Hey! The Criminal Assistance System Can Even Be Used Like This? 45

Xu Zhizhi’s face turned angry, but he forcefully suppressed it due to his identity as a police officer.

He was deeply aware of his wife’s mental state and released her hand, preparing to turn around and embrace her to leave.

But what she didn’t anticipate happened. The moment she let go of her wife’s wrist, Lu Lan’s eyes reddened. She rushed forward, pointing at the reporter who had asked about the hype just now, screaming in despair, “Why are you asking such a question?! Would you dare to do this if it were your child? Why aren’t you focusing on finding my child, investigating, analyzing? Instead, why are you blaming me?!”

After saying this, she pointed at the internet celebrity beside her, “The reason I didn’t answer is that you are just a bunch of keyboard warriors who only know how to type behind a screen! And about the child—a seven-year-old child has already done so much!”

Lu Lan’s eyes looked frenzied as she glared at the people around her but was unable to move further because, in that moment of her outburst, her husband, who was also a police officer, quickly restrained her.

Her frail and weak body couldn’t possibly shake off a robust man.

Lu Lan continued to yell, her previously arranged hair became a chaotic mess from the struggle, making her look completely insane.

Yet she was a clear-headed madwoman, leaving everyone speechless.

In dramas, the police always arrive last. After Lu Lan went on with her tirade for several minutes, the police finally showed up to separate these people.

And with Lu Lan’s crazy live broadcast, the missing person’s case became even more of a hot topic.

The sound of the slate hitting echoed, Xu Zhizhi released her grip, and once she was let go by the actor playing the male lead, she fell to the ground and took a long time to recover.

This wasn’t just any take; it was the perfect shot. Before this, they had NG’d over ten times, and they had moved into position more than that.

This last take also saw Xu Zhizhi’s emotions breakthrough at their strongest, because just relying on this scene, the Malice Value in her ear never stopped climbing.

Xu Zhizhi half-kneeled on the ground to calm herself and casually glanced at her mission progress bar.

There were still seventeen days left. With this task and the accumulation from the past few days, it had already reached over three hundred.

It seemed that real emotions were essential; only after personally investing could the output be high.

And it was reliable, without involving any crime.

Xu Zhizhi dusted off her knees and looked towards the caring gazes of those watching her.

Qin Qian was excited, his eyes shining with the satisfaction of indeed being right.

The screenwriter, Mengzi Yun, rushed to support Xu Zhizhi, praising her, “Zhizhi, you acted so well! I even thought you were that half-crazy Lu Lan, as if you stepped out of the book!”

“Yes, yes! This scene is perfect! You did your best!” Lin Yu, who had been watching through the many NG’s, finally saw it completed and immediately came over to steady Xu Zhizhi’s mood.

Mainly because Qin Qian wasn’t like other directors, who would directly point out someone’s mistakes.

What he did was simply call for an NG, leaving everyone puzzled while they continued performing.

The advantage was that actors had a degree of freedom in portraying their characters, but the downside quickly showed itself: nobody could guess why they kept getting NG’d.

Disgusting, very disgusting.

But he had unearthed an award-winning best newcomer actor, Ya Lan Hua, in his last project, and also a rookie director award.

It was evident that sometimes, talent speaks volumes.

After this scene, it was time for the next one.

However, this wasn’t a group scene but involved four characters: Lu Lan, Yun Xiao, and Yun Xiao’s parents.

The in-laws seemed to despise Lu Lan immensely. When they saw Lu Lan spacing out as she looked for clues in their community, they approached her to mock her.

“You can’t even care for one child. If I were you, I’d be so ashamed I’d commit suicide.” The mother-in-law stared fiercely at Lu Lan, her mouth full of malice.

The father-in-law supported his wife, his gaze icy as he looked at his daughter-in-law, “I know you’re not crazy; I don’t care what you want to do. I just know if the child doesn’t come back, you will divorce Yun Xiao. You’ve already ruined our family enough!”

Lu Lan’s expression was vacant as she stared straight ahead, her expression showing no change upon hearing their words. A faint cold smile appeared at the corners of her mouth, as if she were both dissatisfied and mocking.

“You still dare to laugh! You insane woman!” The mother-in-law became enraged upon seeing this expression, her emotions flaring up as she rushed towards Lu Lan, ready to strike.

At this moment, a voice called out “Cut.”

The three looked at each other, all confused.

After a two-minute break, the trio carefully examined how the script was written and how to express it and position themselves accordingly.

Once the break was over, the three began acting again.

From the very beginning, as soon as the mother-in-law made a move.

At this moment, Yun Xiao, who was prepared nearby, rushed into the frame, grabbing his biological mother’s wrist, “Don’t bully Lan Lan!”

Then the dialogue followed, and in the end, Yun Xiao managed to persuade the other side to back off.

But in the middle, they had NG’d twice again.

Xu Zhizhi felt like she was becoming accustomed to it.

Even so, they still managed to exceed their task.

