The next morning, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou came to the traffic police brigade again.
They wanted to check the whereabouts of Liang Ting, Ye Lan, and Qiao Xuening's cars and their taxi records.
This approach first eliminates the possibility of a case within a case where " Liang Ting killed Lin Yiyan, and was then killed by Jin Xiaoyue." It also allows for verification of Qiao Xuening and Ye Lan's entry and exit records for those two days.
As it turns out, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou's speculations were correct; Liang Ting was not the kind of scheming person who plotted murder.
On the two days following the incident, the 16th and 17th, Liang Ting's white sedan with license plate number Bin A-T7777 drove from her residence to the hospital every morning and returned home around dinnertime. During those two days, Liang Ting and Xie Yuan's youngest daughter was hospitalized with pneumonia and staying at a private home in the suburbs.
Hospital VIP Ward: Liang Ting goes to the hospital during the day to take care of her daughter, while Xie Yuan takes over at night, which is consistent with Xie Yuan's description.
On the evening of the 16th, Liang Ting drove home from the hospital, and her car didn't leave again. There was no record of Liang Ting taking a taxi late at night on the ride-hailing app. On the morning of the 17th, she drove back to the hospital, proving that Liang Ting stayed at home the night Lin Yiyan was murdered.
Liang Ting has been completely ruled out as a suspect.
Ye Lan was with members of 505 Girl Group on both the 16th and 17th. She is the least suspicious, as the other four members and the 505 Girl Group manager can all testify that Ye Lan did not leave the group during those two days. Her presence was merely to draw out the clue involving Xie Yuan and Lin Yiyan.
As for Qiao Xuening, she was filming a variety show in the mountains those two days, which proves that there were also many people at the scene.
Manager Qi Ming's alibi is also very strong. He took a taxi at 3:30 p.m. and was captured by the surveillance camera at the entrance of the community. Lin Yiyan's car was driven out of the community at 4 p.m., which does not match the time.
Since the suspects all have alibis, there are only two possibilities.
First, none of these suspects are the murderer; the real murderer is still hiding in the shadows and has not yet come out.
Second, the suspects may actually be the murderers, and their alibis are problematic.
Yu Hanjiang rechecked Lin Yiyan's vehicle information. He went to the 4S store to inquire based on the model of the burned car. After checking, he confirmed that the two black sedans with matching license plates were both new cars produced a year ago, and the person who paid for the cars was Cheng Yu.
In other words, Cheng Yu bought two cars at once and gave one away to the lover. Lin Yiyan. This car is quite valuable, but for a rich second-generation like Cheng Yu, giving his girlfriend a car during their relationship is a piece of cake.
Lin Yiyan's second car, the sports car with the license plate number matching her birthday, was purchased by her manager. Qi Ming was obviously a gift from Qi Ming to Lin Yiyan for her birthday.
All of this information was within Yu Hanjiang's expectations, and the investigation was only to confirm it to the fullest extent.
After returning to the Police Station, he organized all the information on the Lin Yiyan case and then went to Binzhou TV station.
—Director and staff of the variety show " The Dark Closes Its Eyes ".
This variety show happened to be recorded by Binzhou City TV. The production team was located in the broadcasting and television station building. When Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou arrived at the production team, they were doing the final editing.
Yu Hanjiang showed his police ID to the production team, who immediately said they would cooperate with the investigation.
The director was a veteran of the TV station, in his forties, but full of youthful energy. He loved to laugh when he spoke. Yu Hanjiang called him to a separate office next door and asked, "Are you sure Qiao Xuening was recording the show on the 16th and 17th of last month?"
The director nodded: "Of course we're sure. In order to edit out the best program, we played several rounds of games and didn't rest until after 3 a.m. Qiao Xuening doesn't know how to play these games and always gets voted out. She looks so helpless, but it's quite funny when we film it."
Xiao Lou often played this murder mystery game with his classmates when he was in college. People who didn't know how to play were indeed easy to become cannon fodder.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "What was the lighting like on set during the recording? Was it clear enough to see everyone's faces?"
The director said, "During the murder segment at night, the lighting will be deliberately adjusted to be very dim to create a scary atmosphere. But when it comes to the voting segment at dawn, the lighting technician will turn the lighting up very brightly, and our cameraman will also zoom in to give all the guests' faces close-ups. Of course, you can see their faces clearly. Otherwise, when the show airs, it won't be interesting for the audience to see a few dark figures playing games."
