission...? Thank goodness it was Kwang-soo.]
After Jiang Tinghan was picked up, he easily grabbed the key and also picked up the spider, which startled Lee Kwang-soo so much that he almost threw her out. He hurriedly put Jiang Tinghan back into the wheelchair.
Jiang Tinghan deliberately handed over the large spider and stroked its furry legs like petting a dog: "It's so cute, it feels so good. It will be sad if you don't like it."
"Damn it, stay away from me." Lee Kwang-soo hid ten meters away, almost touching the doorway.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Lee Kwang-soo quickly opened it to see Yoo Jae-suk and Oh Se-hun.
Lee Kwang-soo looked puzzled: "Hyung, aren't you guys going to find Choi Myung-woo?"
Yoo Jae-suk explained, "They're gone. All four of them have disappeared. Right now, Wook-hyung, Jong-min, and Se-jeong are looking for them, while Min-young is searching for clues in the lobby."
"Do you have any clues about the secret passage?"
“Yes, we’ve found what might be the key to the secret passage, but we haven’t found the passage yet,” Lee Kwang-soo said, turning around.
But Jiang Tinghan has disappeared!
The spider was still crawling in the glass tank, but a piece of the floor was missing, revealing an empty, dark entrance underneath.
The three of them looked around the entrance for a while, then suddenly laughed: "This just happens to be a slope."
"The wheelchair has actually become a vehicle."
"Wow, that must be able to drive really fast."
The three decided to go down and find out.
You guys are making me laugh so hard!
【What are you doing……】
[That's some really sharp criticism!]
No, it's too dangerous to act alone now. We need to find Coldy quickly.
[Yes, the killer is still wandering around here, and all the suspects have disappeared. We need to find them quickly!]
[And the spirit of Yoon So-ah...]
Is this a haunted house?
Wait a minute, it's still pouring rain, making travel very difficult, and the entire island is off-limits to non-private aircraft and ships... Isn't this like a locked-room mystery? It's kind of like it.
Following the pattern of a locked-room mystery, it's unlikely that only one person will die.
The three of them went down the secret passage, using their cell phone flashlights for illumination. They followed the path, making several turns until they reached the end. They then unlocked the door, which indeed led to the audio-visual room. The entrance to the secret passage required moving the entire display screen.
The evidence is irrefutable; Cui Mingyu is the murderer.
But—where are the Coldy people?
There were only wheelchair marks on the floor where the wheelchair had entered, not exited, and if Coldy had opened the door, there was no reason for him to lock it again and make them unlock it once more.
Wu Shixun: "Is there another secret passage down there?"
"Very likely!"
They returned to the secret passage and began a more thorough search.
"Bang!" Another loud thunderclap sounded outside, and pale lightning shone into the living room. The woman's face was pale, and her hands were covered in blood.
A man was clutching his bleeding chest, where a sharp fruit knife was stuck.
Two nearby men were horrified and furious: "Michuso? Jingyuan, are you crazy?!"
At this moment, the butler and Detective Team A found the reception room in front of the stage and witnessed Yoon Jung-won stabbing Choi Myung-woo.
"Bang!" Another muffled thunderclap sounded, and a second later, the reception room was illuminated again for a brief moment.
Yoo Jae-suk and his three-man B team pushed the door open again and appeared on the second floor of the theater!
If you look down, you'll see a freshly made murder case.
They walked a few steps forward and reached the second-floor terrace. In that brief moment of brightness, they saw that there were people on the terrace!
The rain was so heavy that it obscured the view. The terrace was open-air and also affected by the rain, but you could still vaguely make out a person sitting there.
It was pitch black again, and I couldn't see anything.
But then, everyone in the theater could hear a clear thud as the car hit the ground.
The clock struck eleven o'clock precisely. Ten years ago, Yoon So-ah fell to her death from the terrace. Ten years later, someone else fell from the terrace.
"Wait a minute, the only people sitting here are..."
"Could it be Coldy?!"
Forget about Yoon Jung-won who had just committed murder, the detective team quickly ran out of the theater and arrived directly below the terrace at Lee Kwang-soo's shout.
