Card Room (Rebirth)

It was already 2 o’clock in the morning by the time they finished watching the variety show. Everyone was in full spirits and was discussing it in the group.

Ye Qi: I think Teacher Liang Ting’s words are right. Jin Xiaoyue really didn’t sing well with the second song. The eliminations depend on how well you sing on the spot. It would be unfair to other players if she was given the green light. The same was true for when I participated in the competition. Even if you performed well previously, if a song isn’t sung well and you are eliminated, you can’t blame others. You can only blame yourself for your mistakes.

Liu Qiao asked: I’m not familiar with singing. I think Jin Xiaoyue’s song was okay to listen to. Xiao Ye, was she really out of tune?

Ye Qi was from the conservatory of music after all. He was much more professional than anyone else in the group when it came to music. He explained seriously: Two notes are out of tune and the final ending is also too much. I feel that she wanted to become famous so much that she was very nervous and couldn’t let her voice soar.

Shao Qingge said: In fact, not all singers who signed with Starlight Entertainment through this talent show have become popular. Even if Jin Xiaoyue signs a contract, she won’t go far. Her mentality collapses too easily and her psychological endurance is weak. It is difficult to be a star with the psychological quality of crying on stage.

Qu Wanyue: I’m very sympathetic to Jin Xiaoyue’s experience but objectively speaking, the other contestants sang better than her. I think it is reasonable for her to get seventh place. The judges didn’t randomly give points. If she hates Liang Ting for this then she really has a distorted mentality.

Old Mo lamented: Some people always like to blame their failures on others. They always feel that others have no eyes and that they themselves aren’t wrong. It is someone else’s fault… well, Jin Xiaoyue probably thinks like this. So the more she dwells on it, the more she hates Liang Ting?

Ye Qi had also participated in an audition show. People with a good mentality would thank the stage for the opportunity to grow even if they were eliminated after failure. However, Jin Xiaoyue clearly wasn’t such a person. She was too paranoid. It was as Shao Qingge said. This competition completely broke her mentality.

Jin Xiaoyue had burst into tears on stage when talking about the death of her parents and the experience of missing the university entrance examination. Obviously, this wasn’t purely for the effect of the program. She really couldn’t control her emotions.

Xiao Lou looked back at Yu Hanjiang. “If Liang Ting turned on the red light five years ago, preventing her from making it to the finals of the talent show and making her hate Liang Ting… why did so many years pass before she acted?”

Yu Hanjiang looked at the spiteful gaze Jin Xiaoyue cast at Liang Ting when stepping off the stage and analyzed it. “She is an ordinary person and it is difficult to get close to a big star like Liang Ting. This time, her younger brother got a once in a lifetime opportunity to style for Liang Ting. In addition, it is very likely that something happened recently to stimulate her. The hatred she buried deep in her heart was ignited once again.”

Xiao Lou thought about it and found it reasonable. Jin Xiaoyue might’ve been stimulated recently. Then after seeing Liang Ting, her new hatred was added to her old hatred. She decided to kill her to vent her anger. As for what she had done recently, they would have to continue to check.

Jin Xiaoyue only had a high school degree and couldn’t find a good job, so they hadn’t been able to find where she worked. Perhaps there would be more clues when they found her brother tomorrow.

Yu Hanjiang thought up to here and said in the group: Everyone has worked hard. Go to sleep. I will try interrogating Jin Xiaoyue again tomorrow. This case should be solved soon.

The team members sent good nights in the group before turning off their phones to go to sleep. Yu Hanjiang also turned off the computer and went home with Xiao Lou.

At 2 o’clock in the morning, there were few cars on the street and the wide road seemed empty.

The passing street lights were projected on the car windows, illuminating Yu Hanjiang’s handsome profile. Xiao Lou turned to look. Yu Hanjiang was driving seriously, steering wheel held firmly between his slender hands as he stared straight ahead.

He had only slept for three hours last night and worked overtime until 2 o’clock tonight. There was obvious fatigue on the man’s face and short stubble showing on his chin… he was obviously tired these days but had been acting strong in order to quickly solve the case.

Xiao Lou spoke softly, “Liang Ting’s case should almost be solved. You should go to bed as soon as possible after going home tonight. Tomorrow is the weekend. You can sleep late and go to work at 9:30. In any case, Jin Xiaoyong hasn’t been found. Jin Xiaoyue won’t confess easily if we just interrogate her.”

