6

6

Li Zitong repeatedly called her brother, but unsurprisingly, his phone was always turned off. According to others in the props team, Li Tianci had just vanished after the security team had removed the fake "Dawn Star" from the scene and cleared the security checkpoints, leaving behind a pile of uncollected props. Upon learning that the suspect was the director's brother, the head of the security team immediately called the police.

Everyone involved in the production, myself included, was asked to report to the police station to cooperate with the investigation. I was forced to stay in Wuxi for three more days. It felt like anything connected to Li Zitong would inevitably lead to catastrophic trouble. The next week, when I returned to work, I felt like I was in another world.

My colleagues acted as usual, as busy as they did every Monday. After all, they knew nothing about my situation. The general manager, however, was flustered and, without a word, dragged me into his office.

He slammed the door shut and asked nervously, "Is the Dawn Star really lost? Is there any hope of finding it?"

"It depends on the police's ability," I shrugged. "Boss, you're quite well-informed."

"I received a call from Polka Jewelry the day before yesterday. They urgently canceled the exhibition and also the sponsorship of the film."

"The contract has been signed, and they just stop it? Are they worried about negative news?"

"They said it's temporarily postponed, and as for when it will resume, it depends on what the higher-ups say... From what he implied, it seems it's all over. The main attraction of the exhibition is 'Dawn Star,' and now the higher-ups are backing out."

"But think about it another way. Isn't this a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the hype? Priceless jewels are lost, and it's exactly like the plot of a movie. The media will definitely be buzzing around it like flies, sniffing and licking it. Maybe it'll even become the number one trending topic. No amount of marketing money can achieve this kind of publicity."

"Of course I understand what you're saying," the general manager waved his hand irritably. "I've also conveyed similar sentiments to Polka. But they have traditional industry thinking and are afraid of creating negative publicity and losing more than they gain. 'Dawn Star' is custom jewelry, and after the exhibition, they're going to sell it to the royal family in Dubai. This is their first attempt at this high-end route, and they don't want news of a failure to get out."

"But it would be a shame to give up halfway. Can you discuss it with them? I'll come up with an upgraded demonstration plan..."

"Forget it. The marketing department over there is probably already overwhelmed with dealing with reporters and the heated public opinion, and they don't have the energy to deal with anything else. Let's wait a few days and see how things develop." The general manager looked like he had bitten into a rotten apple. "What they're most worried about right now is the film. The investment is over half gone. If the director gets implicated in the case and has to be replaced mid-production, the film will most likely be a disaster."

"That's true."

"You've been to the scene, so you know better than any of us. Do you think the female director is truly a criminal suspect? If the film can continue, there's hope for our exhibition."

Li Zitong wasn't that kind of person, but of course he couldn't say that out loud.

"I don't think so. Apart from anything else, everyone can see that she has a promising future as a rising director, and the Avenue of Stars is glittering before her eyes. This high-budget film is the key to her transition to commercial success. Is it worth taking this risk?"

"But I heard that it's basically confirmed that the thief was her younger brother."

"Yes, that's true. Many people on the crew have pointed out that the person stealing things in the surveillance video is her brother, and the video comparison results are consistent. According to the progress, a warrant should be issued...but it has nothing to do with her. What era is this? Are they going to punish relatives by association?"

"Don't be so naive, okay? The media doesn't need to talk about evidence. I heard that the suspect is usually idle and only got into the crew because of his sister's connections. He was forced into it. With such a big incident, it will be difficult for the female director to deny her involvement."

“…”

There was a knock on the door, and the general manager said, "Come in." The door opened, and the receptionist poked her head in.

"Mr. Chen, someone is looking for you. They say they are a reporter from Metropolis Express," she said.

The general manager frowned and said, "Just say I'm not here and find a way to get rid of them."

The receptionist responded and left. The general manager turned around and sighed to me, "Speak of the devil, these guys have found us."

"Just close the door and don't see anyone?"

"Believe me, this is the best option. Reporters are all the same. They'll swarm in when they smell blood. And they're all experts at digging out inside information. Once they've got their hands on it, they won't let go. When it comes to their livelihoods, they don't care about privacy or propriety."

My mind conjured up a picture of a small boat in the turquoise ocean, surrounded by sharks. The general manager looked deeply annoyed, and I couldn't help but ask, "Sounds like you've been hurt in this area before?"

"It happened when I was young. My parents arranged my first job after graduation. I was in charge of external services at a state-owned enterprise. One day, the media came to visit us on an undercover investigation... Never mind, I won't go into details. Anyway, it caused a big mess."

