Chapter 136: Children’s Laughter (15)
Yan Shixun had originally been wondering where Zhang Wubing had gone, but once Ye Li grabbed his wrist and led him into the cloakroom belonging to the two daughters of the Jing family, he could no longer spare a thought for the panicked Zhang Wubing, who was squatting helplessly on the floor.
With a swift step, he rushed forward and quickly pressed his fingers to Bai Shuang’s pulse. Only after confirming that her pulse, though weak, was still present, did he finally breathe a slight sigh of relief. Immediately, he began examining Bai Shuang’s condition.
Although Zhang Wubing had found Bai Shuang first, he had no idea what to do. He only remembered not to act rashly, but in doing so, he failed to notice how Bai Shuang’s skin had been frozen as cold as ice.
Yan Shixun didn’t have time to look for anything else. Shocked by the freezing temperature when he touched her, he quickly took off his own coat and covered her with it. After making sure that she had no injuries apart from her head, he wrapped her securely in the coat and carefully lifted her into his arms.
The others trailed a few steps behind. When they saw the unconscious Bai Shuang, they gasped in shock.
“Bai Shuang? Wait, we didn’t see her just now, did we?” Zhao Zhen immediately thought back and confirmed that during their earlier search upstairs, Bai Shuang hadn’t been seen.
Yan Shixun didn’t have time to explain. As he silently recited the Golden Light Spell to protect Bai Shuang’s body, he did his best to raise her body temperature as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t until Bai Shuang’s ice-cold body finally returned to a normal temperature range that Yan Shixun allowed himself a brief moment of relief and shifted his attention to other matters.
By the light of the kerosene lamp, Yan Shixun suddenly noticed some tiny, sparkling fragments scattered in Bai Shuang’s hair. Curious, he reached out to touch them and immediately realized what they were.
Shards of a broken wine glass.
They looked extremely similar to the shattered glass that had earlier cut Chi Yan’s palm in the living room.
However, if Bai Shuang’s initial setting placed her upstairs in the cloakroom from the start, why would she be connected to the broken glass downstairs?
Yan Shixun clearly remembered that according to Chi Yan’s account, when she woke up, there had been broken glass next to her, and she was discovered by Zhang Wubing, who had been the first to awaken.
Earlier, after reuniting with An Nanyuan and the others, Yan Shixun had questioned each of them about their situations. One thing was very clear: the places where each person woke up, and their starting scenarios, carried significant meaning—they were not random or easily dismissible.
For example, he had not woken up inside the Jing residence but had instead been warned that he would be assassinated within three days. Meanwhile, Ye Li had managed to avoid an assassination attempt right after waking, implying someone inside the Jing residence wished him harm.
But in Chi Yan’s description of her awakening, Yan Shixun had yet to find any meaningful connection—until now, when suddenly, it linked to Bai Shuang.
This realization made Yan Shixun sense that something was very wrong.
Moreover, Zhang Wubing, who should have been the first to awaken, hadn’t seen Bai Shuang either, which meant she had likely not come downstairs.
As the clues converged, Yan Shixun’s brows furrowed deeply.
He sensed there was something wrong here. And the most logical explanation was—someone had lied.
Someone who had the ability to lie without the others noticing…
Yan Shixun’s gaze shifted subtly toward Chi Yan.
She was anxiously looking at Bai Shuang, appearing genuinely concerned about the junior who had always admired her.
“Xiao Bing, what exactly happened with Bai Shuang?” Yan Shixun asked calmly. “There were no signs of her on the second floor before.”
Zhang Wubing scratched his head and told the truth.
When Yan Shixun heard that Zhang Wubing had found the unconscious Bai Shuang inside the hidden safe room behind the mirror, his expression darkened instantly. His gaze toward Chi Yan brimmed with uncontrollable fury—so much so that he no longer cared if she noticed it.
Chi Yan was so taken aback by his stare that she instinctively took two steps back, as if she couldn’t bear the pressure, her flustered expression betraying her guilty conscience.
