The producer was followed by the art director.
She was in her thirties, with messy hair tied in a bun. Her face looked rather stern, even harsh.
"What's the matter?" The art director asked irritably, "I just slept, can't we talk about this tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid there won't be work tomorrow, just to delay you for a while." Jian Jing continued to use trust to bring the two sides closer, "Let's just chat."
The art director frowned and reluctantly agreed to let her in.
Jian Jing looked around. Qu Jie's room was also very messy, with sketches and drafts piled full on the desk and bed. A laptop was running simulation software.
The ashtray was filled with cigarette butts, the window was open, but there was still a strong smell of smoke.
"Have a seat anywhere." The art director sat in the armchair, crossed her legs, lit a cigarette, "What do you want to ask?"
Jian Jing got straight to the point: "What do you think of Qu Jie's death?"
The art director said indifferently: "No opinion, it wasn't me who died."
"I heard Qu Jie wasn't very popular."
"There are always stupid people in the world." The art director swore nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter if people like him die, don't expect me to sympathize with him - I have to sympathize with myself, preparing for this drama for years and then this happens as soon as shooting starts, don't know what to do next."
Jian Jing said, "Who do you think would have this kind of motive to kill Qu Jie?"
The art director shrugged: "I don't know, maybe a lot of people."
"You came back at 11:50 tonight, did you hear anything?" she asked.
"I didn't notice." The art director answered without thinking, "After I came back I took a shower, then I was busy with my work, didn't pay attention to anything."
"I see..." Jian Jing looked at her window, "Has this window been open all this time?"
The art director said: "It's been open for a while."
"Do you still remember the time?"
She thought for a moment and said, "I remember it was just past 12. I felt stuffy, so I smoked at the window, then I just left it open."
Jian Jing was immediately interested: "So if someone walked past the window, you should have noticed?"
"Maybe." She didn't give a definite answer.
Jian Jing went to the window and leaned out.
A moment later, she got her answer and said goodbye to the art director: "Thank you for your cooperation, sorry for disturbing you."
The one who came back after 12 was the cinematographer, who was also the director of photography. He was 46 this year. Like many cinematographers, he was muscular, tall and big, standing there like an iron tower.
However, in contrast to his appearance, this cinematographer spoke slowly and even teased her.
"I didn't expect Teacher Jian not only to write detective novels herself, but also to really be able to solve cases." He said, "When old Li told me, I didn't believe it."
Jian Jing: "I just happened to come up with some ideas, hoping to help."
"This is the best. If we called the police, the media would definitely swarm like flies smelling something, endless inquiries, plus fans..." He shook his head, seemingly troubled, "Forget it, let's get to the point, what do you want to ask?"
Jian Jing: "What do you know about Qu Jie?"
"I wasn't very close with him, never worked with him before, only heard some news about him, reputation wasn't great." The cinematographer spoke bluntly.
Jian Jing pretended to be curious: "Not good in what way?"
"Not much talent, bad temper, likes to think highly of himself." He said, "But to be honest, there are so many people like this, so many that I'm not surprised at all. If they couldn't make money, they would have been out of the business long ago."
"But I think his acting is quite mediocre." She was genuinely surprised.
"Times have changed. Whether stars can make money or not has nothing to do with whether they can act." The cinematographer lamented, "If fans are willing to spend money on them, producers treat them like treasures."
Jian Jing said: "Would anyone resent him for this?"
"Colleagues definitely would, but no one here had any conflicts with him. If I must say, only Little Bai, but you know better than me, he wouldn't compete with an artist. Now making dramas is just playing around." He was straightforward, "I also wonder who would have such deep hatred to actually want to kill someone."
"In your opinion, no one in the crew had grievances with him to that extent?"
The cinematographer said slowly: "If it was just because of work, there was no need. I can't say everyone in our crew is very experienced, but there are more weirdos in the circle than you can imagine. Who hasn't encountered them before? Murder? Completely unnecessary, everyone will go their separate ways in three months."
Jian Jing heard the subtext: "What if it wasn't just because of work?"
"Then I wouldn't know." The cinematographer said, "Anyway I had no dealings with Qu Jie, his death causes me more trouble than benefits."
"Your room is very close to his. When you came back, did you hear anything?"
"No."
"Any sounds over there?"
The cinematographer thought about it and still shook his head.
"Very quiet?"
"Anyway nothing special."
"From when you came back to when you found the body, were you in your room the whole time?"
He raised his eyebrows: "Suspecting me? Or do you need an alibi?"
"To be honest, you're not a small suspect." Jian Jing said seriously, "Qu Jie was strangled to death, the probability of the killer being a strong man is higher."
The cinematographer sucked in a breath and repeatedly denied: "I didn't kill him."
"Do you have an alibi?"
He regretfully shook his head: "Middle of the night, who can testify?"
"Did you make any phone calls to friends or family?"
He shook his head.
"Seeing other people's movements would work too." She prompted again.
But the cinematographer said: "I closed the doors and windows, didn't see anything."
Getting nowhere, Jian Jing could only regretfully leave.
Director Li was the last one.
When she got to him, it was already light out.
Director Li looked dispirited, sitting under the pavilion in the courtyard smoking. He opened his mouth and asked directly: "When can the investigation be over?"
