Jin Xiaoyue gave an explanation for the exchange of ID cards. “My brother has a girlfriend in Yuezhou. They met through online dating and have been in a long-distance relationship. He is too busy at work and she has many opinions, so she wanted to break up with him.”
“Sister Chen talked to my brother two weeks ago about working together. The day of the concert happened to be his girlfriend’s birthday. Shouldn’t he go to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday with her? Therefore, my brother had been hesitant to go do the styling for Teacher Liang. If he doesn’t accompany his girlfriend then she might really break up with him. However, a big star like Teacher Liang asked to work with him. This would help him build his reputation so he was reluctant.”
Yu Hanjiang glanced at her coldly. “So you gave Jin Xiaoyong the idea to exchange ID cards?”
Jin Xiaoyue clenched her fists. “That’s right. I look like my brother. When the time came, I just had to change to a hairstyle similar to his and replace him to do the styling for Teacher Liang. He took my ID card to see his girlfriend in the next city.
Xiao Lou asked suspiciously, “Wasn’t your brother worried about letting you do Teacher Liang’s hair? Wasn’t he afraid you would mess up?”
“I have rented a house with him over the years and learned a lot about hair styling. He did a model in advance and taught it to me. I learned it. Teacher Liang’s hairstyle wasn’t difficult to do.”
Yu Hanjiang stated, “In other words, you had already changed identities with your brother when Teacher Lin asked Ah Kim to try doing her hair. Did you curl her hair?’
Jin Xiaoyue nodded. “That’s right. We just changed our identities in private. We didn’t interfere with business. This shouldn’t be illegal?”
Yu Hanjiang wondered, “Did you see Liang Ting drinking from a thermos at that time?”
Jin Xiaoyue looked innocent. “What thermos? I don’t know.”
“On the day of the concert, didn’t you go to Liang Ting’s lounge and poison her thermos?”
“Officer, you can’t wrong an innocent person!”
No matter what Yu Hanjiang asked, she just said she didn’t know. Liang Ting wasn’t killed by her so don’t wrong an innocent person. This girl’s lips were sealed. It seemed she wouldn’t voluntarily confess until stronger evidence was found. Yu Hanjiang had to detain her temporarily while waiting for the next step.
Liang Ting’s former agent had quickly been found by Shao Qingge. He was a man surnamed Li. He arrived at the police station and couldn’t believe it. “Liang Ting had a straightforward and simple personality. She didn’t know how to deal with people tactfully and sometimes her words might be hurtful. However, she wasn’t bad-hearted. I can’t think of anyone who has a deep hatred for her.”
Yu Hanjiang asked him in detail about Liang Ting’s experiences since her debut and then followed up with a key question. “Do you have any impression of the name Jin Xiaoyue?” He handed a copy of the ID card to the agent.
Mr Li frowned and thought about it for a long time. “I have no impression. Liang Ting shouldn’t know this person.”
“Think again.”
Mr Li was definite. “I really don’t know her.”
Yu Hanjiang requested, “Can you give us a list of the programs that Liang Ting has participated in over the years, including TV shows, variety shows, talent contests, etc?”
“I can do this. I have all the videos of Liang Ting’s jobs in my hand.”
The agent provided an electronic version of the list as well as handing a hard disk to Yu Hanjiang. “I am used to downloading and saving the videos of the shows my artists participate in. It is like a memorial and I can also review it at any time. It is quite interesting to watch shows from 10 years ago.”
The hard drive given by the agent was sure to have important clues. However, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou got a headache after they connected the hard disk to the computer and turned it on. Liang Ting had debuted at the age of 18. In the past 20 years, the agent had downloaded and saved hundreds of programs without fail. Wasn’t it too much work to look at it one by one?
Yu Hanjiang sent Jin Xiaoyue’s ID card photo to the group and said: At present, we suspect that this Jin Xiaoyue is the murderer. She had the time to commit the crime and she can’t provide an alibi. However, we can’t find her motive for committing the crime. We have decided to look up Liang Ting’s past shows to see if she has any grievances with the deceased.
Liu Qiao replied quickly: There are so many programs. The workload is too heavy for Group Leader Yu to watch alone. Let’s divide the work. It will increase efficiency. We might not be able to investigate but it is okay to watch the video for clues.
Shao Qingge: I am also looking for something to do. Give me some. This day is very boring.
Qu Wanyue, Long Sen and Old Mo also came out one after another and said they had nothing to do at night. They could help.
Yu Hanjiang explained: Jin Xiaoyue is 30 years old this year and Liang Ting is 44 years old. Liang Ting is 14 years older than Jin Xiaoyue. We only need to start from when Jin Xiaoyue is 18 years old, which is the year when Liang Ting was 32 years old.
