Chapter 259 - Starlight Entertainment 21
Chapter 259 – Starlight Entertainment 21
The concert ended on time at 10 o’clock in the evening.
Since the agent Yun Lan didn’t tell the girls about Liang Ting’s death, the five girls weren’t affected in the second half of the performance. They sang very happily on the big stage and everyone’s solo performances were also done perfectly. Their first concert was a complete success.
The fans left in an orderly manner while the five members of the girl group returned to the lounge. The captain, Zhao Yuxin, smiled brightly. “In order to celebrate the success of our first concert, how about I invite everyone for a meal later?”
This suggestion soon got the approval of the other four. However, greeting them, the agent Yun Lan’s face was as dark as the bottom of the pot. She told them solemnly, “You come with me.”
The five members saw that her face wasn’t so good. Qin Huanhuan joked, “What’s wrong with Sister Yun? Today’s concert was quite smooth. Why is your face so ugly?”
Li Shengnan added, “Did your boyfriend make you angry again? If he dares to bully my Sister Yun then I will beat him up!” Then she clenched her fists and showed everyone the muscles on her small arms.
The other three also expressed concern for their agent.
Yun Lan took a deep breath, pulled the five people aside and spoke in a low voice. “Teacher Liang had an accident. The police are waiting for you backstage. In order to prevent this news from affecting the tens of thousands of people at the concert, the police didn’t let me tell you so that the concert could end smoothly…”
The five people heard this and quickly put away their smiles.
Captain Zhao Yuxin asked, “What happened? Even the police are here. Is it serious?”
Yun Lan was silent for a few seconds before replying with a trembling voice, “Teacher Liang died in her dressing room.”
“Eh?” All five of them gasped. The youngest, Qin Huanhuan, immediately had red eyes. Her fingers shook and she grabbed the arm of Li Shengnan next to her. “S-Sister Nan, Teacher Liang is dead? Did I hear it correctly?”
Li Shengnan’s face didn’t look very good as she barely maintained her calm. “Sister Yun, you must be joking, right? Haha, Sister Yun is so humorous.”
Yun Lan asked her, “Do you think I would joke about this type of thing?”
The five people were choked up at the same time.
Yun Lan warned them, “You should be mentally prepared. The police are waiting to question you.”
She asked the five girls to line up to find Yu Hanjiang next door.
In order to observe the performance of the five girls, Ye Qi had hid in the dressing room and saw the entire process. Judging from the expressions of the five girls, the most shocked one was Li Shengnan. After hearing the news, her mouth was so wide that a duck egg could be stuffed inside. Qin Huanhuan was scared and cried. Her legs were a bit wobbly as she walked. Perhaps she hadn’t experienced this type of stimulating thing before and she couldn’t bear it for a while.
As for the other three, Ye Lan’s eyes widened with surprise, and Zhao Yuxin was pale as she stared at her agent with disbelief. Liu Xi remained calm on the surface but her hands were clenched and she was breathing deeply.
There was nothing obviously suspicious from the performance of the five people. Ye Qi secretly came out of the dressing room and headed to the interrogation room.
The round-faced girl cried and ruined her makeup. Either she was really good at acting or she really was sad about her idol’s death.
Yu Hanjiang asked her about the situation backstage and Qin Huanhuan replied, “I went to the dressing room after I got off the stage. My eyes are sensitive and my eyeliner was smeared. It took a long time for the makeup artist to touch up my makeup. By the way, Sister Nan was also there. She has a sweaty physique and sweats easily when dancing. The powder on her face also needed to be fixed. We stayed in the dressing room to have our makeup fixed.”
As for Liang Ting’s movements, Qin Huanhuan said she didn’t hear anything.
Her testimony was exactly the same as that of Li Shengnan. The two of them had their makeup touched up the entire time they were off the big stage.
Li Shengnan told him, “Zhao Yuxin, Ye Lan and Liu Xi went to the bathroom together but neither Huanhuan or I went.”
Yu Hanjiang asked the makeup artist of the girl group for proof.
He could rule out the suspicion of Qin Huanhuan and Li Shengnan for the time being. The two girls didn’t leave the sight of the makeup artist because their makeup was too easily ruined. Today, Qin Huanhuan was clamoring to get an autograph from Liang Ting but the makeup artist took her back to touch up her makeup. She never had the chance for private contact with Liang Ting.
Li Shengnan also sweated a lot and easily ruined her powder. They were either on the way to the big stage or to makeup. He needed to focus his inquiries on the remaining three people.
Zhao Yuxin said, “I did go to the bathroom with Ye Lan and Liu Xi. I ran into Teacher Liang’s manager, Sister Chen in the bathroom and greeted her.”
Yu Hanjiang asked, “The three of you went there together. Did you go back together?”
Zhao Yuxin’s face changed slightly and she wanted to stop talking.
Yu Hanjiang sensed something wrong and immediately questioned it. “What happened in the middle?”
Zhao Yuxin looked embarrassed and was hesitant to speak. Yu Hanjiang solemnly told her, “Miss Zhao, you are a public figure. If you don’t want to go to the police station with me to be detained for a few days, please tell the truth.”
Zhao Yuxin’s eyes flashed with a bit of panic and she hurriedly spoke. “Actually, the three of us went to the bathroom together but we didn’t go back together… I was just in there for a short time and soon headed back. Ye Lan and Liu Xi didn’t come back for a long time.”
“How long?”
Zhao Yuxin frowned and thought for a moment. “Around 10 minutes? By the time they came back, Ye Qi’s second song was about to be over.”
