The Novelist Forced to Become Famous

Chapter 13

"Why?" Luo Jun's voice was much shriller than usual. "What do you mean by this?"

Jian Jing was now confident. Calmly, she said, "There's probably a trash bag hidden in your shoes, right? I'd like to take a look."

Luo Jun's face was ashen. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Classmate, we have voice recorders on, everything you say inconsistently will be documented," Ji Feng said placidly. "I advise you to confess on your own initiative - lighter sentencing is possible for voluntary confessions. You're still young."

It was as if someone had punched Luo Jun in the face. He staggered back half a step, leaning against a desk, his teeth chattering, hands clenched, not knowing what he was thinking.

Taking advantage of his falter, Jian Jing pressed on, "The women's bathroom on the fourth floor isn't the primary crime scene. Did you think you could fool everyone? The coroner only needs to examine where the fatal wound is."

"You suspected me from the start?" Luo Jun looked up at her incredulously. "You said you suspected Hu."

"I lied to you. What if you decided to kill me too?" Jian Jing said expressionlessly. "We're recording everything. If your words and deeds don't match up, it'll all be documented. I advise you to turn yourself in for a lighter sentence. You're still young."

It was as if someone had punched Luo Jun in the face. He staggered back half a step, leaning against a desk, his teeth chattering, hands clenched, not knowing what he was thinking.

Taking advantage of his falter, Jian Jing pressed on, "The women's bathroom on the fourth floor isn't the primary crime scene. Did you think you could fool everyone? The coroner only needs to examine where the fatal wound is."

"You suspected me from the start?" Luo Jun looked up at her incredulously. "You said you suspected Hu."

"I lied to you. What if you decided to kill me too?" Jian Jing said expressionlessly. "We're recording everything. If your words and deeds don't match up, it'll all be documented. I advise you to turn yourself in for a lighter sentence. You're still young."

Luo Jun reacted as if he had been punched in the face. Staggering back half a step, he leaned against a desk, teeth chattering and hands clenched, not knowing what to think.

Seizing the momentum, Jian Jing went in for the kill: "The fourth floor women's restroom wasn't the primary crime scene. Did you think you could pull the wool over everyone's eyes? The coroner only needs to examine the fatal wound to know where the murder happened."

"You suspected me all along?" Luo Jun looked up at her in disbelief. "You said you suspected Hu."

"I lied to mislead you. What if you decided to kill me too?" Jian Jing said emotionlessly. "We're recording everything. Any inconsistencies in your words and actions will be documented. I advise you to turn yourself in - voluntary confessions can get reduced sentencing. You're still young."

It was as if Jian Jing had punched Luo Jun in the face. He staggered back half a step, leaning on a desk, teeth chattering and hands clenched, not knowing what to think.

Seizing the momentum, Jian Jing went in for the kill: "The fourth floor women's restroom wasn't the primary crime scene. Did you think you could pull the wool over everyone's eyes? The coroner only needs to examine the fatal wound to know where the murder happened."

Luo Jun finally collapsed under the pressure. "Turns out I'm just a fool." He rubbed his face and looked around at the coming and going policemen. "Officers, I confess. I killed Tang Yu Ran."

He described how he murdered Tang Yu Ran, just as Jian Jing had deduced.

A week ago, he had signed a contract to appear in a commercial shoot. An agent thought he had potential and was considering signing him.

Luo Jun was eager to make his debut, even with a small company's small-time agent. After in-depth discussions, he finally received a letter of intent.

The contract stipulated that he must remain "single" to avoid complications if he became famous later.

So Luo Jun broke up with Tang Yu Ran.

But Tang Yu Ran didn't agree. She thought it was ridiculous for Luo Jun to consider fame before even having debuted - like a grade schooler contemplating whether to aim for Tsinghua or Peking University.

But she understood her boyfriend's mindset and told him that instead of breaking up over something so nebulous, why not consider acting in a Mystery Club movie - she would help him gain some online notoriety, hence the subsequent "movie-within-a-movie" plan.