Yu Hanjiang glanced over at Xiao Lou. He met this person’s serious eyes and couldn’t help blurting out, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Xiao Lou chuckled. “You are really a workaholic. In fact, there is no need to fight like this. This time, there is no time limit on the Hearts secret room. As long as we find enough clues, we can get an S-grade evaluation and a perfect clearance. Our efficiency is high enough.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, I’ll go back tonight and have a good rest. I will pick you up at 9:30 tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Lou pointed to his chin. “Get up in the morning and shave by the way.”

It was only then that Yu Hanjiang realized he hadn’t shaved for three days. This was the first time someone reminded him of the details of his life. Yu Hanjiang felt warmth in his heart and the corners of his mouth raised slightly. “I know.”

After returning home, Yu Hanjiang finally had a good night’s sleep and he didn’t wake up until 9 o’clock the next day.

He went to the bathroom to take a shower, dried his hair and listened to Xiao Lou’s words by carefully shaving off his stubble in the mirror. He was refreshed and in good spirits as he happily went off to pick Xiao Lou up for work.

This weekend, apart from the two police officers on duty, everyone else in his group had the day off. The entire police department seemed very quiet. Xiao Lou didn’t return to the forensics centre. He simply stayed in the office with Yu Hanjiang to investigate clues.

Yu Hanjiang contacted the talent market in Binzhou market and asked them to check Jin Xiaoyue’s employment history.

Many companies went to recruit from Binzhou’s talent market. Both university graduates and people with a high school diploma could come here to find jobs. Jin Xiaoyue had a high school degree and couldn’t find a good job. However, with her pride, she shouldn’t be able to stand doing manual tasks such as being a waiter, cleaner or dishwasher in a restaurant.

The biggest possibility is that she came to the talent market to find a decent job that didn’t require high academic qualifications.

The talent market soon gave a reply. Yu Hanjiang had guessed correctly. Jin Xiaoyue had indeed found many jobs through the talent market.

The most recent one was when she applied this summer to work as the front desk employee for a very large hotel. The hotel front desk job didn’t require too high a degree. She could get an interview opportunity as long as she was beautiful and articulate.

The introduction letter from the talent market and the introduction fee Jin Xiaoyue had paid after signing the contract with the hotel were all recorded in detail.

Yu Hanjiang took a closer look at the electronic documents sent by the other party. In the photo on the letter of introduction, Jin Xiaoyue had long hair and she looked really beautiful. Her facial features were small and exquisite. This was why Xiao Lou felt a bit awkward when he saw her pretending to be a man.

Yu Hanjiang immediately drove to the hotel and looked for the personnel department to confirm.

The personnel director said, “Jin Xiaoyue came to work at the front desk of our hotel in June this year. She worked seriously. A security guard at our hotel liked her and chased her for a long time but her head was stuck up high and she looked down on the security guard. By the way, she resigned last month.”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “What was her reason for leaving?”

The personnel director sighed. “I don’t know the details but something happened last month. Xiao Hui, who was on the night shift with her, said that a few guests came in the middle of the night and recognized her. Jin Xiaoyue didn’t show the guests a good face and she later took the initiative to resign.”

Yu Hanjiang immediately asked him to call Xiao Hui. Xiao Hui was around 25 years old. She wore a dark blue professional suit with a skirt and stepped into the office in high heels. There was exquisite makeup on her face and her hair was pulled up in a bun with a red checked hairpin. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou had seen several similar clothes and hairstyles along the way. It should be the work uniform of this hotel.

Xiao Hui smiled politely at the personnel director. She heard that the police were looking for her and her face changed slightly. Her eyes showed confusion. “Police? What happened?”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “Are you familiar with Jin Xiaoyue?”

Xiao Hui was startled. “Sister Yue? I know her well. Our front desk has three shifts and sometimes we have to work night shifts. She and I often worked together. She is very talented and knows a lot. I heard from her that she used to have very good grades. She would be in the top three of her class every time. It was a pity that her family was too poor and she couldn’t go to university.”

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged looks. Sure enough, this had become Jin Xiaoyue’s heart demon. She should be very aggrieved about not being able to go to university so she vented her dissatisfaction to other people.

Xiao Hui continued. “She is very smart and her work efficiency is high when checking in clients. However, she resigned suddenly and deleted my contact information after she resigned.”

