When Yu Hanjiang decided to expand the scope of the search, he compiled Lin Yiyan's yearbooks from her high school and college years.
She decided to apply to Film Academy in her second year of high school. According to her parents, she rarely saw her high school classmates after getting into Film Academy, and she didn't attend the class reunions during the winter and summer vacations. She only kept in touch with her two best friends from high school. Neither of them currently lives in Binzhou City, and they only get together with Lin Yiyan during the Chinese New Year.
These two high school classmates had no motive for murder and were not in Binzhou City, so they were clearly not closely related to this case.
The classmates in college are more complicated.
Lin Yiyan is a student in the Performing Arts Department at Film Academy. Several of her classmates have already made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry and become popular celebrities. They stick together for mutual support, and at least on the surface, the classmates seem to have a very harmonious relationship and often organize gatherings.
These popular classmates all publicly sent birthday wishes to Lin Yiyan on Weibo on October 29th.
These people's names are all in Yu Hanjiang's notebook, including Qiao Xuening.
Unlike Lin Yiyan, who had a smooth and successful career after her debut, Qiao Xuening's journey in the entertainment industry has been fraught with difficulties. She has overcome numerous obstacles and suffered setbacks to secure her current position.
She started out playing minor supporting roles in various web dramas, such as maids, backup dancers, servants, and villains. She played supporting roles for three whole years, and no one knew the name " Qiao Xuening ". You can imagine the hardships she endured.
Her career took a turn for the better thanks to Lin Yiyan's support.
That was eight years ago. Lin Yiyan was already somewhat famous then, working as a manager. With Qi Ming's full support, she starred in four different types of TV dramas, which received good ratings and reviews, and she gained over a million Weibo followers.
Starlight Entertainment invested in a big-budget historical drama, and Lin Yiyan took on the lead role. The other concubines needed to be selected through open auditions, so she introduced resources to her college classmate Qiao Xuening, who then played the fourth female lead in the drama.
The fourth female lead didn't have many scenes, and her ending was quite tragic, but fortunately, her character was very distinctive. Qiao Xuening had been playing supporting roles for several years, and through honing her skills, her acting had improved. She portrayed this tragic character with remarkable depth, especially in the final scene where she committed suicide, which moved many viewers to tears and even trended on social media several times.
It was because of this drama that Qiao Xuening became known to the audience and to directors in the industry.
The directors discovered that this young girl had pretty good acting skills.
As a result, Qiao Xuening went from being an unknown nobody to a representative of the "new generation of acting talents" in the eyes of directors. Naturally, she received more film offers afterward, with a constant stream of good scripts and directors even specifically requesting her to play the female lead. Her popularity steadily rose.
Unfortunately, she was really unlucky.
Just two years after she became famous, some scandals about her suddenly surfaced online. Qiao Xuening had a relationship after graduating from high school with a cool-looking internet cafe guy. In order to pursue him, she stayed up all night playing games in the internet cafe. The two took many intimate photos and videos, including many indecent photos of Qiao Xuening without clothes.
The person who leaked these videos and photos was none other than her ex-boyfriend.
It is said that Qiao Xuening dumped him less than a year after starting university, and her ex-boyfriend suddenly revealed these scandals when Qiao Xuening was at the height of her fame, just to get revenge.
Seeing her nude photos circulating all over the internet, Qiao Xuening almost had an emotional breakdown.
At the press conference, she broke down in tears, saying that she had been unlucky in love when she was young, and had foolishly fallen for a scumbag based solely on his looks. She even took so many indecent photos with him, which she said was the most regrettable thing she had ever done. She not only publicly condemned the scumbag's despicable act of releasing the private videos and took him to court, but also publicly apologized to her fans.
The explicit photos circulating online have severely damaged Qiao Xuening's reputation. However, she demonstrated a good sense of crisis and handled the situation well, earning the sympathy of her fans…
After being silenced for two whole years due to the setback, Qiao Xuening mustered up the courage to return to the entertainment industry.
In the subsequent TV dramas she filmed, her acting skills improved significantly, especially her crying scenes, which almost became a benchmark in the entertainment industry, easily moving the audience's emotions. Coupled with several awards she later won, Qiao Xuening gradually redeemed her image.
Actually, it can't be said that she was entirely at fault for what happened back then. Filming intimate videos privately is everyone's freedom; the man who leaked the videos was the real culprit. After clearing her name, she became increasingly low-key, treating her staff and other actors with great politeness and courtesy. She's also known for her professionalism on set. It's said that she would repeatedly memorize the script before each filming session and rarely forgot her lines during filming.
During the filming of " Twin Flowers," the manager suggested that Qiao Xuening use a stunt double for the difficult dance moves. However, Teacher Qu said that Qiao Xuening was very dedicated to the drama and even took a month of dance classes specifically to play the female lead well.
On the surface, this female celebrity appears to be strong-willed, hardworking, and her experiences over the years are quite inspiring.
When Xiao Lou was compiling information on the stars of Starlight Entertainment Company, he had already compiled information on Qiao Xuening, because he already knew that Qiao Xuening was the female lead in the drama " Twin Flowers," and the information would definitely be useful.