However, Luo Jun didn't believe in his girlfriend's capabilities. He was just afraid she would sabotage things, so he didn't immediately reject the role.

Tang Yu Ran thought there was still hope. She wanted to prove herself, so after setting up the scene tonight, she called Luo Jun to the small garden downstairs and explained her entire plan.

But Luo Jun wasn't interested at all. He felt Tang Yu Ran was clinging onto him and trying to obstruct his road to stardom.

"Stop pestering me!" he said in disgust. "We broke up already!"

"Trust me, I can help you. Breaking up over something so ephemeral is ridiculous," Tang Yu Ran desperately tried to salvage their relationship. "Is our love not worth more than some vague future?"

Yes, it wasn't worth more.

What Luo Jun thirsted for was the limelight center stage, the wild screams of adoring fans, money, fame and status - not some girl's affections.

He believed he deserved a better future.

"Stay away from me." He shoved the girl forcefully away, like brushing aside a stumbling block in his path, showing no mercy.

Caught off guard, Tang Yu Ran fell and cracked her head on a sharp rock, dying instantly.

Luo Jun panicked, afraid of the consequences of killing someone, yet also worried that if the truth came out, he would lose his chance to sign the contract and become a star.

He decided to cover it up.

Leaving the body in the garden risked it being discovered by Wang or Hu, so he took the back route through the garden and stashed it in the 2nd floor women's restroom.

With a women's restroom on the 4th floor, it was unlikely Jian Jing or Zuo Xin would come downstairs, so it seemed temporarily safe.

After returning to the classroom, he noticed a knife in Hu's backpack, which sparked the idea to frame Hu. When no one was looking, he secretly pocketed it.

When Hu called him downstairs to put on makeup, he quickly went down to stage a murder scene in the 2nd floor women's restroom.

But he realized corpses don't bleed much postmortem, so he couldn't achieve the desired bloody effect. In a panic, he recalled Tang Yu Ran's movie plan and carried the body upstairs to the 4th floor women's restroom to fake the crime scene.

Finally, he tossed the murder weapon into the trash can in the 3rd floor men's room. Worried that the trash bag with traces of blood would not flush down the toilet, he simply hid it in his shoe sole.

The whole process was not watertight, but he got lucky. Zuo Xin was on a phone call on the 4th floor, Hu, Deng and Jian Jing were in the classroom, and Wang was wandering downstairs filming rain scenes - he didn't encounter anyone the entire time.

Brimming with confidence, he thought he had pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. Especially when Jian Jing said she suspected Hu - he couldn't help gloating to himself: Some genius mystery writer, wasn't she still completely fooled by me?

But in just half an hour, he was exposed red-handed with nowhere to hide.

This humiliating moment caused his psychological defenses to completely crumble.

"It was all because of her. If she hadn't pestered me, I wouldn't have..." Luo Jun still tried to defend himself.

Zuo Xin was furious. "You were the one who broke up and lied that she cheated! What nerve! Who do you think you are? Still hoping to become a star? Disgusting!"

Jian Jing was also flabbergasted. Scumbags were common, but ones like this were rare.

But she no longer had the energy to argue. She simply grabbed the leftover cola beside her and poured the carbonated drink all over Luo Jun's head. "Trash."

Luo Jun's face alternated between green and white, looking extremely ugly.

Ji Feng signaled the officers with his eyes. "Take him back to verify his confession. Not bad today, we can get off work early."

Jian Jing reflexively glanced at her watch. "It's 1 AM. You call that early?"

"It's early. I still have time to grab a midnight snack," Ji Feng said in an excellent mood, even joking with her. "Want me to treat you? The station's special instant noodles, and we can do your statement.

Jian Jing: "..." No thanks.

"Some other time." She didn't want to go.

Ji Feng didn't push it and proceeded systematically with work. Although the suspect had confessed, procedures still needed to be followed.

Luo Jun led the police to identify the original crime scene. Everyone else went their separate ways, just needing to cooperate with the investigation later.

