Case Files Chapter 95: Horror at the Studio (5)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

In the morning, as they were eating breakfast, Guan Jin hesitated for a moment and said, “Yesterday, I went to the movie set and encountered your brother-in-law there.”

Lu YunYang looked at him in surprise. “Yan Qing was there? But, dear, he’s not my brother-in-law, he’s ours.”

Guan Jin ignored him and continued, “I also saw someone unexpected.”

Lu YunYang put down the chopsticks in his hand.

“That assassin that I shot in the arm and later got lucky in his escape.”

“He was at the set?” Lu YunYan frowned. “Did you confront him? This is too dangerous.”

“No, only I saw him.”

Lu YunYang sighed in relief. “Last time, we were only able to get a brief glimpse of him, so how were you sure you saw him?”

“I have eidetic memory, so although I didn’t see his face, I remember the modified sniper rifle he used.” Guan Jin pointed at his eyes. “I’m definitely not wrong. When I went there with Yan Qing, he seemed to have just walked in from the back stairs. I sensed someone there from a room away, but his abilities seem to be lacking, as he didn’t notice our presence. From a nearby room, I used a piece of a broken mirror and saw that he was adjusting his gun. Yan Qing was behind me, and I didn’t want to have a burden on me during our confrontation, so I just left with Yan Qing. Anyway, I feel like that assassin isn’t very vigilant, since he didn’t even chase after us.”

“Was he at the movie set to assassinate a target or…?”

“I saw a grocery bag on the table, so he’s settled there for now.” Guan Jin said assuredly, “For a lot of the rooms in that building, they’re usually vacant unless scenes are being filmed in them. He’s wanted by the police in City S, so it’s actually safer for him to stay there.”

“I wonder what his goal is…” Lu YunYang recalled how he had suddenly appeared in the previous cases, yet had disappeared just as quickly, seemingly unrelated to them.

“Who knows, but since he’s still here, he’ll make another move sooner or later. That’s for another time.” Guan Jin swallowed the last bite of toast. “Let’s go. You’re driving.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

*****

“Why is it so crowded today?” wondered Employee A.

“Can’t you see? After the incident, every company has assigned escorts to their people.” Employee B pointed around.

Yan Qing was sitting next to Mo Wei. “Brother Mo, nothing’s going to happen. You’re a busy person, so you shouldn’t waste your time here.”

Mo Wei crossed his legs. “What do you mean, waste? You’re our money tree for JingTian, so if anything happens to even one of your golden leaves, I would be heartbroken. I’ll just keep guard here, and you can go shoot your movie.”

Yan Qing smiled lightly. “Okay then, I’ll ask Xiao Duo to buy you a coffee. I’ll work hard to grow more golden leaves.”

Mo Wei waved goodbye.

The police station had finally informed them that they could resume filming, so Qin Tao had immediately brought a group of actors to the set, since a lot of scenes had been moved up.

“Brother Yan, I didn’t see you last time at Wu Dong’s party, I heard that he forgot to invite you?” When Yan Qing was standing by, a young person with exquisite features purposely asked him this.

Yan Qing looked at him; he had played a supporting role in two scenes today, and his name was Guo ZiZhen. He was rumored to be a rookie in the film industry, but he seemed to be very popular lately.

“That’s normal, it’s not like I’m a big shot,” Yan Qing replied coolly.

“Right, what outfit are you planning to wear for the ceremony in YueTan Square next week?” Guo ZiZhen continued brashly.

“I’m not going.”

“Huh? What were the organizers thinking? How can we, a group of newcomers, entertain everyone?” Guo ZiZhen’s expression was arrogant, yet his remarks were modest.

There were a lot of people around them listening. Yan Qing had seen many people like this, people who were only somewhat popular yet were already confident of their success. Thus, he merely turned away and stopped acknowledging him.

“Tch, the nerve of him, how could he dare challenge you?!” Xiao Duo was furious. “He just has some rich person pulling the strings for him, can’t he see how little money he’s worth?”

“Enough, a young lady like you saying such crass things… Be careful you won’t be able to get married.”

“In this industry, you still expect me to be as pure and innocent as a lotus flower?”

“You…”

The next scene was a chaotic one, and by the time they finished, several actors were exhausted.

“That’s enough for today,” said Qin Tao after he looked at the time and everyone’s state. “We begin filming again tomorrow at noon, so go home and get a good rest. Everyone has been doing excellent lately, so let’s keep pushing and aim to wrap this up before Chinese New Years.”

“YanYan, where are you going?” Xiao Duo first sent Mo Wei off before turning around to see Yan Qing walking towards the lounge.

“I don’t know where I left my script…” murmured Yan Qing as he looked around. “I remember putting it on this chair after I finished reading it.” He had written a lot of notes in his script, so it would be very troublesome to lose it.

