Lin Xingwan listened to Zhou Jinnbai's words, unsure how to explain.
Duan Muxing had casually given her the medicine that saved Zhou Jinnbai's life, so the matter of Peak Entertainment was even less of a concern.
"I don't think Duan Muxing intended to harm me," Lin Xingwan finally managed to stammer out after a long pause.
Zhou Jinnbai looked at her struggling expression and couldn't help but playfully flick her nose. "Silly girl, I just think it's best not to trust strangers too easily. The helicopter is only a few minutes from the police station. You should rest for a while."
Lin Xingwan nodded and closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, at the Qiao family villa in Yanjing, a different scene was unfolding.
Qiao Ruosheng sat by her vanity, using a beauty device for a skincare treatment, while Ma Yanyan sat on a European-style sofa, happily playing with her phone.
"Ruosheng, you're simply brilliant! I never imagined it would be so easy to bring down Peak Entertainment. I'd love to see what that Lin Xingwan can do now!" Ma Yanyan exclaimed. She then added, "Nowadays, anyone associated with that woman Xue Manting seems to be unlucky. But I heard the Dongfang family is planning to heavily support the Xue family. Is that true?"
The Ma family was a tier below the Qiao family, and Ma Yanyan didn't pay much attention to family business. Therefore, she wasn't as attuned to the subtle dynamics of wealthy families as Qiao Ruosheng.
Qiao Ruosheng's hand paused with the beauty device as she heard Ma Yanyan's words. A glint of malice flashed in her eyes. "Support? I will absolutely not give the Xue family another chance. Since the Xue family has fallen, they must grovel at our feet!"
A few years ago, she had used a little trick to bring the Xue family to its current state. Although Qiao Ruosheng had learned from Qiao Zheng about the Dongfang family's intention to support the Xue family, many people had already begun to curry favor with them.
Even the Xue family's company was showing signs of revival.
If things continued at this pace, the Qiao family, which had worked for years to barely break into the top four families, would soon be pushed out by the Xue family.
Moreover, with the Dongfang family's backing, the Xue family would undoubtedly become the head of the four great families.
At that point, she would have no chance to deal with Xue Manting.
Therefore!
The Xue family must not rise again. Even the slightest spark would be extinguished by Qiao Ruosheng.
"I believe the Xue family is nothing in front of you. But speaking of which, we targeted Peak Entertainment this time. The owner of this company is Dongfang Junze's woman. If we anger Dongfang Junze, and he decides to deal with us, wouldn't we be creating trouble for ourselves?" Ma Yanyan said, looking at Qiao Ruosheng with concern.
"The woman who did the cooking is already dead. How can a dead person speak?" Qiao Ruosheng's tone was full of confidence. Besides, she had never contacted that woman directly; she had let the foolish Ma Yanyan handle it. Even if an investigation were to occur, it would only lead back to Ma Yanyan.
Hearing this, Ma Yanyan's expression became even more cheerful.
Qiao Ruosheng continued her skincare routine, and Ma Yanyan went back to scrolling through her phone.
In less than ten minutes, Ma Yanyan, who was playing with her phone, jumped up from the sofa as if she had seen a ghost.
"Ruosheng, look quickly, something terrible has happened!" Ma Yanyan immediately ran to Qiao Ruosheng's side and snatched the beauty device from her hand.
Qiao Ruosheng frowned, extremely displeased with Ma Yanyan's crude behavior. She even wondered how she ended up with such a stupid teammate. A simple exclamation had startled her so much.
However, as Qiao Ruosheng's impatient gaze fell upon the phone screen, her expression instantly froze.
Because...
The trending topic about Peak Entertainment artists gathering for drug use had disappeared. In its place was a clarification from an official source.
[ @Rongcheng Police: We issue a statement regarding the matter of Peak Entertainment artists: The collective positive drug tests of Peak Entertainment artists were a coincidence. The aunt who cooked accidentally put two herbs into the mung bean porridge. After consumption, these herbs can interfere with test results. We have compiled the specific experimental data.]