But as they split up, Wang the cameraman suddenly brought up a tough question: "With Tang Yu Ran dead and Luo Jun the murderer, what do we do about our movie?"

Everyone's mood instantly turned complicated.

Tang Yu Ran had arranged a movie-within-a-movie for Luo Jun to generate buzz for her boyfriend. But who could have imagined her death and his murder would be even more sensational than the plan?

Art is derived from life, and life is always more absurd than art.

*

Two days later, Jian Jing learned from Ji Feng that Tang Yu Ran's case was closed.

The murder caused quite a stir at school, with online posts flooding in. Concerned about public perceptions, the school administration required the Mystery Club be disbanded.

Everyone silently accepted this, and plans for the movie were thoroughly scuttled.

Deng the props master and Hu tallied up the club accounts. Various deposits and rentals totaled over 10,000 RMB. Added to the 10,000+ RMB originally earmarked for distribution, almost 30,000 RMB was returned to Jian Jing.

Jian Jing accepted it and offered to treat everyone to a meal, but Hu declined.

"Your money was wasted without producing anything. I can't let you treat us. Let me do it." He booked a private room at a club restaurant near school for a farewell dinner.

On the day, turnout was low and the mood downbeat.

Understandably, enjoying mystery fiction was one thing, but witnessing a classmate's wretched death was another. How could they process it in just a few days?

Zuo Xin chatted with Jian Jing. After taking down the scumbag together, their friendship suddenly blossomed, and they started the requisite girl talk - gossip.

"Know why Wang Hao dislikes you?" she asked mysteriously.

Jian Jing was curious. "Why?"

"Last year when the Mystery Club was recruiting, he tried talking to you and complimented your writing. You chatted a bit and he even asked you for an autograph. But the next week at the club activity, when he greeted you, you asked who he was." Zuo Xin threw up her hands - the truth was that simple.

Jian Jing: "..." That's it?

Zuo Xin's eyes told her, that's it.

"People often come asking me to sign things. They all say similar things - I love your work, you write so well... After so many times, I simply can't remember who's who." To be precise, she didn't forget fans' actions, just their specific faces. If Wang Hao thought she deliberately snubbed him, he was overthinking things.

Zuo Xin nodded in realization. "I see, you're usually so aloof, I thought..." She didn't finish, changing the topic. "But even not knowing Tang Yu Ran well, you worked so hard to find her killer. I knew you were warm-hearted deep down and cared about justice."

Jian Jing froze.

To be honest, while she certainly hoped the killer would be brought to justice if someone died innocently, she probably wouldn't have investigated personally if not for the system's requirements. Solving cases was the police's job - ordinary people shouldn't get involved. It was unprofessional and too dangerous.

But Zuo Xin's words stirred up strange feelings inside her.

"Just coincidence. Luo Jun killed impulsively and left plenty of evidence. I got lucky in guessing he was the murderer." She explained, "If the killer is caught, that's enough."

"You did great already!" Zuo Xin said self-deprecatingly. "I've watched lots of mystery shows but didn't even realize the first scene was staged. I'm useless."

Jian Jing had no intention of flaunting borrowed knowledge. She smiled and brushed it off. "As long as the killer is caught."

"I hope all the cases can catch the murderer," Zuo Xin said emotionally. "I heard a saying before that the longer a case drags on, the lower the probability of cracking it becomes. But now the crime rate is so high..."

Jian Jing was startled, and suddenly fell silent.

She almost forgot this was not the original world. In the past, some people might not even witness a murder case in their lifetime, but in less than half a month since she came to this world, she had already experienced two cases.

"Let's not talk about this," Zuo Xin cheered up and teased her. "You write detective stories and can even solve cases. Maybe in the future you can become a writer-detective."

Jian Jing: ( ̄_ ̄|||)

Would she change her name to Conan Edogawa?

While inwardly sarcastic, a hidden, completely new feeling slowly spread to her chest, like drinking a cup of hot coffee in the freezing winter, warm and comfortable.

Although solving cases was forced socializing, miraculously...it wasn't bad.