I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 184: Chapter 182: Why Don’t You Tell the Truth?

Cheng Jue and the other NPCs were the last to be questioned.

Just as Su Miaoyi finished her questioning, Qi Feng came over. ”Captain Zhuang wants you to go over and listen in.”

Su Miaoyi immediately got up and went.

When she reached the door of the East Wing Room, she could hear Cheng Jue’s voice from inside.

She stood at the entrance without moving.

Zhuang Yanzheng was asking, ”You just said that after you finished filming your part, you went behind the main hall. You were back there the whole time and didn’t see Liu Namo or Xu Jinlan?”

”No,” Cheng Jue said.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at him. ”You’ll have to sign off on this statement. If you lie, you will be held legally responsible.”

Cheng Jue lowered his gaze. ”I really didn’t see them.”

After listening for a few moments from outside, Su Miaoyi knocked and entered.

Zhuang Yanzheng and the officer beside him both looked toward the door.

Cheng Jue looked over as well.

Su Miaoyi walked in, glancing first at Cheng Jue, then at Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng had the officer beside him step out.

Su Miaoyi walked over to Zhuang Yanzheng’s side.

Zhuang Yanzheng turned off the recording pen. ”He’s not telling the truth.”

”I am telling the truth,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi stared at him.

Cheng Jue met her gaze for a few seconds before his eyes slowly lowered.

In that moment, Zhuang Yanzheng felt the pressure of a big sister laying down the law.

Su Miaoyi glanced at his written statement.

In this episode, Cheng Jue’s role was that of the Zhai Family’s young master—the one who had died unexpectedly.

He was supposed to appear occasionally to scare the five cast members.

It was to create a frightening atmosphere.

The final explanation for his character was that the five cast members were having hallucinations, which was why they saw the Zhai Family’s young master.

He had filmed two scenes today and was supposed to be done for the day.

But the director hadn’t let him leave.

So he went to rest behind the main hall.

”What exactly did you see?” Su Miaoyi asked, looking at the makeup on his face.

’I wonder what they used for it. It’s so hot today, and his forehead is beaded with sweat, but the makeup hasn’t smudged at all.’

Cheng Jue kept his head down.

”Why won’t you say?” Su Miaoyi asked, puzzled.

Cheng Jue still didn’t speak.

Su Miaoyi looked at him. ”Cheng Jue, if you don’t tell the truth, we’ll have no choice but to take you in.”

Cheng Jue looked up at her.

”Speak,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Quickly. Don’t waste time.”

”I saw Liu Namo hitting Xu Jinlan,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi frowned and then exchanged a look with Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng turned the recording pen back on.

”It’s cooler behind the main hall, so I went there to sit down after I finished filming my part. Later, I heard someone approaching. I didn’t feel like talking, so I moved into a corner,” Cheng Jue said. ”That’s when I saw Liu Namo hitting Xu Jinlan.”

”Behind the main hall, there are a bunch of props scattered around. After Liu Namo pulled Xu Jinlan back there, he pinned her against a table. There was a broken whip nearby, and he used it to whip her.”

”He probably didn’t want it to affect the shoot, so he only hit areas covered by her clothes.”

”Xu Jinlan definitely has injuries on her body.”

”What did they say?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”Liu Namo started hitting her as soon as he dragged her back there. Xu Jinlan wanted to scream, but she didn’t. She covered her own mouth,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi found that strange. ’Why would she cover her own mouth instead of screaming?’

”Liu Namo said he’d been placating her for an hour and told her not to push her luck or ask for trouble. He told her to either finish the show obediently or he’d kill her, saying it was easy to get a death certificate,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi thought about the words she had heard in the footage.

At that time, Liu Namo had also been consoling Xu Jinlan, though his tone was more or less perfunctory.

’Could it be that Liu Namo thought he was still mic’d up then?’

’This Liu Namo really seems two-faced.’

”Did Xu Jinlan say anything?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

Cheng Jue shook his head. ”No.”

”What did you do?” Su Miaoyi asked.

Cheng Jue glanced at her.