This brief statement quickly surged to the top of the trending lists on various apps. The netizens, who hadn't fully digested the morning's gossip, were now faced with a shocking reversal in the evening.
Even many credible individuals had retweeted the news.
Under the trending topic, any statement regarding the evening's events received tens of thousands of likes.
Not only that, but a short video platform was hosting an event with a prize of one billion yuan, and the activity was to repost the statement.
Furthermore, the suspicious death of the cooking aunt quickly attracted the attention of the police. Some were already speculating that the morning's events were a deliberate attempt to frame Peak Entertainment.
The netizens of this era had unleashed their inner Sherlock Holmes, starting various deductions.
Coincidentally, the police issued another notice stating that they would focus on investigating the cause of the deceased's death, ensuring that those who harm society would not escape justice.
After reading these reports, Qiao Ruosheng was so enraged that she slammed the phone onto the vanity.
The force of the impact startled Ma Yanyan.
"I never expected this Lin Xingwan woman to have such capabilities. It seems I underestimated her power."
Qiao Ruosheng's face was contorted with fury.
"What do we do, Ruosheng? They're investigating the body. Will they trace it back to us?" Ma Yanyan's face was filled with panic, her mind replaying the image of the deceased cooking woman.
"Did you see her before she died?" Qiao Ruosheng inquired.
"No, I only had my subordinate help them pay the medical expenses. My subordinate handled everything. The hospital surveillance footage isn't very clear either," Ma Yanyan quickly replied.
"If that's the case, what are you afraid of?" Qiao Ruosheng comforted Ma Yanyan. "As long as we don't panic, there will be no problem. We failed this time, but next time, I will make sure this Lin Xingwan woman goes to hell! By the way, Yanyan, don't you have an uncle in the Black Triangle?"
"Yes, Ruosheng, why are you asking about that?" Ma Yanyan looked at Qiao Ruosheng in confusion. "Our Ma family has disowned that uncle. He only causes trouble and is useless. He hasn't returned in years; I don't even know if he's dead."
"Can you contact him?" Qiao Ruosheng asked.
"I think so. That uncle used to dote on me. Even though he hasn't returned in years, we occasionally chat," Ma Yanyan replied truthfully.
"Wait and give me your uncle's contact information," Qiao Ruosheng said, her face filled with calculation.
Seeing Qiao Ruosheng's venomous expression, Ma Yanyan knew someone was in for trouble.
With that thought, Ma Yanyan was happy to cooperate.
Meanwhile, the situation online escalated. All the artists from Peak Entertainment gained notoriety because of this incident.
Those who had demanded to terminate their contracts and withdraw their investments were now apologizing to Lin Xingwan.
Lin Xingwan found it all very irritating and simply let Liu Mengqin and the others handle it.
At the police station.
When Bai Xiao arrived to see Zhou Jinnbai and Lin Xingwan, he was carrying a large stack of documents.
"The events tonight should be resolved, and we're in the clear, right?" Zhou Jinnbai asked Bai Xiao.
"Yes, you're in the clear. I've never seen anyone test positive from taking medicine before. The descendants of the Duan family truly live up to their reputation! However, today's events have served as a warning. I'm afraid some people might exploit this loophole to cause us trouble. It looks like everyone in the police station will have to work overtime tonight to devise a countermeasure."
Bai Xiao finished speaking and immediately added, "Also, the autopsy report for that woman is out. Guess what the result was?"
Lin Xingwan and Zhou Jinnbai both turned their serious gazes to Bai Xiao.
Lin Xingwan, in particular, couldn't help but ask, "Was someone forced to drink pesticide?"
The cooking aunt would never choose to commit suicide, leaving behind her gravely ill daughter, unless she was desperate. After all, her daughter was her only family in this world!
"No, it was voluntary. And the autopsy report shows no clues left by a perpetrator. The only speculation is that the perpetrator was wealthy and offered the deceased sufficient incentive to commit suicide peacefully."
