With the murderer Qiao Xuening confessing during interrogation, the Heart Room case is finally closed. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou have gathered all the available clues, and given the short time frame, Heart Room undoubtedly earned an S rank and a perfect completion.
Qiao Xuening's alibi was almost flawless. Fortunately, this time it was a modern locked room, and fingerprint identification was of great help to Yu Hanjiang. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult to distinguish which one was the real Qiao Xuening and the double.
Everyone returned to Personal Space. Red Heart A smiled and said, "Congratulations! You've achieved another perfect S-rank clear. Please collect your rewards."
The first reward after a perfect completion is a story card.
The story card plays back the entire case from a God's-eye view, and some details that are still unclear will also be replayed through the story card. Yu Hanjiang took the story card and opened it, and a large screen appeared in front of everyone, starting to play a story movie.
As expected, Jin Xiaoyue put the poison into Liang Ting's thermos cups while picking up takeout.
The Lin Yiyan case, however, was chilling to watch.
This story card begins with Lin Yiyan's university days.
During their sophomore year, Lin Yiyan and Qiao Xuening went to audition for the web series "Teenage Heartache." In fact, the director at the time had his eye on Qiao Xuening. Qi Ming likes Lin Yiyan.
To get the lead role, Lin Yiyan tried to seduce the executive producer of the entertainment project, who later became her manager. Qi Ming; while Qiao Xuening went straight for a director who was almost old enough to be her father.
In the same hotel.
The director put his arm around Qiao Xuening and smiled as he agreed, "Qiao, don't worry, this role is definitely yours."
Qi Ming put his arm around Lin Yiyan and said the same thing: "In my heart, you are the most suitable candidate for the female lead. Our company is the investor, and I am the chief producer of this project. I can ask the director to give you the female lead's scenes."
Lin Yiyan blushed and held Qi Ming's hand tightly, saying, "Brother Ming, I'm with you not because of any role. I really like mature and steady men like you. You are my ideal boyfriend, and I just want to stay by your side forever."
Upon seeing this, Ye Qi was dumbfounded: "I'm impressed, Lin Yiyan is such a good actress!"
Qi Ming was completely charmed by her gentle words. The next day, he went to the company and found Shao Qingge, saying, " CEO Shao, among the girls we met during the auditions, there was a girl named Lin Yiyan who was outstanding in appearance and whose temperament matched the character setting. Moreover, her acting skills were quite good. I think we should cast her as the female lead."
Shao Qingge said calmly, "You're in charge of this project, so you can make the decisions."
Everyone turned to look when they saw CEO Shao appearing in the movie.
Shao Qingge sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "This was just a friendly performance; Red Heart A didn't even pay me for it!"
Ye Qi complained, "The root of it all was the web drama audition in our sophomore year. Neither of them had ever acted before. This was their first audition. Both girls slept with people to get the roles, but Lin Yiyan was better. She found the right person, and her performative personality was a big plus. Even Qi Ming was moved by her 'genuine feelings'."
Comparatively speaking, Qiao Xuening isn't as good at sweet talk as Lin Yiyan.
The final result was predictable. The investors are the bosses; sometimes the director's word isn't enough. If the big spender wants Lin Yiyan for the lead role, does the director dare object? Thus, Qiao Xuening's plan fell through, and Lin Yiyan smoothly landed the lead role.
Qiao Xuening was unaware of this at the time, assuming the investors had cast a big star as the female lead, and she could only accept her bad luck. Unexpectedly, when the cast was announced, the female lead was listed as Lin Yiyan … and she understood everything.
For a long time afterward, Lin Yiyan thrived in the entertainment industry with the help of her top manager, Qi Ming. Qiao Xuening, after failing her first audition, didn't give up; she continued to seek other opportunities, playing supporting roles to gain acting experience.
A few years later, Lin Yiyan and Qiao Xuening reunited at a class reunion. Qiao Xuening, knowing Lin Yiyan's tastes, gave her an expensive limited-edition handbag, which she had saved up for two years' worth of salary to buy.
When giving her the bag, Qiao Xuening pretended to be good friends and besties with Lin Yiyan, saying a lot of flattering things and reminiscing about the innocent times they spent together in the library during their freshman and sophomore years.
Lin Yiyan felt very comfortable with her flattery and thought that it would be good to have more friends in the entertainment industry. More importantly, she could help Qiao Xuening and make Qiao Xuening grateful to her. This feeling of "helping her best friend from a high position" gave Lin Yiyan, who had a performative personality, great psychological satisfaction.
So, after Qi Ming screened and handed her some high-quality scripts, she would generously give any that conflicted with her schedule or that she didn't like to Qiao Xuening, and then say a few good words for them to the director.
