Chapter 29 Why not eat meat?
The scene of the Oxfam charity gala.
He opens the door and gets out of the car, fastens his clothes with one hand, greets people with a smile, and even a shutter brighter than a flash bomb cannot move him. Li Xiaogou has developed the necessary skills to be a traffic star.
Having experienced such situations so many times, he became somewhat numb, like a clockwork doll, waving its arms mechanically in every direction.
Standing behind him were Jiang Mu, Mo Shang and Wang Bo.
As they appeared, the shutters flashed faster - because they were all dressed quite...sexily today.
Except for Li Xiaogou who wore a pure white suit and looked like a boring but decent prince charming, the other three people each had their own merits.
Mo Shang was wearing a black waist-hugging suit with gold thread trimming. He had no buttons on the suit and only relied on a belt to tighten his waist. He wore gold-rimmed glasses on one side, looking like an elegant ancient aristocrat.
Jiang Mu was also dressed in white, but the collar of his suit had a huge V-neck that extended all the way to his abdominal muscles. Even though he tried to cover it with a scarf, it only made it more obvious.
This was already the limit of what they could do, and Li Xiaogou had to spend a lot of time persuading them to put on their clothes.
It was much easier when it was Wang Bo's turn. I just pointed out the words "flirtatious, eye-catching", and he came up with his tail wagging.
The fancy hollow leopard print design, if paired with the popular wheat-colored skin, can create a wild and hormonal look, which is also the look in Wang Bo's dreams.
But Wang Bo has a feminine appearance, with long golden hair, delicate features and wild clothes. He looks androgynous and not greasy at all. Instead, he looks like a decent man who has shyly gone astray, which makes him even more attractive.
The three of them are new faces in the entertainment industry. It is common in this circle to rely on exaggerated looks to attract attention. What's more, they are indeed pleasing to the eye. Many reporters were dazzled and couldn't help taking a few more photos.
The red carpet host called their names for the second time, and the reporters in the photo area reluctantly let them go.
The host was a newcomer from this year's talent show. He had no hosting experience and was very green when asking questions.
"Everyone knows you don't often appear in the public eye, but when you do, it's usually for something big to happen. Could you tell me why you chose to participate in our Oxfam charity gala?"
Oxfam is a print media group that owns a series of men's and women's magazines, including two first-line magazine brands, "Oxfam Women's Magazine" and "Oxfam Men". The Oxfam Charity Gala is a charity event derived from this.
Print media is not what it used to be, but the fashion industry does not easily lower its own standards and is still picky about the celebrities who appear on the cover to maintain the magazine's own style.
Those who can attend the charity gala are big names who have collaborated or are about to collaborate with the magazine.
Yunlou used some unknown means to help Li Xiaogou get the opportunity to shoot the cover within the year, which is why he was invited to participate in this charity gala.
It was really just for the vinegar that I made some dumplings.
Li Xiaogou tilted his head and replied, "Maybe something big will happen today."
The host looked at Li Xiaogou with his lips open, not knowing how to respond.
Bro, that's not what the script says! Whenever something happens where you appear, it's not a good thing!
Li Xiaogou smiled at his tearful face, turned around and walked down the red carpet.
Saying "maybe" is already a cover-up - something big is bound to happen today.
The reason why I decided to attend this charity dinner was because of the gossip I heard from Cheng Man.
After leaving Cheng Man's house, Li Xiaogou confirmed that his sixth intuition was correct - Cheng Man's good sister and the puppeteer were the same person.
A person's face may change, but the habits that have followed him for many years are not easily changed.
A good sister will also twitch her fingers subconsciously when her emotions are fluctuating violently.
So, he used his ability to associate and eat melons, and found out that the puppeteer did a lot of things under the identity of the good sister, for example, he slept with many men and women in the entertainment industry.
At present, the related melon eater can only eat the melons of the first-level related people. He had to write down the list of all the people that the good sister had slept with and told Mo Shang everything.
Mo Shang sat cross-legged on the sofa, his fingertips almost rubbing sparks on the keyboard.