Completing the task meant a temporary break, and Qin Qian also suggested that the male actor and Xu Zhizhi familiarize themselves with the home they had set up.

Some things needed familiarizing for the family scenes to feel natural.

The boxed lunch wouldn’t arrive for a while, so Xu Zhizhi took Lin Yu to familiarize themselves with the home’s layout.

The rooms were still a bit messy, with some old tools lying around.

Xu Zhizhi familiarized herself with the master bedroom, the secondary bedroom set up for children, as well as all the wash-up locations and the styles of clothing storage.

On the drying rack in the room hung clothes, and on the windowsill were two well-cared-for succulents.

Xu Zhizhi picked one up, inspected the leaves, and then glanced at the clothing on the rack.

“These clothes belong to the little actors. We borrowed them for authenticity,” Qin Qian explained while watching Xu Zhizhi.

Xu Zhizhi looked at Qin Qian and said, “I thought you specially aged these clothes.”

“The sofa’s fine too. My sister specially came to check it out,” Qin Qian said proudly.

Xu Zhizhi, hearing his sister mentioned repeatedly, became curious about what kind of girl could keep such a crybaby in check.

She must be quite fierce.

Xu Zhizhi looked around again, noting each item’s placement, clearly understanding where the assorted objects were placed.

She then found the photo album hidden by the production team based on the script’s description.

Inside were two family portraits: one featuring much younger male and female leads alongside a teenage girl, and the other depicting the now older leads with the current child.

Originally, they could have taken a family photo with four members, but it seemed they could never capture one as a complete family.

The photos were taken casually yesterday, and they had already been developed and aged, placed in the album.

Xu Zhizhi stroked the album, feeling the heaviness of this story.

Because the culprit behind the son’s disappearance was the female lead herself, who was dark and insane, filled with hatred and devoid of any positive light.

She escalated the issue of her son’s disappearance, attracting societal attention.

Among those attracted was a former demon.

She had been monitoring that person all along, slowly steering everything towards him before beginning to tighten the net.

In the end, the once arrogant demon faced what it deserved due to Lu Lan’s crazed and meticulous plans.

Moreover, those who had caused her daughter’s death were also exposed to the scrutiny of society during this grand focus.

With years of planning, she delivered the punishment they had long evaded.

Thus, this suspenseful crime movie was also a revenge film.

Delayed justice had to be fought for.

This was what the character believed.

At first, she had been alone, but eventually, a group formed, culminating in a grand trial.

Xu Zhizhi’s understanding of this character deepened, adding a thread of contemplation on persistence.

Qin Qian, watching her silence, remembered that his sister said Xu Zhizhi, this girl in her early twenties, had acting skills, and when he was told to cast her as a forty-year-old, he had disapproved.

Even though he recognized Xu Zhizhi’s talent, he still felt it wouldn’t work.

He had even opposed it, wanting a middle-aged actor so that there wouldn’t be the need for aging makeup, making it easier to portray a younger version later on in a flashback.

Unfortunately, he was ruthlessly suppressed; he couldn’t win against his sister and had to accept it reluctantly.

Then came the contract signing and waiting for Xu Zhizhi’s performance.

He later found out that her makeup was done by herself.

A versatile player, a high-end genius rolled into one—these two phrases suddenly struck him in his perception of Xu Zhizhi.

Aside from bullying him, she wasn’t too bad?

He could endure it.

If it became unbearable, he could complain to his sister!

Then he recalled something—the issue of her being too spoiled. That house was incredibly nice! Why did she say she wanted to switch houses on the first day and looked at him with disdain?

It left him puzzled, so he decided to ask her once she finished resting.

Qin Qian had a lot on his mind, waiting for Xu Zhizhi to finish understanding.

“You were very dissatisfied with the house earlier; I want to know why!” He fixed a serious gaze upon her, silently hoping for an explanation.

Xu Zhizhi snapped back to attention and, after contemplating, said, “The house has issues. There are rumors in the community that it used to be inhabited by a mental patient who went missing later. After I moved in, I started hearing some… strange sounds.”

“!!!” Qin Qian’s thoughts instantly registered on his face, his serious expression transformed into one of shock.

Xu Zhizhi was speechless, looking helplessly at the director, wondering why she had doubts about such a director.

She sat in silence for a moment before saying, “So, let’s switch then; my little assistant has been scared silly the last couple of days.”

“…Okay, okay!” He stammered, his curiosity exploding, barely swallowing his words.

Xu Zhizhi knew what the director was thinking and sighed a breath of relief.

As long as this wasn’t the crew’s doing, she’d be fine; otherwise, she couldn’t earn her pay, and that would be very upsetting.

Qin Qian glanced at Xu Zhizhi and thought, “I’m sorry for what happened, I shouldn’t be the one asking you to apologize! I’ll contact my sister right away!”

He generally wouldn’t deal with such matters; his willful sister, the domineering CEO, handled things for him.

One reason was that he had no money, and his sister was willing to help him for free.