Qiao Xuening thus landed some good roles. The experience she'd accumulated over the years certainly paid off, and she gradually rose to fame. She knew in her heart that Lin Yiyan wasn't the innocent, demure girl she appeared to be, but she was happy to play along and pretend to be close friends with Lin Yiyan.
The two frequently interact on Weibo and give the same story in interviews, saying they've been close friends since university. This is a way for them to boost each other's popularity, which many people associate with Lin Yi.
Yan's fans will watch Qiao Xuening's dramas, and similarly, Qiao's fans will watch Lin Yiyan's dramas; it's a win-win situation for the two.
However, things soon took a turn for the better.
That year, Qiao Xuening was incredibly lucky. First, a TV series she starred in became a huge hit. Then, Lin Yiyan received offers from two production teams at the same time. Due to scheduling conflicts, she could only choose one. She picked a big-budget sci-fi film with a large cast of stars and directed by a top director in the industry. As before, she gave the other script to Qiao Xuening.
Qiao Xuening naturally expressed her gratitude via WeChat and even gifted Lin Yiyan a bottle of limited-edition perfume.
Everyone thought that the big-budget movie Lin Yiyan chose would be a hit, after all, the movie had a star-studded cast and a lot of money was spent on pre-release promotion, with posters plastered all over subway stations, creating a huge buzz.
Qiao Xuening's lighthearted romance film had a small budget, the male lead was a newcomer, and the director wasn't very well-known. Qiao Xuening didn't really care; she mainly starred in television dramas, and this film was just a way for her to gain some recognition in the film industry, plus the pay wasn't high.
The two movies were released on the same day!
Qiao Xuening even politely helped Lin Yiyan promote her film. The two retweeted each other's new movies on Weibo, showing their close sisterly bond. Fans were also happy to say that it was wonderful that the two goddesses were good friends, and they would go to see both of their movies.
On the first day of its release, the sci-fi movie starring Lin Yiyan grossed ten times more than Qiao Xuening's lighthearted romance film. Qiao Xuening sent Lin Yiyan a congratulatory message on WeChat: "Little Yan, that's awesome! I bet you'll easily break 3 billion at the box office this time!"
Lin Yiyan was secretly pleased, but pretended to be modest and said, "Not necessarily. The box office on the first day doesn't tell the whole story. We need to see how well it performs in the following days. Your movie is pretty good too. Although the box office is a bit low, the rating is very high."
Qiao Xuening sent a laughing message: "How can I compare to Xiaoyan? My popularity is still far behind."
Lin Yiyan also sent a smiley face: "Your popularity is rising quite fast. Don't worry, you'll be a big star soon."
The two played their roles well and complimented each other on WeChat for a while.
From Xiao Lou's perspective, they could clearly see that both of them had cold smiles on their faces when they were sending the messages.
The following day, the sci-fi film starring Lin Yiyan was a critical flop, with its rating plummeting from 9 points to below 7. Countless viewers who had seen the film went to various movie forums to complain: "Big production, but the special effects are terrible." "The money all went to the actors' salaries, and the script is a mess!" "The story wasn't even told clearly. I went to see it for a few popular stars, and I regret it so much. It's the worst movie of the year."
Meanwhile, the lighthearted romance film starring Qiao Xuening saw its ratings steadily rise, with many viewers spontaneously sharing it on social media: "So touching! Qiao Xuening's crying scenes were truly excellent." "It reminded me of my first love." "My boyfriend and I went to see it, and we cried buckets in the theater!" "This movie is a breath of fresh air amidst all the terrible films of the year!"
Thanks to the enthusiastic promotion from countless netizens, the box office of low-budget romance films began to recover the following day, and their screening share also increased; while the box office of big-budget science fiction films not only did not rise, but stagnated, and even showed a downward trend.
Lin Yiyan and Qiao Xuening are focused on the box office performance of the movie they starred in, each with their own thoughts.
Three days later, for the first time, the box office of romance films surpassed that of science fiction films.
Seven days later, Qiao Xuening's romantic film became the biggest dark horse of the year, jumping to number one at the box office and breaking the 2 billion mark, and is about to move toward 3 billion; while Lin Yiyan's big-budget sci-fi film flopped miserably, and has not yet broken 1 billion after a week.
Lin Yiyan remained silent on WeChat and acted as if she were dead on Weibo. Qiao Xuening secretly rejoiced but also kept quiet.
The two sisters' deep sisterly bond was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.
What was even more disheartening for Lin Yiyan was that Qiao Xuening was nominated for "Best Actress" for this low-budget, low-production film and was invited to attend the annual film festival awards ceremony!
That former best friend who used to only flatter her, give her gifts, and beg her for resources, has now made her film debut, achieving far more success than her, and even winning the "Best Actress" award? How can this be?
Lin Yiyan couldn't stand Qiao Xuening surpassing her.
