Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou returned to Police Station, summarized all the current clues, and reorganized them according to the timeline.
On October 29th, Lin Yiyan celebrated her 30th birthday. A large number of celebrities in the entertainment industry sent their blessings, and Yu Hanjiang wrote down all of their names in a small notebook.
On November 7th, Lin Yiyan successfully wrapped up filming for the period drama "Red Dust," starring her as the female lead. In the following days, Lin Yiyan gave numerous interviews to the media and also participated in the recording of a variety show on November 10th.
On November 11, the puppy that Lin Yiyan and Qi Ming bought together ten years ago passed away.
On November 13, Binzhou City welcomed its first heavy snowfall of the winter, and the temperature in the entire city plummeted.
On November 15th, Lin Yiyan had lunch with the director and producer of "Red Dust" at noon, went back to sleep in the afternoon, and went to a restaurant at 7:30 pm to have dinner with the magazine's editor-in-chief. After receiving a WeChat message at 8:30 pm, she left and returned to her single apartment.
On November 16th, at 1:30 AM on the day of the incident, Lin Yiyan changed her clothes and drove her black sedan, license plate number 502, to Moon Lake Villa Estate. Around 2:00 AM, she met up with Cheng Yu, and they entered the villa one after the other. Qi Ming was already waiting in the villa area and caught Lin and Cheng in their affair. At 3:00 AM, Cheng Yu drove away. Qi Ming entered the villa and argued with Lin Yiyan, then left in a taxi at 3:40 AM. At 4:00 AM, Lin Yiyan's car was driven out of the villa area.
The period from 3:40 to 4:00 is completely blank, with no witnesses or physical evidence, and this is the focus of the next investigation.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou arrived at Binzhou City Film City that afternoon.
The film studio is located in the suburbs, and several film crews are shooting there at the same time. Yu Hanjiang did not want to amplify the public opinion for the time being, so he and Xiao Lou dressed casually and drove a private car to the " Twin Flowers " film set.
Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and today the entire crew was exceptionally busy. The arrival of Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou, two unfamiliar faces, didn't attract much attention. Yu Hanjiang spotted Lao Mo in the crowd immediately. Mo Xuemin was gesturing with several colleagues about setting up the set. Upon seeing Yu Hanjiang, Lao Mo's eyes lit up, and he immediately handed over his work to his colleagues and hurried over.
Yu Hanjiang greeted him: "How's things going with the film crew?"
Old Mo lowered his voice: "After Xiao Liu came over, he told us that Captain Yu and Professor Xiao are investigating the first case, and asked everyone to be patient. In the past few days, Long Sen, Teacher Qu, Xiao Liu, and I have become familiar with the entire crew, and so far there have been no unexpected incidents."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: " Where's Cheng Yu?"
Old Mo gestured with his chin, pointed to a photography studio in the distance, and said, "We'll start filming tomorrow, and we'll be taking the costume photos today."
Xiao Lou asked curiously, "Have all the main actors arrived?"
Old Mo said, "They've already joined the crew."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Shi exchanged a glance and walked towards the photography studio together.
Several security guards were maintaining order at the studio, making it difficult for strangers to approach. However, upon seeing Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou, Liu Qiao cleverly ran over and whispered, " Captain Yu, you've finally arrived! How did the first case go?"
Yu Hanjiang calmly said, "We identified two suspects, and then cleared them of suspicion."
Liu Qiao and Lao Mo: "..."
It might sound like a futile effort, but that's how solving a case works. First, you need to identify a few suspects, then carefully investigate and eliminate them, and finally, the remaining one can be identified as the real culprit. Captain Yu and Professor Xiao are quick enough; they've already eliminated two suspects, which clearly means they've found a lot of clues.
Xiao Lou asked, " Has Cheng Yu been acting strangely these past two days?"
Liu Qiao said, "He has a bad temper and is spoiled. He argues with the manager every day. I heard him argue with the manager five times in the past two days. The manager is very patient. She treats him almost like raising a son." She paused and said, "However, I think that although he has a bad temper, he doesn't have any bad intentions. He's just a bit willful. One second he's arguing with the manager, and the next second he's peeling oranges for the manager. He has that childlike personality."
