Director Yang and the others stepped into the apartment with visible reluctance.
Snapped!
Li Si flipped on the light.
"Welcome, welcome! Sit wherever you like."
The low-rent housing lit up under the glare of a bare bulb, temporarily dispelling the unease hanging in the air. Director Yang exhaled slowly, scanning the room. Even calling this place a "bare house" would be generous.
No sofa. No TV. No cabinets.
Just a few benches, and in the corner, a massive foam box stuffed with instant noodles and pickled mustard greens.
The only "decoration" was a blackboard, hanging upside down on the wall.
Director Yang rubbed his face, trying to shake off the discomfort, and signaled the cameraman to adjust the lens.
"Brother Li, let's pick up where we left off in the car," he said. "Can you introduce yourself again?"
Li Si nodded. His voice was calm and clear.
"My name is Li Si. I'm nineteen. I work as an actor."
He spoke with such natural ease in front of the camera that it was obvious—he wasn't lying.
Director Yang leaned in, his tone casual, fishing for more: "So, did you go to school? Nineteen… you started working after high school?"
Li Si gave a small sigh. "I graduated from Chang'an University."
"Chang—Chang'an?" Director Yang nearly choked.
Qinhua and Chang'an—China's top two universities. Their graduates became elites.
And yet here was one, living in a crumbling low-rent unit on Yuchuan Street?
"Yes," Li Si replied calmly. "I skipped four grades. Got into college at fifteen. I think I made the papers back then."
Director Yang trembled with excitement. He had a feeling he was sitting on explosive material.
"Then… how did you end up like this?" He gestured vaguely at the surroundings. "So… desperate."
Li Si hesitated. Slowly, he lowered his head.
His bangs shaded his eyes. His voice dropped, hoarse and distant.
"Because I betrayed the murder case."
Boom.
Thunder seemed to echo in the room. The air turned ice-cold.
Everyone froze.
Director Yang's heart hammered wildly. He forced a stiff smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Murder…? Can you talk more about that?"
He was in too deep to turn back now.
The cameraman wiped sweat from his brow but kept the lens locked on Li Si's face.
Li Si slowly lifted his head. His eyes were no longer those of a polite student—they were the eyes of a predator staring at fresh meat.
It was the look… of a killer.
The corners of his mouth tugged into a twisted grin.
"I can tell you," he said. "But once you hear it—"
"You'll have to stay here with me. Forever."
Director Yang's face paled.
Seeing their fear, Li Si suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Sorry, I'm studying how to play a murderer. How was it? Not bad, right?"
Before the laughter died down, the two cameramen snapped.
One kicked over a stool and lunged. The other tackled Li Si to the ground.
"Hey, what the hell?! Help! I'm being kidnapped!" Li Si yelled.
One cameraman gripped his legs. The other had him in a chokehold.
Both had faces filled with panic.
"Brother Yang! Take Xiaowen and run!"
Director Yang didn't hesitate. He grabbed his assistant and bolted to the door. He twisted the knob—it didn't budge. He kicked it. Again.
"Why are you kicking my door?" Li Si gasped from under the pile. "Just turn the handle to the left! I'm too broke to fix it!"
He flailed like a fish out of water.
But pinned by two grown men, he couldn't even breathe.
Click!
The fragile door finally gave way. The assistant burst out sobbing.
Director Yang turned back, phone in hand.
"I'm warning you! The police are on their way!"
Police? You tackled me, and now I'm the dangerous one?
Where was justice?
Moments later, sirens wailed. Yuchuan Street was well-patrolled; the response time was fast.
Stomping boots echoed down the hallway, and armed officers stormed in, flashlights blazing.
"Who called the police?"
People leaned out their windows to watch the show.
Director Yang looked half-dead with fright. "Officer! He's a murderer—we barely held him down!"
"Murderer?" a voice said sharply.
Li Si blinked. He recognized the speaker—Officer Zhang.
Zhang's eyes narrowed. He motioned for the others to move carefully.
Then they saw it: a skinny youth pinned to the floor by two men.
"Get off the victim immediately!" Zhang barked. "Or we'll use force!"
The cameramen scrambled off.
"Thank God you're here!" one gasped. "He's—he's—"
"You're the victims?" Zhang frowned. "Where's the suspect?"
Li Si, breathless, raised a trembling hand. "Officer Zhang, I…"
Zhang looked down—and his eyes widened.
"It really is you!" he exclaimed.
Li Si: "…Huh?"
Could this day get any worse?
---
"Name?"
Li Si sat silent, dazed.
Three hours in detention. Again.
Zhang sighed. "If you don't cooperate, it'll be harder to reduce your sentence."
Li Si croaked, "Misunderstanding. I'm not saying a word until my lawyer comes."
"You have a lawyer?" Zhang snorted.
Right then, a clerk whispered something in Zhang's ear.
Zhang's face darkened, then settled into reluctant understanding.
He nodded. "Let's go."
Li Si blinked. "Go?"
He followed the clerk down the corridor. At the end stood a woman in fitted slacks and short hair, speaking softly on the phone.
"Yes… he's out. Thank you, Brother Li. No need to be polite. Just doing my job."
She hung up and turned.
Bright-eyed. Calm. Slightly amused.
"You sure know how to stir up trouble," she said.
Li Si sighed. "Sister Feng."
Feng Su, the one-woman army behind Fengsu Performing Arts Company.
Legal rep. Manager. Cleaner. Cook. Driver. Life coach. Babysitter.
Yes, Fengsu was just Li Si and Feng Su.
To Li Si, she was a mystery. She could make things happen—quietly.
Yuan Bo, the body Li Si now inhabited, had complicated feelings about her.
Resentment. Attachment. Fury. Even buried affection.
But that Yuan Bo was gone. And Li Si… well, to him, she felt more like a full-time mom.
She drove a white Corolla. No questions asked. Just handed him a folder.
"What's this?" he asked.
"New script. Don't screw it up. If Director Sun likes you, it'll open doors."
"Our goal is second male lead. Worst case? Supporting role. Got it?"
"Mm," Li Si murmured, absentminded.
In the rearview mirror, Feng Su sighed.
She focused on the road.
Li Si lowered his head.
On the first page of the script, bold black letters stared back at him.
"Crystal Lake Massacre."
---
To be Continued...