She investigated Qiao Xuening's background and quickly discovered that Qiao Xuening had a relationship with Xu Kai after graduating from high school. So, she secretly asked someone to contact Xu Kai and negotiated a deal with him. She sold a house and gave Xu Kai nearly 3 million RMB in cash, all in exchange for Xu Kai posting Qiao Xuening's private photos online and ruining her reputation.
Xu Kai, being shameless, was naturally greedy for money and became a scumbag.
Qiao Xuening instantly fell from grace, nude photos of her were leaked everywhere, and she became a laughing stock on the internet.
At the time, she didn't suspect Lin Yiyan was behind it, and she was indeed devastated to the point of a mental breakdown and ended up in the hospital. During her recovery in the hospital, she saw private photos circulating online every day, along with negative comments from those lewd men, which gradually distorted her mindset.
This incident was a huge blow to her. Later, she asked someone to investigate and found out that Xu Kai's cousin, Zhang Xiaoyu, owed a lot of gambling debts. So she gave Zhang Xiaoyu some money and asked him to try to get information out of his cousin.
Soon, Zhang Xiaoyu gave the results: "My cousin let it slip while he was drunk that Lin Yiyan gave him the money."
Lin Yiyan!
Qiao Xuening uttered the name with gritted teeth, wishing she could chew the other person's flesh and blood to pieces.
During her six months of rest at the hospital, she thought about what to do every day and what her future held. At this time, Dr. Qin Mu, a plastic surgeon, comforted her and gave her the courage to continue.
This young doctor had seen many of her performances and was a big fan of hers.
Dr. Qin visits her every day, comforting her, helping her let go of the past, forget those photos, and start anew...
Gradually, the two developed feelings for each other.
People in love sometimes lose their rationality. This young doctor was also blinded by Qiao Xuening. When Qiao Xuening proposed the plastic surgery plan, he didn't try to dissuade her. Instead, he went along with Qiao Xuening and became her accomplice.
At the time, he didn't expect Qiao Xuening to kill someone. He thought Qiao Xuening was just using a body double to keep his composure and let the body double act, so he could gradually return to the entertainment industry.
Two years after the nude photo scandal, Qiao Xuening made a comeback with a completely new image.
Two years is enough time to change a person, let alone after something so big. Qiao Xuening, who has returned to the public eye, doesn't talk much, is polite to everyone, and is very cautious in his dealings with others, which is somewhat different from before. Fans attribute this to the fact that "the blow was too great, and learning to be low-key is a good thing."
No one expected that Qiao Xuening had become a different person—her name was Yu Xia, and she had undergone plastic surgery to look like Qiao Xuening.
For the next period of time, Qiao Xuening had a stunt double film most of her scenes while she prepared her murder plan.
She found out where Lin Yiyan lived; it was at Moon Lake Villa.
On November 11th of this year, Qiao Xuening disguised herself and drove into the Yuehu Villa community—she also owned a house in the villa area. However, that house was bought by her secret boyfriend, plastic surgeon Qin Mu.
Dr. Qin happened to be away on a business trip those days, and Qiao Xuening had a key to her boyfriend's house.
She drove her boyfriend's car into the residential area openly and observed the area every day. Under the cover of night, she sabotaged the security camera at Lin Yiyan's door.
Then, on November 16, she arranged for a body double to go to the recording of a variety show and instructed the double: "You will act in my place for the upcoming announcements and the next drama. I need to take a month to relax. Don't forget that I broke my leg before, so pretend to be in pain if necessary."
Yu Xia had no doubts and replied, "I understand."
Qiao Xuening began to wait for an opportunity. On the evening of the 16th, she pried open the lock of Lin Yiyan's house, sneaked into Lin Yiyan's house, and used the large freezer in the kitchen to make a freezer full of ice, because she knew that Lin Yiyan rarely came home and never went into the kitchen. This house was just a place for Lin Yiyan and the lover to meet in secret.
He was looking for an opportunity to make his move, but coincidentally, Lin Yiyan returned that night.
When she heard the car drive into the villa, Qiao Xuening was hiding in Lin Yiyan's kitchen. She glanced at the live feed through the kitchen window, then calmly took out the knife she had prepared beforehand.
When Lin Yiyan entered the house, the living room was pitch black. Little did she know that someone was actually hiding behind the sofa.
She turned on the light, just about to go back to her bedroom to rest, when the manager... Qi Ming knocked on the door and came in. The two argued about breaking up. At 3:30 a.m., Qi Ming left angrily. Lin Yiyan turned around and went upstairs to the bedroom on the third floor to remove her makeup, change into her pajamas, and go into the bathroom.
She stood in front of the mirror, fixing her hair, preparing to run the water for a bath.
As a result, the door behind me was pushed open, and a face suddenly appeared in the mirror.
It was Qiao Xuening's face, with a strange smile on it.
Lin Yiyan turned around in horror, and a sharp knife was plunged into her chest.
******