Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Investigation Results

Prince Xuan said, “It must be extremely important to him. In that case, it’s very likely that he once killed someone in the teahouse.”

At that moment, Handsome Hao walked over. “Big Sis, I think he’s probably just an old man who’s not right in the head. Big Sis, you work yourself to exhaustion every day—your complexion’s getting worse. Work is work, but life is life. You’ve got to find a balance. I know a really great natural hot spring…”

Before he could finish, Prince Xuan, who had already stood up, interrupted him.

Prince Xuan said, “Let’s go. We’re heading back to the teahouse.”

Handsome Hao was still feeling awkward, but Prince Xuan had already left. He hesitated for a moment before hurrying after her, and soon they arrived at the teahouse.

Prince Xuan asked, “Boss, has there ever been a murder here before?”

While the two questioned the owner, Handsome Hao looked carefully around.

Zhang Yiwen replied, “Listen, Miss, I’ve been running this teahouse for years. The neighbors, adults and kids alike, all know it’s reputable. You can’t just say things like that. If word gets out, my business will be ruined.”

Just then, Handsome Hao approached. “Hey boss, how long has this teahouse been here?”

Zhang Yiwen thought for a moment. “About ten years or so.”

“Ten years?” asked Handsome Hao.

“More or less,” Zhang Yiwen answered.

“But it looks like it’s been here longer than that. Do you know what this place was before?”

Zhang Yiwen replied, “You know the M City Film Studio, right? Twelve years ago, this was the M City Film Studio. It used to be one of their sound stages. My uncle worked as a gatekeeper here back then. When the studio closed, I took over the lease and opened this little teahouse.”

Prince Xuan and Handsome Hao glanced around, then left to see if they could find any former employees of the studio for clues. As luck would have it, they found one.

An elderly man took the photo and looked at it. “Hey, isn’t this Xiao Xu?”

Prince Xuan asked, “You know him?”

The old man replied, “This was many years ago. Back then, he worked as a handyman at the film studio. We were pretty friendly.”

Handsome Hao asked, “Did he ever play any roles?”

“Sometimes,” the old man answered. “He’d be an extra, play a corpse or something.”

Handsome Hao pressed, “Can you remember if he ever played a killer?”

The old man’s eyes widened. “A killer!”

He fell silent, lost in thought for a long while.

Finally, he said, “That’s right—he did. After years of being an extra, Xiao Xu finally got a good opportunity. A director liked him and gave him a role. He worked hard to prepare—just a dozen lines, but he practiced day and night, put in a lot of effort. It was his first speaking part. He was well prepared, but once the lights came on, he fell apart. Take after take, he couldn’t get it right. The director had to call it off. After that, I never saw him again.”

Back at the supermarket, they released Old Xu. When he came out, he seemed uncomfortable, hunching into his coat, clutching his diary as he prepared to leave. At that moment, Prince Xuan and Handsome Hao approached him.

Prince Xuan said, “Mr. Xu, we’ve finished our investigation. You’re free to go now. But please, don’t cause any more trouble at the teahouse, all right? Go on.”

Old Xu scratched his head, looking forlorn, and walked away.