Far away in Shancheng, Jiang Yue, who had just finished a day of shooting, was sitting in his villa eating instant noodles.
Jiang Kaiwen paced around the room with his phone raised.
“Third Brother, look at this! That blogger deleted their posts and is playing dead! Director Xu's move was so badass!”
Jiang Yue swallowed his noodles, took the phone, and glanced at the hot search.
#ChuYansSwordDanceHoldsUsCaptiveForAMinuteAndAHalf#
#JiangYuesRawFootageWithoutSpecialEffects#
#XuPingqiuSpoonFeedingTheTruth#
Jiang Kaiwen took back his phone and read the comments aloud beside him.
“Now the entire internet is praising you as a martial arts director held back by acting. Even the attention on 《Prisoner's Game in the Mirror》 has skyrocketed. A lot of people are starting to dig into what exactly you're filming in Shancheng.”
Jiang Yue scanned the hot searches, his expression showing no particular surprise.
The effect of 【Grandmaster's Charm】 given by the system was naturally excellent, but the faster the hype came, the more similar scripts would flood in.
At a time like this, he couldn't let himself be dragged along by the tide.
He returned the phone to Jiang Kaiwen and pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth.
“Leave a message for Su Qing. Tell her and Chen Fei to check their email after they finish supervising today's renovations.”
Jiang Kaiwen understood immediately, knowing he was referring to scripts. He asked, “How should we categorize them?”
Jiang Yue put the lid back on the instant noodle cup.
“First, divide the new scripts into two categories. Put the historical wuxia ones to one side, and the other genres to another. I'll look through them slowly once we're almost done filming here.”
August in Shancheng was like an airtight steamer.
The crew of 《Prisoner's Game in the Mirror》 had booked a multi-function hall in a high-end hotel, decorating it to look like the press conference scene in the film.
According to the plot, this was the promotional phase after the movie 《Prisoner's Game》 wrapped up filming.
To completely eliminate the hidden threat that was Chen Jingan, Jiang Hongyan made the press conference extremely grand, even starting a live stream across the entire internet.
In front of all the media, the main cast and crew, and countless netizens, he wanted to pin Chen Jingan down under the labels of mental instability and serial killing.
This was the climax of the entire film.
Cheng Songran sat behind the monitor, clutching the walkie-talkie, his palms slick with sweat from the heat.
“Extras, pay attention to your state. Lighting, cast the main spotlight onto the front stage. All departments, do a final check. This scene has dense dialogue and huge emotional swings. Let's try to get it in one take.”
Jiang Kaiwen hid in a corner, rubbing his hands together nervously.
For this scene alone, they had hired over a hundred extras. Coupled with more than a dozen camera positions, fill lights, and press conference live-streaming props, the sense of pressure was immense.
Ding Zhengxin walked over and patted Jiang Yue on the shoulder. “Are you ready, Teacher Jiang? Today is going to be a tough battle.”
Jiang Yue looked up, his eyes clear. “Please show some mercy, Teacher Ding.”
Ding Zhengxin laughed heartily. “This is your home turf this time. You should be the one showing mercy.”
The two exchanged a few pleasantries and took their respective positions.
“Action!”
In the hotel lobby, the sound of camera shutters clicked continuously in a flurry of flashes.
Jiang Hongyan sat in a sharp suit, answering the reporters' questions with a smile.
Suddenly, a “reporter” in the audience, who had been bought off beforehand, stood up.
“Director Jiang, there are some rumors online about the crew, saying that Teacher Chen Jingan's mental state is unstable and that he's even connected to the fatal fall from three years ago. Can you address this?”
The venue fell silent.
The smile on Jiang Hongyan's face froze. Then, he frowned, putting on a troubled expression.
“My friend, today is the press conference for our movie. Please do not ask questions unrelated to the work.”
But the more he acted this way, the more excited the media in the audience became, and the camera flashes flickered even more frequently.
“Director Jiang, please answer directly! Are the rumors true?”
Under the media's “pressing questions,” Jiang Hongyan let out a long sigh, struggle and grief appearing on his face.
“I wanted to protect him, but since things have reached this point, I can no longer hide it for him.”
He signaled his assistant to play a video on the large screen.
On the screen, a clip appeared showing Chen Jingan losing emotional control and talking to himself in a corner of the set, followed by a puzzle of so-called clues from the recent serial killings, faintly pointing toward Chen Jingan.
“Chen Jingan suffers from a severe split personality disorder.”
Jiang Hongyan pointed at the screen. “Three years ago, due to mental instability, he accidentally pushed one of our crew members on set. Now, with his old trauma relapsing, he has recreated the murders from the script in reality.”
