I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Everyone lowered their heads and wrote their votes.

Su Yanhuan put away the eight slips of paper and unfolded them one by one.

"The first picture is of the accountant."

The second picture shows the accountant.

The third picture shows the accountant.

The fourth picture shows the accountant.

The fifth picture shows the accountant.

The sixth picture is of Miss Nian Tang.

She paused for a moment, then continued reading: "Seventh page, Miss Nian Tang; Eighth page, Miss Accountant."

She put down the note, looked up at Director Liu in the corner, and said:

"Eight votes, six for the accountant and two for Miss Niantang, six votes to two, so the murderer is the accountant."

Director Liu walked out from the corner, clapping his hands with a smile:

"Alright, game over, but—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Before announcing the results, I'd like you all to think again: are you really sure the murderer is the accountant?"

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Su Yanhuan frowned:

"Director Liu, what do you mean by that? Isn't the accountant the murderer?"

Director Liu didn't answer directly, he just smiled:

"I just think it would be too boring if this case were solved so easily."

"Let's all do some more reasoning and see if there are any details we've overlooked."

Su Yanhuan scratched her head, then turned to look at everyone: "There are two votes for Miss Nian Tang. Who voted for Miss Nian Tang?"

Fang Yutong stood in the corner and gave Shu Zi a cold look: "I voted for Nian Tang."

Shen Yihuai leaned against the doorframe and lazily raised his hand: "Me."

Su Yanhuan looked at Shen Yihuai: "Reporter Shen? Tell me your reasons."

Shen Yihuai looked at Han Jingxue beside him and raised an eyebrow: "Can I speak now?"

Han Jingxue nodded.

Su Yanhuan and the others: "?"

[Does Shen Yihuai need Han Jingxue's permission to speak? What kind of new marital relationship is this?]

[Su Yanhuan: ??? When did you two reach this understanding?]

Shen Yihuai chuckled, his gaze falling on Shu Zi:

"Miss Niantang, you made a brilliant move by admitting that you made tea for Manager Zhao."

"Because you confessed, everyone thinks you're unlikely to be the murderer. Who would be stupid enough to poison someone on their own turf and then confess?"

He paused:

"But you forgot one thing: you 'found' that note pointing to the accounting office on the third floor yourself. The third floor is your territory; it's too easy to put a fake note there."

"It's true that the accountant burned the ledgers, but she burned her own ledgers."

"And you? What are you burning?"

Shu Zi placed her fan on her lap, remaining motionless and silent.

Shen Yihuai continued:

"Let's talk about your red cheongsam."

"In his diary, Manager Zhao wrote that he saw a woman wearing a red cheongsam sitting in the third row, who looked exactly like her back then."

Shu Zi raised her eyes to meet his gaze, her tone languid:

"Reporter Shen, red cheongsams are the most common attire at the Paramount Ballroom; eight out of ten singers wear red."

"Manager Zhao has something to hide; he sees everyone as a ghost. What does that have to do with me?"

Shen Yihuai was not swayed:

"The diary says 'she looks just like her back then,' not 'dresses like her.' He wasn't afraid of the red dress; he was afraid of that face, the face that resembles your sister's."

He looked at Shu Zi:

"The singer who jumped to her death at the Paramount Ballroom three years ago, her surname was Shen. If I'm not mistaken, she was Miss Nian Tang's older sister, wasn't she?"

"It doesn't matter what color clothes you wear today, what matters is that when you sit there, he will think of her."

Shu Zi didn't speak again, but slowly opened her fan, covering half of her face.

Su Yanhuan was silent for two seconds, then scratched her head: "...That makes some sense."

Jiang Yunyou nodded in agreement, "...I think so too."

Fang Yutong sneered from the side and remained silent.

Su Yanhuan looked at Shen Yihuai and suddenly realized, "Reporter Shen, why didn't you say so before you voted?"

