Chapter 7

Ever since time immemorial, watching the drama won hearts. The number of people in the full-network live stream directly soared to 3.8 million.

In the control room, Old Master Lu looked at Bureau Chief Wu’s ashen face and felt both annoyed and tense inside.

“The criminal actor your Lu Family found has some pretty strong skills and methods.”

Old Master Lu heard the sarcasm in Bureau Chief Wu’s words and didn’t dare say much.

It was originally meant for legal propaganda. If the criminals ended up winning by some chance, it wouldn’t just affect this variety show—the Lu Family’s future programs would face a lot more hurdles during approval.

Old Master Lu’s face turned ashen as he stared fixedly at the screen, his two hands overlapping on the cane handle, rubbing it nonstop.

What a good grandson—he really knew how to give him headaches.

In the hotel.

Tang Shen picked up Lu Jin’s phone. “After Xu An restored the already-deleted messages on the phone, it showed that before Lu Jin sent a message to Ou Yu, he had received an invitation from Ou Yu. Combining the timelines, Lu Jin’s message was actually a response to the one from Ou Yu. Based on the content in the phone, this Boss Lu had actually been secretly in love with Ou Yu all along. That explains why Lu Jin returned to his room shortly after going to the restaurant without even finishing his meal—he was waiting for Ou Yu.”

【Impossible. Ou Yu never sent that message at all.】

【This is slander, massive slander! I suspect there’s a mole in the Pursuit Team.】

【Am I the only one who saw it? When Brother Fen helped Ou Yu out, he smoothly took his phone. Then, when they were at the restaurant balcony and Brother Fen jokingly said he was going to kill Ou Yu, he quietly put the phone back.】

【What?! Who’s this Brother Fen you’re talking about? Such great skills—let me go check him out.】

【Daring to slander Ouyou. I knew that 18th-Tier Celeb was no good from the start.】

【This is a crime variety show— what’s wrong with slandering someone? If he runs into the boss, Brother Fen still says kill and kills. Can’t handle it if you can’t play?】

A bunch of people below chimed in 【Can’t handle it if you can’t play?】, pissing off Ou Yu plenty.

“Based on the clues we have so far,” Fang Si Ting’s steady voice rang out, “Ou Yu took the initiative to message the victim, telling him to wait in the room. The victim happened to feel the same way and returned to the room on his own. The two intended to do something improper and had called the front desk ahead of time to send clothes over afterward, while sending away the cleaner who was tidying up.

“Soon after, Ou Yu killed Lu Jin around 1:30 for some unknown reason. Worried that the hallway cameras would catch him as the last one to leave the room—and since he was the one who invited Lu Jin first—his suspicion would be too great. So he deleted the text he sent, staged the whole thing himself, blindfolded his eyes and mouth, bound his hands and feet behind him, and disguised himself as another victim until he was discovered.”

“You can bind the eyes, mouth, and feet, but the hands? Ou Yu’s hands were bound behind his back,” Bai Zhu’s puzzled voice came through the earpiece. “Wouldn’t that require someone to help from behind?”

Tang Shen said, “I found traces of tape residue on the edge of a fallen cabinet. Ou Yu could have stuck one end of the binding tape to the cabinet edge beforehand, aligned one wrist with the other end, and twisted his hands around to bind them himself.”

【Why do I actually think this makes sense?】

【Motive, evidence, the entire crime process clear and straightforward.】

【If I hadn’t come from Brother Fen’s live stream, I’d actually believe it.】

“So, the killer of Lu Jin is Ou Yu!” Tang Shen declared firmly.

【Bullshit!】

【Completely impossible!】

【What’s wrong with the Pursuit Team? They ignore the huge suspect and instead slander the victim as the killer?!】

【But he’s a criminal, and the evidence is solid. Even if you go through the deduction once, Ou Yu is still the killer.】

Ou Yu had long been taken under control by the Vice Squad Officers. When the Pursuit Team announced this conclusion, in the main live stream room, Ou Yu’s photo filled an empty slot.

The Criminal Team had only one spot left.

At the same time, a reminder came through the earpiece from the Program Crew.

“Criminal Ou Yu has been apprehended. There is still one criminal at large in the Imperial Capital Hotel. Please arrest him within 7 hours after he commits the crime.”

“There’s another one?”

“It’s that cleaner?”

