Chapter Eleven: Premeditated Murder

The police never arrived; only the ambulance came to the scene and administered emergency treatment to the actor who had fallen. Since the management of the scenic area learned that the individual was not in mortal danger, they simply thought it was a performance accident, treated it as a workplace injury, and didn’t even bother to call the police.

Liu Zichen, who witnessed the incident firsthand, was still shaken. Though puzzled, upon hearing that the actor was unharmed, she finally relaxed her tense heart.

The beauty contest at the Mu Mansion was a fixed program in the scenic area’s small theater, performed three times daily. The actors had become almost numb to it through repetition, and the management was rather indifferent to the accident. After all, every job carries risk; as long as no one dies, everything is fine. As for any hidden truths, they couldn’t be bothered to ask.

Still, to mitigate negative impact, the scenic area thoughtfully gave “shock money” to several of the participating amateur actors, showing some care in their aftermath work. The tourists, drawn by the excitement, saw no serious consequences and laughed it off, treating it as a lively anecdote for their trip.

It might become a news item, but it would never become a case.

Some bold tourists calmly filmed short videos of the actor’s fall and uploaded them online, garnering plenty of likes and comments, attracting a flood of followers. Sensational headline writers seized the opportunity to publish public articles titled: “Love and Hate: How Does Free Fall Bear the Weight of Life?”

Before the incident was fully dealt with and the cause remained shrouded in mystery, the articles and videos had already climbed to the top of the trending searches. Liu Zichen, with one hand clutching her “compensation money,” and the other scrolling through her phone’s news app, could only laugh and cry at the situation.

“How is it that none of these people care about the truth? All they do is spread wild rumors, chasing clicks and attention…” The more Liu Zichen read the content from these self-media editors, the angrier she became. Some articles were pure fabrication, others illogical and full of typos, yet countless netizens joined in, lamenting, marveling, and praising the actor’s dedication.

What infuriated Liu Zichen most was that her photo had been singled out, enlarged, and placed on the homepage of a certain article. That alone was frustrating, but the title was: “Mu Mansion’s Once-in-Five-Thousand-Years Beauty: A Modern Love Triangle Unfolds.” Liu Zichen was so shocked she nearly smashed her phone. She had never experienced anything like this, her cheeks suddenly pale, at a loss.

“This is a blatant violation of my portrait rights.” She was not one of those fame-hungry young influencers; her main feeling was anger. “I must confront them!”

Chen Tianyu teased, “Others would be delighted to make the trending searches. Look at how scared you are.”

Liu Zichen pouted, “Schadenfreude. I don’t want to be a celebrity, and certainly don’t want unscrupulous editors exploiting me. When the flood of attention comes, who knows—I might end up infamous.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Chen Tianyu agreed, thinking, “But the video is already circulating, and we can’t stop it. Should we ask Mingyue and the others for help?”

Liu Zichen considered it carefully, “Well, it’s just a wave of temporary hype, and only one article like that exists, so the impact shouldn’t be too great. Besides, I’m not the main focus of the event. If we stay low-profile, it should be fine… Maybe I’ll buy some old clothes and wear a mask.”

Chen Tianyu laughed, “Look at how nervous you are—fame doesn’t seem much fun. I wonder if Xiao Su’s paparazzi team will start following you. Funny, you just met an entertainment reporter, and now you’re hiding from entertainment reporters.”

Reminded by him, Liu Zichen grew worried, “Our photos are still with Xiao Su. Could that cause any trouble?”

Chen Tianyu thought seriously, “From what I’ve observed, Xiao Su is a bit immature, but not a bad person. Even if he sees this news, it’s unlikely he would spread it maliciously. At the very least, he would inform us in advance—that’s basic courtesy.”

Liu Zichen nodded, calming down a bit. She remained wary of online abuse, having nearly lost Chen Tianyu to such violence before. Moreover, as two of Beiting’s main detectives, overexposure was clearly not a good thing.

She asked hesitantly, “Should we investigate this matter?”

Chen Tianyu countered, “Didn’t you say we wouldn’t get involved in any cases during this trip?”

Liu Zichen hesitated, “But the police never showed up… I don’t want to get involved with work, but something feels off. I don’t know why.”

