Yan Xiaoqian said, a hint of hesitation flickering across her face. Just as everyone thought she had finished, they heard her speak again, "Oh, and also, when I went upstairs to the second floor and turned the corner, I paused for two or three minutes. I specifically looked upstairs, debating whether to go find Tong Zheng, but I heard movement from Qi Meiyuan's room upstairs, and assumed they were together, so I went straight back to my own room."
After adding this, seeing everyone still looking at her, she quickly added, "That's all. The next person can speak."
"Oh, then it's my turn," Yue Yang glanced at Jing Minghe and stated, "My identity is the assistant to singer Jing Minghe. My relationship with the deceased was that Jing Minghe always had me handle the troublesome matters involving the deceased pestering him, so I strongly disliked the deceased and also disliked my boss, Jing Minghe. I returned to my room at 11 o'clock. Due to being reprimanded by Jing Minghe at the banquet, I was in a bad mood and felt suffocated in my room. So, at half-past eleven, I went down to the lobby to sit and clear my head. Around 12 o'clock, I saw Yan Xiaoqian arrive in the lobby. She said she was hungry, so I chatted with her for a while. Around 12:25, we went upstairs together back to our rooms, and I didn't leave afterward."
As Yue Yang spoke, Jing Minghe felt that this person genuinely disliked him. His statement, "and also disliked my boss, Jing Minghe," seemed a bit superfluous.
Jing Minghe was suspicious. Was Yue Yang too immersed in his role? Or was there another reason? Come to think of it, Yue Yang's attitude towards him had been rather strange back in Yongye Town, which was truly baffling.
After Yue Yang finished outlining his timeline, Guo Wei, sitting beside him, spoke up next, "My identity is the CEO's secretary. My relationship with the deceased was, I suppose, a colleague. Last night, I returned to my room at 11 o'clock and stayed there. At half-past twelve, I received a call from Tong Zheng, asking me to come upstairs to drink and chat with him, until about 1:15 AM. Then I went downstairs back to my own room. At the corner on the fourth floor, I brushed past Jing Minghe and Lin Ling, who were coming up from downstairs. Mine is as simple as that, no more."
Jing Minghe noticed that after finishing his timeline, Guo Wei quickly glanced at Chi Hao, his brow furrowing slightly, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
The last one was Lin Ling. She lowered her head, wringing her hands, and muttered to herself. Jing Minghe strained his ears to listen carefully before he understood that Lin Ling was likely trying to memorize the timelines everyone had shared. She was so focused on remembering that she didn't realize it was her turn.
"Lin Ling?" Guan Wei called out, reminding her, "It's your turn."
Lin Ling blinked, then snapped back to attention. "Oh, sorry. Um, my identity is the manager for singer Jing Minghe. My relationship with the deceased, Qi Meiyuan, was that we were high school classmates, but she pestered Jing Minghe relentlessly, which caused a lot of trouble for my work, so our relationship wasn't very good. My timeline was, hmm, at 11 o'clock, I returned to my room with everyone else. Around 12 o'clock, because Qi Meiyuan sent a message to Jing Minghe that came to me, I went downstairs to warn her not to harass Jing Minghe. I just gave her a warning and then left."
Lin Ling pursed her lips and continued her statement, "Then, around 1 o'clock, I went downstairs to the shared washroom to use the toilet. After leaving the washroom, I ran into Doctor Youmi. I waited for her, and we went upstairs together. On the second-floor stairs, we encountered Jing Minghe. The three of us chatted in the lobby for a while. Around 12:15 AM, we went upstairs back to our rooms. At the corner of the fourth-floor stairs, I met Mr. Guo Wei coming down. Then, that's it. I got back to my room, and within a few minutes, I was forcibly put to sleep."
After Lin Ling finished her account, everyone's timelines were finally clear.
Everyone fell silent, mentally organizing the clues presented by the others.
After processing all the information, Jing Minghe turned to look at Chi Hao. The waiter's voice then rang out.
"Distinguished guests, you have ten minutes for individual contemplation. Verbal communication with others is prohibited. The timer starts now."
Prohibited from speaking to others?
Jing Minghe let out a soft chuckle and leaned back on the sofa, relaxing his body.
The difficulty of this instance wasn't in the case itself, but in the fact that everyone could only think independently. Therefore, those with less sharp minds and those with bad luck were easily eliminated.
As the detective, he faced life and death. The others faced unknown punishments.
Jing Minghe trusted Chi Hao's intellect; he didn't need to worry about him. What he worried about was Youmi. It wasn't that he didn't believe in Youmi's abilities, but rather that this case was filled with too many traps in the information everyone had presented. He was concerned Youmi might overcomplicate simple matters.
Jing Minghe turned to look at Youmi, only to see her frowning, deeply engrossed in thought, completely oblivious to his gaze.
Even when the names of the other eight people appeared in the void before her, Youmi didn't receive the message he wanted to convey.
"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen," the waiter's voice sounded again, "Please select the culprit you believe to be. You may click on the name that appears before you. You have two minutes. Please choose quickly."
The text in the void before each person could only be seen by themselves, and the order of the names also varied.
Jing Minghe caught a glimpse of Chi Hao making his selection. He himself did not hesitate for too long. He extended his finger and tapped on that person's name. The floating text in the void instantly disappeared.
Having quickly made his choice, Jing Minghe had time to observe the others.
He saw Youmi hesitate for half a minute between two names, before finally mustering the courage to tap on one.
Only after making her choice did she notice Jing Minghe's gaze and turn to look at him.
But Youmi had already made her decision. Jing Minghe smiled, gave her a slight nod, and then continued to observe the others.
Lin Ling, seated opposite him, looked very conflicted, her brows furrowed tightly, her lips pressed together.
Guo Wei, next to Lin Ling, made his choice quickly. Yue Yang, sitting further along, also did not hesitate much.
Yan Xiaoqian, at the very edge, had an expression similar to Lin Ling's, but she made her choice faster. After choosing, however, her face showed a look of despair.
Tong Zheng and Chen Mu were seated in the same row as Jing Minghe. Due to Youmi being in between them, Jing Minghe couldn't see their expressions, but his peripheral vision caught that they had already made their selections.
"Time's up," the waiter said, his gaze settling on Guan Wei. "Detective, after reviewing the votes, please make your choice. You have three minutes. Please begin."
Guan Wei's gaze was fixed on the void before him. He could only see how many votes each person had received, but not who had cast them.
Guan Wei clenched his fists tightly because he saw that the person who received the most votes was not the culprit he had deduced. Therefore, he began to hesitate, unsure of how to make his choice.