Bai Xiao's words made Lin Xingwan feel deeply distressed. "So, does that mean we won't be able to find the killer?"
"While that's true, if we extend the timeline indefinitely, perhaps after more than a decade, we might still find the killer. It's like cold cases from decades ago; we've solved many of them now," Bai Xiao replied helplessly. Even with many detectives, trying to find a broken lead was an inherently difficult task.
"Since the killer is hiding, why don't we lure them out?"
Zhou Jinnbai's stern face was filled with disdain. He wasn't adept at investigating killers, but he was skilled at manipulating people.
Lin Xingwan and Bai Xiao simultaneously cast confused glances at Zhou Jinnbai. Seeing his confident demeanor, they felt that with Zhou Jinnbai around, no problem in the world seemed insurmountable.
Zhou Jinnbai offered no explanation. Instead, he turned to Lin Xingwan and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back."
Lin Xingwan nodded and followed Zhou Jinnbai.
Inside the car, Lin Xingwan leaned her head on Zhou Jinnbai's shoulder.
"What you said earlier, did you think of a solution?" Lin Xingwan admitted the significant gap in intelligence between herself and Zhou Jinnbai. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with the solutions he could.
Zhou Jinnbai didn't hide anything from Lin Xingwan. He directly shared his thoughts with her.
"The person capable of doing something like this to Peak Entertainment is your enemy. Moreover, they are wealthy, capable of easily parting with millions, and have subordinates... If we filter these conditions one by one, there are only a few possibilities. The body itself won't tell us the answer, but a living person willing to die means all that information is the answer!"
Zhou Jinnbai analyzed logically, and Lin Xingwan's initially confused mind began to clear up because of his words.
"So, now you should think carefully about who could have so easily dealt with Peak Entertainment."
"Qiao Ruosheng!" Lin Xingwan uttered the name, feeling her heart race. She hadn't expected it to be so simple to deduce. "But we're not sure if Qiao Ruosheng did it. And even if she did, that woman is clearly not someone to be trifled with; she must have covered her tracks."
Although Lin Xingwan didn't know why Qiao Ruosheng would target Peak Entertainment, she was certain that Qiao Ruosheng was no easy opponent.
"That's why I said we'll lure them out. And you'll be meeting them soon," Zhou Jinnbai said with certainty. Just as he finished speaking, Lin Xingwan's phone rang.
It was Xue Manting calling her.
As soon as Lin Xingwan answered, her ears were filled with Xue Manting's deafening voice.
"Xingwan! Come to Yanjing tomorrow night. I'll send someone to pick you up by helicopter. My sister's private jet has been unfrozen. Hahaha, I'm so happy! These past few days feel like a dream. You're truly my lucky star, my dear Lin sister!"
Xue Manting's tone became almost syrupy by the end.
"Why should I go to Yanjing?" Lin Xingwan didn't have good memories of that place.
The mere thought of what happened to her there last time made her uncomfortable.
And... Cheng Yanzhe...
Lin Xingwan suddenly thought of that man.
It had been almost a month since they last met.
"It's nothing much, really. Our family has been in decline for so many years, and now we're finally holding our heads high. My father is planning to host a banquet. Many influential figures from Yanjing's elite circles will be there, and I'll introduce you to some of them."
Xue Manting now considered Lin Xingwan her little lucky charm. She understood that the Xue family's resurgence after facing adversity was all thanks to knowing Lin Xingwan.
Otherwise, the Xue family's luck would have run out.
"You're not allowed to say no. I've even invited that bitch Qiao Ruosheng. Even though the banquet hasn't started yet, I can already imagine her twisted face from jealousy. Hahaha." Xue Manting started laughing at her own words.
Lin Xingwan glanced at Zhou Jinnbai. This man was truly a prophet!
He had just said they would meet soon, and Xue Manting's call came.
"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow night."
After Lin Xingwan hung up, she wanted to say something, but Zhou Jinnbai immediately covered her mouth.
"It's not work time anymore, wife. Perhaps we should do something that a husband and wife should do."