The Salted Fish And Protagonist A Ended Up Together - Chapter 45

Wen Mian was shocked, staring straight at Gu Man, who was smiling faintly at her. She couldn’t help but take a step forward, her eyes filled with a mix of surprise, joy, and confusion. Her expression clearly asked: What are you doing here?

Gu Man’s features softened. She arched an eyebrow and whispered, “A surprise for you.”

Wen Mian wasn’t sure if it was a “surprise” yet, as she was currently still in a state of “fright.” She gave Gu Man a sharp glare behind her back before putting on a smile to greet the others.

The rest of the cast was friendly, teasing her immediately.

“Mianmian and Manman’s relationship is so good!”

“Who would’ve thought? Looks like we’ll have something to celebrate and eat very soon.”

Wen Mian’s face gradually turned red as she gave an awkward laugh. “Haha, we’re just friends, just friends.”

Seeing her so embarrassed, the others stopped teasing and went their separate ways to start their hair and makeup.

Wen Mian turned back to Gu Man, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up. “Explain.”

“Because I haven’t seen you in a long time,” Gu Man lowered her head and spoke softly.

“Keep going,” Wen Mian replied heartlessly, refusing to fall for it.

“The director sent me a script and told me you were here, so I came,” Gu Man looked up at her, her gaze tender.

Wen Mian nodded. “Fine. It was a bit of a shock, but it is indeed a surprise. But next time, remember to tell me in advance so I can be happy for an extra day.”

She mastered the “carrot and stick” approach, first acknowledging the surprise, then lecturing her.

Gu Man nodded obediently. “I understand. I’ll definitely tell you next time.”

A smile played on Wen Mian’s lips. She raised her hand, and Gu Man immediately lowered her head to let her pat it.

“Are you tired?” Wen Mian asked suddenly.

Gu Man shook her head gently. “To be able to see you, I’m not tired.”

Wen Mian felt her eyes sting slightly. She gave a low “mm” and replied after a long moment, “I’m very happy to see you, too.”

Behind the cameras, the staff members were grinning ear to ear, their hearts screaming: So sweet! The ‘GuMian’ ship is definitely real!

A faint smile appeared in Gu Man’s eyes as she watched Wen Mian quietly. Eventually, they had to separate for their respective makeup sessions.

Once she left, Wen Mian finally looked up, the corners of her eyes still tinged with pink. While getting her makeup done, she looked down at her script.

Her character’s name was Wen Mu, a young lady who had returned from studying abroad and was secretly in love with the neighbor’s sister, who was three years older than her.

Perhaps the program crew had taken into account that this was her first time, so her timeline was quite simple, with no real window to commit the crime.

An hour later, after everyone was familiar with their scripts, filming officially began.

Wen Mian was dressed in a white dress, wearing a little bunny headband with her hair down, looking incredibly well-behaved.

“Ah!” A long scream pierced the quiet afternoon. The five people rushed to the school’s back garden, where a man lay covered in blood, no longer breathing.

Seeing the five arrive, a cleaning lady immediately grabbed the sleeve of the nearest person, Wang Li, her voice trembling with terror: “It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I just came here to clean! It wasn’t me!”

She stumbled away, looking scared out of her wits.

Wang Li’s expression turned serious. “For such a heinous event to happen in our school is truly heartbreaking.”

“According to the investigation, the deceased is named Jia Ren, a sophomore and the Student Union President. Initial judgment suggests he died from severe head trauma. The suspects are locked to the four of you.”

“As your teacher, I was in a meeting when the incident occurred, so I am excluded from suspicion and will act as the detective for this case. Now, tell me, what was your relationship with the deceased?”

She picked up a pen, pretending to take notes.

Wen Mian leaned slightly toward the cold-faced Gu Man, her voice still shaky. “I have no relationship with him.”

“No relationship?” Wang Li clearly didn’t believe it.

Wen Mian looked at Gu Man with a pitiful, aggrieved expression, as if acting spoiled. “I don’t know him. Sister Gu can prove it.”

Gu Man’s cold eyes softened slightly. She looked at Wang Li and gave a curt nod. “Wenwen is right.”