Ye Li lowered his eyes slightly, his cold gaze falling upon Chi Yan. His expression was utterly devoid of warmth, as if he had already judged her guilty. In his eyes, Chi Yan’s name was already written into the Book of the Dead in Fengdu—still breathing now, but essentially dead.
Yan Shixun stepped forward slowly. “Chi Yan, would you mind repeating, from the beginning, exactly what you told us happened when you woke up?”
“Mr. Yan… Mr. Yan.”
Chi Yan forced a smile, struggling to suppress her wildly beating heart. She asked tentatively, “Is there a problem? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”
“Mr. Yan, shouldn’t you be more concerned with Bai Shuang’s condition first? I’m really worried about her.”
Chi Yan glanced at the unconscious Bai Shuang, trying to shift focus back to the more urgent matter. “She doesn’t look good at all. Shouldn’t we leave immediately and find a doctor?”
Director Li Xuetang, who had just entered and witnessed this scene, nodded in agreement and looked at Yan Shixun with slight disapproval. In his heart, he thought Yan Shixun had seemed like a decent man—how could he now be so heartless? Someone clearly needed help, and he was still coldly interrogating others?
“Chi Yan is right. We should leave here as soon as possible and take the girl to a doctor.”
Li Xuetang said, frowning as he shot a displeased look at Yan Shixun. “That’s far better than wasting time over minor issues.”
Yan Shixun glanced over impassively. Their gazes clashed, neither backing down.
The others watched with their hearts pounding, too scared to speak.
“Minor issues?” Yan Shixun repeated each word coldly, sneering. “If Chi Yan can recount her story exactly and without flaw, I’ll agree it’s a minor issue. But if she can’t—”
His icy gaze locked onto Chi Yan.
She shivered, terror flashing in her eyes.
The confused audience watching the live broadcast could only exchange guesses:
[Why don’t I get what Brother Yan means? Is he saying Chi Yan’s story has a problem?]
[Is Brother Yan being too harsh toward Chi Yan? No offense, but it’s making me dislike him a bit. I hope he softens his attitude.]
[No, Brother Yan isn’t the type to accuse someone without reason. I think Chi Yan might have lied or hidden something. Her expression earlier did seem fake, like she was acting.]
[Ah… didn’t you all notice Brother Yan’s attitude toward Chi Yan changed when she said she raised ghost children?]
[I admit I’m biased against Chi Yan now. Maybe she did something else, and Brother Yan found out, which is why he’s so angry?]
[It did start when Bai Shuang was found. Brother Yan’s attitude toward Chi Yan changed completely.]
[But Bai Shuang’s situation is definitely strange! What Director Zhang just said gave me goosebumps, and I’m a grown man! She was hit on the head and thrown behind the mirror. In a safe house like that, the priority is definitely concealment. If Director Zhang hadn’t accidentally discovered Bai Shuang, she would have been stuck behind that mirror with no one able to save her! The worst-case scenario is that she could have died right there!]
[Uh, don’t get so worked up. Although Chi Yan is indeed suspicious, and Bai Shuang is really pitiful, this is just the script. You can only say that they’re doing such a great job with their roles that it makes you feel immersed. And look, Director Li Xuetang is here too, right? He gave the orders, so there shouldn’t be any issues.]
[I don’t understand, but I’m siding with Brother Yan. I can’t see anything else. Plus, the camera has been focusing on the guests like it did before, and now it’s moving smoothly, skipping some steps. A lot of things we haven’t seen. From this perspective, Brother Yan is the only one we can trust.]
Li Xuetang was not as confident about the script as the audience had assumed. In fact, when he woke up in the rickshaw, he had no idea where he was and was quickly pulled into a car by Lu Xingxing and others. They drove fast all the way here. At this point, he was even less informed than the viewers who had been watching the live stream for a while.
However, as a gentleman, he instinctively disliked Yan Shixun’s attitude toward Chi Yan—aggressive, almost like he was treating her like a criminal.