Before I could react to his experience, the receptionist came back and said, "That reporter is so persistent and won't leave. He said the general manager is not here and Manager Su from the Account Department will work."

The general manager's frown deepened. "Just say he's not here. Find a clear reason to kick him out."

The receptionist bit her lip, clearly confused about how to carry out the order. But she had to find a way to carry out the general manager's direct order, so she mumbled a vague "hmm" and left.

"It seems that the opponent is well prepared." I sighed.

The general manager nodded in agreement. "They've even figured out who's in charge of the project. This isn't just some gossip-filled story. I don't think they'll let this go."

"So, what should we do?"

"Just hide for two days. I'm going out of town to meet a client tomorrow, so you can work from home for a few days too."

I hadn't had a vacation for a long time, so I agreed immediately.

When I was leaving the office, he stopped me again and said, "By the way, remember to use the freight elevator at the back when you leave work next time."

I worked from home for three or four days as the general manager suggested. However, I discovered that all the work in my group was stuck, so I had no choice but to rush back to work, working overtime until 9 p.m. that night.

I was so exhausted by the time I clocked in that I completely forgot about the instructions to take the freight elevator. I took the passenger elevator to the first-floor lobby and was about to swipe my card to exit the turnstile when someone grabbed my elbow.

He was about twenty centimeters shorter than me, thin, but sporting a manly beard and a striking scar that ran like a canal from the corner of his mouth to his ear. Beneath his black-framed glasses, his narrow eyes, like slits cut with a scalpel, gleamed with a nervous glint.

"Manager Su, right? I'm a reporter from Metropolis Express and I want to talk to you." He said calmly.

"I'm busy."

"It won't take up too much of your time," the man said, his tone barely registering, but his eyes were sharp. "Let's talk over a drink. It's my treat."

I had a premonition of panic, feeling that if I talked for a while longer, he would play me in his hands. "I'm really busy today. I have to work overtime when I get home. Let's do it another day."

"Understood. Are you driving or taking public transportation? I'll go with you, and we can just chat on the way."

"I already said I'm busy, so please stop bothering me, okay?" I raised my voice, and the building's security guard came over quickly.

The man released his hand, a sincere expression on his face. "It's perfectly normal for you to distrust strangers you just met for the first time. But let me be frank: do you want to clear Miss Li Zitong of suspicion?"

"What did you say?" I was startled.

"Trust me, I have clues that can lead to the truth, but I need you to provide relevant testimony. How about a drink together?"

I nodded. "Forget about the alcohol. There's a pretty quiet tea restaurant next door."

The security guard approached us, saw we were calm, and shook his head before walking away. Although I was worried something might go wrong during the conversation, I couldn't help but feel curious, especially after hearing Li Zitong's name. I certainly hoped she was safe.

Besides, my legs are on my body. If we don’t agree, I can just leave.

The tea restaurant was about to close. The waiter yawned with one hand covering his mouth and threw down the menu with the other. The man took the initiative to order two American coffees.

"By the way, let me introduce myself first." The man took out his business card:

Metropolis Express·Yang Chunhui·Editor and Reporter

I subconsciously wanted to take my business card out of courtesy, but then I retracted my hand. There was no need to expose myself, and he must have known this information already.

"Let me make it clear first. Although I am the person in charge of the cooperative project, the project has only been established for a month, and I know very little about the case." I laid it bare in advance to explain the limitations of my information.

"Of course, just answer based on what you know."

I nodded and the waiter brought the coffee.

"So, first question, are you and Miss Li lovers, or are you in an ambiguous relationship?"

These reporters used the same format as news reports, following the inverted pyramid principle, dropping a bombshell right from the start. I was floored, coughing for a long time before managing to utter, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

He looked at me with a forced smile and said, "Don't be impatient, take your time."

"I only have business dealings with her," I managed to recover. "That's all."

"Really? But you've known each other since childhood. Has your relationship not developed at all over the years?"

I gasped, "Where did you hear that?"

He spread his hands. "Ms. Li is now a prime suspect, and you happened to be alone with her in the restaurant at the time of the incident, acting in an ambiguous manner. There's no way the police wouldn't investigate your relationship thoroughly."

"That's an internal police matter. How did you, the media, know about it?"

"Don't be so surprised. We who do this job always have our own network of connections and intelligence." He sipped his coffee, but his eyes were still tracking the changes in my expression, like a vigilant nocturnal rodent.

I put down my coffee cup and grabbed my briefcase. "Let's talk about this for now. I have to catch the last bus."

He grabbed my arm again and said, "It's not even ten o'clock yet. We agreed to talk for ten minutes."