He actually discovered some hidden facts - many people who had been involved with his good sister are no longer around.
Jumping off a building, cutting wrists, and drowning in a river while driving drunk—a long and shocking list of ways to die, if you put them together, you could summon a dragon.
"All the dead people have one thing in common." Mo Shang swallowed his saliva, "This good sister killed men but not women."
"So you slept with someone and didn't want to take responsibility, so you just killed them?" Wang Bo was shocked. "It's better to be single to stay safe."
"Not really. My good sister didn't just sleep with men. She also had many female companions. She must be bisexual." Mo Shang said as he looked at the collected information.
Li Xiaogou listened quietly and asked, "Have these men ever done anything bad?"
Mo Shang: "I'll look for it."
The information that can be found on the Internet is always limited. Among these people, only a few have had their reputations ruined after their debut, and the ways of ruining their reputations are all kinds of strange. There was also an obscure singer from a talent show who actually acted as his own fan club. In the end, he cheated fans out of money for peripheral products. When the fans opened the box, they found that it was actually the singer himself.
It's also a strange story.
But the deeper Mo Shang dug, the more he discovered something was wrong.
The remaining men whose houses were not broken down either had criminal records or had dropped out of school, and all of them had been gangsters.
"When she was with Cheng Man, her fingers twitched when they talked about several people. I realized that this was a habit she would have when she was excited, or when she had murderous intentions."
Mo Shang: "Which people?"
Li Xiaogou gave Mo Shang three names.
I don't know what algorithm Mo Shang used, but he quickly came to the conclusion that there was a 79% probability that the puppeteer's next target would be Jing Hongwen, the organizer of the Oxfam Charity Gala.
That's why they're here.
The charity gala was sponsored by a popular car company. Several people posed for photos around a cool sports car, and following them, several other groups of people walked onto the red carpet.
Mo Shang curled his lips. "It's supposedly a charity gala for out-of-school children, but it's so extravagant. Just now, when you were interviewing, we heard an artist assistant bragging about receiving two awards and having three outfits prepared for the red carpet. The cost of clothing alone is over a million yuan."
Wang Bo joked, "It's not good to be so young and hate the rich."
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Jiang Mu changed the subject: "Let's just have this set of clothes?"
He really can't wear anything bigger than this.
Li Xiaogou understood his intentions immediately and said with a mischievous smile, "Don't worry, you're a feast for the eyes with just this set of tricks. A puppeteer will most likely take the bait if they see you."
Jiang Mu's face immediately turned red, all the way to his ears.
After taking photos, enter the venue.
The charity gala was decorated in pure white tones, and at first glance it looked a bit like a wedding scene.
Each artist handed over their donations to the organizer before participating, and the items were later auctioned during the evening.
Perhaps to maintain their image, or perhaps because they believed deep down that such auctions did not require the participation of fans, the charity gala did not cooperate with any live streaming platform.
However, as soon as Li Xiaogou entered the venue, he saw reporters with work badges around their necks moving among the crowd, taking a few photos of the venue every two steps.
I guess these are the special correspondents invited by the organizers.
Li Xiaogou's film has been completed, and although it has not yet been released, he is considered a newcomer in the film industry who has worked with famous directors. Judging from his seat at the scene, his status seems to have risen a bit, and he sat at a round table on the side of the second row.
Because it was a dinner party, the lights in the hall were not very bright. A group of well-dressed people were seated together. The yellow light and shadow of the electronic candles fell on their faces, making everyone's outline more distinct. It had a built-in filter effect, and the atmosphere really felt like a wealthy cocktail party.
As soon as he sat down, Li Xiaogou greeted the three people and left his seat while the light was dim.
He wants to meet Jing Hongwen.
Wang Bo and Mo Shang both attended the wedding of Cheng Man and Jiang Cheng. Although the scale of the wedding was not so large, they had seen big scenes before, so they were not that nervous.
Only Jiang Mu looked awkward even when sitting.