Xiao Lou could imagine it and said, "It's normal for rich kids to be a little willful since they're spoiled by their families. Have you mentioned Lin Yiyan to him?"
At the time, Yu Hanjiang had instructed Liu Qiao to try to elicit information from her, and Liu Qiao certainly hadn't forgotten that.
She lowered her voice and said, "Yesterday, in front of Cheng Yu, I played a TV series starring Lin Yiyan on my laptop. After Cheng Yu saw it, he smiled and asked me if I really liked Lin Yiyan. I said that I was her fan and had liked her for ten years. Cheng Yu generously said that he knew Lin Yiyan and could ask me for her autograph next time."
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly: "Did he really say that? Was his expression off at the time?"
Liu Qiao shook her head: "His expression was normal. I was afraid of arousing his suspicion, so I didn't dare to ask any more questions... Captain Yu suddenly came to the set to investigate, could it be that Cheng Yu is related to this case?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "He and Lin Yiyan are secretly lovers."
Lao Mo and Liu Qiao were both startled when they heard this.
Xiao Lou said, "On the day of the incident, the surveillance cameras at the entrance of the residential complex captured Cheng Yu going to the villa where Lin Yiyan lived, but the time he left didn't match the time of Lin Yiyan's death, so I..."
They don't believe he's the murderer; it's just a routine investigation to see if they can get any clues from him.
Liu Qiao replied knowingly, "I understand. Are you going straight in to investigate?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Try not to let outsiders know. The murderer is likely still hiding in the shadows. If we make too much noise, it might just help the murderer destroy evidence. Cheng Yu, do you have any free time today?"
Liu Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Everything will be fine after the costume photos are taken. He's staying at a nearby hotel." As she spoke, Liu Qiao sent a hotel message to Yu Hanjiang via WeChat. Yu Hanjiang then went to find Qu Wanyue and Long Sen, both of whom said that there was nothing unusual about the crew.
Yu Hanjiang asked, " What do you think of the female lead in this drama, Teacher Qu?"
Qu Wanyue said, " Qiao Xuening talked to me about some details of the dance scenes. I feel that she is a very serious person. She even took a month of dance classes specifically for this film. She also has a cheerful personality."
Long Sen said, "The props team doesn't have any dangerous props. This is an urban idol film, and it doesn't involve any fight scenes. I've checked everything and found no problems."
While Yu Hanjiang was asking his teammates questions, Xiao Lou was adding them on WeChat. After asking around, Xiao Lou had added all eight of them to the WeChat group.
Old Mo exclaimed, "WeChat is so convenient!"
Long Sen said, "It's much more convenient than riding a fast horse for a whole day and night to deliver a message to the Emperor."
Ye Qi excitedly popped up: " Have Captain Yu and Professor Xiao found the production team yet? How's the progress?"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "The number of suspects has decreased from 2 to 0."
Ye Qi: "...Is this progress or regression?"
Xiao Lou sent a smiling emoji and said, "We must broaden our investigation. Everyone should keep their eyes peeled and ask around for gossip about Lin Yiyan."
In the afternoon, the photoshoot was finally completed.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou went to the hotel where the actors were staying to investigate Cheng Yu.
When Cheng Yu's manager knocked on the door, he saw two unfamiliar faces and was about to turn them away when Yu Hanjiang suddenly pulled out a police badge: " Binzhou City..." " Chief of Criminal Police Department, Yu Hanjiang, there is a criminal case that needs to be investigated. Please cooperate, Mr. Cheng Yu."
Seeing that no one was in the hallway, the manager nervously let Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou into the house, locked the door, and asked worriedly, "What...what happened? A criminal case?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "You should ask Mr. Cheng about that."
Cheng Yu had just finished showering and was sprawled on the sofa watching TV when Yu Hanjiang showed him his police ID. Cheng Yu immediately sat up straight, looking puzzled, and said, "Officer? What are you investigating me for? I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
Yu Hanjiang took out a notebook and pen, and while writing, he said, "Did Mr. Cheng go to Moon Lake Villa Estate between 2 and 3 a.m. on November 16th?"
