Chapter 67

Jiang Xiao had no issue with this. He had been wanting to check everyone’s belongings anyway. But this plan also had a flaw—after all, the people who went before Si Lin had returned to their own rooms, giving them ample time to destroy any incriminating evidence during that period.

He could only hope the killer hadn’t had time to dispose of things yet.

“Just a moment,” Jiang Xiao said. “I want to check again for any missed clues.”

He Chen naturally had no objection. Jiang Xiao meticulously searched the room. Although there were likely no other clues left…

Eh?

Jiang Xiao picked up something from under the cabinet where the box was placed. He held it up to see: it was a light purple jellyfish charm. It looked somewhat familiar.

He Chen also noticed what Jiang Xiao had picked up and said, puzzled, “That thing seems to be…”

“A souvenir from the aquarium.”

The jellyfish was translucent under the light, faintly revealing the water-mark logo of the souvenir. Yes, it was definitely the one Jiang Xiao had brought back today.

If he remembered correctly, this jellyfish belonged to Ji Yanli.

But how did this thing end up here?

And what’s more coincidental was that it had fallen right under the cabinet holding the poison dart box. Clearly, Ji Yanli had definitely been here, and he must have discovered this square box too!

“It’s Ji Yanli’s?” He Chen clearly hadn’t expected Jiang Xiao to find something the others had missed, especially a key piece of evidence.

“Should be right,” Jiang Xiao said. “But we can’t be certain yet that he was involved with the dart incident.”

“Mm.” He Chen’s expression was hesitant. He glanced at Jiang Xiao, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Jiang Xiao: “What is it?”

“Have you ever felt,” He Chen started slowly, “that Ji Yanli towards you…”

Jiang Xiao: “?”

He Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Maybe it’s just my guess. I shouldn’t say it right now, to avoid influencing your judgment.”

“What exactly is it?” Jiang Xiao was starting to get curious. “Tell me.”

He Chen: “But I think it might just be a false impression.”

Jiang Xiao: “What is it? If you don’t tell me, I’ll shake you.”

He Chen: “What do you mean, shake me?”

Jiang Xiao raised his hands and seriously pressed them on He Chen’s shoulders. Under He Chen’s puzzled gaze, he started shaking him frantically. He Chen hadn’t expected Jiang Xiao’s “shake” to be literal. He was shaken dizzy and quickly begged for mercy, laughing, “Alright, I’ll tell you. But I’m not entirely sure if this is true or not.”

“You might want to keep an eye on Ji Yanli. He might genuinely want to kill you,” He Chen said. “He’s said it before—he hates you.”

Jiang Xiao thought about it. “That was a joke, wasn’t it?”

That was when everyone was revealing the results of the second vote. Ji Yanli said he voted for Jiang Xiao and mentioned he was a Scorpio, the type to hold grudges.

He Chen shook his head. “It’s more than that. Did you know, in the first round of voting, he also voted for you?”

Another new clue. Jiang Xiao asked blankly, “How do you know that?”

He Chen: “When we were exchanging information with each other, he told me.”

Jiang Xiao was even more confused. “Why… would he vote for me? We hadn’t even met before then.”

He Chen: “Isn’t that exactly what’s strange? Just now, he said he’s met you before. Did you have some kind of unpleasant encounter?”

Jiang Xiao hadn’t received a script at all; he had no understanding of his past. He just spread his hands. “I don’t remember. If I had met him, I should have an impression.”

He Chen: “There’s another very strange thing about this—”

“None of us knew he was carrying a bottle of poison on him, and it happened to be stolen today. The killer also happened to find roses and quietly slipped the poison into the coffee.”

Jiang Xiao pondered. “That’s true…”

He Chen: “The ‘theft’ of the poison is entirely Ji Yanli’s word. What if he was the one who poisoned the coffee? Why didn’t the killer also take the antidote?”

“He was also the one who brewed the coffee today. It would be very easy for him to avoid everyone in the kitchen to slip the poison in.” He Chen continued, “Today, only Si Mingyu and I were around. He clearly wanted to frame the poisoning on us.”

“And among us, he’s the only one who knows how to use poisons. The dart was also coated with poison. When we search later, pay close attention to who’s carrying unknown medicine bottles.”

He Chen’s points were indeed very valid. And come to think of it, if the poisoner was Ji Yanli, it would be a flawless plan. The only thing Ji Yanli needed to do was—

Make everyone believe his poison had been stolen.

And whether the poison had actually been stolen was currently unprovable.

“I thought you two were on good terms,” Jiang Xiao probed. “You’re often chatting together.”

He Chen said seriously, “If he really is the killer, I also need to consider the probability of sending him to the police station for rehabilitation. That would also be for his own good.”

Jiang Xiao thought of another practical problem: the police station here didn’t handle deaths. What were they supposed to do with the body?

“Don’t worry. While you were gone, the production team sent a notification. They’ll send someone to take Si Lin’s body back and hand it over to his family,” He Chen said.

At least that was some closure. Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but feel a bit somber. He said to He Chen, “I’ll be out shortly.”

He Chen nodded. After a moment’s thought, he added hesitantly, “The living are travelers, the dead are returnees. You don’t need to grieve too much.”

Jiang Xiao: “Thank you. I just feel… this all happened too suddenly. Let me have a moment alone.”