So, even though he vaguely sensed that something wasn’t quite right, and even though he hadn’t heard Chi Yan admit herself that she raised ghost child, Director Li Xuetang still stepped forward, standing in front of Chi Yan to block Yan Shixun.
But Lu Xingxing grabbed his arm and pulled him back with a firm motion.
“Director Li, I’m the kind of person who likes being the center of attention, you know? I like the feeling of everyone seeing me, so honestly, I don’t like it when Brother Yan steals my spotlight. I’ve always wanted to prove myself in front of Brother Yan and get Master’s approval. But…”
Lu Xingxing said in a calm, indifferent tone: “You have to admit, some people are just naturally more talented and work harder than you. You can’t deny it. Like Brother Yan, even though I can’t stand him, I have to admit that everything he says is right.”
“So, for those of us who just arrived and don’t know what happened before, we should just keep quiet and not interrupt. It’ll only make people dislike us.”
Lu Xingxing smiled, and with his clothes, he looked like a carefree, flashy playboy. But strangely, his grip was so strong that even Director Li Xuetang couldn’t break free, leaving him stunned as he looked at him.
Just as it seemed like Director Li Xuetang was about to get angry and say something, the others snapped back to their senses. An Nanyuan and Zhao Zhen quickly walked over and physically removed Director Li Xuetang from the scene, not allowing him to interfere with Yan Shixun.
With the last person who could be of help gone, Chi Yan’s expression instantly became flustered. She couldn’t suppress her panic.
“Mr. Yan, what are you doing? And Director Li, why are you treating him like this?”
As she spoke, Chi Yan, in her high heels, was about to step out to find Director Li Xuetang.
Aside from Chi Yan and Li Xuetang, everyone here was originally part of the show’s guest lineup. They had been through countless life-and-death crises together, and the trust and bond between them had long surpassed that of ordinary friends.
At this moment, they were not only trusting Yan Shixun, believing he would not speak recklessly, but also filled with fury toward the person who had harmed Bai Shuang.
Because of their tacit understanding, Yan Shixun’s meaning was crystal clear to everyone else.
—The person who hurt Bai Shuang was being covered for by Chi Yan. Even if that wasn’t the case, Chi Yan had at the very least lied.
Thus, when Chi Yan tried to use the excuse of going out to look for Li Xuetang as a chance to leave, Zhao Zhen and the others silently blocked the door. They stared at Chi Yan expressionlessly — not with the admiration reserved for a grand slam senior, but with silent scrutiny.
What had she done?
Who had really harmed Bai Shuang?
Their furious gazes made Chi Yan’s heart pound with terror.
“Chi Yan, I really hate meddling in other people’s lives, in my eyes, people are free to do whatever they want; it has nothing to do with me. I don’t easily interfere with others’ karma. But if something happens right in front of me… that’s different.”
He continued indifferently, “There’s an old saying — ‘those who do evil will destroy themselves.’ I don’t know if you’ve heard it.”
Chi Yan’s thin shoulders trembled.
“I advise you to tell the truth now. Don’t wait until I use other methods.”
Yan Shixun sneered coldly and gestured to the body in the living room. “Do you want to try dying the same way as him?”
Even if Chi Yan refused to admit it, both she and Yan Shixun knew very well — that dead master was the same man who had helped her offer sacrifices to the ghost child years ago. Yet now, the master had died such a miserable death, and Chi Yan herself had already suffered through numerous bizarre phenomena.
Maybe at any moment, the ghost child — having broken free from control and thirsting for revenge — would reach out for her…
Chi Yan’s psychological defenses nearly collapsed. Despair filled her heart as she turned to face Yan Shixun, her expression desolate, as if a gaping hole had been torn through her chest, leaving her heart hollow and weightless.
“What do you want me to do?” Chi Yan shrieked. “Mr. Yan, do you think I wanted this? I was forced into it too! It’s all that ghost child’s fault! If he hadn’t done those things, I wouldn’t have had to lay a hand on Bai Shuang!”
