Jin Xiaoyue explained the exchange of ID cards as follows: "My younger brother has a girlfriend in Yue Prefecture. They met online and have been in a long-distance relationship. He's too busy with work, and she's very unhappy about it and wants to break up with him. Sister Chen contacted my brother two weeks ago to discuss a collaboration. Since the concert is on the 28th, which happens to be his girlfriend's birthday, he's hesitant about whether to go celebrate her birthday or do his styling for Teacher Liang. If he doesn't go with his girlfriend, she might really break up with him. However, collaborating with such a big star like Teacher Liang would greatly help him boost his fame, so he can't bear to turn it down."
Yu Hanjiang looked at her coldly: "So you gave Jin Xiaoyong an idea to exchange ID cards with him?"
Jin Xiaoyue clenched her fists tightly and said in a trembling voice, "That's right. My brother and I look alike. When the time comes, I'll get a similar hairstyle to his and do Teacher Liang's hair in his place. He can use my ID to go to the next city to see his girlfriend. It won't interfere with either of us."
Xiao Lou asked suspiciously, "Your brother trusts you to do Teacher Liang's hair? Aren't you afraid you'll mess it up?"
Jin Xiaoyue said, "I've been renting a place with him all these years and I've learned a lot about hairdressing. He made a model in advance and taught me once, and I was able to learn it. Teacher Liang's hairstyle is not difficult to do."
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow: "So, Teacher Liang asked Teacher Kim to try out last week..."
"During the makeup and hair styling, you and your brother switched identities; you were the one who permed her hair?"
Jin Xiaoyue nodded: "That's right. We just changed identities privately, it didn't interfere with our business, so it's not illegal, is it?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "You saw Liang Ting drinking water from a thermos, right?"
Jin Xiaoyue gritted her teeth and said, "What thermos? I don't know."
After that, no matter how Yu Hanjiang asked, she always said, "I don't know, I didn't kill Liang Ting."
The girl was very stubborn, and it seemed she wouldn't confess until more compelling evidence was found. Yu Hanjiang had no choice but to detain her temporarily and await further developments.
Liang Ting's former manager was quickly located; he was a man surnamed Li.
When he arrived at the police station, he was incredulous at Liang Ting's death: " Liang Ting was straightforward and decisive. She wasn't good at dealing with people tactfully, and sometimes her words could be hurtful. But she didn't have any bad intentions. I can't imagine who she had such a deep hatred for."
Yu Hanjiang asked him in detail about Liang Ting's experiences since his debut.
Liang Ting debuted at the age of 18 and became famous throughout the country with one song. Because of her voice, she won the hearts of countless fans. The biggest record company in the entertainment industry signed her and gave her the best treatment. Therefore, Liang Ting's career has been smooth sailing over the years.
Later, she married Xie Yuan, and the two became a model couple in the entertainment industry.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Do you recognize the name Jin Xiaoyue?" He handed a photocopy of his ID card to the Manager.
Mr. Li frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "I have no recollection of this person. Liang Ting probably doesn't know him."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Think about it again carefully."
Mr. Li stated definitively, "I really don't know him."
Yu Hanjiang asked, " Could you give us a list of all the programs Liang Ting has participated in over the years, including TV galas, various variety shows, talent competitions, and so on?"
Mr. Li said, "That's fine. I have all of Liang Ting's program videos."
The manager provided an electronic list of press releases and generously handed Yu Hanjiang a portable hard drive, saying, "I'm used to downloading and saving videos of the shows artists participate in as a memento, and I can review them anytime. It's quite interesting to watch shows from over ten years ago when I have free time."
The hard drive provided by the manager will definitely contain important clues.
However, when Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou connected the hard drive to the computer and opened it, they were immediately struck by a headache— Liang Ting had debuted at the age of 18, and in the more than 20 years since then, the Manager had downloaded and saved every single one of his hundreds of programs!
Looking at them one by one would be too much work, wouldn't it?
Xiao Lou suggested, "Why don't we ask our teammates for help? It would take us two days to watch all these videos."
Yu Hanjiang thought it made sense, so he posted a screenshot of the program list in the WeChat group: "@All members, let's get to work."
Ye Qi quickly chimed in: "Any clues?!"
Yu Hanjiang posted a photo of Jin Xiaoyue's ID card in the group and said, "We currently suspect that Jin Xiaoyue is the murderer. She had the opportunity to commit the crime, and she is the only one who cannot provide an alibi. However, we cannot find her motive, so we need to go through Liang Ting's past programs to see what grudges she had with the deceased."
Liu Qiao quickly said, "With so many programs, Captain Yu, watching them all by yourself would be too much of a workload. Let's divide the work among ourselves. Everyone can take on some tasks to improve efficiency. We may not be good at deduction, but we can still find clues by watching videos."
Shao Qingge said, "I'd like to find something to do too. Give me some of it; this day is so boring."
Qu Wanyue, Long Sen, Lao Mo and others also chimed in, saying they had nothing to do that evening and could lend a hand.
Compared to Yu Hanjiang, who was busy staying up all night every day, everyone else was too bored and felt embarrassed to just sit back and win. Yu Hanjiang was willing to share some work with everyone, and the teammates were actually quite happy.