“Aside from Peng Xiaoxiao’s sketch proving he might have been in Lu Jin’s room, we have no other evidence he’s an accomplice.”

“Not an accomplice.” Fang Si Ting received a message from Xu An about a figure spotted in the surveillance and paused before saying, “He’s the one who committed this crime.”

“Boss, didn’t you just deduce with us that Ou Yu was the killer?”

“That was the result based on the clues the killer left for us, not the real crime process.”

“Boss, how are you so sure that cleaner is the killer? From start to finish, all we have is Xiaoxiao’s profile sketch—it can’t count as direct evidence.”

Fang Si Ting’s lips pulled back at the corners, making him look even more coldly sharp.

The Program Crew’s voice rang out again.

Only half an hour left until the last criminal was to be apprehended.

【Just admit you got the wrong guy and let Ouyou go.】

【They won’t let him go. Once the Pursuit Team catches someone and hammers home the evidence proving the crime, they’re done.】

【Damn that 18th-Tier Celeb, damn Xiao Fen for framing my brother, wuwuwuwu…】

【With your brother’s IQ, even without the frame-up, getting caught was just a matter of time.】

【Just came in, didn’t watch the previous live stream—isn’t the Pursuit Team’s deduction pretty reasonable?】

【I’ll fight you braindead fans.】

【Fen Treasure is a top 3 top student who even skipped grades as a kid—how can you lot compare, hahahaha.】

【I declare, starting today, I’m Brother Fen’s Little Flame.】

Not to mention catching the guy—they might not even find a shred of evidence. They hadn’t caught even a shadow in the previous few hours, and with less than half an hour left, they were at a loss.

“Deputy Team Leader Tang, go check their phones,” Fang Si Ting suddenly spoke after a long silence. “If Xiao Fen wanted to frame Ou Yu, he needed to create an opportunity for the two victims to meet. The texts might have been sent by him.”

Aside from the criminals and those involved, they couldn’t know every detail of the crime, but Xiao Fen very likely tampered with both phones.

“Boss, are you so sure it’s him?” Peng Xiaoxiao sounded a bit uneasy.

“Why else would he run if it wasn’t?” Bai Zhu said, panting. “Damn, this is exhausting me to death. That guy’s no ghost, is he?”

Tang Shen got excited. “Boss, you mean fingerprints?! I already checked Lu Jin’s phone—no suspicious prints. I’ll go check Ou Yu’s right now.”

【Check it fast—Ouyou’s innocence depends on you.】

【Fang Yama is reliable. The real phone is key. I know the crime process and heard everyone discussing the plot, but it took me a second to remember Ou Yu’s phone might have Xiao Fen’s fingerprints.】

【It’s over. Sending the message from Ou Yu’s phone to Lu Jin was done sneakily—no time to wipe traces, it’ll leave fingerprints.】

“There really is a set of unfamiliar fingerprints.” Not long after, Tang Shen came back with the results. “Right in the middle of the phone screen.”

【Even if they find it, so what? Wait till they catch Brother Fen.】

【You braindead fans keep talking tough. All these tricks, and in the end, one slip in a hundred precautions leaves evidence.】

【If you ain’t got the skills, admit it—don’t act like hot stuff.】

【Honestly, with all these cameras in the hotel, for this 18th-Tier Celeb to evade this long is already impressive.】

“Can it be used as evidence?” Xu An asked doubtfully.

“Yes.” Tang Shen said, “Ou Yu can confirm he never handed his phone to Xiao Fen the whole time. If we prove these fingerprints are Xiao Fen’s, it shows he secretly used Ou Yu’s phone to send the message. Combined with him entering Room 1903, that’s basically proof.”

“Provided we confirm the unfamiliar prints are really his.” Fang Si Ting pointed out.

“This is straight-up provoking us.” Bai Zhu said angrily. “Can’t even catch the guy—how to prove anything!”

Xu An lazily spun his swivel chair once. “Xiao Fen’s appeared, in the third-floor restaurant… I think.”

He wasn’t even sure anymore. Every time Xiao Fen appeared, there was no clear face—either hat pulled low or just the back of his head. He could only infer from movement patterns and clothing.

Fang Si Ting glanced at the time. Only 4 minutes left—time waited for no one. Seeing the elevator stop on this floor, he went straight in.

Bai Zhu chased after him, looking displeased. “We’ve done so much today, all for nothing. Haven’t felt this frustrated in a long time.”