Yu Hanjiang inquired, “She was working the night shift with you when she resigned. Apparently, she met some people who knew her that night?”

Xiao Hui thought about it carefully and described in detail what happened on that night.

Last month on the night of October 15th, she and Jin Xiaoyue took over at 8 o’clock that evening. They were arranged to work two night shifts.

At around 9 o’clock, a couple came in. It was a handsome man and a beautiful woman wearing designer clothes. The woman was carrying a limited edited bag from a big brand and she had a large diamond ring on her finger. They looked rich and they booked the hotel’s most expensive luxury couple suite.

As they were checking in, the woman suddenly spoke to Jin Xiaoyue. “Are you Jin Xiaoyue?”

Jin Xiaoyue’s face changed in an instant.

The woman continued. “I am Qian Qian who sat in your front row in high school. Do you remember me?”

The man next to her also looked surprised. “Xiao Yue? Why are you working at the front desk of a hotel? I remember that your grades were good at the time… I heard you missed the university entrance examination back then. Didn’t you repeat it later?”

Jin Xiaoyue clenched her fists and her entire face was as pale as paper. “You recognized the wrong person.”

The woman persisted. “How can it be a mistake? You are Xiao Yue, right? My husband and I happened to come here for a business trip. We are old classmates and should eat together when free.”

She wanted to continue but the handsome man beside her gently stopped her and smiled. “Sorry, we must’ve made a mistake. Please check us in.”

Jin Xiaoyue checked them in with an ugly expression. Once the two of them left, Xiao Hui asked, “Sister Yue, are they really your classmates?”

Jin Xiaoyue bit her lip and refused to reply. Her fingers were tightly clenched and her long red nails were digging into her palm, almost causing her to bleed. Xiao Hui didn’t dare ask again. As a result, within half an hour, another woman walked in with an assistant.

The woman wore a very nice jacket. She had curly hair, wore a silk scarf and big sunglasses. She was dressed extremely fashionably. As she got to the front desk, she looked at Jin Xiaoyue with surprise. “Morning? Why are you here?”

Jin Xiaoyue’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. “You have the wrong person.”

The woman smiled apologetically. “Sorry, you look very similar to a friend of mine.”

The assistant next to her dragged a large suitcase and the two of them checked in together.

For the rest of the night shift, Jin Xiaoyue looked sullen and didn’t say a single word. Xiao Hui was frightened by her expression and didn’t ask her what was going on. Jin Xiaoyue resigned the next day.

Xiao Hui’s words told Yu Hanjiang the cause and effect. Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou continued to question the other people in the hotel. No one knew the reason for Jin Xiaoyue’s resignation and no one had conflicts with her.

Yu Hanjiang followed the hotel’s system to look at the check-in records for that night.

The handsome and beautiful man and women were Jin Xiaoyue’s high school classmates. The man was a top student in the class but he failed to pass Jin Xiaoyue every time. The woman’s grades were average. The two of them passed the university entrance examination, were admitted to a university in the same city and were currently executives of the same company.

The woman with sunglasses and curly hair who appeared later was a contestant who participated in the singing contest with Jin Xiaoyue five years ago. She won sixth place and signed a contract with Starlight Entertainment. Although she wasn’t a big hit at present, she was still a little famous. She had come to Binzhou to participate in a charity performance.

On the way back, Xiao Lou analyzed it. “It seems that she met old friends on that night shift and was stimulated?”

Yu Hanjiang said, “The injustices and jealousy in people’s hearts are all due to comparison. Her previous high school classmates whose grades were far inferior to her are now living better than her. They wore expensive clothing and are happily married. They also live in the most expensive suite when going out to stay at a hotel. Meanwhile, she is working as a receptionist at the hotel.”

Xiao Lou added, “The girl who called her Morning took sixth place in the competition. It is only one place higher than her but now that person is a small, famous singer… the contrast really hurts.”

The seeds of imbalance were already planted in Jin Xiaoyue’s heart. At this moment, the flames of hatred were finally ignited and she lost her sense of reason. It could be imagined how pained and regretful Jin Xiaoyue felt staying in that rented house with her brother after returning that day.

Yu Hanjiang sighed. “Wait until we find Jin Xiaoyong. Then this case can be closed.”

6th Anniversary Event Page (Final Submission Date: 15th November)

Proofreader: Fictional Reality