Jin Xiaoyue was still in kindergarten when Liang Ting debuted so there would be no grudges.
The turning point in Jin Xiaoyue’s life was when she was 18 years old. Her parents had an accident and the university entrance examination was missed. Her smooth life entered a low point. Liang Ting was 32 years old at the time so there were 12 years of programs that needed to be checked.
Yu Hanjiang quickly divided the world: Each of you will watch a year and I will do the rest. If you have to fast forward, don’t do it at faster than two times the speed so as to not miss clues. Focus on watching all the shows for Jin Xiaoyue. Note that her name might not be Jin Xiaoyue. It is likely that she took a stage name or an English name similar to Kim. I will now upload the programs to the shared network hard drive. Everyone will download it separately and check the program. After watching the program, report the results in the group here.
The group of people lined up to make the ‘OK’ gesture.
They started looking at the programs based on the division in labor. Yu Hanjiang worked backwards while everyone else was responsible for a year.
That night, all the members of the WeChat group worked overtime and stayed up late. They reported the results in the group after watching a program. The WeChat group kept sending messages like ‘X year X month X day, so-and-so program is normal.’
By 1 o’clock in the morning, most of the programs on the hard disk had been checked but no clues were found.
Ye Qi couldn’t help wondering if the grudge between Jin Xiaoyue and Liang Ting had actually happened privately instead of on a show. However, what would be the intersection between the working girl Jin Xiaoyue and the singing queen Liang Ting?
He believed in Yu Hanjiang’s judgment. There were so many shows. One of them must have a clue. Ye Qi took a deep breath and clicked on the program he was responsible for. It was when Liang Ting was 39 and Jin Xiaoyue was 25. The name of this show was Sing If You Want to Sing 1017.
Ye Qi’s eyes lit up. Wasn’t this the talent show that led to the debut of the 505 girl group? He immediately opened the video and watched it carefully.
Sing If You Want to Sing was a talent show created by Binzhou TV. They invested a lot of money in it and also cooperated with the largest Starlight Entertainment Company in the circle. There were almost no barriers to registration. Anyone could come to this stage as long as they wanted to sing.
Singers who could get into the top six and enter the finals could sign contracts with Starlight Entertainment and made their debut as a solo or in a group. This was one of the best ways for music lovers to realize their dreams.
The talent show had been running for many years and the 505 girl group became popular after their debut because they participated in this show three years ago.
Liang Ting had participated in this season five years ago. Not long after Ye Qi started the show, he saw Liang Ting appear. She was wearing a handsome suit skirt and sat on the judges’ bench. The host asked the audience to welcome the guest for this episode, Liang Ting.
Ye Qi sensed that something was wrong. He frowned and continued to look.
This episode happened to be the knockout round of 10 people to six people.
The host introduced the top 10 players in turn. Ye Qi’s eyes widened and he stared closely at their faces. No. 1, No. 2, No. 3… it wasn’t until the No. 7 player came out that Ye Qi became stunned. He immediately paused and enlarged the image.
The one walking on stage was a fair and delicate girl. She was around 168 cm tall with long black hair. She wore a white dress and looked fresh. Ye Qi carefully compared her face to Jin Xiaoyue’s ID card—it was definitely the same person!
Ye Qi took a screenshot and immediately reported it to the group: Sing If You Want to Sing 1017. Liang Ting is one of the judges and I found Jin Xiaoyue among the top 10 players. Group Leader Yu, you take a look!
The moment his words came out, everyone immediately opened the program Ye Qi mentioned.
In this elimination round, the first pass required every contestant to sing a song. The judges would turn on a light. A green light meant a pass and a red light meant a failure. The player could pass onto the next round if they got two green lights out of three judges.
Ye Qi quickly used the mouse to skip the other people’s singing and watched Jin Xiaoyue’s part. He found that Jin Xiaoyue was a bit nervous. Her breathing was unstable, her voice was relatively trendy and her music recognition wasn’t high enough. Still, it was okay overall.
The song finished and the host said, “Welcome, the seventh contestant: Morning!”
Yu Hanjiang couldn’t help saying, “Sure enough, her English name was used. This is why the agent has no impression of Jin Xiaoyue’s name.”
Xiao Lou was nervous. “It seems this episode is the key.”
The two of them continued to watch.
Jin Xiaoyue stood in the middle of the stage. The camera zoomed in and they could see sweat on her forehead. She was obviously a bit nervous.
The host asked her, “Why take on this English name?”
Jin Xiaoyue earnestly explained, “The plan for the day lies in the morning. I think the name Morning represents the early morning and hope.
There was warm applause from the audience.
Then the host asked, “You have made it all the way to the top 10. What do you want to say to your parents and family at this moment?”