The second was that he didn’t want anyone to see his true self and know he was just a crybaby who couldn’t endure grievances.

“Okay,” Xu Zhizhi nodded, smiling faintly.

However, she then thought about who was playing tricks in the room; such pranks were really not funny at all.

Thinking of the wind chimes she had taken down, Xu Zhizhi decided to have a look after her afternoon break, while also tidying up the things she hadn’t managed to get to the previous night.

Upon hearing that someone would resolve the issue and replace their residence, Lin Yu finally smiled.

Knowing Xu Zhizhi was going to clean up, she wasn’t scared anymore. During the day, she had nothing to fear from those monsters.

Qin Qian’s sister spoiled him a lot; at two in the afternoon, she called, and by three, she arrived at the filming location.

Xu Zhizhi looked at the strong woman, feeling the aura of wealth around her sister, then glanced back at the financially struggling crew, sensing a slight incongruity.

“I’m Qin Qian’s sister; just call me Qin Ning.

Xu Zhizhi, I didn’t have time to come to the set before, but now I finally get to see you in person—you are truly beautiful,” Qin Ning said, not blinking as she praised Xu Zhizhi, who was dressed like a middle-aged woman.

Xu Zhizhi extended her hand, calm and composed as she shook hands with her. “Miss Qin, thank you for coming by. Let’s discuss the house-switching issue.”

After the break, they resumed filming, during which Qin Ning also contacted the agency and landlord.

At this time, Lin Yu returned from interacting with the stage crew and extras, leaning in to share the gossip she had uncovered about the director’s family, “I heard the director’s family doesn’t want Director Qin making movies; they want him to come home to inherit the family business.

Director Qin won’t comply; he uses his savings from before and sold the house his family gave him to fund his films.”

Lin Yu whispered and then added, “The family elders disagree and have spread the word that Director Qin shouldn’t take a penny from Qin Qian, letting him waste his money and then roll back.”

Since Qin Qian had a good relationship with Director Qin, he personally came to help manage the finances.

Xu Zhizhi nodded, gaining clarity on her previous doubts.

At five in the afternoon, after work was done, Xu Zhizhi was led by Qin Ning to check out the new accommodation and pack up.

The landlord was an elderly lady, about seventy years old, but her hair had turned completely white.

On hearing Xu Zhizhi and Lin Yu’s description, realizing Xu Zhizhi was a big star and quite wealthy, she felt hesitant as she unwittingly backed out of the lease.

Yet during further confrontations, Xu Zhizhi could vaguely hear the old lady mention that she had informed the agency about the situation with the house.

However, the agency hadn’t notified Qin Ning, resulting in this misunderstanding.

Moreover, the rent for the house had doubled from what the old lady expected, and the price difference had been swallowed up by the agency.

Xu Zhizhi paid no attention and silently packed her things.

Because these disputes were none of her concern, all she needed was to find a new place to settle, unaware of how Qin Ning planned to arrange things.

The director helped lighten their load a bit, carrying some luggage down the stairs.

As they stepped out of the building, a middle-aged man hurried over, worry etched on his face as he supported the elderly lady, saying, “Mom, I told you I’d handle it; why are you still here?”

“I’m just idling around; you need to work!” The elderly lady patted the man’s hand, her face full of concern as she spoke.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t mind—it was none of her business that a son was picking up his mother.

Just that for some reason, she felt the man’s aura strangely familiar.

As they reached the small square in the neighborhood, the mother and son went home, and Qin Ning turned to Xu Zhizhi, “I just heard from your assistant that you are staying at the Yage Hotel across the street.

Renting now is inconvenient and finding suitable lodging is hard; I’ll directly book you a suite for a long-term rental until filming wraps up.”

Lin Yu’s face lit up with joy.

“Alright,” Xu Zhizhi nodded slowly.

Only Qin Qian’s face fell—the rate would be expensive; his sister certainly wouldn’t foot the bill, and he would be the one to pay it all!

Every penny he had saved for living expenses was gone!

Just as they were about to set off for the hotel across the street, Qin Ning’s phone rang.

After listening to the call, she looked at Xu Zhizhi with some confusion, saying, “The old lady mentioned that the shell wind chime is missing, which was something her daughter loved. Did you take the shell wind chime? If so, she hopes you can return it.”

“Yesterday, the wind chime moved with the wind, and combined with those sounds, it was quite eerie, so I took it apart. I accidentally grabbed the wrong bag for the wind chime; today we need to settle things, and I’ll return it to her either at the community security office or let her come to the set to pick it up tomorrow,” Xu Zhizhi responded, her gaze deepening as she slowly answered.

Qin Ning made the call, and shortly after she hung up, looking back at Xu Zhizhi, “The other party will come to pick it up tomorrow, so you can bring it to the set then.”

Xu Zhizhi nodded.

Lin Yu scratched her head—did that wind chime just happen to be hanging there all along?

Had she imagined it?

——————–

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