Yu Hanjiang explained, " Jin Xiaoyue is 30 years old this year, and Liang Ting is 44 years old. Liang Ting is 14 years older than Jin Xiaoyue, so we only need to start looking from the year Jin Xiaoyue was 18, which is the year Liang Ting was 32."
When Liang Ting debuted, Jin Xiaoyue was still in kindergarten, so there was definitely no grudge between them.
Jin Xiaoyue's life took a turn for the worse when she was 18. Her parents had an accident, which delayed her college entrance exams, and her once smooth-sailing life began to decline. Liang Ting was 32 years old at the time, and from that year onwards, there are a full 12 years of programs that need to be reviewed.
Yu Hanjiang quickly assigned tasks: "Each of you watch one year's worth, and I'll handle the rest. If you're fast-forwarding, don't go faster than double speed to avoid missing any clues. Focus on whether there's a person named Jin Xiaoyue in any of the episodes. Note that she might not be called Jin Xiaoyue; she might use a stage name or an English name like Kim. I'll upload the episodes to the shared drive now. Everyone download them according to your assigned tasks, check them one episode at a time, and report your results in the group after you've finished watching each episode."
A group of people lined up and gave each other an "OK" sign.
Everyone started dividing up the tasks to look at the materials.
Yu Hanjiang looked backwards, and the others were each responsible for a year.
That night, everyone in the WeChat group worked overtime and stayed up all night, reporting their results in the group after watching each episode.
The WeChat group kept sending messages like "On [Date], [Program Name] had no issues."
By 1 a.m., most of the programs on the hard drive had been checked, but no clues were found.
Ye Qi couldn't help but wonder—could the feud between Jin Xiaoyue and Liang Ting not be on the show, but rather off-screen? But what could possibly be between Jin Xiaoyue, a working girl, and Liang Ting, a pop diva?
What about the intersection?
He trusted Yu Hanjiang's judgment; it was impossible for so many programs to be completely without any clues.
Ye Qi took a deep breath and clicked on the program he was in charge of, which featured Liang Ting at age 38 and Jin Xiaoyue at age 25.
The show is called "Sing If You Want 1017".
Ye Qi's eyes suddenly lit up. She thought to herself, "Isn't this the audition program for 505 Girl Group's debut?"
He immediately opened the video and watched it carefully.
"Sing If You Want" is a talent show produced by Binzhou TV with a huge investment. It also collaborates with Starlight Entertainment Company, the largest company in the industry. There are almost no barriers to entry. As long as you want to sing, you can come to this stage.
Singers who make it into the top six and enter the finals can sign with Starlight Entertainment Company and debut as a solo artist or in a group, which is considered one of the best ways for music lovers to realize their dreams.
Talent shows have been running for many years. 505 Girl Group became very popular after their debut because they participated in this show 3 years ago.
The episode featuring Liang Ting was five years ago. Ye Qi had only been watching the show for a short time when Liang Ting appeared. She was wearing a smart suit dress and sitting on the judges' panel. The host even asked the audience to welcome this episode's guest, Teacher Liang Ting, with enthusiastic applause.
Ye Qi sensed something was wrong, frowned, and continued looking behind him.
This episode is the elimination round where ten teams are narrowed down to six.
The host introduced the top ten contestants one by one. Ye Qi opened his eyes wide and looked carefully at their faces, number 1, number 2, number 2... until the number 7 contestant came out, Ye Qi suddenly froze. He immediately paused and zoomed in on the screen.
The girl who walked onto the stage was fair-skinned and pretty, about 168cm tall, with long black hair and wearing a white dress. She looked quite fresh. Ye Qi carefully compared her face with the one on Jin Xiaoyue's ID card—they were definitely the same person!
Ye Qi immediately took a screenshot and reported in the group: "Sing If You Want to Sing, Episode 1017 of the talent show, Liang Ting is a judge, and I found that Jin Xiaoyue is among the top ten singers. Captain Yu, you guys take a look!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately turned on the episode Ye Qi mentioned.
In the elimination round where ten contestants are narrowed down to six, the first stage involves each person singing a song, and the judges in the audience lighting up their lights. A green light means pass, and a red light means fail. With three judges, two green lights are required for a contestant to advance to the second round.
Ye Qi quickly scrolled over the parts where the other singers were performing, focusing specifically on Jin Xiaoyue's. He noticed that Jin Xiaoyue seemed a bit nervous, her breath control was somewhat unstable, and her voice was rather generic, lacking distinctiveness. But overall, her singing was alright.
After the song ended, the host announced, "Welcome contestant number 7, Morning!"
Upon seeing this, Yu Hanjiang couldn't help but say, "As expected, she used an English name, so the Manager has no recollection of her."
Xiao Lou said nervously, "It seems this episode is very important."
The two continued reading.
Jin Xiaoyue stood in the center of the stage. As the camera zoomed in, her forehead was covered in sweat, clearly indicating that she was somewhat nervous.
The host asked her, "Why did you choose this English name?"