Her outburst stunned everyone. Even Li Xuetang, who had been struggling in anger, froze and stared at Chi Yan in disbelief, unable to comprehend why she would say such things.
The only one who remained composed was Yan Shixun, who had long suspected the truth.
“It’s not just Bai Shuang who had something wrong with her. You know that very well, Chi Yan,” Yan Shixun said as he pulled an identity badge from his pocket and showed it to her. “This badge was found downstairs, but we all know — the badges should be either on us or where we woke up.”
It was the badge Zhao Zhen had found under the living room sofa — marked with “Binhai Girls’ High School, Jing Wan.”
“You were the only one awake in the living room. Why, then, was there someone else’s badge? Besides, there’s something wrong with Zhang Wubing’s identity too.”
Zhang Wubing blinked blankly, not understanding how the topic had suddenly shifted from Chi Yan to him.
Yan Shixun pointed at Zhang Wubing, who was now wearing well-fitting clothes after changing, and asked, “Xiao Bing, when you first woke up, your clothes didn’t fit — they were too tight and uncomfortable. Why do they fit now?”
Zhang Wubing scratched his head, confused. “Maybe… because I changed outfits?”
“No, it’s because the clothes you woke up in were someone else’s.”
He tapped his own suit jacket lightly. “The one who orchestrated all this meticulously recreated even the tiniest details. There’s no way they’d overlook something as obvious as ill-fitting clothes. Yet the clothes you woke up in…”
He paused before adding, “Were so ugly they hurt to look at.”
Zhang Wubing: “QAQ… you didn’t have to be *that* blunt.”
“But after you changed clothes, that mismatch disappeared,” Yan Shixun said as he swept his gaze around the wardrobe. “How did you pick out what you’re wearing now?”
Still baffled, Zhang Wubing replied, “I just grabbed whatever fit me from the closet.”
“But you’re still wearing a school uniform. Why is there such a big difference between before and now?” Yan Shixun gave the answer himself: “Because what you’re wearing now matches your true identity, while the previous outfit belonged to someone else.”
“You’re not Jing Xiuwen, the eldest daughter of the Jing family — you’re the second daughter, Jing Wan. Since the two sisters shared the same wardrobe, when you changed clothes, you grabbed something that actually fit you. As for the outfit you woke up in, someone deliberately switched it to confuse everyone.”
Though both Jing Xiuwen and Jing Wan were students at Binhai Girls’ High School, they were in different grades, and their uniforms had name and grade markings stitched on — subtle but distinguishable differences.
This was evident in the framed photo on the desk, showing Jing Xiuwen and Lin Ting together.
“So someone carefully swapped the two daughters’ identities. But why go to such lengths…”
Yan Shixun’s gaze slowly shifted toward the study outside the bedroom. In the photo frame on the desk, Jing Xiuwen and Lin Ting beamed warmly, as close as mother and daughter, without the slightest barrier.
“Because whoever did this knew that Jing Xiuwen would point out if anything seemed wrong with Lin Ting’s identity.”
Yan Shixun’s eyes flashed like lightning, locking onto Chi Yan. “If she really were the real Jing Xiuwen, she would have held evidence against Lin Ting — maybe a verbal message, a note, or something else. She would have proven who the real Lin Ting was, or where she was now.”
Chi Yan’s face turned deathly pale, knowing that everything she had done had been fully exposed — there was no room left for denial.
The others listened, feeling as if they were slowly peeling away the fog layer by layer. Only when Yan Shixun’s gaze fixed on Chi Yan and her defeated expression did they finally realize the full picture.
“So… Director Zhang’s badge actually belonged to Jing Wan, and Bai Shuang is Jing Xiuwen? And Sister Chi Yan isn’t Lin Ting at all, but someone else entirely? Because Jing Xiuwen would have known something about Lin Ting, Chi Yan had to silence her — so she knocked Bai Shuang out and hid her away?”