A flicker of thought passed through Fang Si Ting’s eyes.

“He’s consuming our time and energy.”

“Huh?” Bai Zhu looked at him in surprise.

“The crime scene was a mess with tons of fingerprints—Deputy Team Leader Tang needs time to collect and verify. Covered up tight in surveillance, testing Professor Peng’s profiling skills. From our clashes these past few hours, the guy’s got great physical skills. Does he lack the ability to dodge cameras? He’s testing the Pursuit Team’s overall capabilities.”

“So all this today isn’t even his full strength?” Bai Zhu clicked his tongue. “When did our entertainment industry get someone like this?”

He thought of the info Xu An found online—it didn’t match at all.

“Don’t overhype him.” Fang Si Ting said. “He had the hotel staff come an hour later precisely so his crime would be discovered within a controllable time. Too early, and it gives us more time to investigate and chase; he probably wasn’t even sure if he’d left identifiable evidence at the scene. Too late, and he can’t gauge our abilities. Making all these precise arrangements shows he’s not willing to take risks either.”

The live stream chat finally broke through 7 million at the finale.

【Is that Xiao Fen really that amazing?】

【Murders the boss, frames the Film Emperor, makes top national criminal investigators busy for nothing, and in the end they can only convict the Film Emperor per his script—a man even Fang Yama can’t handle.】

【Now they’ve finally got a fingerprint lead, but no sight of the guy. Godly or not?】

【Spot on summary—that’s our Fen Treasure.】

Before today, the Little Fire Seeds could only keep to their own circle. After today, they could finally puff out their chests and proudly tell others just how impressive their idol was.

“If this were real life, someone like that would be terrifying.” Bai Zhu shook his head with a sigh.

“But this isn’t real crime—it’s just a variety show.”

“Anyway, after all that, he saw right through us, and we didn’t even catch a glimpse of him.”

“Not necessarily.” Fang Si Ting straightened his cuffs and said in a coldly precise tone.

Xiao Fen.

Pretty impressive.

But as long as he’s human, he has weaknesses.

Too arrogant, too competitive, likes taking risks.

The elevator doors opened, and they arrived on the third floor. It was nearing 8:30, peak dinner time at the hotel. A group of guests who had finished eating walked toward them, going the opposite way into the elevator.

Fang Si Ting spotted at a glance the man in the black suit at the opposite wall corner that Xu An had seen in surveillance. Even sitting, his build matched the impression perfectly.

He quickened his pace. Bai Zhu and the other Vice Squad Officers had already tacitly spread out, ready to encircle from all sides.

“Watch out—he might jump out the window to escape.” The spot where the man sat was too close to the window, and this was only the third floor.

Just as he warned, his nose tip accurately caught a faint scent.

Cold and slightly bitter, lingering in his nostrils for a moment, followed by a trace of milky sweetness at the throat.

He whipped his head around.

A man in a hotel security black uniform passed by his side, about to enter the elevator.

The Program Crew’s final countdown still echoed in his earpiece.

“10, 9, 8…”

He turned and strode back toward the elevator, his steps faster and faster.

The man stood inside the elevator, trapped like a turtle in a jar.

“5, 4…”

Fang Si Ting reached out, his strong fingers spreading to grab his shoulder.

The elevator was crowded. The moment his hand fell, the man slightly shifted aside, and someone next to him squeezed into his spot.

In the shuffle of bodies, his hand clamped firmly onto a stranger’s shoulder.

“Who the hell are you?” The man looked baffled. “Why grab me?”

Fang Si Ting’s expression froze slightly.

“2, 1…”

A lean back stood behind that man, turning to face the elevator doors.

The face under the black brim of the security cap slowly lifted. Xiao Fen’s gaze traced up the arm grabbing the wrong shoulder, finally meeting Fang Si Ting’s eyes.

Perfectly matching the pencil sketch from Peng Xiaoxiao’s hand.

He had fox-like eyes with double eyelid folds, skin as white and creamy as pearls, refined and handsome features, and elegant facial contours.

Yet it was different.

A completely different charm and presence.

Cunning and flamboyant, wanton and free-spirited, his eyes held the free winds of summer blowing across the autumn wilderness.

“Criminal Xiao Fen, victorious.”

His right eyelid closed as he playfully winked at him, his full, translucent red lips curving up seductively like pomegranate seeds.

Do your best, Inspector Fang.