Shen Yihuai glanced at Han Jingxue, a hint of amusement in his voice: "Then you'll have to ask her."

Everyone looked at Han Jingxue again.

Han Jingxue remained expressionless and said in a calm tone, "I just poisoned him and made him mute; he can't speak."

?

Su Yanhuan was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Director Liu: "It can be like this?"

Director Liu shrugged, his tone tinged with helplessness:

"Her identity is that of a female owner of a traditional Chinese medicine shop, and she carries special medicines with her, which fits her character profile."

Su Yanhuan: "..."

She paused for two seconds, then slowly uttered a single word: "...6".

Yu Shize frowned slightly. "So there are two murderers? Manager Han is also a murderer?"

Fang Yutong rolled her eyes speechlessly, too lazy to say anything more.

[Hahahaha, Fang Yutong was speechless. How could someone be so stupid!]

[Han Jingxue poisoned Shen Yihuai to make him mute? No wonder he didn't speak before the vote, he was silenced.]

[Su Yanhuan's "6" perfectly captured my feelings; can murder mystery games be played like this?]

It's reasonable, very reasonable, for the female shopkeeper of the herbal medicine shop to carry poison with her.

[Shen Yihuai's reasoning is so sharp. Shu Zi's willingness to admit to making tea actually helps to clear her name. This is called a reverse operation.]

[“What are you burning?” Shen Yihuai’s question implies that Shu Zi is also destroying evidence.]

The situation has now reversed. Everyone initially believed Fang Yutong was the murderer, but Shen Yihuai's words have brought Shu Zi back into the spotlight.

Director Liu spoke up at the opportune moment, his tone carrying a hint of incitement:

"Everyone, why don't you try to deduce some more and see if there are any details you've overlooked?"

Jiang Yunyou lowered his head again to look through his notebook, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

After a while, he suddenly raised his head:

"Wait a minute, I've gone through the timeline again. Manager Zhao died at 3 p.m., and the forensic doctor's preliminary assessment is that the poisoning occurred within half an hour."

"Miss Nian Tang left Manager Zhao's office at 2:15. If the poison was put in the tea, the effects of the poison wouldn't have taken so long to appear."

He pushed up his glasses. "But if the poison is applied to the rim of the cup, then whoever is the last to touch the cup is the murderer."

"But the accountant didn't leave the accounting office all afternoon, so she didn't have a chance to go to Manager Zhao's office to apply the poison."

Su Yanhuan asked:

"What about Miss Nian Tang? She had a motive, an opportunity, and the timing matched up, but she also admitted to making tea for Manager Zhao."

"If she's the murderer, why would she deliberately expose herself?"

Shen Yihuai leaned against the doorframe and slowly began to speak:

"Because she knows that even if she admits it, no one will doubt her."

All eyes turned to him.

Shen Yihuai continued:

"Miss Nian Tang has worked at the Paramount for many years. She is well-liked, has a good image, and appears to have a harmonious relationship with Manager Zhao."

"She said it was perfectly reasonable for Manager Zhao to come to her for music and tea."

"Her initiative in speaking out made her seem more open and honest, making people think, 'If she were the murderer, she certainly wouldn't admit it so readily.'"

He paused:

"Furthermore, don't you think it's too coincidental that the accountant burned the ledgers? Manager Zhao just died, and then the ledgers were burned. It's as if someone is deliberately trying to shift the blame onto her."

Su Yanhuan frowned: "But the account book was indeed burned by the accountant, and she herself admitted that."

Shen Yihuai nodded:

"She burned the ledgers, but the reason she burned them may not be because she was the murderer. Perhaps she just didn't want people to find problems with the accounts."

"For example, she manipulated the accounts herself. When Manager Zhao discovered the problem and started investigating, she panicked and burned the account books. But she didn't kill anyone."

Shen Yihuai turned to look at Shu Zi:

"The person who truly had the motive to kill was Miss Niantang."