His cheeks were red from the light of the electric candle, and his hands were clutching the leaky parts of his clothes. He looked like a chaste and virtuous man, and his whole body exuded the smell of wanting to say something but not being able to.
Wang Bo laughed at him: "What if the puppeteer likes this?"
Jiang Mu blinked in confusion: "Which one?"
He was so innocent that Wang Bo felt embarrassed to tease him.
As the two talked about kung fu, the seats in the venue were gradually filled up and the big screen gradually lit up.
The waiter served everyone their meals.
The white bamboo shoots are rolled into a circle with white cheese in the middle and topped with blueberry jam, which is sweet but not greasy.
Wang Bo had a circle of white beard from eating, and muttered nonsense like "It's too stingy to finish it in one bite".
At this moment, the big screen stopped the meaningless picture splicing and started playing the video.
According to the host, this was the first time that the Oxfam team visited the donated areas in person and filmed such a documentary with their own DV.
The opening shot is very bumpy, and the picture slowly turns from a piece of yellow earth to a woman with a silk scarf wrapped around her face and wearing sunglasses.
"This scarf is from H, it costs more than 20,000 yuan. Her sunglasses are from MG, and her diamond-studded ones cost more than 10,000 yuan." Wang Bo whispered to the two people beside him.
The woman's voice was told through the camera, occasionally interspersed with coughs caused by choking on dust.
They took a flight for more than three hours, and then took a bus for more than five hours without any rest. They thought they had reached their destination, but they didn't know that they still had to take a long tractor ride to reach the mountainous area where their donations would be received.
As it grew darker, the woman began to worry about whether the donations they had brought would be delivered safely.
Then, the scene shifted to the next day.
A group of people walked out of the cement tile house, all wearing new clothes, and the woman finally revealed her true identity. It turned out that she was May, the editor-in-chief of Oxfam.
May took the camera and filmed the house where they stayed last night. There was no cement floor here, only mud. There was no faucet in the room, and they used buckets of water to wash. The water in the buckets was also carried by the locals from a well two or three miles away.
May did not show any dissatisfaction in front of the camera. On the contrary, she praised the school for its hospitality to them and for giving them the best rooms.
After briefly showing them the difficult conditions they had faced last night, she quickly got to the point. They were going to hold a donation ceremony here today, with outstanding student representatives and school officials in attendance.
What follows is a lengthy paragraph in which everyone on the Oxfam team laments the lack of aesthetic education here.
Wang Bo was already drowsy when May said the first word.
Jiang Mu frowned in confusion.
Mo Shang guessed what they were going to do, but his deliberately suppressed expression still revealed his hidden anger.
After the meaningless confession, there is a donation ceremony from a third-person perspective.
Mo Shang's face completely sank. He was not wrong. These people came all the way to the mountains and donated some "artworks" to the children in their expectant eyes.
"No matter if they are rich or poor, everyone has the right to pursue beauty! We hope that the exhibits we brought here can serve as an aesthetic enlightenment for the children. If one or two of them can become great artists in the future, we will be proud of it." May held the microphone and gave an impassioned speech in the yellow sand. The hem of her flowery skirt swayed in the wind, and the fair and delicate skin of her arm exposed at the cuff formed a sharp contrast with the chapped and sallow faces of the children behind her.
The children faced the sun, unable to open their eyes. They were told to stand upright, so they put their hands close to their trouser seams and kept their backs straight. Only when they reached out to take the donations did they carefully wipe them on their trouser legs.
Their hands were dirty and covered with dust, but the things these kind people gave them were white and had strange shapes, which could be easily broken if they were not careful.
They were afraid of getting it dirty or damaged, and their whole bodies were tense when they smiled at the camera.
"Although it's well-intentioned, why pursue aesthetics when you can't even get enough to eat?" Even someone as mild-mannered as Jiang Mu couldn't stand it anymore.
Wang Bo was awakened by Jiang Mu's voice and shuddered. After seeing what was playing on the screen, he snorted in disdain and asked, "Do you know why they sent these?"