“Almost everyone has already left, and Brother Mo said that I definitely have to protect you and ensure your safety,” called Xiao Duo as she looked at the remaining few workers.

“You, protect me?” Yan Qing smiled. “I’d be better off counting on myself then. Anyway, help me look.”

The two of them searched everywhere in the set.

Yan Qing walked into the lounge he had temporarily stayed in, and saw that the script was on the table. There was also a small flower vase on top of it, and there was a bright red rose in the vase.

Yan Qing walked over to it and saw that there was also a note placed next to the vase. On it was written in red lettering: “To Yan Qing——The gift you deserve.”

“Hey, isn’t it right here? Who’s so annoying that they took your script and didn’t even return it? Is the flower their way of expressing gratitude? How uncreative,” said Xiao Duo as she entered the room.

As Yan Qing looked at the note, he felt a little uneasy, and he reached out to take the rose. When his hand brushed the petals lightly, the delicate rose fell from the stalk and landed on his script.

Xiao Duo was startled. “It’s so fragile, but it looks quite new——” Her voice got caught in her throat.

A black bug wriggled out of the petals of the bright red flower, and slowly crawled across the white paper…

“Ew…” Xiao Duo covered her mouth.

*****

“So this is where the flower and bug came from?” Guan Jin crossed his arms when he saw the glass jar Le Fan was holding.

“I ran some tests on it just now. There are no fingerprints on the paper, and the words were typed and printed out. There aren’t any toxins or chemicals on the flower. Someone had cut the stalk, sharpened it, and placed the flower lightly on top, which is why it fell off after being touched. As for the bug, it’s not poisonous, and it’s a larva for a species of moth called…” Before Le Fan could finish, everyone had already gathered around to begin discussing who had put the flower there, as well as why.

“…You guys are just a bunch of people who look down on science. Hmph!” He left in a huff.

“Did somebody put this flower here as a way of scaring a celebrity out of jealousy, or is it related to the case?” Ding Ding was perplexed.

“It’s too hard to say. For someone like Yan Qing, he doesn’t even have to do anything, and there will already be plenty of people who hate him,” said Gu Xiang

“The question is, if it’s related to this case, was giving him that flower a warning, or an omen that there will soon be another victim?” wondered Lu YunYang.

“Although he’s still suspicious, we can’t rule out the possibility that someone did this deliberately. If that’s the case, then he’s in danger.” Chen QiaoYu took out her phone to make a call.

“YunYang and Guan Jin, you two contact him again and ask him to think carefully about whether or not he has offended someone recently or if anything out of the ordinary has happened,” tasked Wen JingHan.

Guan Jin furrowed his brow and seemed to be reluctant about it.

After they had exited the building and were walking towards their car, Lu YunYang asked, “You don’t seem to be very interested in this case?”

“Hm? On the contrary, I’m very interested. Wen JingHan seems to know something, since he’s so eager to put you on this case. Shouldn’t you be avoiding it to prevent bias?” Guan Jin narrowed his eyes.

Lu YunYang smiled. “I’ve always prioritized family before business. The people in my family are always right, even if they’re wrong.”

“Through experience, I can safely say that selfishness outrages people.”

“This isn’t selfishness. So, what about it, are you interested in becoming a part of our family?” Lu YunYang raised an eyebrow.

“No thanks,” Guan Jin replied coolly.

Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew past them, and Guan Jin shivered and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck.

Lu YunYang watched him as he acted in almost a childlike manner, as he seldom did, and couldn’t help but smile. He walked behind Guan Jin and stuck close to him to block the wind. “You don’t seem to handle the cold very well?”

“It’s the middle of winter, aren’t you cold?” Guan Jin felt very aggrieved. Ever since he had switched to this body, all of his functions had decreased in quality, and no matter how much he wore during winter, it was still cold.

“It’s not just because of the winter. You’re always cold, and at night, you even like to burrow yourself into people’s arms.” As Lu YunYang said this, he calmly grabbed Guan Jin’s hand that was reaching for his scarf. “Look, even your hand is cold.” Then, still holding Guan Jin’s hand, he stuck it into his own coat pocket.

…Fuck, what’s up with this warmth rushing all the way from my feet to my head! 

Guan Jin’s mouth twitched twice before he recalled something important. “What do you mean, burrowing myself into people’s arms?!”

“Otherwise, why do you always wake up in my arms?”

“…That’s because you purposely moved me there!”

“I swear, it’s all you. I can’t even push you away.” A certain person seemed to be thinking back with relish. “If you don’t believe me, we can install a camera to record it?”

“You pervert!”

He was a dignified, (former) top assassin, and a mighty, handsome, ruthless man. Burrowing himself into someone else’s arms?! Lu YunYang was definitely making things up, and there was no other explanation for it! None!