"Just now I thought it was a business interview. Your question now is a clear invasion of privacy."

"Okay, calm down. I asked too directly. How about changing to a less sensitive topic?"

"You've been hiding so much from me. I don't want to be played like that anymore." I asked, shifting gears. "If you want to continue this conversation, answer me a question first. What intelligence do you have that could clear Li Zitong of suspicion?"

Yang Chunhui didn't answer immediately. He took a sip of coffee, repeatedly demonstrating his ease. "Okay, I'll give you a great deal. Tell you the truth. 102, Building 3, Shishizi Hutong, Zhonglou District, Chengguan City. You should be familiar with this address, right?"

My heart trembled. I had delivered hundreds of letters to that address before. "I think I've heard of it before."

"The police were searching for the suspects in the jewelry theft, and naturally they found the Li siblings' home," he said, lowering his voice slightly so only I could hear. "The gate was locked, and the neighbors said no one had lived there for a while. But when they got a locksmith to open the door, they were shocked: a skeleton was lying inside."

I was so surprised that I even forgot to breathe.

"Bone bones were scattered on the bedroom floor, covered in a men's jacket and jeans, and the general shape of a human body could still be discerned. A broken brown rope was tied to the cervical vertebrae. Another rope was hanging from a hook on the roof. After examination, the fracture surfaces of the two brown ropes matched, indicating that they had broken naturally after being subjected to external forces for a long time."

"In other words, the body was originally hanging in the room, but after a long time, the rope broke and it fell to the ground."

"A reasonable guess," he praised.

"Hanging—was it suicide?"

"Somewhat. The house shows no signs of being broken into from outside, and all the doors and windows are in good condition. Only one person's fingerprints were detected on the floor, the table, and the hemp rope at the entire scene. Also, a signed suicide note was found in the drawer, and the handwriting analysis matched that person's."

At this point, he reached for his coffee cup, but stopped himself. "Oh, it's better not to have anything to eat when talking about this kind of topic."

Even though I knew he was putting on an act, I couldn't help but ask, "Who is that person?"

"Li Tianci."

"ha?"

"The identification results are written in black and white."

"You're kidding! That's impossible," I said in a trembling voice. "It takes at least a year for a corpse to become skeletonized, and yet Li Tianci appeared on a movie set just last week."

"As expected of a police officer's son, he has a wealth of criminal investigation knowledge. As you said, it takes over a year for a body to become skeletons. However, there are exceptions. The police found traces of a large rat's nest deep in the kitchen closet. Based on the footprints and feces, it seems there were hundreds of rats living there at its peak. But they eventually moved away because they couldn't find food."

"Wait, you mean..." I covered my mouth involuntarily and almost vomited.

"Yes, the body was eaten, except for the bones." He put down his coffee cup. "When people were still living in the house, the rats naturally found leftovers. When there were no more living people, there were still corpses to eat. Once they had eaten all the corpses, they really had to move. And human hair was indeed found in the rat feces."

Although it was disgusting, his words also answered another question of mine - why didn't the neighbors call the police after smelling the strong stench of the corpse, because the easily corruptible flesh and tissue had already been eaten away.

"But doesn't the hemp rope break naturally? It takes quite a while, doesn't it?"

"You're right. Even if it was eaten by animals, leaving it in this completely weathered state, it must have been dead for at least four or five months. Based on comprehensive analysis, the final time of death is estimated to be around six months."

"Isn't it still the same? Doesn't the time still conflict with the recording on the set?" I couldn't understand.

"Don't jump to conclusions. How about thinking about it from another angle? The fingerprints and suicide note at the scene all point to the identity of the deceased. If there is other evidence that can lock the body into Li Tianci, wouldn't Miss Li be cleared of suspicion?"

This statement couldn't be clearer, and I immediately understood. If the deceased was indeed Li Tianci, then the person who stole the "Dawn Star" must be someone else, and Li Zitong had no connection to it anymore.

"If we want to confirm the identity of the body, wouldn't it be better to just test the DNA of the remains?"

"If it were an ordinary person, they would have done this long ago. The problem is Li Tianci. Does he really have any living relatives?"

"Um..." Li Zitong and her brother are not related by blood. Since she always spoke of her brother in such a loving tone when she was little, I usually didn't realize this.

As for Li Tianci's parents, where are they buried now? Regardless, DNA testing on their ashes is impossible.