Wang Li gripped her pen harder, keenly sensing the unusual atmosphere between the two. She said affirmatively, “You two are a couple.”

At this, Wen Mian puffed out her chest, looking very proud. “I see you have good eyes! I just successfully confessed to Sister Gu.”

As she spoke, she opened her arms and spun in a circle, her eyes darting around the set as if to say: Start clapping already!

To satisfy her, a scattered round of applause rang out in the room before quickly dying down.

Wen Mian was satisfied, however. She turned back and huddled close to Gu Man again, smiling sweetly at her.

The icy expression on Gu Man’s face melted away as she stroked Wen Mian’s soft hair. “Yes, Wenwen and I are a couple.”

Wang Li, having been fed a mouthful of “dog food” (public displays of affection), didn’t want to look at them anymore and turned to ask the others. The answers were all the same: Don’t know him, not close.

Wang Li tapped the notebook against her palm and said, “Everyone’s story is very consistent. Naturally, as a teacher, I don’t believe it. So, I will examine the deceased while you go search each other’s rooms for clues.”

The four of them nodded.

The search was divided: Wen Mian searched Zhao Min’s room, Gu Man searched Lu Xueqi’s room and Wang Li searched the deceased and his room.

Wen Mian stared at Gu Man longingly. “Sister Gu, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Gu Man nodded gently in agreement.

Lu Xueqi and Zhao Min looked at each other. One was speechless: “I say, you two, can’t you find another time to act lovey-dovey?”

The other lowered her head, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

Wen Mian lifted her head arrogantly. “No! Sister Gu finally agreed to be with me, I want the whole world to know!”

Immediately, Lu Xueqi pretended to gag, while Zhao Min slumped her head and silently ran to search Wen Mian’s room.

Wen Mian shut her mouth and began searching for clues in Zhao Min’s room. Every time she found a clue, she would gasp in shock, her eyes wide with amazement.

Thirty minutes later, the bell rang. Wen Mian reluctantly put things down and gathered with the other four in the office with the clues she had found.

Wang Li sat on a stool, looking straight at the four of them. “Alright, now present the clues you’ve found. Let’s start with… Mianmian.”

Wen Mian nodded, clutching several photos as she stood before the blackboard. “I searched Zhao Min’s room.”

“The first clue is a diary. It records her psychological journey of secretly loving someone, though no name is mentioned.”

“The second clue is a photo of the deceased. On the back, written in red ink, it says: ‘Don’t blame me. Who told you to stand in the way of her happy life?'”

At this, the others looked at Zhao Min in shock. “Who knew? Are you actually a yandere obsessed with love?!”

A dark expression appeared on Zhao Min’s cute face. She leaned forward, hands on the desk, her voice eerie: “So what? That dead man stood in her way.”

While speaking, her eyes flickered toward Wen Mian unnoticed by the others.

Wang Li suppressed her anger. “Is that your reason for murder?”

Zhao Min let go of the desk and laughed darkly. “Go ahead and investigate then. Is it professional for a detective to convict someone without evidence?”

Wang Li was choked up, her anger rising. She took a deep breath and said heavily, “Just you wait.”

She turned back to Wen Mian. “Any more clues?”

Wen Mian said “mm” and continued, “The third piece of evidence is a copied timetable, it should be the deceased’s daily schedule. Tell us, did you kill him according to this schedule?”

Seeing Wen Mian’s stern face, Zhao Min lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before speaking. “That schedule was posted in his office, everyone knew it. As his subordinate, isn’t it normal for me to have it?”

Wen Mian was stumped. She deflated and said, “Fine then. Detective, I have no more clues.”

Wang Li nodded and gestured for Zhao Min to step up.

Zhao Min also took several photos up and looked directly at Wen Mian.

“First, a diary. You have a crush on Gu Man?”

Wen Mian nodded vigorously, her voice proud. “Isn’t it obvious? I just successfully confessed. Isn’t that right, Sister Gu?”

Gu Man’s cold face softened, and she nodded lightly. “Yes, she is my girlfriend now.”

