Hey! The Criminal Assistance System Can Even Be Used Like This? 97

Feng Jie picked up Xu Zhizhi at three in the afternoon, and Xu Zhizhi was sent to the hotel entrance by Qin Su and Bai Sheng.

Qin Su watched Xu Zhizhi’s car leave, and Bai Sheng stood aside, reminding him, “You should take more care of the young lady in the future. I think she’s kind-hearted, be careful that she’s being used. If something happens, we’ll be strangers.”

Xu Zhizhi is a person with a strong sense of justice, high intelligence and emotional intelligence, and strong psychological resilience. But those “unorthodox methods” she possesses attract some bad people. Even if Xu Zhizhi is very cautious, she may still fall victim to others’ schemes.

“I know, if she doesn’t look for trouble, she’ll be looking for it herself. Just be careful. Don’t be too nervous, Xu Zhizhi is smart!” Qin Su said, advising Xu Zhizhi just as he had before. But he knew he couldn’t really restrain her. And those unorthodox methods aren’t inherently wrong. What’s wrong are the people with bad intentions. Those with bad intentions, even if they don’t target Xu Zhizhi, will target Lin Zhizhi, Wang Zhizhi, Zhang Zhizhi—anyone. It’s just that Xu Zhizhi is more skilled, so they swarm her like cats to fish, like countless fish swimming upstream. He could only remind her, that if something happens, she needs to get out of it.

Bai Sheng turned his head to look at this junior, a slight smile on his lips, with the look of a seasoned veteran, said: “Yeah, yeah, I believe you. I’ll go back now. I’ll ask your father out fishing sometime.”

“Alright, Uncle Bai, you go back first. I still have some official business to handle,” Qin Su saw him off to his car, then watched him leave.

His main reason for going back was that he had a thorny case on his hands, not something to do with Xu Zhizhi; no one knew about her matter. Xu Zhizhi’s actions ensured those people wouldn’t dare to report to the police, and even if they did, they couldn’t prove if the messages were really from her. Investigating this matter was a coincidence. It was because of his hacker friend, who, bored, was browsing Weibo and discovered a low-heat post condemning Xu Zhizhi. Following the Weibo post to a forum, he saw those people describing their misfortunes. They said that Xu Zhizhi caused them to be scolded by their parents, blacklisted by clients, dumped by their girlfriends, and lost their jobs, etc. After reading for a while, he discovered that these people all uniformly had forum posts sent to their V-Chat friends and WeChat groups. Out of curiosity, he began to try to understand how they did it. After investigating and finding no trace, he was even more surprised, and told Qin Su. Finding it untraceable, he gave up.

After Qin Su heard about it, he thought for a moment and knew it was Xu Zhizhi’s doing. He didn’t suspect Xu Zhizhi hired someone, because a very realistic problem was that Xu Zhizhi wouldn’t spend that much money to do so. This girl loves money; it would be better to kill her than to make her spend hundreds of thousands on this.

Apart from that, he found Xu Zhizhi’s approach very interesting. A case of “fighting fire with fire.” Doing evil and suffering the consequences, very good. And it also serves as a warning; only when things happen to them do these people know the pain. He didn’t know how long their remorse would last, but it would certainly make them more cautious than before they were taught a lesson. He agreed with this in part, so this matter could only be known to him and Xu Zhizhi; he wouldn’t tell anyone else.

Xu Zhizhi held her phone, but didn’t send Qin Su a message. When she said those things, she already knew Qin Su wouldn’t do anything to her. He wasn’t a rigid and dogmatic person, so she dared to tell him everything. She said it, he knew it.

Qin Su, a criminal investigator who had seen serious cases, was usually very strict, but he acted in a just and unjust manner. He upholds justice in his heart, but he is not rigid. Whether due to his professional nature or his own personality, he would not severely threaten or correct Xu Zhizhi. He would only teach her how to do things without crossing the line. And that line is the line set by Qin Su. As long as she stays on this side of the line, Qin Su will always stand by her.

Xu Zhizhi lit up her phone, unlocked it with her fingerprint, and landed on the top chat box, slowly revealing a relieved smile.

Feng Jie looked back at her and smiled, “Zhizhi, that police officer, do you like him?”

“Why do you all ask this? Sister Zhong Man asked the same before.” Xu Zhizhi raised her head in confusion. She didn’t feel any ambiguity between them, so why did everyone look like there was something going on between them?