“And since Jing Xiuwen’s belongings were all kept in the study, anyone looking even slightly would discover her presence — it couldn’t be hidden for long. So after hiding Bai Shuang, Chi Yan needed a new ‘Jing Xiuwen’? If she wanted to completely erase the fact that she wasn’t really Lin Ting, she had to make sure no one even questioned it.”
“Exactly — that’s why she switched Director Zhang’s clothes and called him Jing Xiuwen. Jing Wan had a lower presence anyway, so even if she vanished, no one would notice.”
“But I still found Jing Wan’s badge in the living room,” Zhao Zhen said heavily during their discussion.
He looked at Chi Yan with a complicated expression.
Even knowing Chi Yan had kept a ghost child and done terrifying, unimaginable things, Zhao Zhen had never thought she would actually hurt a living, breathing person.
Bai Shuang had always admired Chi Yan — calling out “Sister Chi Yan” so sweetly and happily, like a joyful child.
Yet to cover up the truth, Chi Yan had been willing to harm Bai Shuang so cruelly…
This went beyond anything Zhao Zhen could attribute to normal human behavior.
Under the condemning gazes of everyone present, Chi Yan stood there like a criminal paraded through a public square, her sins listed plainly for all to see, facing execution without mercy.
Even someone as seasoned as Chi Yan, who had weathered countless storms, found it unbearable to face so many accusatory eyes at once. She trembled with fear and unease.
“Maybe just as you struck Bai Shuang’s head and she was about to lose consciousness, she suddenly realized the danger and left a clue behind — hoping someone would find her, or maybe there’s something else here in the Jing residence, quietly watching everything you did, and chose to help Bai Shuang.”
Yan Shixun’s voice turned even colder: “But regardless, Chi Yan — you were the one who hurt Bai Shuang.”
The audience in front of the screen immediately erupted in chaos.
[What the hell! Has Chi Yan gone crazy? I didn’t think much of her raising ghost child, after all, they’re just dead children, not ones she killed, so what’s the issue? But harming a teammate—this is absolutely unforgivable!]
[This isn’t just harm, this is downright going for Bai Shuang’s death!! Look at Bai Shuang’s injuries; she’s completely unconscious, and if she’s not treated soon, she’s dead for sure!]
[I agree, if Director Zhang hadn’t accidentally discovered Bai Shuang, she’d really be dead. When Brother Yan entered the room, he immediately started warming Bai Shuang up. She must have been freezing. If things continued like this, even if other factors didn’t kill her, hypothermia would.]
[This is literally freezing her to death… Chi Yan, how cruel!]
[Is this even human?? I used to like Chi Yan, and now I feel like I’m going insane! This has gone beyond the limits of evil! Plus, Bai Shuang never hid her admiration for Chi Yan. She always called her “sister” in the crew, and Chi Yan must have known! Even if someone wanted to harm someone else, wouldn’t they hesitate if it’s someone so close and devoted? But Chi Yan didn’t show any hesitation at all!!]
[That’s right. When you break it down, even the worst person would show some warmth to those close to them, right? And Bai Shuang’s smile is so cute, every time I see it, my heart softens. I never imagined Chi Yan could be so heartless.]
[Oh my god!!! Chi Yan, you have no heart! How could you do this to Sister Bai Shuang!!]
[I might have a bit of a professional analyst’s habit, but I think someone like Chi Yan, who focuses on benefits, would never do meaningless things for no reason, right? First, she knocked out Bai Shuang on the first floor, then dragged her upstairs to hide, and even changed clothes for Director Zhang. She wouldn’t do all this just on a whim—she’s covering up something more important.]
[Exactly. Like Brother Yan hasn’t figured something out yet—who really owns the ID tag Chi Yan has? If it’s not Lin Ting, then who is it? Why is she hiding her identity?]
[If someone wants to get rid of their real identity, it must mean that identity is problematic—maybe they’ve done bad things, maybe it brings trouble. So, is Chi Yan one of those people?]