Zhao Min’s face fell. She pursed her lips and interrupted their affectionate gaze. “The next piece of evidence is an ID. It says you were studying abroad and returned because your family went bankrupt. So, did you want to kill him because of a financial dispute?”

Wen Mian shook her head innocently, mimicking Gu Man. “No, I have no relationship with him.”

Clearly, no one believed her, and they watched her “act” in silence.

Wen Mian looked dejected and muttered, “Why does no one believe me when I tell the truth?”

“I believe you,” Gu Man suddenly said to her, her tone full of reassurance.

Wen Mian looked down at her and smiled, a sweet dimple appearing on her right cheek.

“No other clues,” Zhao Min said heartlessly.

Next was Lu Xueqi.

Her gaze was sharp, piercing straight at Gu Man. “I think the clues from the first two weren’t very shocking, so I’ll wake everyone up.”

Wang Li’s eyes lit up, gesturing for her to speak quickly. Everyone else perked up their ears, listening intently.

“First: You are conducting human experiments?” Lu Xueqi’s voice was sharp.

Gu Man nodded nonchalantly, her expression unchanged, though her eyes uncontrollably flickered toward Wen Mian. Seeing Wen Mian’s shocked, open-mouthed expression, she immediately looked away.

Angered by Gu Man’s indifferent attitude, Lu Xueqi slammed a photo down. “Second: You wanted to kill him because he was blackmailing you?”

Gu Man hummed. “So?”

Lu Xueqi shouted, “So you held a grudge and decided to kill him!”

Gu Man raised an eyebrow. “Your guess is correct, but I wouldn’t need to do it myself. I could easily order someone else to make him disappear quietly. Besides, you think he was a good person?”

A look of deep-seated hatred appeared in Lu Xueqi’s eyes. She gritted her teeth. “Yes, he wasn’t a good person, but I don’t think you’re any better. You both deserve to go to hell.”

Gu Man nodded calmly, her voice cold. “Yes, I am not a good person. But how many ‘good’ people are there in this world? Isn’t it an honor for them to contribute to my experiments? Furthermore, unlike that man’s despicable methods, they all participated voluntarily.”

“Sister Gu is a good person!” Wen Mian interrupted her.

Gu Man turned and saw Wen Mian’s eyes, filled with firm trust. She was stunned for a moment, then her cold expression gradually softened. She whispered, “Good girl, Wenwen.”

Wen Mian’s eyes curved into a smile, and she nodded obediently, sitting with her hands on her lap like a schoolgirl.

Lu Xueqi was furious. “Miss Wen, don’t let her bewitch you!”

Wen Mian’s face changed, and she defended Gu Man without hesitation: “She hasn’t bewitched me! Don’t say bad things about her, or don’t blame me for being rude!”

The corner of Gu Man’s mouth quirked up, and she reached out to ruffle Wen Mian’s hair.

Lu Xueqi felt like fainting and stopped trying to reason with the love-struck girl. She turned to Wang Li. “I’m finished.”

Zhao Min peeked at Wen Mian cautiously and looked down again quickly, seemingly afraid of being caught.

Wang Li nodded. Next was Gu Man. She had searched Lu Xueqi’s room and found two clues, revealing that Lu Xueqi wanted to kill the deceased because her friend was harmed by his human experiments.

Finally, it was Wang Li’s turn. She shared information about the deceased: “After the autopsy, it’s known that the deceased had a chronic poison in his system that takes an hour to act. There is a knife wound on his arm, and his head suffered heavy trauma. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.”

“Based on existing clues, the knife wound on the arm should be from Zhao Min. As for the rest, let’s continue searching for evidence.”

Everyone nodded and began the second round of searching.

After the second round of searching, more clues emerged.

Wen Mian remained “clean” her timeline was simple. She was with Gu Man from 3:00 to 3:30, then prepared for her confession. She successfully confessed at 4:30. With no time to commit the crime, she was excluded.

Gu Man had two new clues: a bottle of poison and a deleted phone message. Once restored, it was a message inviting the deceased to meet, but with no time specified. The suspicion lay in the hour she was apart from Wen Mian.