Feng Jie twitched her lips, her tone somewhat helpless, “I think the officer is quite handsome, he looks very steady and reliable, and even more handsome than a star, you should like him.”

The men in the entertainment industry were too dirty for Xu Zhizhi, and the tycoon circle was full of middle-aged and elderly tycoons. Xu Zhizhi couldn’t stand being near them. Qin Su was different. This man’s aura told everyone that he was extremely reliable, and with his looks, he’s every girl’s ideal man. As for the fact that policemen are often away from home, so is Xu Zhizhi! They’re both often away, so it wouldn’t be a case of one person waiting alone.

Xu Zhizhi quickly shook her head, indicating that she didn’t mean that. Feng Jie nodded and shook her head, continuing to drive Xu Zhizhi back to the crew.

Xu Zhizhi got out of the car and arrived at her assigned accommodation. Compared to filming her first television drama, Xu Zhizhi’s fame and status had greatly improved, so the room was much better. A three-bedroom, one-living room, two-bathroom apartment, with all facilities complete and requiring no extra effort; she just needed to hang up her clothes and change the bedding to move in. Xu Zhizhi looked at the room and expressed her satisfaction. They would be filming here for more than three months, so naturally, a better place was better arranged. After all, money is meant to be spent! Xu Zhizhi had a good acceptance of this.

The main actors arrived one after another today. Since the last script reading had been half a month ago, Chu Lu had prepared another script reading session. Everyone sat together and delved into the script again. This time, they read lines and also did some emotional expressions. Xu Zhizhi’s role this time was a leading lady with a touch of pitiful vulnerability. This needed to be truly performed, making the audience understand why this character could deceive the male lead, Wei Qunqing, convincingly. It can’t be unconvincing, ruining the entire atmosphere.

Xu Zhizhi opened her eyes again, her eyes slightly red, her eyes filled with an elusive gloom, quite a bit like the vulnerability of a woman with a troubled destiny. She looked at Wei Qunqing, her expression aloof, but her words polite, “You are my lawyer? Thank you for coming, you’ve been through a lot.”

“I will do my best. You can tell me your expectations,” Wei Qunqing, sitting opposite, ended their eye contact, pushed his glasses up, his eyes flickered, then forced himself to hide it, his tone stiff.

Xu Xu twitched her lips, her eyes devoid of any light, only a dead silence, “Sentenced to death! Didn’t I kill my daughter?”

“Aren’t you going to fight for yourself?” Wei Qunqing asked incredulously.

Before he came, he had already considered how Xu Xu would feign affection, or simply say she didn’t trust him, etc. Unexpectedly, what he heard was a direct request for him to abandon the defense.

Xu Xu lowered her eyelids and remained silent. A deathly silence fell between them, suffocating anxiety spreading. As the visiting time was about to end, Wei Qunqing spoke again, “This is the first homicide case I’ve taken on. Since you’ve accepted me as your defense lawyer, tell me about the situation.”

Xu Xu seemed touched by what he said, and began to describe the case’s progression. Both parties continued to read lines, until Xu Yunlai couldn’t hold it any longer, put down the script and stopped. Since it wasn’t a formal performance, no one tried too hard. They continued as long as they could, without striving for perfection. After Xu Zhizhi and the others started getting into their roles, the others gradually joined them.

The entire script reading lasted over four hours, with occasional line modifications for clearer expression. After it ended, they took a break. Fu Nian clung to Xu Zhizhi, still in her usual manner. With a mischievous look on her face, she wanted gossip, and she wanted Jiang Yuchuan’s autographed album. It was much easier to act cute with Xu Zhizhi than going directly to Jiang Yuchuan. As a friend and colleague, she didn’t mind using this connection! Xu Yunlai scratched his head; he had always acted in television dramas, but the demands of this film were suddenly much higher, and he needed to hone his acting skills.

Xu Zhizhi and the others sat in the conference room for a while. She took the album the other person handed to her and decided to have Jiang Yuchuan sign it in Beijing City and mail it back. After chatting for a while, they went back to rest. Xu Zhizhi had been a little busy in the past half month, and she was tired from the flight, so after washing up, she went to bed quickly.

Xu Zhizhi woke up with her usual dazed look, then got up, washed, dressed, and went out. It was a routine she had memorized. She thought she was flawless, then Feng Jie caught her and made her put on skincare products.