Yu Hanjiang then asked, "Was the venue closed off when the show was being recorded? Is it possible that an outsider sneaked in?"
The director immediately shook his head and said, "Outsiders can't get in. Recording a show at night is inherently risky. We've put up a cordon around the area and hired security personnel to guard it. We need to ensure the safety of all guests and staff."
Yu Hanjiang: "So, in other words, no one came in or left during the process?"
The director said, "Yes."
Yu Hanjiang then asked, " Was there anything unusual about Qiao Xuening that night? Her expression, voice, or the way she walked?"
The director said, "She was in pretty good condition that day and was very polite to everyone. She just had a slight cold and her voice was a little hoarse when she spoke, but it was okay and didn't affect the recording of the show."
Yu Hanjiang: "What about her leg? Is there anything wrong with it?"
The director paused for a moment, then came to his senses and said, "Oh, I remember now. She accidentally fell off a horse while filming a scene in a martial arts drama. I heard she broke her leg and was hospitalized. I was worried about whether she could record the show. She told me it depended on her recovery, and later, after she was discharged from the hospital, she said she could record. On the day we recorded the show, she was recovering very well and walking normally."
The director paused, then added, "Our show doesn't involve much physical activity. When it gets dark, the guests all go into the tent, and the murderer comes out to leave a sign on the tent for the person they want to kill. When it gets light, everyone walks out of the tent, which is only a few steps, so it won't have much impact on her legs."
Yu Hanjiang: "She's alone? Didn't the manager come with her?"
The director nodded and said, "All the guests are the same person. Our production team has assistants who will arrange their food and accommodation."
After asking his question, Yu Hanjiang said, "Please give me the recorded program; I want the unedited original version."
Director: "Okay."
Yu Hanjiang then asked other staff members, including makeup artists and stylists, who all said that apart from the cold, Qiao Xuening had no other abnormalities, seemed to be recovering well, and could walk normally.
stable.
—He has a good temper and is very polite to everyone.
Almost everyone describes Qiao Xuening in this way.
Soon, the director arranged for someone to give Yu Hanjiang the original footage of the program.
Yu Hanjiang took it back and showed it to Xiao Lou carefully. As the director said, they were filming the show deep in the mountains, and the atmosphere of terror was indeed very realistic. There was a distance between the tents, and when the murderer came out to put up signs on the tents, it really sent chills down your spine.
Each tent has a camera that can film the guests' behavior when they are alone in the tent.
Several times, the camera zoomed in on Qiao Xuening's expression. She sat in the tent, looking somewhat nervous, constantly clenching her fingers and biting her lip, seemingly worried that the culprit might stick the sign on her back. On the day of filming, she was wearing a thick down jacket and holding a hand warmer; she had a slight cold and sometimes couldn't help coughing.
Qiao Xuening is indeed not very good at this kind of game. During the Villager voting stage, the other guests talked nonsense in a serious manner to clear their names, but when it was Qiao Xuening's turn to speak, her eloquence was far inferior to that of the other guests, and she was always voted out in the first round.
His bewildered expression made him look like a game mascot.
Xiao Lou carefully observed her walking posture. Upon seeing her turn and enter the tent, he immediately paused the video, pointing to her legs and saying, "Her left leg fracture has just healed, so when she walks, she subconsciously shifts her weight to her right leg. It's not immediately obvious, but upon closer inspection, the stride she takes with her left leg is different from her right, and her pelvis tilts slightly towards her healthy side."
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly: "According to Qu Wanyue, Qiao Xuening is now very agile, not only in walking but also in dancing. On November 17th, she was recording a program in the mountains, and at that time, she would subconsciously shift her weight to her right leg when walking. It's only been a week since then, how could she have recovered so quickly? Not only can she move freely, but she can also dance?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "Even if the leg recovers, the psychological adjustment won't be so quick. Walking normally is understandable, but to act as if nothing's wrong while dancing is something I've never seen before... Qiao Xuening's leg injury definitely has a problem."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou with admiration. Professor Xiao, with her keen eyes, noticed that Qiao Xuening's left and right legs moved differently when she walked, and deduced that she was putting her weight on her right leg. Clearly, the injury to her left leg was still having some psychological impact on her.
So, how come Qiao Xuening, who is in front of Qu Wanyue, looks so calm and composed when she dances ballet?
*
That afternoon, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou arrived at the film set together.