Landing on the back of the head, even from the second floor, there was no chance of survival. Black hair spread out on the ground like a spider web, resembling some kind of sacrifice.
This is indeed Coldy's real body, and it looks exactly the same.
[Why would a guest get into trouble?]
[No way, it's logged off like that? But there's still so much progress left on the progress bar!]
[Ahhh, this is getting interesting, so exciting... I just finished solving two cases, and two new ones have come in. The workload is huge!]
Something's not right. Everyone's indoors. Coldy couldn't have been pushed, could he? Was it suicide? Or is it really a ghost?
[The terrace has a railing, how could she have committed suicide? She was probably pushed off.]
[Besides, in a suicide attempt over such a short distance, it's unlikely to land on the back of the head; it should be face down, right?]
No, nobody told me I was watching a variety show and my unnie died.
I got goosebumps. This is really scary. Could it be... that there's another person who's never been here before, watching all of this?
The detective team was really overwhelmed.
They found a soaked suicide note on the body, and after painstakingly pieced it back together, they discovered that its gist was—
I used to want to be a track and field athlete, but a car accident ruined everything. Now my beloved father is dead, and countless people are mocking him. What's the point of living? My father and the people he loved are now in the underworld. I'll go find them too.
“Hey, sir…” Yoo Jae-suk rolled up a piece of paper evidence and punched Lee Kwang-soo on the head: “You’ve been offending people every day, you’re driving them to their doom.”
Lee Kwang-soo no longer felt the urge to argue, and felt a deep sense of guilt: "Sigh... I don't know either..."
Another person appeared in the media room.
After a few keystrokes on the computer, the large screen transformed into a surveillance camera, monitoring every move in the reception room.
She crossed her legs, propped her face up with her hand, and looked at everyone in the picture with great interest.
Under the light, his black hair was still as black as ink, but the scars on his legs had been rubbed off by the action of picking him up.
This is also Coldy.
Because she doesn't have a name of her own.
The wealthy businessman's daughters are twins. One can run freely in the sunshine, while the other is confined, from their former residence to this theater.
Because she couldn't keep Yoon So-ah.
Ten years ago, a wealthy businessman asked her to become Yoon So-ya's apprentice. Ms. Yoon So-ya did treat her very well, like a second mother. However, she decided not to stay on the island and wanted to leave for a bigger stage.
So after Yoon So-ah's death, the wealthy businessman transferred his hatred to her, keeping her locked up as if she were Yoon So-ah, kept by his side.
"Ella's Wrath" tells the story of a nobleman who treats his two daughters differently. Ella is pampered, while the other suffers greatly. Influenced by the nobleman, Ella also begins to boss her sister around and treat her like a monster. In the end, the tormented younger sister kills both the nobleman and her older sister.
However, since there was only one young lady in the public eye, and the other was kept hidden from the world and unknown to others, the younger sister naturally inherited all the property and became Ella.
This is Ella's anger.
If the detectives had examined the businessman's body more closely, they would have discovered two impact marks on his head. Coldy later used this secret passage from the theater to the movie room to deliver the final blow to the businessman.
I originally wanted to see the ugly state of the rich businessman after his death, but I didn't expect Cui Mingyu to be so useless.
She'll have to do it herself.
There are still many more mysteries... It's not interesting to talk about it from the killer's perspective, so let the detective team solve them themselves.
whee.
Coldy was in a good mood; the smile on her lips was no longer a gentle one, but a smile as if the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining through.
She looked at the wealthy businessman's corpse lying flat beside her, and her expression immediately brightened.
Today is a really good day.
Today is a really bad day.
Kwon Ji-yong was almost driven crazy by watching just one episode of a variety show. He was staring intently at Lee Kwang-soo when he picked up Jiang Ting-han, and he really wanted to rush into the screen and snatch his girlfriend back.
A princess carry is one thing, but why is there a death scene too?
The show's producers even played "Always You" as background music at this point, promoting Coldy in a rather gruesome way.
—Damn it!
Get out of here!!!
-----------------------
Author's Note: Although the filming of "Prayer" didn't happen, the death scene of "herself" was filmed on a variety show kkk Xiao Kou's acting skills were phenomenal!
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