Upon arriving at the filming location, Xu Zhizhi was surrounded in the middle and started the opening ceremony. A simple offering of incense, a smiling embrace of flowers, standing on the platform with the banner and the set watching the camera. Everyone was happy because this was the starting point of their careers. Although they didn’t know if the film would be a flop or a hit, they knew this was meaningful work. It was the same for Xu Zhizhi; the main point of this movie wasn’t how big the box office would be, but the meaning it carried.

Chu Lu had a momentary moment of emotion; this film was finally being filmed. She thought she would eventually ask her father for help, but unexpectedly, Xu Zhizhi stepped up. She would use what she gained from the film to give her father a satisfactory answer. Chu Yao hugged her mother; they had invested too much in this film. They invested themselves, without asking others for help, and now Xu Zhizhi voluntarily invested. Upon completion, they would give their father an explanation.

After the opening ceremony, the first scene began. It was the scene of Xu Xu’s release, with Wei Qunqing walking in front, a happy smile on his face for Xu Xu. He was wearing a sweatshirt, in stark contrast to her inappropriate short sleeves. One person smiled in front, the other smiled in the back. But the meaning of their smiles was completely different; Xu Xu was smiling at the police who arrested her, while Wei Qunqing was smiling because he had upheld justice. There wasn’t a single line of dialogue, only the sound of walking, opening car doors, and closing car doors. Xu Yunlai wasn’t used to it and quickly messed up, Xu Zhizhi also felt that her infectiousness was insufficient. After another rest, they started filming again.

In front of the courthouse, Xu Xu slowly turned her head, a deep smile in her eyes. Then, silently, she smiled chillingly at the police who doubted her. Her expression hadn’t changed, but her eyes showed provocation and contempt. As if to say, “You’re nothing special.” “The criminal you caught with your own hands has escaped.” Then Xu Xu turned around, the camera zoomed out, focusing on Wei Qunqing. A visible joy and pride on his face, after so much effort, he finally rescued someone. His persistence and meticulousness were on the right track, reinforcing his initial intention of becoming a lawyer. The scene was highly ironic and shocked everyone, filling their hearts with the scene. Xu Zhizhi almost maxed out the sarcasm, or rather, at this moment, the audience should have realized something was wrong.

“Cut! That’s a take!” Chu Lu quickly said after the two got into the car.

The scene erupted in applause. Only needing one take was enough to show their excellence. Chu Lu stood there watching Xu Zhizhi, whose face still bore some of the previous emotions, looking strikingly noticeable. For some reason, Chu Lu had some other thoughts. She seemed to have truly grasped other filming methods. Looking at Xu Zhizhi, she fell into deep thought, somewhat dissatisfied with the idea of only wanting fame but not profit.

Couldn’t the deeper meaning become more common, more ordinary? That way more people would understand! A high-brow filming style wouldn’t achieve her goal. Looking at Xu Zhizhi, who was having her makeup done, a surge of ambition rose in her heart. She had originally thought that by accepting Xu Zhizhi’s investment and zero pay, if she was lucky, she could win two awards. Then she would ask her father for a year-end festive drama role to make up for Xu Zhizhi’s loss. But now that she thought about it carefully, why couldn’t she make a film that was both commercial and meaningful? With Xu Zhizhi’s acting skills, this script, and everyone else’s efforts, why couldn’t they achieve both fame and fortune? Xu Zhizhi’s acting skills were perfect for this film!

Chu Lu’s hand holding the script tightened slightly, her expression changing constantly as she thought. Her mind began to recall scenes from her father’s films and his scripts. At this moment, Chu Yao came to Chu Lu’s side, frowning and patting her mother’s shoulder, “Mom, what’s wrong with you?”

“Let everyone rest first, I want to think about something,” Chu Lu found a small stool and sat down without opening the script to ponder. She had read this script more than ten times; besides her daughter, she had also asked professional scriptwriters to polish it. So she didn’t need to open the script to recall all the plot content.

Commercial scripts needed simple plots, fast-paced stories, and well-arranged twists. She knew how to do this because she had seen her father film many similar movies. In fact, if it was arranged well and the anti-cyberbullying message was incorporated, it could work.

She took a pen and paper from her daughter and began to write, draw, and scribble. Chu Yao stood aside in some bewilderment; what was her mother doing? Other members of the crew also stood beside Chu Lu. Xu Zhizhi stood on the right, her eyes watching the other person write and change, her gaze shifting.