Yu Hanjiang asked, “When you came back, was there any noise in Teacher Liang Ting’s room next door?”
Zhao Yuxin shook her head. “No, I didn’t go to her room because the agent said Teacher Liang had a headache and wanted to rest. I didn’t dare to bother her.”
Yu Hanjiang let the captain go out and called the other two in turn.
Ye Lan was the member with the best temperament in the entire group. She had long hair and was very well-raised at first glance. She sat in a dignified manner and her voice was relatively calm. “I don’t know Teacher Liang privately. Teacher Liang doesn’t like my voice very much. She was a mentor to us during the competition. She felt that my voice was too soft and there was limited room for development. She liked Liu Xi’s voice the most because Liu Xi’s voice was the most similar to hers.”
Yu Hanjiang inquired, “Tell me about what you did backstage today. Did you ever leave the group?”
Ye Lan thought about it. “Most of the time, I was doing my makeup and changing clothes with them. It is only during the intermission… that is, after 9 o’clock. I went to the bathroom with Zhao Yuxin and Liu Xi.”
“The three of you went together but you didn’t come back together?”
Ye Lan frowned. “Zhao Yuxin returned early. I came back with Liu Xi.”
“According to Zhao Yuxin, you stayed in the bathroom for around 10 minutes. What was the situation?”
Ye Lan’s face changed. She gently bit her lip and refused to say.
Yu Hanjiang stared at her. “What happened?”
A moment later, Ye Lan gritted her teeth. “I-I forgot to bring toilet paper and Liu Xi didn’t bring any either. There was no more toilet paper left in the bathroom. I called out to Liu Xi next door and asked her to help bring me some toilet paper.”
Everyone, “……”
Forgetting to bring toilet paper to the bathroom was really a tragedy in life.
Ye Lan also felt very embarrassed and her ears were red as she continued speaking. “I don’t know where Liu Xi went to find the paper but she didn’t come back for a long time. I waited in the bathroom until my legs were numb.”
Yu Hanjiang wondered, “During this process, did anyone else come into the bathroom?”
Ye Lan thought about it carefully. “It seems that someone did come in. It might be a makeup artist or staff member. I heard footsteps but they didn’t belong to Liu Xi. It is because our second set of styling was high-heeled shoes. This person was wearing flat shoes and her steps were very light. I didn’t dare to call out because I was too embarrassed. I don’t know who it was.”
They could imagine the embarrassing scene of her sitting on the toilet waiting for toilet paper. The fact that someone came in from outside was very critical.
Yu Hanjiang highlighted it in the transcript and asked, “How long did you wait for Liu Xi?”
“Around seven minutes? I could hear Ye Qi singing in the bathroom. I listened to him sing the entire White Birch Forest and the first half of the second song.”
Yu Hanjiang asked her to go back. Finally, he interrogated Liu Xi.
Liu Xi’s personality was very cold and her clear voice was indeed similar to Liang Ting’s tone. She explained that Ye Lan asked her for help with the toilet paper. “It is too embarrassing that Ye Lan forgot to bring toilet paper to the bathroom. People would laugh at her when they hear it. I didn’t want to go back to the lounge to ask people for tissue so I went to the tea room. There were no tissues in the tea room in the north so I went to the south. Therefore, it took a long time.”
The backstage corridor was very long. If she went to the north to find tissues before going to the south and coming back, it was normal to take a few minutes—at least, if she wasn’t lying.
Yu Hanjiang wondered, “Did you meet anyone in the corridor on the way?”
Liu Xi replied with a cold voice. “No, when I returned to the bathroom, only Ye Lan was waiting for me.”
So far, all the suspects had been interrogated. Yu Hanjiang organized the testimonies and told Shao Qingge, “Let the staff of the concert go back. I believe this case will be concluded soon.”
Ye Qi was curious. “Group Leader Yu, you’re so confident? Is this case simpler than Lin Yiyan’s murder?”
Yu Hanjiang told him, “Yes, after all, the murderer who killed Liang Ting was at the scene. In Lin Yiyan’s case, we haven’t locked down the murderer.” Then he glanced at Xiao Lou. “Can you do a poison identification and analysis immediately after you go back? It will be hard on you.”
Xiao Lou smiled. “Don’t be polite. I’ll work overtime with you tonight.”
Shao Qingge looked between the two of them and smiled. “Since you have to work overtime, I will go back and sleep.”
Ye Qi told him helplessly, “Chief Shao, don’t just lie down and win in the Hearts secret room, okay? We should help Group Leader Yu as well…”
Shao Qingge interrupted him. “What can you do as a star to help the police? Besides, Group Leader Yu is confident to solve this case so we should just wait for the result. Trust his professionalism.”
Ye Qi was stunned. “I don’t seem to be able to help with anything… so I shall go back first?”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “You should go. The scene has been searched and the evidence has been collected. I will handle it on the police side. It is enough for Xiao Lou to help me.”
Shao Qingge dragged Ye Qi away. He also told Yun Lan, the five members of the 505 girl group, the makeup artists, stylists and assistants present today that they should have their phones always turned on and they should be ready whenever they were needed.
On the way back, Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and asked, “Group Leader Yu, do you really have the confidence to solve the case quickly?”
“The suspects have been locked down. We just need to use the exclusion method. Combine their confessions with the on-site evidence. The murderer will always leave a trace. I have already identified the person most likely to be the murderer. Once we go back, I’ll investigate her details.”
Xiao Lou finally let go of his worries when he heard this. Since the murderer was among the people interrogated today, Xiao Lou believed that Group Leader Yu’s sharp eyes would surely be able to pick the murderer out of the crowd!