The girl took a deep breath and choked up. “My parents died when I was 18 years old. I only have a younger brother. Back then, I missed out on the university entrance examination due to the death of my parents and failed to go to university. I started to work at the age of 18…”
The show played sad music in response and some audience members were moved by her. They even shed tears.
The girl talked a lot about her hard experiences over the years. She had red eyes and couldn’t help crying. The host comforted her for a while and she finally said, “I have always loved music and singing very much. It is my biggest dream to be a singer! I came to participate in this audition and my brother is very supportive of me. I want to tell him to please rest assured. Sister will definitely work hard and I will definitely get ahead!”
The applause from the audience was extremely enthusiastic. Obviously, Jin Xiaoyue’s tearful story had moved many people.
The three judges also clapped cooperatively. The host said, “Judges, please turn on your lights.”
The first judge gave a green light, the second judge gave a green light and the third judge Liang Ting… gave a red light.
The rule was that two green lights could enter the next round of PK. Liang Ting’s red light had little effect. Jin Xiaoyue glanced at Liang Ting before bowing to the judges, ready to prepare for the next round.
Two players were eliminated in the first round, leaving eight people. The second round of eliminations began. As long as she won the second round and entered the top six, she would get the opportunity to sign with Starlight Entertainment regardless of the final ranking. She was only one step away from becoming a singer.
Jin Xiaoyue chose an English song in the second round and sang with a lot of effort. Her final treble part made the audience applaud. However, during the light up phase of the judges, the first judge gave a red light and the second judge gave a green light. The final decision lay in Liang Ting’s hands.
The host asked, “Teacher Liang, what is your decision?”
Liang Ting picked up her microphone. She stared at the girl on stage and calmly opened her mouth. “Morning, do you mind if I speak more directly?”
Jin Xiaoyue smiled and nodded. “Teacher Liang, please say it.”
“First of all, you shouldn’t choose an English song. Your English isn’t good and your pronunciation is too blunt. This song’s key is too high for you to control and it sounds very dry. Secondly, in this section, you have two end notes that were out of tune. Your basic vocal skills aren’t good. Compared with the players from music schools, the gap is actually very obvious.”
The audience was stunned because they hadn’t expected Liang Ting to speak so bluntly. Jin Xiaoyue’s smile was also a bit stiff.
The first judge had turned on a red light but he was obviously better behaved. He came out to soothe the field. “Don’t blame the contestant. Morning didn’t go to university because of her family reasons. I believe that as long as she studies at a music school in the future, she will definitely sing better…”
Liang Ting frowned. “Since you have come to a competition stage, I won’t give you sympathy points due to family reasons. This is very unfair to the other players. Everyone works hard. Don’t think that you are working the hardest. Since the competition has invited me to be a judge, I will only judge every singer from a professional perspective. This includes voice, singing ability and potential.”
“Your voice is actually good but your basic skills are too bad. In my opinion, your singing has no personal characteristics and you were very nervous. I didn’t point out the few wrong notes in the first round. In the second round, there were two notes that were out of tune and the high-pitched part was ruined. I’m sorry. In order to give other players a fair environment, my result for this round is…”
She pressed the red light. Jin Xiaoyue couldn’t believe it when she saw the red light come on.
The host spoke regretfully, “I’m sorry. Two judges have given a red light. Morning, you can only regretfully leave this stage! Still, it doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t give up on your dream, you will be successful! Let us give her a warm round of applause!”
Jin Xiaoyue bowed and turned away. Yu Hanjiang noticed that when she walked off the stage, she glanced at Liang Ting and her gaze was very complicated.
Xiao Lou saw this and couldn’t help lamenting, “Liang Ting’s words are reasonable. In a competition, you can only show strength. There is no need for sympathy. However, Liang Ting was too direct and it was like a slap to the face. Did this make Jin Xiaoyue hate her?”
Yu Hanjiang suggested, “In the end, Jin Xiaoyue was seventh. The top six can go to the finals and get the chance to sign a contract. It can be said that Liang Ting broke her dream of becoming a singer. This time, the 505 girl group held a concert. They are also singers who debuted on the talent show and now their future is infinite. Meanwhile, she has been very desolate in recent years…”
Xiao Lou sighed lightly. “She might be psychologically unbalanced. The fortune of the 505 girl group contrasted her downfall. She would definitely think that if Liang Ting had given her the green light and let her enter the finals, she could sign a contract. Perhaps she would be the same as the 505 girl group now? A superstar? Would she be able to hold a concert of her own?”
The more she thought about it, the more painful it was and the more hate she felt. The flames of jealousy burned in her heart and the seed of hatred swept through her mind. In the end, it drowned out all reason and made her decide on the craziest action.