After saying that, without waiting for anyone to answer, he continued, "Because these handicrafts are all handmade."
Jiang Mu: "Handmade? You can tell from that?"
"Look, each of them has a different shape in their hands. They're not made in a factory with plastic wrap, but are made by hand."
Jiang Mu was puzzled: "Handmade ones have higher artistic value?"
Wang Bo smiled. "Maybe. You can't measure art with a ruler. But there's one thing that handmade products definitely have that's higher than those made on the assembly line: the price."
"No matter what it is, if you add labor, it will be several times more expensive."
"And the prices of these handmade works are often set by the artists themselves, so the waters involved are unfathomable."
Jiang Mu understood halfway through listening.
There are often bizarre news in the newspapers, that is, a little-known painting is auctioned for a sky-high price, and all kinds of critics come to comment on its artistic content. But the truth is, it is just a transaction of pen laundering/money. Neither the buyer nor the seller understands painting, they just want to launder money into the country legally.
Donations are one of the means of tax avoidance in China. If there is room for fluctuation in the prices of these artworks, there is an 80% chance that someone is receiving kickbacks.
At the end of the documentary, the children rode a tractor to the city and had a meal of fried chicken under the guidance of the Oxfam team.
They gnawed on the chicken legs and finally a bright smile appeared on their faces.
I thought this "Why not eat meat" video had come to an end, but I didn't expect that at the very end there was a long list of aesthetic appreciation from the editor-in-chief May, and she also introduced an oil painting she created during her trip to the mountains.
This painting carries the beautiful memories between her and her children. Being a beautiful and kind-hearted person, she decided to donate the painting for auction on this important occasion today.
There was warm applause from the audience.
Wang Bo, Jiang Mu and Mo Shang sat there without moving, standing out among the crowd.
Jiang Mu sighed deeply, "People like this have been out of touch with the people for too long and have lost touch with reality."
"I think it's just pure arrogance," Mo Shang scoffed. "Aesthetics? How can she define beauty? In the eyes of children, isn't the vibrant green of the fields beautiful? Isn't the smile of a hardworking relative beautiful? Are the only fragile exhibits they bring that are beautiful?"
"This kind of beauty is too narrow."
Jiang Mu and Wang Bo looked at Mo Shang in surprise. They were not against his point of view, but were surprised that he was so emotional.
Mo Shang's special ability is related to data processing. Most of the time he is calm and restrained. His performance just now was the most emotional moment Mo Shang had shown since they met.
Thinking that Mo Shang worked several jobs and must have come from a poor family, the two were about to say a few words of comfort when suddenly there was applause behind them.
By then, the documentary had already ended and the auction had begun. The applause was a bit abrupt and attracted a lot of curious glances.
Jiang Mu and the others couldn't help but look behind them.
The boy standing behind them and clapping his hands was a baby-faced boy. When he saw them turn around, he smiled with his eyebrows curved, and his smile was very friendly.
He dragged his stool in between Jiang Mu and Wang Bo, looking directly at Mo Shang. His eyes were full of admiration as he said, "I completely agree with what you just said. These people just look down on the people there from the bottom of their hearts, thinking that they don't know what beauty and ugliness are."
Wang Bo glanced at Jiang Mu, who nodded slightly.
This operation was special, and Yunlou tacitly allowed Li Xiaogou and Jiang Mu to use their superpowers indiscriminately.
They had made an agreement before coming, and Jiang Mu's nod meant "this person is fine."
He had just listened to the boy's inner thoughts, and he really did despise May and the others in his heart.
Wang Bo felt relieved and asked curiously, "What's your name, little brother?"
"My name is Lan An." The boy smiled.
"Brother Lan An, you're so confident. It seems you know something about this?"
Lan An looked around and saw that everyone's attention was focused on the auction items. He nodded and said, "When the short film was filmed, I was at Oxfam and went with them."
They came here to catch the puppeteer and collect clues. Upon hearing this, they looked at each other and moved closer.
