Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“Jian Fan, you and the Eldest Miss have a thing?” Qin Nan blurted out.

Jian Fan: “…”

He turned his head and stared at Qin Nan expressionlessly.

Qin Nan reached out and made a zipping motion over his lips.

Jian Fan ignored him and turned back to the maid, repeating: “What was the Eldest Miss doing on the night of the murder?”

The maid rolled her eyes with some dissatisfaction. “Doctor Jian, don’t go throwing your weight around just because you’ve been given a little authority. I’ll be sure to tell the Eldest Miss about this later.”

Hearing this, Qin Nan suddenly spoke up. “I think listening in on the other Players’ interrogations is also a way to find clues.” For example, just now, the maid’s reaction had practically broadcasted the fact that the resident Doctor and the Eldest Miss had a history.

Jian Fan suddenly turned his head to look at Qin Nan.

Qin Nan stiffened. “I can’t say that either?”

“No,” Jian Fan said. “I think it’s a viable strategy. Good luck.” Having said that, he turned back to continue dealing with the maid.

Qin Nan stood there stunned for a moment.

He felt like Jian Fan was getting a bit too comfortable ordering him around. Mu Xin, standing nearby, had heard their conversation clearly. Seeing that Qin Nan still wasn’t moving, she considered it for a moment before turning and walking directly toward where the other Players were.

Seeing Mu Xin move, Qin Nan immediately called out, “Where are you going?”

Mu Xin turned her head, still maintaining her soft and delicate appearance. “Didn’t he tell us to go listen to how the other Players are questioning people? Aren’t you coming?”

“I’m coming.” Qin Nan suddenly felt a sense of helplessness.

Jian Fan was one thing, but it seemed his future teammate wasn’t exactly a pushover either.

The maid seemed very dissatisfied with Jian Fan, but under his repeated questioning, she finally spoke: “The Eldest Miss was no different than usual. She was in her courtyard the whole time.”

“Are you sure?” Jian Fan remembered clearly that he had seen the Eldest Miss heading toward the victim’s courtyard.

The maid paused, then said crossly, “Miss likes to be alone. After dinner, she told us to go rest, and she stayed in her room by herself. Maybe she went for a stroll in the garden or went to meet someone in the middle of the night, how should I know?”

Jian Fan had no more questions.

The maid didn’t know much, but one thing was certain: his character shared a relationship with the Eldest Miss that exceeded normal social bounds, and it was a private one.

Whether it was mutual exploitation or one-sided use remained to be seen. The exact nature of their situation couldn’t be determined yet, and naturally, such details couldn’t be gleaned from an NPC.

The maid was the last NPC Jian Fan questioned.

The other three groups were working together, but his and Qin Nan’s division of labor had allowed them to finish nearly twice as fast as the others.

After finishing his inquiries, Jian Fan also prepared to listen in on the other Players.

He glanced at where Qin Nan and Mu Xin were.

Mu Xin had chosen the target; she had headed straight for Xia Zeqin and Lu Jing.

Qin Weiyi’s team included Zheng Jueming and Lin Junruo, who essentially acted as Mu Xin’s second pair of eyes. Xia Zeqin’s side was currently the unknown variable, so choosing them was logical.

After a moment’s thought, Jian Fan chose to head toward Qin Weiyi.

Even though Zheng Jueming and Lin Junruo were there, he really couldn’t bring himself to trust those two deadweight teammates.

When Xia Zeqin saw Mu Xin and Qin Nan approaching, he stopped his questioning and looked at them. “Finished?”

“Yeah, you don’t mind if we listen in, do you?” Qin Nan said cheerfully. He then caught a glimpse of Mu Xin out of the corner of his eye and sighed silently.

Mu Xin was the one who had chosen this direction, but as they got closer, she had suddenly slowed down. Eventually, she had drifted behind him. Qin Nan knew exactly what she was doing.
She still wanted to keep things hidden.

She was just a ‘carried’ Player who knew nothing.

Xia Zeqin gave a meaningful smile. “Naturally. Do as you please.” After saying that, Xia Zeqin continued questioning the servants.

Qin Nan hadn’t gained any useful clues from Xia Zeqin or Lu Jing.

Lu Jing remained silent for almost the entire time, only occasionally asking a few questions. Even then, they were all trivial matters. The rhythm of the conversation was entirely in Xia Zeqin’s hands, and Xia Zeqin’s performance was even more watertight.

Jian Fan’s situation just now had been different from theirs.

He trusted Qin Nan and didn’t mind exposing his connection to the Eldest Miss. That was why he had continued his questioning even with others present, allowing the maid to reveal those details so easily. Xia Zeqin would never give them such an opportunity.

However, from Xia Zeqin’s questioning, Qin Nan and Mu Xin did manage to pick up a new clue from an NPC.

It concerned the Accountant, Zheng Jueming.

“If you’re asking if anything strange has happened at home lately… does the fact that Accountant Zheng owes a huge debt outside count?” The one speaking was the servant in charge of purchasing for the household.

Xia Zeqin nodded. “It counts. Do you know how much he owes or why he owes it?”

The servant chuckled. “It’s not exactly a secret; plenty of people outside know about it. I don’t know what got into Accountant Zheng, but a few months ago, he suddenly became obsessed with the gambling dens. He’d sneak off to one whenever he had a spare moment. He won a bit at first, but then his luck turned. When I was out shopping last time, I heard the people at the gambling den saying that Accountant Zheng seems to owe them a thousand taels. Tsk. That’s so much money; he wouldn’t have that much even if he worked his entire life.”

Qin Nan mentally organized the connections between their group and the deceased.

There were those like himself who had conflicts with the deceased because of their biological mothers; Xia Zeqin fell into this category as well, and there were likely others among the young masters and misses. Secondly, there was money. The possibility of a murder for financial gain was not small either.

After that person, none of the NPCs Xia Zeqin questioned provided any other useful clues. As for what happened before they arrived, Qin Nan had no way of knowing.

Meanwhile, Jian Fan had walked over to Qin Weiyi.

Qin Weiyi looked a bit surprised, then sighed with feeling. “Good teammates are hard to find.”

Jian Fan met his gaze. “That depends on whether you actually want to have them.”

Even though he knew it was unlikely, Jian Fan still threw out the opening.

Qin Weiyi smiled. “Sometimes, having more people isn’t necessarily a good thing. I think two people is just fine.”

Jian Fan didn’t deny it.

What he hadn’t told Qin Nan was that he only planned to find one more teammate. Initially, he had his eye on Xu Tian, but after realizing something was wrong with her, he had pivoted to his second choice-Mu Xin.

Although Qin Weiyi was smart, he wasn’t the type to accept an olive branch just because it was offered. Qin Weiyi had enough confidence in his own intelligence; having a few more intellectual companions who might clash with him was inferior to maintaining the status quo, where he held absolute authority.

While Mu Xin wasn’t the teammate Jian Fan wanted most, on second thought, there were perhaps pros and cons.

He didn’t like Mu Xin’s methods, but her appearance as a barely-adult high school student, combined with her timid facade, made it easy for others to lower their guard. Add to that his own somewhat sickly physique, and while Qin Nan looked normal, he lacked experience. The three of them together could probably be called ‘The Infirm and Disabled’ organization-highly deceptive.