[It’s a bit weird. This way, Director Zhang wasn’t the first to wake up. Otherwise, why would he just watch someone change his clothes?]
[What the hell, how many lies has Chi Yan told? No, the real question is, is there anything truthful in what Chi Yan has said?]
Chi Yan refused to speak, her red lips tightly bitten, as if determined to say nothing more.
She slowly began to realize that Yan Shixun was different from the masters she had hired before. He wouldn’t clearly choose sides to help people but would go out of his way to find the truth. Even as Yan Shixun had said in the living room earlier, he might help the ghost go after him—as long as he believed that it was the correct cause and effect.
And the very person who posed such a danger to Chi Yan was someone who understood human nature too well. Even Chi Yan had failed to notice it, as Yan Shixun’s words had caused her mental defenses to collapse, and she had shouted the truth herself, making everyone realize that something was wrong.
So now, Chi Yan thought that saying more would only make things worse. It was better to remain silent and wait for the situation to calm down. Once the mood of the group cooled, she could turn things around.
However, even though Chi Yan wouldn’t speak, Yan Shixun didn’t stop unraveling the truth.
“Xiao Bing wasn’t the first to wake up; you were. After you woke up in the living room, you saw Bai Shuang there too. Perhaps you searched her belongings or saw other clues and realized that the ID tag you had was suspicious. It was likely to be targeted by others, so you decided to switch your identity while no one was paying attention.”
Yan Shixun said, “At this point, Bai Shuang became an obstacle to you, so you needed to remove her. You hit her in the head with a bottle to ensure she wouldn’t wake up, then replaced her identity with Xiao Bing. After hiding Bai Shuang in the wardrobe, you quickly swapped Xiao Bing’s ID with Jing Xiuwen’s before Xiao Bing woke up.”
“Afterward, you returned to the living room on the first floor and lay on the floor, waiting for others to wake up and find you. This way, you cleared your name, since you weren’t the first to wake up, and no one would suspect you.”
Yan Shixun’s gaze was ice-cold, his eyes full of deep disgust as he looked at Chi Yan. “But Chi Yan, everything we do leaves traces. You think no one knows besides you? But heaven, earth, and the spirits know.”
“And someone in Jing’s house… chose to stand against you and helped Bai Shuang.”
Yan Shixun softly asked Chi Yan, “Seeing that Bai Shuang didn’t die, are you disappointed?”
At this moment, Li Xuetang, who finally understood the whole story, looked at Chi Yan in shock, with deep disappointment and disgust.
Chi Yan shook her head, stepping back as if she wanted to deny Yan Shixun’s words, continuing to play the image of Lin Ting, who was always good-natured.
But now that the truth was out, and everyone realized what terrifying things Chi Yan had been hiding, how could they let her off?
Lu Xingxing angrily stepped forward and blocked Chi Yan from retreating. “Though I only had a bit of interaction with Bai Shuang in the music industry, she was so devoted to you! You’re very clear on how much she admired you, always calling you ‘sister’ in the crew. How could you bring yourself to hurt her?”
Li Xuetang’s brows were furrowed deeply, his gaze filled with disappointment and disgust as he looked at Chi Yan. “I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about you, but I chose to believe in you because I remember how hard you worked to improve your acting skills when you first started.”
“I pushed for you to be cast, not just for the sake of my script but also because I didn’t want a talented actress like you to be overlooked. And this is how you repay my trust?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Chi Yan, filled with judgment and deep disgust. The pain in Chi Yan’s heart was like a sharp needle.
She screamed, her voice shrill with despair and anger, echoing through Jing’s house and causing everyone to stop speaking.
Several people instinctively covered their ears, fearing they might go deaf.
Chi Yan screamed for a full minute, as if trying to release all the fear and despair she had bottled up over the years.
When she stopped, out of breath, her beautiful eyes were bloodshot, her face contorted in a twisted and ugly expression, no longer the stunning beauty she once was.
“How dare you curse me? Do you know how desperate I am?”
