I Asked You To Simulate A Crime, And You Pulled Off The Perfect Crime? - Chapter 22
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- I Asked You To Simulate A Crime, And You Pulled Off The Perfect Crime?
- Chapter 22 - What Day Did They Actually Go to the Countryside?
Chen Shu’s expression was captured by the pinhole camera hidden in Su Xiaoxiao’s chest button and transmitted to the live stream.
Deep and mysterious. No one knew why he asked that question. Wasn’t their departure for the countryside on April 2nd a well-established fact?
Su Xiaoxiao was puzzled. “Brother, why are you asking that? We went to the countryside on April 2nd. I remember it clearly.”
Chen Shu smiled. “Then tell me, what day is it today? Don’t check your phone, think carefully.”
Hearing that, Su Xiaoxiao started counting on her fingers.
“We went to the countryside on the morning of April 2nd. That day, we saw rapeseed flowers, ate roasted lamb, and attended the ancestral worship ceremony at night.”
“We came back on the morning of April 3rd, arrived home by noon, and then you interrogated me in a mock trial.”
“On April 4th, I went to school and was questioned by Officer Wang. That night, he brought the police and took us to the station.”
“Now, we’ve returned from the police station, and it’s past midnight. So right now, it should be the 5th!”
Su Xiaoxiao’s analysis was broadcast live.
The audience agreed, everything had happened right before their eyes. Nothing was skipped.
But Chen Shu shook his head. “You’re wrong.”
“Huh?” Su Xiaoxiao was confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Check your phone.”
Su Xiaoxiao thought he was just messing with her. She had experienced everything firsthand. Every minute, every second, every event was imprinted in her memory.
There was no way she got the date wrong. She took out her phone and unlocked the screen.
The moment the screen lit up, Su Xiaoxiao froze, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
On her phone’s lock screen, it displayed April 6th, 1:30 AM!
“The 6th? How could today be the 6th?”
Su Xiaoxiao was stunned. Did she forget an entire day?
At the same time, the live stream viewers pulled down their notification bars and they were just as shocked.
“WTF? Why is it the 6th?!
“What the hell happened? Where did that extra day come from? Am I losing my memory?!”
“Did a time assassin steal my day?”
“April 2nd was the trip, the 3rd we returned, the 4th she got arrested, so today should be the 5th, right?!”
Everyone stared blankly at the date.
Then, they snapped out of it and turned to Chen Shu, waiting for an explanation.
Otherwise, they’d start thinking he was some hacker who altered everyone’s dates.
“Brother…”
“What’s going on?”
Su Xiaoxiao’s voice trembled as she asked.
“Xiaoxiao,” this time, Chen Shu suddenly changed the way he addressed her. He reached out, fastening the loose button on her shirt. The live stream camera blurred slightly with the motion. “Think carefully, when did you accidentally kill Liu Liang? And then, answer me, what day did we actually go to the countryside?”
When did she kill Liu Liang? Su Xiaoxiao furrowed her brows and recalled.
The time of Liu Liang’s accidental death was the same day the show started airing! And what day did the show start?
Su Xiaoxiao thought hard. She received the filming notice on April 1st. She remembered this clearly, it was the start of a new month, a fresh beginning. She had been excited about it.
So!!
Filming officially started the next day, which meant April 2nd at night! If the show started on the night of April 2nd, how could she and Chen Shu have been in the countryside that day?
Suddenly, Su Xiaoxiao felt a chill down her spine, cold sweat forming. Her mind grew hazy. Finally, she parted her lips and spoke the truth in her heart.
“Brother…”
“Liu Liang really did die on April 2nd.”
“Officer Wang and the others weren’t wrong.”
“And we… actually went to the countryside on the 3rd!”
The live stream exploded. The audience started checking the show’s premiere date.
What they found left them utterly shocked!
“Huh?”
“Huh?!”
“Wait, what?!”
“So Liu Liang DID die on April 2nd. The investigation team didn’t make a mistake.”
“How did we forget the show’s start date?”
“The premiere was the same day as Liu Liang’s death, April 2nd. If that’s true, how could the siblings have gone to the countryside on the same day?!”
“But I clearly remember them leaving on April 2nd! Is my brain broken?”
At that moment, director Zhang Sheng, sitting in his office, shuddered for no reason. He smacked his forehead.
“Right… How did I forget when the show started? That means Liu Liang really did die on April 2nd. So the siblings actually went to the countryside on April 3rd!”
With that realization, Zhang Sheng was filled with confusion.
He didn’t dwell on why everyone got the date wrong, he just chalked it up to work exhaustion. But! If the siblings left on April 3rd… Why did the witnesses lie for Chen Shu?
The entire show was streamed live. Chen Shu didn’t bribe anyone, nor did he coordinate testimonies. Yet every single witness insisted he went to the countryside on April 2nd!
What the hell was going on?
The internet erupted in a frenzy of speculation. It was one thing for the audience to misremember, but how could the villagers and the bus ticket seller all get the date wrong?
Why would they help Chen Shu?!
Inside the city bureau’s Criminal Investigation Office, the “Iron Trio” sat in their chairs.
After Chen Shu and Su Xiaoxiao went inside their house, the live stream feed had switched to the office.
“I think we should change our approach.”
“You all heard it, those witnesses remembered everything in detail. They weren’t lying. Chen Shu really was in their village on April 2nd.”
“And we didn’t find a body in his home either.”
“So Chen Shu isn’t Su Xiaoxiao’s accomplice. We need to find the real suspect fast, our time is running out.”
Qin Min anxiously spoke to Wang Zheng and Su Haoran.
“No.” Su Haoran, who had been silent since their failed search, finally spoke.
Qin Min frowned. “Haoran, why are you and Captain Wang so fixated on Chen Shu? The witness statements are right here, I verified them myself.”
“If we didn’t find a body, maybe it’s just hidden too well!”
“But…”
Su Haoran suddenly stood up and turned to Wang Zheng. “Captain Wang, have you heard of a film editing technique called ‘montage’?”
“Yeah,” Wang Zheng nodded, puzzled. “But what does that have to do with this case?”
Su Haoran’s voice rose in the quiet office. “The witnesses weren’t lying. Chen Shu really did visit the village, eat lamb, and attend the ancestral ceremony. These things happened right before their eyes, so their statements are truthful.”
“But Chen Shu manipulated the timeline.”
“He pieced together real events using a montage effect, and shifted everything to April 2nd!”
“In other words, he created a fake alibi.”
Storyteller Xiaoxingxing's Words
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