Jiang Mu: "I heard that this trip is very lucrative, so only high-ranking officials can go."
"Apart from me, everyone else does hold some official position. The editor-in-chief and Mr. Jing are both there, but think about it, if they're all general managers, who's going to take care of them along the way? So the team still brought a few people who can do the work, and I'm one of them."
Wang Bo patted the boy's shoulder and said, "You've worked hard, brother. They must be difficult to serve, right?"
The boy's expression changed, as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back and said, "Neither of you is easy to get along with. I overheard what you said and know that you all have very positive values. Let me remind you, please don't take pictures of that painting."
After saying this, the boy left with an excuse.
He was obviously hiding something, but what he didn't know was that the harmless-looking man sitting next to him was actually a mind reader.
After he left, Jiang Mu said with a gloomy face: "These people are more filthy than we thought, especially that Jing Hongwen."
"Lan An just now secretly complained in his heart that Jing Hongwen was a perverted pedophile. He saw Jing Hongwen secretly filming children in the bathroom."
"He also heard with his own ears that Jing Hongwen gave May the names of several children and ordered her to find a way to legally adopt at least one of them."
"People like this deserve to be skinned alive."
Jiang Mu's words made Mo Shang raise his eyebrows in surprise: "It seems that it's not just me, you're also affected by the emotions."
Jiang Mu was slightly stunned, and was surprised when he realized what he had said, but he did not regret saying such a thing.
"Maybe it was influenced by what Lan An said in his heart, but I also agree. Pedophiles are the ones who deserve to die the most."
Mo Shang: "If we really want him dead, it's very simple. If we were a little slower, he would definitely die at the hands of the puppeteer."
"Hey." Wang Bo interrupted their conversation. "Wake up, the judge is Li Xiaogou's character, not yours. Don't have any dangerous thoughts. I'm watching you."
Meeting Wang Bozheng's evil eyes, they were stunned for a moment and then laughed.
The thought just now was really dangerous.
Jiang Mu glanced at the crowd and could no longer find any trace of Li Xiaogou. "I wonder if he found Jing Hongwen."
The other side.
After asking a few people, Li Xiaogou successfully found where Jing Hongwen was staying.
He made up an excuse that there was a problem with the donated items, and the Oxfam staff gave him the room number.
A man who could attract Cheng Man's interest would naturally be good in all aspects. At the age of thirty-something, he had already become the CEO of a first-line fashion magazine group, with an elegant temperament and handsome appearance.
The first sight of it can make people feel like they are bathed in spring breeze - if Li Xiaogou didn't have the melon-eating system.
The staff had obviously informed them in advance that Li Xiaogou was coming, and Jing Hongwen did not look surprised when he opened the door.
"I just checked the list. You donated a jade ring?" Jing Hongwen asked with a smile on his face. "I wonder what problem this jade ring points to?"
The donated items were prepared by Yunlou. Anyone who knew the Yun family at all wouldn't think Yunlou would give out fakes, so Li Xiaogou remained calm. He said calmly, "Maybe I was too anxious and said the wrong thing. I didn't mean there was something wrong with the jade ring itself, but that there was a mistake when filling out the form."
The list of donated items must be filled in in advance with key information such as the name, texture, origin and price of the item.
During the conversation, Jing Hongwen had already found the list. After looking at it, he handed it to Li Xiaogou: "What do you want to change?"
"price."
Jing Hongwen's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal. He spoke in a gentle yet firm tone, "The charity gala has been held for so many years. Although it's free donations, there are some unwritten rules. If you want to replace a donated item, the value cannot be lower than the previous one."
What he meant was that if the price was lowered, he would have to make up the difference.
Li Xiaogou's pen stopped an inch above the white paper. He looked up suddenly and said in surprise, "I didn't know this rule."
Then, he quickly added, "If the item I donate is more expensive, will Oxfam give me an extra reward?"
After saying that, he added another zero after the 20,000 yuan he donated.
"It's changed. One person is missing." He wrinkled his nose, looking very artificial.