Jian Jing: "...Not that fast."
"It's almost dawn. We have to re-arrange work this morning, only able to start shooting in the afternoon." He was very annoyed, "Now that he's dead, we might as well re-shoot everything from scratch, another huge expense."
Jian Jing covertly observed him.
Director Li muttered to himself: "I should have been more firm, shouldn't have let Qu Jie join the crew. Sigh."
"Should have known?" She was surprised, "You knew something would happen to him?"
Director Li reacted and quickly explained: "No no, I didn't mean that. Just, sigh, I met with Grandmaster Long before, he said my career would be sabotaged by evildoers and to be careful. I felt then it might be little Qu Jie, there were some rumors at the time..."
He vaguely said: "So I thought to delay it for a bit, who knew it would still...sigh!"
"When was this before?" Jian Jing asked, "Before shooting started?"
Director Li said: "Around July, August, when I was vacationing in Malaysia."
Jian Jing had a subtle expression.
No matter how you looked at it, Grandmaster Long seemed like a fraud. After all, vague predictions like "sabotaged by evildoers" or "cursed by resentful spirits", were like horoscopes, you could always find something to fit.
But his accuracy was a bit high. He said yesterday Qu Jie would run into trouble, and he died at midnight. Was it coincidence, real skill, or...the mastermind behind the murder?
With thoughts racing, Jian Jing couldn't help probing: "What do you think about Qu Jie's death?"
Director Li hesitated to speak.
"I'm not the police, nothing you say is testimony, don't worry." Jian Jing skillfully reassured.
Only then did Director Li lower his voice and half-reveal: "It's ghosts."
Jian Jing: "..." Although people in the entertainment industry generally held the belief "better safe than sorry" towards ghosts and spirits, someone so superstitious was still the first she had seen.
"Why is that?" She patiently asked.
Director Li spoke confidently: "I heard that female ghost specifically kills unfaithful men. She must have targeted little Qu Jie, knowing he fooled around, so got him killed."
Jian Jing's gaze changed subtly as she meaningfully asked: "Fooled around to the extent of being killed by a female ghost?"
Director Li sighed and revealed an indescribable subtle expression.
"The female ghost was abandoned while pregnant. Did Qu Jie do something like that too?" She keenly grasped the key point, "What all do you know?"
Director Li hesitated slightly, and said tactfully: "Little Qu is young and knows how to have fun. In my estimation, he must have gotten a girl pregnant before. This is nothing unusual."
"Are there girls like that in the crew?"
Director Li shook his head: "I'm not clear about that. You might as well ask his agent."
"Apart from moral issues, did he have any other conflicts with people in the crew?"
Director Li smiled wryly: "If I must say so, it was probably me. I scolded him this afternoon. But killing him, what's the use? Now I still have to find someone to replace him."
"What about other people?"
"There were some quarrels, but I don't think they were serious enough to kill someone." Director Li said fairly, "There are many temperamental celebrities. Everyone just has a working relationship, it wouldn't go that far."
Jian Jing thought for a moment. So far, everyone in the crew had similar accounts, believing that Qu Jie's death would instead affect filming progress, creating extra trouble for no reason. They had no need to do this.
"What was the relationship between the female lead and Qu Jie?" She found a new entry point.
Director Li said: "A little ambiguous."
Jian Jing made a "go on" gesture for him to explain in detail.
"It was when they collaborated before," Director Li said vaguely. "I only heard about it."
Jian Jing checked the time on her phone.
Female lead Bei got married three years ago, and worked with Qu Jie one and a half years ago.
Wow.
It looks like it's necessary to ask female lead Bei right away.
The sun had completely risen. Jian Jing finished the breakfast Jiang BaiYan brought and knocked on female lead Bei's door boldly.
She was applying a facial mask: "What's the matter?"
Jian Jing informed her that she had taken over the investigation of this case.
Female lead Bei had no interest, and absentmindedly said: "Oh, I see."
"I have a few questions I want to ask you," Jian Jing sat down on her own and looked her over for a moment. She decided to throw out a shock bomb as the opener, "Have you been in a bad mood recently because of Qu Jie?"
Female lead Bei looked over in surprise: "What?" She seemed very shocked. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Just guessing," Jian Jing smiled. "I've seen your previous shows. Your acting is quite good, but your condition has been obviously off these past two days, NG-ing many times."
Female lead Bei's expression suddenly darkened: "That has nothing to do with Qu Jie."
"That's strange then," Jian Jing murmured to herself. "I thought those vicious words he said yesterday were directed at you."
Yesterday, Qu Jie spat vicious words twice, once after the exorcism ritual, and once after arguing with Director Li. On the surface, it sounded like he was just venting anger, but Jian Jing was an advanced observant and would never miss the glance he stole at female lead Bei.
Plus, she just "consulted" with Jiang BaiYan earlier, and he confirmed that female lead Bei and her husband were party animals. Flirting while filming was commonplace, and they had even been caught by paparazzi before. But the couple still maintained a loving public image.
A married couple who had both cheated, if the wife was this distracted for so long just because the husband fooled around once?
Jian Jing boldly guessed that she wasn't depressed because of her husband's infidelity. The real reason was very likely Qu Jie.
"He didn't really threaten or blackmail you, did he?" she asked.