Chi Yan angrily shouted, “Someone wants to harm me. Even the two cats I raised before were killed by them. The masters who helped me are dead. I’m next!”
“I just want to survive. Yan Shixun rejected me, no one helped me, so I had to save myself!”
Chi Yan’s eyes were filled with hatred. “Look at you all, even brought to this damn place, and you’re still fine. You have pretty ID tags, you know you’ll be safe, so naive and stupid. But someone like me, who got a bad ID tag, should just wait to die?”
“I’m smarter than everyone. I know how to survive, so I took action and swapped the identity tag.”
After venting all the pressure that had built up in her heart, Chi Yan’s breathing slowly calmed down. The more she spoke, the calmer she became, as if she wasn’t talking to others but convincing herself that everything she did was right.
“I’m not wrong. The one at fault is that damn ghost child.” Chi Yan angrily pointed at Yan Shixun and said to everyone, “The real culprit is Yan Shixun!”
“If he had dealt with that uncontrollable ghost child, how could all this have happened? We wouldn’t have been brought here, Bai Shuang wouldn’t have been hurt, and none of this would have happened.”
Chi Yan coldly looked at Yan Shixun, her eyes filled with hatred. “It’s all because of you!”
There was silence in the room.
But no one was convinced by Chi Yan’s words. They were stunned, unable to believe that someone could be so selfish, thinking that all the wrongs were caused by others while she was blameless.
Even Lu Xingxing, who had just arrived at Jing’s house and didn’t know what had happened before, felt the whole situation was absurd.
Someone wouldn’t help you because you were a walking curse, almost like a ghost, and you could blame them for it? What kind of logic is that? If I’m poor, does that mean everyone else owes me money?
Even Zhao Zhen and Li Xuetang, who were in the same circle as Chi Yan, were stunned. They never expected this top-tier actress, who had been famous for so long, to harbor such selfish and stupid thoughts.
Li Xuetang couldn’t help but recall that winter decades ago when he was still a rookie director, just starting out. He could only blend in with other big film crews, learning their methods and theories from the sidelines.
It was during that time that he first saw Chi Yan.
The girl was small and thin, barely even an adult, wrapped in a military coat, rehearsing her solo scenes over and over again on an empty film set. She was trying to understand her character and perfect her portrayal.
The set was cold and dark, but to Li Xuetang, Chi Yan, who was still like an unopened flower, shone brightly despite it all.
At that moment, Li Xuetang knew that one day, Chi Yan would rise to her own era, shining brilliantly, never to be buried by the heavy winter snow.
And in time, Li Xuetang’s belief was proven true.
Even though rumors about Chi Yan had never stopped circulating, some said she raised a ghost child and used improper methods to gain luck and fame, which led to her rise to stardom.
Such claims had always existed, but Li Xuetang had only scoffed at them.
——In his heart, Chi Yan was forever that girl in the military coat, her face pale from the cold, her voice trembling as she stood alone on set, practicing diligently.
But now…
Li Xuetang stared blankly at Chi Yan, whose crazed demeanor was slowly pushing away the image of that young girl from years ago. In its place was the terrifying, grotesque face of Chi Yan now.
“Chi Yan,” Li Xuetang sighed deeply, as if exhausted from anger. His voice was quiet, “I always believed you would become the brightest star, but why did it have to be this way?”
Chi Yan sneered, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at Li Xuetang. “What do you know? Have you gone through everything I have? Do you know how dirty this entertainment industry is…”
She pointed her thumb downward, gesturing to the ground, her eyes filled with disgust. “How filthy.”
The others were momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say to Chi Yan.
They had already realized that Chi Yan had completely lost her mind. She was no longer willing to listen to anyone, just following her own twisted understanding of things.
But the audience watching the live broadcast saw the collapse of this world firsthand. People were breaking apart.
[Who the hell said this was just a script? Come out here! Chi Yan is the lead actress in Li Xuetang’s most important film. If there’s really nothing wrong with her, would Li Xuetang say such things about her? Wouldn’t that just cause trouble for himself?]