The audience went into an uproar. No one was paying attention to the movie anymore; all the media's camera flashes were aimed at Chen Jingan, who sat on the stage.
Chen Jingan hung his head. Under the pointing fingers of the crowd and the stimulation of the flashing lights, he seemed to fall into a panic.
Jiang Hongyan stood on the stage, looking down at him, a cruel smile flashing in the depths of his eyes.
Chen Jingan seemed to see Lu Zhichen.
Lu Zhichen's gaze told him: the stage had been set, and the script was playing out exactly as planned.
Right at that moment, Chen Jingan suddenly stopped trembling.
He slowly raised his head. The panic and helplessness in his eyes vanished the moment he looked up, leaving only cold indifference.
The side belonging to Lu Zhichen took over the body.
He stood up, ignoring the surrounding actors who shrank away from him like he was a venomous snake, and walked unhurriedly toward Jiang Hongyan.
Jiang Hongyan's face changed slightly, and his body instinctively retreated a few steps. “Chen Jingan, you...”
“You've got the wrong name, Director Jiang.”
Lu Zhichen stopped two paces away from him, tilting his head slightly as a cold, humorless smile curled the corner of his mouth. “My name is Lu Zhichen. Didn't you say I was crazy? I came to see who is actually crazier.”
He turned around to face the cameras below the stage.
“Director Jiang's story is wonderfully woven, logically consistent, and emotionally charged. Too bad,” Lu Zhichen wagged a finger gently, “it's all complete nonsense.”
“Your so-called surveillance footage was edited to leave out the beginning and end, keeping only the fragments where my emotions were most unstable. As for the clues you forged—the direction of the strangle marks points to a left-handed person, yet you insisted it was the technique of a right-handed one.”
He walked toward the large screen and pointed at the puzzle. “And then there's the half of a theater ticket. If the killer was merely trying to mimic the script, why would they leave behind such an obvious flaw? Because it wasn't a mimicry; it was a frame-up.”
Lu Zhichen's voice carried a powerful resonance, clear and highly organized.
“You used red strings, script annotations, and even verbal suggestions to try and recreate the terror of three years ago within the crew, pushing me to break down. Because you knew that as long as I went crazy, your secret of pushing someone to their death three years ago would remain safe forever.”
Jiang Hongyan interrupted sharply, “Utter nonsense! You think the delusions of a mental patient can be used as evidence?”
Ding Zhengxin's sharp shout unleashed his full presence, carrying the oppressive weight of someone long accustomed to a high position.
But Lu Zhichen only let out a contemptuous laugh.
“You're right. The words of a madman indeed cannot serve as evidence before the media.”
He scanned the entire room, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the reporters holding up their phones and cameras.
“So, I never planned to put you on trial here.”
Lu Zhichen's smile widened. “I was merely stalling for time, waiting for you to place the noose around your own neck.”
Jiang Hongyan's pupils shrank abruptly.
Lu Zhichen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the malice had faded, and his gaze turned firm, yet it looked as though it had been newly pieced back together.
This was the agreed signal. Now, it was Chen Jingan's turn.
Chen Jingan stopped looking at Jiang Hongyan and turned toward all the cameras below.
“Before I came, I already handed over the original manuscript left behind by screenwriter Ren Songjun, the clues and financial transaction backups between Jiang Hongyan and related personnel, as well as the audio recordings of psychological manipulation on set to the police.”
The clicking of shutters in the venue paused for a beat, only to ring out even more intensely.
The color drained completely from Jiang Hongyan's face.
Chen Jingan's gaze fell back on him.
“You painstakingly arranged this live stream because you wanted the entire internet to witness my madness.”
“And I simply went with the flow, wanting the entire internet to witness your arrest.”
“Madman... You madman!”
Jiang Hongyan finally lost his composure, his finger trembling as he pointed at Chen Jingan.
“Security! Where is security?! Get him out of here!”
Before his voice could fade, the heavy double doors of the multi-function hall were pushed open from the outside.
Several police officers in uniform walked in.
The middle-aged officer leading them had a sharp gaze and walked straight toward the main stage.
Without looking at Chen Jingan, he showed Jiang Hongyan his credentials and a summons.
“Mr. Jiang Hongyan, we suspect you are connected to a fatal fall from three years ago and the recent serial killings. We are now summoning you in accordance with the law. Please come with us to assist in the investigation.”
In the next second, every camera and flash turned around, focusing squarely on the deathly pale Jiang Hongyan and the police officers.
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