NABC Chapter 8 Don't Believe She's Laughing
Chapter 8 Don't Believe She's Laughing
When Bai Lulu placed the photo on the table, Lin Jiahe's expression changed immediately.
The figures in the photo aren't very clear, since it's just a frame from a corridor security camera, and the lighting is poor.
But the timestamp is crystal clear.
【21: 35】
In the photo, Lin Jiahe is standing at the door of He Yuan's office, with one hand on the doorknob.
This doesn't match what she just said about "being in the dressing room after nine o'clock."
There was a two-second silence in the shed.
Shen Teng slowly put down the thermos, the sound not loud, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Why."
"Now it's really starting."
In the control room, Zhou Qiming unconsciously sat up straight.
Lu Jingran stopped writing on the notebook.
In the split-screen monitor, Bai Lulu was still smiling.
But that smile was different from when she first entered the studio.
That was just a habitual way of responding to jokes, to ease the atmosphere, and to prevent the situation from getting awkward.
She was smiling softly, but her eyes were fixed on Lin Jiahe.
Lin Jiahe gripped the ID card tightly, her knuckles turning white.
"I...I can explain."
Bai Lulu nodded.
"you say."
Her tone was too gentle, which only made Lin Jiahe more flustered.
Lin Jiahe subconsciously looked at Zhou Chi.
This movement is very short.
It was so short that most people at the scene probably didn't even notice.
But Shen Yan saw it.
He pressed his earpiece, his voice very low.
"Give Unit 4 to Zhou Chi."
Unit 4 immediately switched over.
Zhou Chi was sitting next to the filing cabinet, holding the call log in his hand. When the camera zoomed in on his face, he visibly tensed up.
Bai Lulu saw it too.
She leaned back slightly, as if she had suddenly found something more interesting.
"Jiahe, what are you looking at screenwriter Zhou for?"
Lin Jiahe was stunned.
"I didn't see it."
Shen Teng softly said "Oh" from the side.
"That's not a good sentence."
Lin Jiahe became even more anxious.
"I really didn't, I just... I just realized that the photo might be a misunderstanding."
Bai Lulu picked up the photo, flipped it over to look at it, and then put it down again.
"Photos can be misunderstood, but can timestamps also be misunderstood?"
Lin Jiahe opened her mouth, but couldn't reply immediately.
Tang Zhou sat to the side, completely forgetting that he was also a suspect, his eyes darting back and forth between Bai Lulu and Lin Jiahe.
Zhou Chi cleared his throat.
"Maybe she was just passing by the office."
Bai Lulu immediately turned her head.
"Screenwriter Zhou, how do you know she was just passing by?"
Zhou paused for a moment.
Bai Lulu continued to ask with a smile:
"Or do you know she's been in there, but want to downplay the incident for her?"
Even Shen Teng laughed at this.
He looked at Zhou Chi.
"Dude, the way you rescued him doesn't sound like a screenwriter, it sounds like you're an accomplice."
Zhou Chi frowned.
"Brother Teng, don't jump to conclusions."
Shen Teng shrugged.
"I'm not labeling people; I'm just participating in the discussion."
He picked up his thermos and leaned back in his chair.
"There are roughly a few lines on the field now. Assistant Bai spoke with Producer He for 3 minutes and 12 seconds at 9:27. Host Lin appeared at the office door at 9:35. After being glanced at by Host Lin, Writer Zhou started making excuses for her."
At this point, he looked at Tang Zhou again.
"And you, Tang, the stage manager. You didn't say a word from beginning to end, and you looked like an honest man."
Tang Zhou was startled.
"I'm really an honest person."
Shen Teng nodded.
"In many stories, the honest guy is the one who ends up giving everyone a shock."
Laughter erupted in the shed.
Tang Zhou wanted to explain, but didn't know how, so he could only look down at his ID card.
Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Lulu pushed the photo in front of Lin Jiahe.
"Jiahe, I won't ask you if you're the murderer."
Lin Jiahe looked up.
Bai Lulu smiled.
"I'm only asking you this: at 9:35, did you actually enter the office?"
Lin Jiahe remained silent.
Her ID card stated that she had been to He Yuan's office at 9:35 last night, but had not gone inside.
But she also knew that whatever she said at this time would be suspected.
She looked at the camera, then at Shen Yan.
Shen Yan gave no hints.
At this point in the test recording, the director could no longer save the day.
Lin Jiahe bit her lip.
"I've been there."
Bai Lulu nodded.
"Finally, it matches."
"But I didn't go in," Lin Jiahe quickly added. "I just walked to the door, heard people arguing inside, and then I left."
Shen Teng immediately asked:
"Who's making noise?"
Lin Jiahe hesitated for a moment.
"One male voice, one female voice."
After he said that, the table fell silent again.
Bai Lulu tapped the tabletop lightly with her finger.
"A female voice?"
Lin Jiahe glanced at her.
"I didn't say it was you."
Shen Teng answered very quickly.
"But your look has already said it all."
Bai Lulu smiled.
"Brother Teng, you're pretty good at interrogating people now."
"You guys have corrupted me."
In the control room, Zhou Qiming watched intently.
He hadn't seen this state in internal auditions for a long time.
It's not that the guests are trying to create a good show.
Rather, it was the rules that forced them into a position where they had no choice but to speak up.
Lu Jingran said in a low voice:
"This part about Bai Lulu can be cut."
Zhou Qiming looked at him.
Lu Jingran didn't explain, he just stared at the screen.
Bai Lulu's smiles in variety shows used to be a way of giving others a way out.
Today she is dismantling the steps.
But she didn't make her criticism too sharp, so as not to make the other party turn against her on the spot.
This is the part of her that best shines.
Inside the shed, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.
"The first round of voting begins."