Su Miaoyi looked at him with an expression that said she saw right through him.

”I... I saw him hitting her, so I went out and tried to stop him,” Cheng Jue said, his head bowed.

”Did a fight break out?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”Not really,” Cheng Jue said. ”I snatched the whip from his hand. Then Liu Namo told me to mind my own business and keep my mouth shut, or he’d kill me too. He also said he’d make me lose my job today.”

Su Miaoyi frowned.

’Threatening to kill someone so casually.’

”And after that?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”After that, Xu Jinlan pushed me away and told me not to get involved in her business. I got angry, so I stayed far away from them,” Cheng Jue said. ”About ten minutes or so later, I heard filming start in the main hall, and then not long after that, I heard someone had died.”

”Do you know Xu Jinlan?” Su Miaoyi asked him.

’And from the sound of it, they’re more than just simple acquaintances.’

”We’re in the same training program,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi was taken aback for a moment. ”Xu Jinlan is twenty-two. You’re in a training program together?”

”She’s always wanted to get into the Film Academy but keeps falling just short, so she keeps retaking the exams,” Cheng Jue said. ”She didn’t pass the arts entrance exam this year either.”

Su Miaoyi nodded, then asked again, ”Then let me ask you, why didn’t you say anything before?”

Cheng Jue didn’t answer.

Zhuang Yanzheng said, ”You think she’s the killer?”

”This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Xu Jinlan get hit,” Cheng Jue said. ”During the last show’s recording, I was passing by Liu Namo’s dressing room and saw him grabbing Xu Jinlan by the hair, dragging her along the floor for a distance, and then hitting her back with a stool several times.”

”I wanted to intervene that time, too, but someone nearby pulled me away.”

”Who pulled you away?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”Another NPC from last time. He isn’t here for this one,” Cheng Jue said. ”Later, I heard that Meng Yan had also been beaten by Liu Namo before. H-how is his behavior any different from domestic abuse?”

Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng both looked at him.

”I think when Xu Jinlan was being hit, her covering her mouth and not daring to scream seemed like a habitual action, like she’s been beaten many times,” Cheng Jue said. ”The kind where you don’t dare to get angry, don’t dare to speak out, and don’t dare to leave.”

”Anyway, I just feel like... Xu Jinlan might know something. When Liu Namo threatened to kill me, I just thought he was talking out of his...” Cheng Jue trailed off, glancing at Su Miaoyi and swallowing the word on the tip of his tongue. ”But Xu Jinlan’s reaction, it was like... she believed Liu Namo could actually kill her.”

”Besides, Liu Namo died in the coffin, and only Xu Jinlan was in there with him. Xu Jinlan was clearly terrified afterward; she couldn’t even speak when people talked to her. After being oppressed for so long and having a mental breakdown, it’s easy to do something crazy,” Cheng Jue reasoned.

”So? If she really is the killer, like you’re suggesting, are you trying to cover for her?” Su Miaoyi asked softly.

”Doesn’t Liu Namo deserve to die?” Cheng Jue shot back.

”Whether he deserves to die is for the law to decide,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Besides... all of this is just your speculation. Hearsay, hearsay, hearsay. Does hearing something mean it’s true?”

”Well, then... if the killer isn’t Xu Jinlan, then what I said has no reference value anyway. It wouldn’t have made a difference whether I said it or not,” Cheng Jue argued.

Hearing this, Su Miaoyi stood up, took her notebook, and smacked him with it.

Cheng Jue flinched from the blow, rubbing his head as he looked at Su Miaoyi, not daring to speak.

Zhuang Yanzheng turned off the recording and pretended he hadn’t seen a thing.

Su Miaoyi said, ”If Xu Jinlan is the killer, do you have any idea that your actions would be breaking the law? Did you leave your brain behind in the examination hall?”

”I just think Xu Jinlan is pitiful, and that Liu Namo got what he deserved,” Cheng Jue said in a small voice.

”If you go to jail over this, won’t your parents be miserable? Won’t your sister be miserable?” Su Miaoyi was so angry her heart ached.

Cheng Jue lowered his head and fell silent...