"So, your testimony is crucial right now." Yang Chunhui picked up a coffee stirrer and pointed it at me like a musician directing a soloist. "I want to know everything about Li Tianci: his height, weight, lifestyle, speech patterns... any detail is important. The police are tightly holding onto this intelligence. If you can write a detailed and convincing report right now, showing Li Tianci's life from his pampered birth to his tragic suicide, while also proving he had nothing to do with the jewelry theft, it will surely cause a sensation. Our newspaper will make money, and you'll have helped Miss Li Zitong. It's a win-win situation."

I shook my head. "It's a shame I can't provide any decent information. I know almost nothing about Li Tianci. I've met him once or twice, and all I know is that he's Li Zitong's younger brother."

"You've known Li Zitong for so long, and she's never told you about her brother?"

"You may have misunderstood. The relationship between her and me is not what you imagined."

He straightened up and said, "Hey, I've been frank with you. We've come this far. There's no need to be so formal."

"I'm not lying," I explained. "Although she and I can be considered childhood sweethearts, we haven't been in touch in years. Meeting her this time was purely coincidental, thanks to our business partnership at Polka. We were both surprised when we recognized each other. If you don't believe me, you can use your resources to check it out."

He pursed his lips and stared at me for a long moment, as if finally convinced. He placed the coffee spoon back on the saucer. There was an unnatural, loud clatter. "What a waste of time..."

I didn't know what to say. He pulled down his jacket sleeve to check the time. The square dial of his Panerai watch was very rugged, forming a sharp contrast with his slender wrist.

He pointed to the business card on the table and said, "Anyway, if you have any new discoveries, feel free to call them and we can exchange information."

Without waiting for my reply, he stood up and left. I pondered the information I had heard so far for a long time, and suddenly realized something - he hadn't paid for the coffee I had agreed to buy.

Despite his suspicious demeanor, reporter Hu seemed to be telling the truth. The next day, news arrived from Polka Jewelry that the police had confirmed the suspect had impersonated someone else to infiltrate the set, and the entire crew had been cleared of any suspicion.

Meanwhile, the media finally grasped the full extent of the "Dawn Star" theft and began reporting extensively. As advertising professionals like me and the general manager had anticipated, this bizarre incident immediately became a hot topic online. Meanwhile, negative news about "female director Li Zitong" began to spread. Not only was her involvement in the jewelry theft reported, but also her past, her past, and the mysterious deaths of her parents over a decade prior.

Back then, information dissemination channels were far less developed than they are today, and with a decade having passed, many people were hearing about the "Videotape Curse Murder Case" for the first time. Suddenly, discussions of the two cases, both old and new, overlapped, generating intense debate. The link between the two cases—Li Zitong's name—was at the center of the public outcry. Most people shared my question: Why was she constantly implicated in these cases? Many social media accounts jumped on the bandwagon, creating sensational headlines that implied that Li Zitong was the true culprit behind these crimes.

However, as if overnight, public opinion reversed 180 degrees.

Since Li Zitong is a rising star and a representative of feminism, she has a group of steadfast fans who have continued to speak out for her online since the incident. As her tragic life story became public, more and more people sympathized with her and marveled at her self-made achievements.

Sensing the shifting tide, the media immediately pivoted. The self-media outlets that had been desperately digging up dirt on Li Zitong yesterday, like a collective amnesiac, began praising her filmmaking artistry and weaving touching and inspiring anecdotes from her upbringing. It seemed as if overnight, whether you turned on your phone, computer, or TV, close-ups of Li Zitong would pop up in every corner. She became a household name, a living, breathing "dawn star."

"Pocar has informed us that the exhibition will still be held, and additional investment will be made to expand the scale." Early Monday morning, the general manager called me to his office and announced happily.

I expected this, I thought to myself.

"You do look a bit surprised. But it's true." The general manager held his neck with his hands and moved it back and forth, like a lizard searching for food. "So, here's the question. Have you written a specific plan for collaborating with the film?"

This turn was really unexpected.

"I'm writing it," I mumbled. "I've been really busy lately. There's no definite news from Polka yet, so I don't think there's any need to rush."

"That won't do. We can't wait until the client brings it up before we do anything. If we don't take the initiative, it will be too late. Write out the plan quickly. I'll go talk to them next week to determine the specific amount of additional investment." He said seriously.

You clearly said there was no rush to work on the project, and it was you who told me to rush off to other tasks. I cursed inwardly but reluctantly agreed.

Time was running out, and I threw myself into my work once again. I imagine Li Zitong felt the same way. The news reports clearly indicated that filming had already resumed, and she was, of course, the head director. I imagine she's just as busy as I am right now, too busy to focus on anything else. I secretly wished her the best of luck. Such a significant figure had emerged from among my childhood friends.

But I didn't expect to receive a call from Li Zitong that night.

She asked me if I would be her boyfriend.

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