Jin Xiaoyue explained earnestly, "The early bird catches the worm, and I think the name 'morning' represents the morning and hope."
A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.
The host then asked, "You've fought your way through the competition to reach the top ten. At this moment, is there anything you'd like to say to your parents and family?"
The girl took a deep breath and choked up as she said, "My parents passed away when I was 18. I only have one younger brother. Because of their death, I missed the college entrance exam and couldn't go to university. I started working at 18..."
The program played sad music that was appropriate for the occasion, and some audience members were moved by her sobbing voice and even shed tears.
The girl recounted many of her hardships over the years, and her eyes reddened as she spoke, tears welling up in her eyes. The host comforted her for a long time before she finally said, "I've always loved music and singing, and becoming a singer is my biggest dream! My younger brother is very supportive of me participating in this talent show, and I want to tell him, 'Don't worry, your sister will work hard and definitely succeed!'"
The applause from the audience was extremely enthusiastic; clearly, Jin Xiaoyue's tearful speech had moved many people.
The three judges clapped in agreement, and the host said, "Judges, please turn on your lights."
Judge #1 gave a green light, Judge #2 gave a green light, Judge #3 Liang Ting... gave a red light.
The rule is that two green lights are required to advance to the next round of the competition, so Liang Ting's red light has little impact. Jin Xiaoyue glanced at Liang Ting with surprise, bowed to the judges' panel, and prepared for the next round.
Two contestants were eliminated in the first round, leaving eight to advance to the final six. Whoever wins the second round and enters the top six will have the opportunity to sign with Starlight Entertainment, regardless of their final ranking.
He's just one step away from becoming a singer.
Jin Xiaoyue chose an English song for the second round and sang it with great effort. The high note at the end brought thunderous applause from the audience.
However, during the judges' turn-on phase, judge number 1 gave a green light, judge number 2 gave a red light, and the final decision rested with Liang Ting.
The host asked, " Teacher Liang, what is your decision?"
Liang Ting picked up the microphone, looked at the girl on stage, and calmly said, "Morning, I'm going to be direct. You shouldn't have chosen an English song. Your English isn't good, your pronunciation is stiff, and this song is too high in key. It's hard for you to handle, and it sounds very dry. Also, you were off-key on two of the last notes in the second verse. Your basic vocal skills are not good. Compared to the other contestants from the Music Conservatory, the gap is actually quite obvious."
The audience was stunned; no one expected Liang Ting to speak so bluntly.
Judge number 1 also raised his red light, but he was clearly more diplomatic and stepped in to smooth things over: "We can't blame the contestant. Morning couldn't go to university because of family reasons. I believe that as long as she continues her studies at the Music Conservatory, her singing will definitely get better and better..."
Liang Ting frowned and said, "Since you've come to the competition stage, then let your strength speak for itself. I won't give you sympathy points because of your family background, as that would be unfair to the other contestants. Everyone is working hard, so don't think that you're the hardest working. Since the competition organizers invited me to be a judge, I will only evaluate each singer from a professional perspective, including their voice, singing skills, and potential."
"Your voice isn't very distinctive, your basic skills are poor, and in my opinion, your singing style lacks any personal characteristics. Moreover, you were very nervous today. I didn't point out the few notes you sang wrong in the first round, and you even misremembered the lyrics in the second round, singing two notes off-key and cracking in the high notes. I'm sorry, but to give the other contestants a fair environment, my result for this round is..."
She pressed the red light on the judges' panel.
The moment the red light turned on, Jin Xiaoyue's face was filled with disbelief.
The host said regretfully, "I'm sorry, but due to the two judges giving you a red light, it's time for you to leave this stage! But it's okay, as long as you don't give up on your dream, you will definitely succeed. Let's give her the warmest applause!"
Jin Xiaoyue bowed to the audience and turned to leave.
Yu Hanjiang noticed that when she walked off the stage, she looked back at Liang Ting with a very complicated expression.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Lou couldn't help but remark, " Liang Ting's words make a lot of sense. On a competitive stage, only strength matters; sympathy points are unnecessary. However, Liang Ting was too direct, like slapping someone in the face. Could this have caused Jin Xiaoyue to hold a grudge?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "In the end, Jin Xiaoyue came in seventh place. The top six get to go to the finals and get a contract. You could say that Liang Ting shattered her dream of becoming a singer. This time, 505 Girl Group is having a concert. They are also singers who debuted through talent shows and are now enjoying great success, while she has had a tough time these past few years, working odd jobs and sharing an apartment with her younger brother..."
Xiao Lou sighed and said, "She may have always felt very unbalanced. The success of 505 Girl Group makes her seem so down on her luck. She must be thinking, if Liang Ting had given her the green light and let her into the finals, she could have signed a contract. Would she be a superstar like 505 Girl Group now? Would she be able to hold her own concert?"
The more I think about it, the more painful and hateful it becomes.
The flames of jealousy burned in my heart, and the tendrils of hatred swept over my mind.
Ultimately, all of this overwhelmed her reason, leading her to make the most insane decision she could ever make.
Jin Xiaoyue's motive for murder has finally been given a reasonable explanation.