Cheng Yu's expression suddenly changed: "I..."
Yu Hanjiang said, " Mr. Cheng, please answer truthfully what you talked about and did with Lin Yiyan at Moon Lake Villa Estate."
Cheng Yu's lips twitched; "I can refuse to answer questions that involve privacy!"
Yu Hanjiang said, "You have an obligation to cooperate with the investigation regarding matters concerning the deceased."
Cheng Yu's mouth instantly widened to the point where an egg could fit inside: "Dead...the deceased?"
Xiao Lou said gently, "Mr. Cheng, don't you know? Miss Lin Yiyan died in the villa at Moon Lake Manor."
Cheng Yu: "..."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Mr. Cheng, could you please show us your phone and the conversation records with Ms. Lin Yiyan? As a suspect who has been to the crime scene, we have grounds to arrest you. However, Mr. Cheng is a public figure, and taking you away in handcuffs would not be good for your image. We ask for your cooperation."
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the manager immediately said, "Xiao Cheng, explain yourself clearly! You didn't kill anyone, right? This is no joke!"
Cheng Yu's back trembled violently as he hurriedly protested, "Of course I didn't kill anyone! I'm not crazy, why would I kill someone? I...I...I was just playing around with Lin Yiyan, really...she was perfectly fine when I left, I promise!"
Yu Hanjiang: "Mobile phone".
Cheng Yu took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Yu Hanjiang with trembling hands: "Here, here."
Yu Hanjiang took the phone and glanced at WeChat.
The chat history between Cheng Yu and Lin Yiyan shows that at 8:30 PM on November 15th, Cheng Yu sent Lin Yiyan a WeChat message: "Baby, I miss you. Didn't your drama wrap up filming? I'll be joining a new film crew in a few days, and I might not see you for several months if I get busy. Are you free tonight? Let's meet at our usual spot?"
Lin Yiyan responded with an "OK" gesture.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance. It seemed Lin Yiyan had received a WeChat message from Cheng Yu during the meal, which was why she excused herself and left early, claiming "something had to happen at home." The subsequent WeChat messages were also complete—
Lin Yiyan said, "I'm back at my apartment. Is it convenient for you to come over?"
Cheng Yu: "Damn, my old man suddenly dragged me to a club to meet some uncles and elders, so I might be a little late. How about midnight? I'll come directly to your place, so it's less likely to be photographed by paparazzi."
Lin Yiyan: "Okay, I'll wait for you."
At 1 p.m., Cheng Yu messaged her "Let's go," and Lin Yiyan replied "See you later," thus connecting the timelines completely.
Afterwards, Cheng Yu said with a pale face, "After it was all over, I wanted to stay at her house, but Lin Yiyan said that my car was parked in the villa area and the neighbors might get suspicious if they saw it, so she told me to leave first and come back tomorrow night. I was also worried about being photographed by paparazzi, so I left first."
He repeatedly assured me: "I..."
Lin Yiyan was perfectly fine when I left! Oh, and she even messaged me the next day.
Yu Hanjiang said, "I saw it."
The last message was sent by Lin Yiyan to Cheng Yu on the evening of November 16: "Xiao Cheng, take good care of yourself after you go to the film set. I'm going on a trip with my family to relax. Don't contact me for the next few days."
Cheng Yu said, "She asked me to come back in the early morning, but then she said she was going on a trip in the evening. I thought she was just tired recently and wanted to go out to relax, so I didn't mind."
Yu Hanjiang returned the phone to Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu was not a strong suspect to begin with; he had no motive for the crime, and the timing was also wrong.
However, Yu Hanjiang confirmed one thing from Cheng Yu's phone —after the murderer took Lin Yiyan's phone, he sent WeChat messages to many people to make them believe that Lin Yiyan was still alive.
Perhaps we can start by tracing the person who received the WeChat message.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "As far as you know, does Lin Yiyan have any close friends in the entertainment industry?"
Cheng Yu immediately nodded: "Yes, the female lead in my current drama, Qiao Xuening, is her best friend!"