“This way, it removes the lengthy narrative and seems simpler. But isn’t the plot insufficient after deleting so many scenes?” Xu Zhizhi quickly sensed something was wrong and asked in doubt. She didn’t understand the script, and she wondered what would happen after deleting those scenes.

Chu Lu turned her head to look at Xu Zhizhi, “I think we can add multiple narratives, based on your story, adding subplots, such as the malice of news reporters, and the more real, terrifying coercion and reactions of netizens.”

“Finally, we can mention some other typical cyberbullying cases, such as a girl being rumored to be kept after a photo, developing depression as a result. Such as a child getting donations online due to illness, but being accused of misusing the donations, the child dying, and the mother being accused of jumping off a building. Like my husband’s case…”

The previous script was too peaceful to stir the audience’s hearts. Only real, bloody lessons could make people have a deeper understanding of cyberbullying. So she decided to use a strong medicine and express the harm of cyberbullying directly. The script in her hand was reduced to a simple mode: A woman who kills her daughter, but uses online public opinion to whitewash herself, and finally uses public opinion to kill her unfaithful husband, achieving “revenge.” A large number of lengthy and useless lines and scenes were deleted. The entire process of cyberbullying, told through the reactions of various parties, was condensed into a film.

“We can use the script as the main thread, letting the audience directly feel the reversal, without making it mysterious!” After saying this, she looked at Xu Zhizhi, then at her daughter.

Chu Yao was stunned. This had the feeling of “Gone Girl.” A light suspenseful setup with a major shocking twist. “Gone Girl” was undoubtedly a very successful film. So her mother wanted to replicate that kind of film, right?

She said, “So you’re going to make major changes and turn it into a commercial film?”

When she wrote the script, she had doubts, because she didn’t like hidden, obscure hints. Sometimes, you have to show what you want to show clearly. But her mother’s usual style led her to unconsciously choose her mother’s previous dark and obscure style. So in the proportion of the plot, she added a lot of suspense, multiple reversals, and explorations of human nature. She looked at Xu Zhizhi. If she followed her mother’s revised script, Xu Zhizhi would be a purely evil female lead. A mind controller, with super strong control and the ability to manipulate people’s hearts. Although it was hard to accept, it would obviously make the audience more involved and achieve the box office goal.

“I don’t mind being the villain. I don’t intend to interfere with the director and screenwriter. I don’t care as long as you’re willing,” Xu Zhizhi shrugged. She thought she was playing a guiding light role, but unexpectedly she was back to a pure villain role. Killing her daughter, manipulating public opinion, forcing her unfaithful husband to death—this role surpassed any previous villain roles. She thought about it carefully and it felt quite refreshing.

Chu Lu’s gaze fell on Xu Zhizhi, with a hint of excitement. The actor was really too obedient. She also thought, no wonder directors Meng and Zhou, and the directors she had worked with, all praised Xu Zhizhi. Such a person who, regardless of the status of both parties, would not cause trouble, was really easy to win people’s favor. Then they continued to revise the script. Chu Lu thought for a while and made a phone call. A famous screenwriter in the industry came that afternoon.

Xu Zhizhi, Xu Yunlai, and Fu Nian were all shocked. It was at this moment that they heard Chu Yao say that Chu Tianxiong was her grandfather. Immediately, everyone looked at Xu Zhizhi differently. How lucky was she? Five million and zero pay to win the favor of Chu Tianxiong’s daughter. After all, when Chu Tianxiong made films, countless big-name actors and actresses with zero pay would fight for it, but they couldn’t move Chu Tianxiong. In other words, Chu Tianxiong was someone who wouldn’t take anyone’s orders. And Xu Zhizhi directly won the favor of Chu Tianxiong’s daughter, which was equivalent to gaining an excellent path. And from the fact that Chu Lu made a single phone call and found a famous screenwriter from Chu Tianxiong, one could see that the father and daughter had a very good relationship. One mention from Chu Lu to her father was enough for Xu Zhizhi to benefit.

Only Xu Zhizhi looked helpless. She hadn’t thought that much; her decision to invest was just to go with the flow. If she had known the relationship between Chu Tianxiong and Chu Lu, she definitely wouldn’t have stepped up to be a target. After all, she thought the other party was truly poor, and she was afraid the film would fail. Unexpectedly, it wasn’t, just because the other party wanted to rely on herself.

Xu Zhizhi sighed as she held the script. The core part of the script hadn’t been changed, so Xu Zhizhi simply sat on the set and carefully considered the core character of the revised script.

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