According to Gu Man: She met the deceased at 4:00, then received Wen Mian’s message and left quickly to find her.

Zhao Min’s new clues revealed the person she secretly loved Wen Mian.

Her timeline: At 3:00, she prepared a dagger intending to kill the deceased. Before that, she wanted to see Wen Mian one last time, so she followed her and saw her preparing for the confession. Later at 4:00, she prepared to strike, waiting for the deceased on the path to the garden because she knew his schedule. She wounded him and left.

Of course, the others didn’t quite believe the later part of her timeline, who knew if she had seen that he wasn’t dead and followed him to finish him off with a stone?

Lu Xueqi had no new clues, and her timeline was even simpler. According to her: she planned to act today but ended up sleeping in her dorm until 4:50 after drinking a bottle of soda, only to hear that the victim was already dead.

Once everything was said, everyone fell into silence before a heated “argument” broke out.

Wen Mian stood her ground against the majority. “Anyway, my suspects are Zhao Min and Lu Xueqi. I don’t believe Sister Gu would kill him!”

Wang Li and the other two were utterly speechless at Wen Mian’s blind protection of Gu Man.

Wang Li fired the first shot: “Why couldn’t it be her? Her timing is suspicious. Besides, how can someone who does human experiments be a good person?”

Wen Mian shook her head, repeating stubbornly, “Anyway, Sister Gu isn’t that kind of person. If she were as you say, why would she have saved me when I was being harassed?”

Lu Xueqi, frustrated by Wen Mian’s stubbornness, tried to persuade her: “That’s because she wanted to use you! Besides, Zhao Min planned to kill him for the sake of your happy life. It’s one thing to suspect me, but you actually suspect her?!”

Zhao Min nodded along, looking at Wen Mian with puppy-dog eyes. “Exactly, Mianmian. Don’t believe her. Why don’t you dump her and be with me instead?”

As she spoke, she lowered her head, her expression tinged with shyness.

Gu Man’s gaze grew sharp, like ice from the depths of the ocean, hardened and piercing as she stared directly at Zhao Min.

Wen Mian let out a shocked “Ah!” and exclaimed, “You want to be with me? Weren’t you just supporting me and Sister Gu?”

Zhao Min shook her head urgently. “I misjudged her before.”

Saying this, she shot a hateful glare at Gu Man. “Looking at it now, she isn’t someone who can give you happiness. Mianmian, why not be with me instead? I’ll always treat you well.”

Gu Man’s hand on the desk slowly clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her palm and veins popping on her forehead. She kept her face neutral, but her gaze uncontrollably drifted toward Wen Mian, her eyes filled with suppressed obsession and a faint trace of fear.

Fortunately, Wen Mian shook her head. She rejected her, saying, “No matter what, I will always be with Sister Gu. Besides, isn’t Lu Xueqi’s timeline more suspicious? She said she was asleep, but we never found that bottle of soda. I think she’s the most likely suspect.”

The light in Zhao Min’s eyes flickered out. She lowered her head again, her fingertips restlessly picking at the corner of the desk.

Gu Man slowly exhaled. Her clenched fingers gradually relaxed, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward by a single pixel.

Seeing that she couldn’t persuade Wen Mian, Wang Li tapped the desk and spoke: “Since everyone has their own suspicions, let’s cast our votes.”

Wen Mian nodded and was the first to enter the voting room. She picked up the lock, her eyes cast down as she said quietly, “I am voting for Lu Xueqi. She knew the victim’s schedule and held a deep grudge against him. I don’t believe she’s innocent.”

After speaking, she placed her lock in Lu Xueqi’s voting box.

She walked out, followed closely by Gu Man. Once everyone had finished voting, they stood in a line, nervously wringing their hands while waiting for the results.

The Voice of Heaven spoke slowly: “The voting for the second case of the third season of Reasoning Detective Agency is officially over. I will now announce the results.”

“First, I am happy to tell you that the search for the culprit was successful! The murderer is…”

The voice paused for a moment before continuing, “The murderer is Lu Xueqi.”