Because Xiao Lou had the foresight to compile the information, Yu Hanjiang was very clear about Qiao Xuening's experience.
Upon hearing Cheng Yu mention Qiao Xuening, Yu Han
The information quickly flashed through Jiang's mind. He and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance and decided to personally question Qiao Xuening.
It was 8 p.m. Although " Twin Flowers " was a melodramatic idol drama, the lead actors were popular stars Qiao Xuening and Cheng Yu. The investors provided a lot of money, and the director was also very generous, booking an entire floor of a five-star hotel for the famous actors to stay there during filming.
Qiao Xuening's room was 7311. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou went to Qiao Xuening's place and knocked on the door.
A young woman, presumably the assistant, opened the door. She paused for a moment when she saw the two of them and said, "Did you two knock on the wrong door?"
Yu Hanjiang showed his police officer ID: "Police are handling a case."
The female assistant immediately turned around and went back into the room to find the manager.
Qiao Xuening's manager was a middle-aged woman in her forties. Her attire suggested maturity and composure. She politely nodded to Yu Hanjiang and said, "Officer, what case are you investigating? Why are you here? Are you sure you haven't come to the wrong person?"
Yu Hanjiang asked, " Is Ms. Qiao Xuening in the room?"
The manager was stunned: "This..."
Yu Hanjiang said, "We've come to her to understand some things, and we hope she can cooperate."
The manager had no choice but to bite the bullet and invite the two inside, since obstructing the police investigation would cause a major commotion.
When the two entered the room, they saw Qiao Xuening wearing loose clothes and barefoot, doing the splits on the carpet next to her. Qu Wanyue was also there. After seeing Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, Qu Wanyue pretended not to recognize them, stood up and walked to the manager's side and asked, "Sister Xu, what's going on?"
Sister Xu frowned and said, " Teacher Qu, thank you for your help today. You can go back now. I still have some things to take care of. I'll find time to talk to you tomorrow."
Qu Wanyue glanced at Xiao Lou, nodded, and turned to leave.
After the manager dismissed the assistant, leaving only four people in the room, Qiao Xuening stood up with a puzzled look, straightened her clothes, put on her slippers, and approached Yu Hanjiang, politely asking, "And who are these two?"
Yu Hanjiang took out his police ID and said, "Hello, Ms. Qiao, I am from Binzhou City..." Captain Yu Hanjiang of the Criminal Police Department is here investigating a criminal case. Do you know Lin Yiyan? What is your relationship with her?
Qiao Xuening was slightly taken aback: "Xiao Yan? Of course I know her. We were classmates and even lived in the same dorm for four years in college. We have a good relationship. The entertainment industry is so complicated. Having a few classmates who can take care of each other makes everyone's path much easier."
She looked at the Manager: "Sister Xu, please pour a glass of water for the two officers."
The manager politely poured three glasses of water and handed them to Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou. Yu Hanjiang casually placed them on the table without intending to drink them, but Qiao Xuening took a few sips, clearly having worked up a sweat during dance practice and was quite thirsty.
Qiao Xuening pointed to the balcony and said, "Gentlemen, sit down and chat."
Yu Hanjiang walked over and sat down on the sofa. Xiao Lou sat down next to him and took out a notebook and pen. Qiao Xuening sat opposite them, took a few sips of water to moisten her throat, and asked, " Officer Yu, why did you suddenly ask about Xiao Yan? Did something happen?"
Yu Hanjiang then asked, "Where were you on November 16th and 17th, and what did you do?"
Qiao Xuening said, "The 16th? I think I was recording a variety show." She looked up at the manager, "Sister Xu, could you check for me? I was so busy last week, I was completely overwhelmed, so I don't remember the date very clearly."
The manager opened his phone, checked the records carefully, and then said, "That's right, Xue Ning was filming the variety show ' The Dark Closes Its Eyes ' in the suburbs last Monday and Tuesday. The production team invited her to be a guest, and I have her schedule here."
She handed her phone to Yu Hanjiang and said, "I took her to the mountains at noon on the 16th and picked her up at noon on the 17th. This program was filmed in the mountains to create the atmosphere."
Xiao Lou paused for a moment, then asked, " The Dark Closes Its Eyes? So you give everyone some identity cards—police, killer, Civilian —and then play a murder mystery game where the killer has to kill all the Civilians to win, and the police have to find the killer mixed in and guide the Civilians to vote to expel the killer… Is that how the rules are?"
Qiao Xuening smiled and nodded: "You play too?"
Xiao Lou said, "I used to play a lot when I was in school."
Qiao Xuening explained, "This show only started filming its first season this year. In order to attract viewers, the production team invited many famous guests. This time, our filming is a 12-person game mode, with 4 killers, 4 police officers, and 4 Civilians. Everyone lives in a tent... The director said that when it gets dark, the killers will come out and put labels on people, and the person who is labeled is killed."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "What identity card did you draw?"