“Tell me about it,” Chen Tianyu offered, “Discussing it in advance isn’t the same as participating. If there really are doubts, reporting it is simple—we can do it anonymously. The police won’t ignore it.”

Liu Zichen nodded, “That’s a good idea. Thousands of cases happen every day, and they should be handled by the police. We’re ordinary citizens now, so we’ll follow the citizen’s process.”

“You’ve thought it through, and that makes things easier for me,” Chen Tianyu joked.

Liu Zichen shot him a glance, feigning annoyance, “As if I’ve put a curse on you. You always find a chance to mock me.”

Chen Tianyu hurriedly denied it, and Liu Zichen continued, “Let’s take a new perspective—maybe we’ll discover something different.”

Chen Tianyu smiled, “That’s true. You were right at the scene, so why not share any doubts you noticed?”

Liu Zichen thought for a moment, “First, I can say with certainty that the female hero who appeared midway was definitely not arranged by the troupe. Her actions were odd—I won’t even mention that—just her venomous gaze alone would win her an Oscar if she were acting.”

“But have you considered the Mu Mansion’s eldest son? Even if he didn’t deliberately make himself ugly, his looks were truly unbearable, while that heroine was stunningly beautiful. To think anything could happen between them seems unbelievable,” Chen Tianyu retorted.

Liu Zichen nodded, “That’s what I thought at the time, so I wasn’t suspicious. I truly believed she was a skilled actress. But then I noticed the actor playing the Mu Mansion’s official looked genuinely shocked, not as if he was pretending. He clearly didn’t know the heroine, which is suspicious. Later, as I interacted with her, I realized she was very capable, didn’t take me seriously, and finally forced that ugly young man to jump off the building…”

Chen Tianyu pondered, “Can you be sure the ugly young man jumped himself, or was he pushed?”

Liu Zichen shook her head, “The scene was chaotic, with many people on stage, which wasn’t large. Some details were unclear, and I was a bit flustered myself.”

“If even you were surprised and acted flustered, the others must have been even more so,” Chen Tianyu said. “Actually, whether he jumped or was pushed, I noticed he was very afraid of the actress, and they could well have been acquainted. But I was far away, and everything happened in a flash. My attention was on you, so I had a blind spot. Otherwise, I might have seen exactly how he fell. It’s possible this was a grudge born of love, but it might not be between them—it could be an act of standing up for someone else…”

He thought carefully, “To find out the truth, we’d need to ask the Mu Mansion official or the ugly young man himself. Once we uncover the heroine’s real identity, everything should become clear.”

Liu Zichen agreed, so she asked, “Should we report this?”

“If it were just a minor dispute, I don’t think they’d have gone to such lengths, especially choosing such a public setting. Don’t you think it seems like a public declaration?” Chen Tianyu mused. “This accident could very well be an attempted murder. We should report it and let the police investigate. If nothing’s wrong, great; if there is, it could prevent something worse.”

With that, he took out his phone, dialed 110, briefly reported what had happened, and tactfully relayed their analysis to the operator, who thanked them before hanging up.

Liu Zichen asked, “Do we need to stay here and cooperate with the investigation?” She was concerned about their travel plans.

Chen Tianyu shook his head, “There are plenty of witnesses—two more won’t matter. The police will definitely conduct a broader investigation. We won’t be of much use here.”

Liu Zichen smiled in relief, “That’s good. I was afraid you’d get itchy fingers… By the way, do you think the ugly young man’s life is in danger?”

“He seemed fine—quite robust. Just knocked unconscious from the fall. If you hadn’t been there, it might have been much worse. He may have to thank you for saving his life,” Chen Tianyu said, chuckling. “At most, this is a case of intentional harm—not enough for me to intervene.”

Liu Zichen laughed and teased, “All you think about is murder. The world isn’t that chaotic.”

“Hopefully,” Chen Tianyu mused. “So, where to next?”

Liu Zichen thought for a moment, “No other plans for today. Let’s wander the old town, and when we’re tired, head back to the inn and rest. After all this commotion, I really don’t feel up to much else.”

“Sounds good,” Chen Tianyu joked, “Maybe after a good night’s sleep, you’ll wake up a star. Be ready.”

“Hmph!… You’re so childish.” Liu Zichen responded with a smile.