Jiang Ling smiled and got straight to the point, "Stop pretending. I guessed long ago that you were the one manipulating everything from behind the scenes. We're all old foxes here, so let's not play games with each other."
"Good, very good. Smart people don't waste words. Yes, I am the true manipulator behind the scenes."
Jian Fan clapped his hands, his sharp gaze fixed on Jiang Ling, the chill in his eyes almost spilling out of the screen.
He said ominously, "How did you figure me out?"
Jiang Ling replied, "Actually, at first, I didn't suspect you. After all, An Qiuyan had always seen me as a thorn in her side, wishing I were dead. It wasn't surprising that she would target me; in fact, if she didn't, I would have found it strange, thinking she was deliberately holding back a big move to trick me. After the Luban Square was destroyed, I immediately thought it was her doing. I signaled Sister Sa with my eyes to use the phone software to review the surveillance footage, so I could plan my counterattack."
Jian Fan grew impatient, "And then?"
"Then, I saw that unexpected scene in the surveillance. She used soy milk foam to create a time difference and an alibi, and then squeezed the Luban Square. When I secretly watched the video Sister Sa sent on my phone, I found it strange. As far as I know, An Qiuyan majored in liberal arts and knew nothing about math or science. How could she have thought of using such an obscure material for sabotage?"
Jiang Ling took another sip of her milk green tea, chewing on some boba pearls. "At that moment, I wondered if this was the result of her seeking help. But then I thought, that doesn't make sense. When bad people do bad things, they do it secretly, wanting to be as hidden as possible. Why would she be foolish enough to ask for help? So, there was only one possibility: someone was guiding her from behind, making it seem like she 'accidentally' discovered this material."
Jian Fan said, "This point is indeed suspicious, but it doesn't prove anything."
"Yes, based on this alone, it doesn't prove anything. But what further puzzled me was her motive for destroying the Luban Square. Before the incident, most people in the crew, including myself, thought the Six-Divination Divine Dice was just an exquisitely crafted modern prop. Why would a scheming woman like An Qiuyan be foolish enough to destroy a prop worth very little to frame me? Unless—"
Jiang Ling drew out her words, enunciating each syllable, "Unless she already knew that this dice was a treasured heirloom left by Luban, and even more so, a beloved item gifted by the eldest young master of the Jian family to his wife. Once this item was destroyed, the perpetrator would not only face exorbitant compensation but also potentially the retaliation of the Jian couple."
"Therefore, her intention was never for me and Jiang Yushuang to fight like fish and crabs, but rather to make me offend you. Then, by leveraging the Jian family's immense influence, and with Spark Media fanning the flames, I would be completely blacklisted, with no chance of a comeback."
"Once I figured this out, another question popped into my mind. The Luban Square, as a thousand-year-old heirloom, is known by very few people nowadays. Throughout the entire crew, only Huang Jing and the administrator of the prop room knew its true value. So, how did she know that the Six-Divination Divine Dice was the Luban Square? If Huang Jing and the administrator hadn't let it slip, then the only person who could have leaked this information was the owner of the item."