The film crew's security personnel wouldn't let them in, but Yu Hanjiang's police ID served as their pass. Upon seeing the ID, the other party immediately tried to call for help, but Yu Hanjiang shook his head and said, "The police are conducting a secret investigation; let's not alert anyone else for now."
The group of security guards looked at each other in bewilderment.
At that moment, the crew was filming a scene between the male and female leads. The entire crew was in a flurry of activity, with staff from various groups gathered together. There were dozens of people present, including lighting, sound effects, photography, and script supervision. Therefore, the appearance of Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou did not attract much attention. When Qu Wanyue, Liu Qiao, and others saw them, they pretended not to recognize them and continued to stay at their posts.
The scene depicts the male lead misunderstanding the female lead and leaving in anger. The female lead chases after him in the street for a while, accidentally falls to the ground, silently sheds tears, and finally turns away in despair.
This idol drama follows a melodramatic plot where the female lead suffers first, then the male lead suffers.
Since filming had already begun, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou stood at a distance and watched.
After several days of getting used to each other, Cheng Yu and Qiao Xuening have developed a very good rapport. Cheng Yu's portrayal of anger was spot-on; Qiao Xuening chased after him, fell down, and gasped in pain. She lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Her tears come so easily; she cries so bitterly without needing eye drops. It's amazing.
Xiao Lou whispered in Yu Hanjiang's ear, " Qiao Xuening's acting skills are indeed quite good."
It's said that her crying scenes have almost become the benchmark in the entertainment industry, and she truly lives up to her reputation.
The director was very happy and said with a smile, "Okay, cut! You were both in good form today. This scene was quite difficult. I thought it would take all afternoon to film, but you two got it right in one take. The crew is on holiday, everyone go home and rest!"
Cheers erupted from the surrounding area.
Cheng Yu ran over and said cheekily, "Director Zhang, hasn't my acting improved rapidly?"
The director jokingly scolded, "It's all thanks to Xue Ning's excellent leadership!"
Qiao Xuening bowed politely to the director: "Thank you, Director Zhang, thank you everyone."
Director Zhang waved his hand and said, "Everyone, you can go now. I'll have the assistant director send you the scenes to film tomorrow morning. Go back and prepare well; they're all dance scenes." He looked at Qiao Xuening's legs and asked, "By the way, can your legs handle it?"
Qiao Xuening smiled and said, "Yes, I've fully recovered."
The director said earnestly, "Don't push yourself. If your legs develop a chronic condition, it could last a lifetime. You'll suffer a lot from arthritis when you get old. If necessary, you can hire a stunt double. We can film close-ups of your legs directly with the stunt double, and I'll have the post-production team handle the rest."
Qiao Xuening immediately refused: "Really, it's not necessary. I can do it myself."
The manager next to her looked at her helplessly and said, "Actually, I also suggested that we use a stunt double for the difficult dance scenes, but Xue Ning insisted on doing them herself. She studied dance when she was a child and has a very solid foundation. At the beginning of this year, before she injured her leg, she even took a month off to take ballet classes in preparation for this film. She didn't want all that effort to go to waste."
The director smiled with satisfaction: "Xue Ning is indeed a very dedicated actress, so let's leave it at that."
"It's settled then. You'll go in person tomorrow, and we'll see how it goes. If you can stick with it, it would be best if you could film it yourself."
Qiao Xuening nodded: "Okay, Director Zhang."
Yu Hanjiang heard the entire conversation between the two.
After the director left, Yu Hanjiang approached Qiao Xuening and said calmly, "Miss Qiao, we meet again."
Qiao Xuening paused for a moment, then said softly, " Officer Yu? You came to the film set to see me. Is there any progress in Xiao Yan's case?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Mm."
Qiao Xuening exclaimed with delight, "That's great!"
The manager next to him said nervously, " Officer Yu, there are too many people on set, let's go back and talk."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou returned to the hotel with Qiao Xuening and the Manager.
The manager poured water for the two men and asked, " Who killed Lin Yiyan? Do you have any leads?"
Yu Hanjiang's sharp gaze fell on Qiao Xuening: "We'll have to wait until we've seen Miss Qiao's double before we can be sure."
Qiao Xuening's expression changed slightly: "W-what stand?"
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "It's the stunt double who broke your leg in place of you during the last period drama filming... What, Miss Qiao, you've forgotten so quickly?"