Although Li Xiaogou is quite popular now, he has not taken on any business opportunities, has not appeared in many films, and has not been seen doing live broadcasts to sell goods. The donation of 20,000 yuan is very consistent with his worth.
When the number was suddenly changed to 200,000, Jing Hongwen became a little suspicious.
"Wait a moment, the price has suddenly changed. We need to appraise it to avoid any unpleasantness during the auction."
"Of course." Li Xiaogou smiled.
Jing Hongwen went to call someone to identify it, and the smile on Li Xiaogou's face immediately disappeared.
The first second he saw Jing Hongwen, he started eating Jing Hongwen's melon.
Beneath this gentle and elegant mask are countless crimes.
Secretly photographing minors already carries the lightest sentence.
Not long ago, a girl who had just turned 20 committed suicide because of his pua.
He forcefully intervened in the girl's life as a guide when she was a minor. The girl's family was not happy and she lacked a sense of security, so Jing Hongwen took advantage of her.
But after the girl gave her whole heart to him, he quickly lost interest in her because she grew up.
But he knew that the girl grew up in such a difficult environment and had a character as strong as cattail.
So he was hot and cold, belittled her, suppressed her, and used mental control. Only after successfully destroying her defenses did he finally abandon her.
The girl who lost everything embarked on the path of committing suicide. Until she left, she still did not recognize Jing Hongwen's true face.
The best thing for such a person is to fall from this building, face down and smash to pieces, leaving no intact body.
Li Xiaogou looked at Jing Hongwen's back on the balcony, his mind full of endless imagination.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He suddenly stood up and shouted to Jing Hongwen.
Jing Hongwen turned around and pointed him in the direction.
Li Xiaogou hurried into the bathroom.
The cold water poured on his face, stimulating him so much that he shivered all over.
It also gradually calmed his boiling brain.
He did it and took action.
He left Jing Hongwen's room.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Every moment he was away, Jing Hongwen might be being tortured by the puppeteer, or even losing his life.
go back?
Jing Hongwen deserves to die.
Not going back?
If Jing Hongwen died at the hands of the puppeteer, he might even gain some sympathy, just like Jiang Cheng.
When I realized it, my feet were already walking back.
Many men have died at the hands of puppeteers, but few have their deeds known to the public.
If Jing Hongwen died here today, everything he had ever done might be taken to hell with him, and the dead girl also deserves an apology and the truth.
Li Xiaogou put his hand on the door handle and without exerting any force, the door creaked open automatically.
However, Jing Hongwen was no longer in the room.
The door wasn't closed, the sofa was knocked askew, could it be that the puppeteer had already taken action?!
Suddenly, there was a noisy sound coming from the room at the end of the corridor.
Li Xiaogou rushed over immediately.
He pushed through the crowd and took in the scene in the room, his blood freezing in an instant.
A person was hanging on the lamp, with his head and neck at an angle of almost ninety degrees, and his body swaying slowly in the air.
Li Xiaogou stared at the corpse in a daze until it turned to face him.
Not Jing Hongwen.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Jing Hongwen dispersed the gathered people, and when he looked up and saw the corpse in the room, he was so scared that he staggered two steps and rarely lost his composure.
"Wenkang? Wenkang! What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get Wenkang down! You, call an ambulance!"
Everyone seemed to come alive and started to get busy under Jing Hongwen's command.
At this time, someone called the police.
But before he could finish his words, Jing Hongwen interrupted him.
His face turned pale. “The party is about to start. We can’t let the police stop it now.”
As he spoke, he finally saw Li Xiaogou in the corner. His face froze, but he still walked up to Li Xiaogou and comforted him softly: "I'm sorry this happened. Did it scare you?"
"This gala is the result of the hard work of many people. Please keep it a secret for now. As compensation, I can promise you a September cover next year."
September is the golden month and October is the silver month, and the September cover is the most important.
"Okay." Li Xiaogou agreed.
He looked at Jing Hongwen's face and suddenly guessed the way the puppeteer had designed for his death.
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