After He Chen left, Jiang Xiao was once again alone in the room with Si Lin. Jiang Xiao stared at Si Lin, deep in thought.

The dart mechanism… how exactly was it triggered? Was it really just a timer, as He Chen said? Anyone who entered the room fourth and sat in that position would absolutely die?

Although the whole sequence of events seemed perfectly reasonable, Jiang Xiao’s brain was still sending him a faint signal of unease.

He couldn’t fully trust He Chen.

He couldn’t trust anyone.

Ji Yanli could lie. Si Mingyu could. Lu Moxing could. Why wouldn’t He Chen?

Would He Chen be a second Si Lin?

Impossible.

In this game, the one person who had absolutely no intention of killing him was already dead.

Jiang Xiao gave Si Lin one last deep look, then walked out of the room. Death and grief receded from him, and an even greater challenge began.

Ji Yanli was chatting with He Chen. He glanced at Jiang Xiao emerging from the room and assessed him. “You look much better than before.”

“He Chen already told you all, right? Who should we start with?”

“No rush.” Jiang Xiao swept his gaze over Lu Moxing, who was still working at this moment, and Si Mingyu, standing by the window looking out. “First, let’s go over everyone’s timeline for today.”

Hearing this, Lu Moxing lifted his gaze from his laptop and said, “You’re acting quite like a detective now.”

“Since I’m the only one without a motive, it’s fine for me to be the detective,” Jiang Xiao said.

Lu Moxing crossed his legs and propped his chin on one hand, putting on an expression of “I’m all ears.” “Fine then. I’ll just play this game with you.”

“This isn’t a game, Boss Lu,” Jiang Xiao said seriously. “Please take it seriously.”

Jiang Xiao looked at everyone, his gaze finally resting on Ji Yanli. “Doctor Ji, you go first. Is that alright?”

Ji Yanli raised an eyebrow, seemingly not expecting Jiang Xiao to call on him first. After all, the first person to speak was usually considered the most suspicious. If someone else’s timeline later didn’t match, it suggested the first speaker had lied.

The later one spoke, the easier it was to lie.

“Of course,” Ji Yanli said courteously. “I woke up at eight in the morning. I brewed coffee and happened to see Jiang Xiao, so I invited him to have a cup.”

“Wait.” Lu Moxing said to Jiang Xiao, “You drank his coffee?”

Jiang Xiao: “Mm. And it was quite good.”

Lu Moxing said, “Oh. So he decided to offer everyone coffee in the afternoon and put poison in it, because he knew you liked it and would definitely drink a lot.”

Ji Yanli said unhurriedly, “If I wanted to kill Jiang Xiao, I could have simply not brought out that antidote, correct?”

Ji Yanli had a point. At that time, Jiang Xiao was deeply poisoned and already on the verge of death. If it had been any later, he likely couldn’t have been saved.

Ji Yanli could have completely hidden the existence of the antidote and just watched Jiang Xiao die.

Jiang Xiao: “True. Continue.”

“Then Jiang Xiao left. I stayed in the living room, went to the restroom once halfway through, until about nine o’clock when Boss Lu showed up. During this period, no one else came out; I was alone in the living room,” Ji Yanli said. “After Boss Lu came out, he went to the botanical garden. We were together the whole time after that, looking at lots of green plants. Very good for the eyes.”

Lu Moxing: “…”

“Then, we came back early, around four in the afternoon. Little brother Si Mingyu was playing with darts in the living room, He Chen was reading. You know the rest of the events from there.”

“Who’s your little brother?” Si Mingyu said impatiently. “I only have two big brothers.”

Jiang Xiao: “You have another brother?”

Si Mingyu: “It’s you.”

Jiang Xiao: “…”

“While you were in the living room, did you ever go back to your room?” Jiang Xiao questioned Ji Yanli.

“I went back to change into casual clothes,” Ji Yanli said. “I came out again very quickly.”

Si Mingyu: “You didn’t enter the media room today?”

Ji Yanli: “No.”

Ji Yanli’s answers seemed watertight, and he had witnesses for most of the time, except for that period in the living room early in the morning.

“How can you prove you didn’t enter the media room in the early morning?” Lu Moxing said. “No one was in the living room during that time, right?”

“There were other people in the cabin. If I went in and was accidentally seen, wouldn’t it have become very troublesome?” Ji Yanli was very composed. “Or, you can also use your own timelines to prove I’m lying.”

Just as everyone fell silent,

“I can prove it,” He Chen said. “You lied.”

Ji Yanli replied politely, “Please, go ahead.”

He Chen: “At 8:30, I came out for a morning run. You weren’t in the living room at that time.”

Ji Yanli thought for a moment. “I mentioned I went to the restroom midway. Perhaps you came down at that time?”

Ji Yanli’s responses were flawless. Jiang Xiao noted all his words down and continued:

“The second person is Boss Lu.”

Lu Moxing said, displeased, “Why me?”

Well, it was because you’re highly suspicious!

But of course, he couldn’t say that. He needed a reason… Hmm…

Jiang Xiao thought for a moment and had a flash of inspiration.

“I’m going in alphabetical order of your surnames. Three-character names go first. J, L, S, so you’re second.” Jiang Xiao said sincerely, “Very reasonable, right?”

“You just think I’m the most suspicious!” Lu Moxing roared.