[Exactly, the fact that Li Xuetang himself said it proves that this is part of the script! Otherwise, do you think Li Xuetang has gone crazy? He’s ruining his own lead actress—what’s he trying to do?]
[Maybe, Li Xuetang seems like a very upright person. I heard that many who’ve worked with him say he’s obsessed with movies to the point where he doesn’t even manage his own life. He lives and breathes film art. People like that tend to be very pure, and maybe he can’t stand what Chi Yan has done, so even if the movie doesn’t get made, he wants to expose her.]
[I don’t care if this is a script or not, but what Chi Yan just did really shocked me. How could she go so crazy? My mom just knocked on my door and told me not to watch horror movies at night.]
[Me too, I almost had a heart attack. She’s just like a crazy woman from next door. How did Chi Yan turn into this? She used to be my idol…]
[Chi Yan!!! Is this really something a person can do? I’m so furious watching her curse Brother Yan through the screen, I’m about to explode. And yet, Brother Yan is still so calm!]
[Laughing my ass off, before this show, Brother Yan probably didn’t even know who Chi Yan was. She doesn’t even have a social media account and doesn’t carry a phone, so how could she expect him to follow the entertainment industry? If she’s trying to shift the blame, she picked the wrong person.]
[Yeah, it’s clearly her own fault. She raised the ghost child herself. Why is she cursing Brother Yan?]
[What she said has a lot of implications. Damn, I can already imagine how crazy the social media platforms will be tomorrow. The public opinion will explode, right? I wonder if her company will help her with PR, but I think no matter which PR company picks it up, they’ll need to throw in extra money. This is going to be a huge challenge.]
[The contrast is just too much. Chi Yan used to be such a gentle, goddess-like figure, and now she’s like a madwoman. If she wants to return to the popularity she had before, it’s going to be tough.]
[No need to wait until tomorrow. It’s already blowing up now, the social media platforms have gone crazy. Go take a look.]
In the Jing residence, after a long and awkward silence, Yan Shixun lifted the corner of his lips and actually smiled.
“You just said… that all of this should be blamed on that out-of-control ghost child?”
He chuckled softly. “Well, now I finally understand what’s going on.”
The words that Chi Yan blurted out in the midst of her emotional collapse were like the final piece of a puzzle, seamlessly completing the mental picture in Yan Shixun’s mind.
The bloodstains on the ceiling of the hotel stairwell, the deceased master, the thick fog that trapped them outside the concession area, everything that harked back to a century ago, the script adapted by Director Li Xuetang from Jing Bin’s true story, the clothes everyone had changed into, and the ghostly creatures that materialized from imagination…
There was one original source for all of this.
What kind of power could turn all of this into reality and even conceal it from Yan Shixun’s senses?
When Chi Yan mentioned the ghost child, the truth finally surfaced.
Because the true mastermind behind all of this was an evil ghost that had swallowed nine fetuses and had once been nourished by sacrifices.
The evil ghost broke free from its control and began to retaliate against the living, dragging everyone who believed they were helping Chi Yan into the fog, intending to see them panic and direct their anger towards Chi Yan.
That evil ghost wanted to see the foolish humans kill Chi Yan in the end.
It wanted to push Chi Yan to despair step by step, and only then would it kill her.
Only in this way could the evil ghost release its hatred.
If Yan Shixun hadn’t been here, that evil ghost’s plan would have already succeeded.
“But I am certain of one thing: I will not help someone who is capable of killing their own companions.”
Yan Shixun’s gaze shifted to the empty air beside him, as if he were conversing with an unseen presence. “What I said before still stands. If you’re willing to tell me the entire truth, maybe I will help you.”
“I’m here, waiting for you anytime.”
A child holding a ball sat in the chair behind the desk, swinging their chubby little legs back and forth.
The child tilted their head, watching Yan Shixun as he looked at a place that clearly wasn’t his own. The child smiled, narrowing their eyes.
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