Qiao Xuening said with a wry smile, "I drew the police role in the first round, but unfortunately I wasn't very good at it, so the Villagers voted me out. The show didn't turn out very well. We recorded all night and played five rounds in total. In the end, the director will select the most interesting round to edit and produce."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "So you were filming a variety show in the mountains on the 16th and 17th?"
Qiao Xuening nodded and said, "Yes. To make the show more realistic, everyone had to stay in tents during filming. Luckily, Sister Xu prepared a rechargeable heater for me in advance, otherwise I would have caught a cold."
She paused, then looked at Yu Hanjiang with a puzzled expression: " Officer Yu, what exactly happened? Why do you keep asking me about the situation on the 16th and 17th? Nothing unexpected happened during the recording of the program, and everyone got along quite well."
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, " Miss Lin Yiyan died in her villa at Moon Lake Villa in the early hours of the 17th."
Qiao Xuening's face suddenly paled in shock. She gasped, and the cup in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. Her eyes widened in disbelief: "What? Xiaoyan...she's dead?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Yes, the time of death was between 3 and 4 a.m. on the 17th."
Xiao Lou carefully observed Qiao Xuening's expression. After hearing Captain Yu's words, her expression remained one of shock. After a moment, she finally came to her senses, her lips trembling slightly as she murmured, "How could this be? She sent me a WeChat message this morning..."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Can I see your phone?"
Qiao Xuening quickly handed her phone to Yu Hanjiang and opened her call log with Lin Yiyan: "Look, she messaged me this morning saying that she knows my new drama is about to start filming, so she won't be visiting the set and told me to take good care of myself on set."
The WeChat message was indeed sent at 9:00 AM today.
After receiving the message, Qiao Xuening replied, "Thank you, Xiaoyan. Let's get together properly after I finish filming!"
Lin Yiyan replied, "No problem, I'll make you your favorite cola chicken wings then."
Qiao Xuening replied with a row of hungry emojis: "You're making me hungry."
Lin Yiyan said, "I have to go now. I'm taking my family on a trip, so I might be a little slow to reply to messages these next few days. Just leave a message if you need anything."
Qiao Xuening: "Okay, have fun."
The conversation ended there.
Yu Hanjiang scrolled up; it was all Qiao Xuening and Lin Yiyan's daily greetings, and pictures of the two girls sharing cosmetics and bags. He couldn't see anything amiss. He handed the phone back to Qiao Xuening and asked, "You 've known Lin Yiyan for so many years. To your knowledge, during her university years and after her debut, has she ever had any conflicts with anyone?"
Qiao Xuening remained silent for a moment, her eyes flickered, and she hesitated to speak.
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "Miss Qiao, I hope you can tell us everything you know about Lin Yiyan."
Qiao Xuening took a deep breath, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she said in a trembling voice, "Xiao Yan was very good to me. When I was at my lowest point, I could only get supporting roles, and my monthly income was barely enough to eat. I could hardly even afford the rent. At that time, Xiao Yan was already very famous. Once, at a class reunion, I went to her and asked if she could help me get some opportunities. Xiao Yan agreed right away. I thought she was joking, but I didn't expect her to actually do it. She introduced me to a supporting role in a big-budget period drama, and later she introduced me to directors and screenwriters..."
At this point, the girl's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears welled up in them: "Back then, when my first boyfriend exposed my scandal, and netizens were spreading my photos everywhere and hurling nasty insults at me, Xiaoyan even spoke up for me... She was there for me in my time of need, and I've always remembered that kindness. I think she was a very kind person, how could anyone kill her?"
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance and looked at each other blankly.
It seems that Lin Yiyan's performative personality allows her to gain a sense of accomplishment by playing the role of a "benefactor" in front of her best friend. She generously helped this friend, and even now, Qiao Xuening still speaks highly of her.
Xiao Lou interjected softly, "Didn't she mention to you that she had any grudges with anyone?"
Qiao Xuening wiped her eyes awkwardly, looked away, and tried to remain calm as she said, "I never mentioned it. We usually talked about things like cosmetics, clothes, and perfumes. We're both busy and don't have much time to see each other. I originally wanted to go to her 30th birthday party this year, but I was shooting an advertisement those days, so I said we could meet at the end of the year... I never expected that she... she would be murdered?"
Yu Hanjiang asked, "How much do you know about her romantic history?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Qiao Xuening's face before she said after a moment, " I know about her relationship with the Manager."
Yu Hanjiang then asked, "No other boyfriend?"
Qiao Xuening shook her head: "She didn't mention it."
Yu Hanjiang reconfirmed Qiao Xuening's testimony, but ultimately found that he could not get any more clues from her, so he and Xiao Lou had to leave first.
Before leaving, Yu Hanjiang gave Qiao Xuening a business card and said, "Ms. Qiao, if you remember any clues about the Lin Yiyan murder case, please feel free to contact me."
Qiao Xuening took the business card, her eyes red, and said, "Yes, Captain Yu, take care. I hope you can solve the case as soon as possible. Xiaoyan was such a good person, she can't have died in vain. The murderer must be brought to justice!"
******