"Based on the clues we have so far, please vote for the person you suspect most."
The staff handed over the ballot card.
Lin Jiahe held the pen and wrote down Bai Lulu almost without hesitation.
Bai Lulu glanced at her, smiled, and also wrote down Lin Jiahe's name.
Zhou Chi lowered his head and wrote quickly.
Tang Zhou hesitated for a long time before finally writing about Lin Jiahe.
Shen Teng held the pen, looked at Bai Lulu, then at Lin Jiahe, and then at Zhou Chi.
"Brother Teng, don't look at me," Zhou Chi said. "I'm completely innocent."
Shen Teng sighed.
"An innocent person usually doesn't claim to be innocent."
He lowered his head and wrote down a name.
The voting card is turned over.
Bai Lulu threw herself at Lin Jiahe.
Lin Jiahe throws at Bai Lulu.
Zhou Chi threw Bai Lulu.
Tang Zhou threw himself into Lin Jiahe.
Shen Teng threw himself at Zhou Chi.
Bai Lulu looked at Shen Teng.
"Brother Teng, why did you vote for screenwriter Zhou?"
Shen Teng spoke with righteous indignation.
"It's not appropriate for me to interfere when you two girls are fighting."
Zhou Chi was helpless.
"So you're voting for me?"
"You spoke up for her after she just glanced at you; we can't let that kind of person get away with it."
Zhou Chi opened his mouth to refute.
Shen Teng immediately pointed at him.
"Look, they're getting anxious."
Laughter broke out in the shed.
The broadcast continued.
"The first round of voting yielded no results."
"Second round of evidence collection is open."
"New area: Producer's computer"
The desk light dimmed, and the computer screen in the corner of the office lit up.
Zhou Chi was the first to stand up.
But as soon as he moved, Bai Lulu looked at him.
"Screenwriter Zhou, you seem to be in a hurry."
Zhou Chi stopped in his tracks.
Shen Teng casually added from the side:
"Is there something of yours on the computer?"
"I'm a screenwriter, it's normal for my files to be on my computer."
"See, I haven't even asked what it is yet, and you've already started explaining the document."
Zhou Chi's face stiffened.
Bai Lulu couldn't help but laugh.
At this point, Shen Teng was no longer in a state of helping.
He got hooked.
He discovered that this show didn't require forcing jokes. Just a gentle nudge along with what someone said, and the other person would naturally react.
And this kind of reaction is even funnier than jokes written in advance.
The second round of evidence collection begins.
Bai Lulu went to the computer, and Lin Jiahe followed behind her, as if she was worried about letting her watch it alone.
Shen Teng then went to the filing cabinet.
Tang Zhou hesitated for a moment, then followed him to the office.
Zhou Chi stood there for a few seconds before finally walking towards the computer.
Four people were crammed in front of the computer, and the screen suddenly became a bit messy.
Shen Yan said into the earpiece:
"Aircraft One, provide a panoramic view; Aircraft Two, don't drop Bai Lulu; Aircraft Four, keep an eye on Zhou Chi."
There are three folders on the screen.
[Host's Commitment Letter]
[New Program Replacement Contract]
[Audio Recording Backup]
Bai Lulu clicked on the first one.
The file content is very simple.
He Yuan had promised to have Assistant Bai host the new program and to formally sign her after the trial run.
She finished reading it without saying anything.
Click on the second one.
In the replacement contract, the host's name has been changed from Assistant Bai to Lin Jiahe.
The modification time was 9:41 PM last night.
Lin Jiahe's expression changed.
"I didn't know the contract was changed last night."
Bai Lulu looked at the screen.
The smile on her face slowly faded.
That's just character design.
Of course she knew.
But at that moment, she still got caught up in the situation.
A person who had been promised a long time was replaced on the last night.
This is not the real-life Bai Lulu.
But it also looks a bit like it.
It's not that she hasn't been promised anything.
"You'd be perfect for this show."
"You'll be in the next season."
"This role will definitely show the audience a different side of you."
Many of those conversations were never followed up.
The camera zoomed in on her face.
She didn't cry, nor did she try to gain sympathy; she simply remained silent for two seconds.
In the control room, Zhou Qiming said softly:
"Keep this emoji."
Lu Jingran nodded.
Bai Lulu quickly came to her senses and opened the third file.
Recording playback.
He Yuan's voice came from the speakers.
"Change the contract as I said, and don't worry about Assistant Bai."
Another male voice rang out.
"She has the old version of the commitment letter."
He Yuan sneered.
"Then let her never find it."
The recording paused here.
Everyone looked at Zhou Chi.
Because that male voice clearly belonged to screenwriter Zhou.
Zhou Chi's face was grim.
"I was forced into it."
Shen Teng immediately said:
"This line has finally arrived."
Bai Lulu turned to look at Zhou Chi.
"So you've been trying to provoke me, not because you suspect me."
She smiled again.
But this time the laugh was cold.
"Is it because you're afraid I'll find this contract?"
Zhou Chi took a deep breath.
"I'm just a screenwriter. What can I do if Producer He asks me to make changes?"
Bai Lulu asked:
"Why is that recording in your computer backup?"
Zhou Chi couldn't answer.
Bai Lulu continued to ask:
"You were helping him revise the contract while simultaneously recording it. Were you trying to save your own life, or were you trying to blackmail him?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chi's expression completely crumbled.
Tang Zhou whispered from the side:
"Isn't this asking even more questions than the host?"
Shen Teng heard this and turned to look at him.
"Child, you finally said something useful today."
Laughter broke out in the shed.
But Bai Lulu didn't laugh very much.
She looked at Zhou Chi, as if she suddenly understood what Shen Yan had said back then.
The laughter wasn't an empty shot.
It can be an offensive move.
Zhou Chi was getting a little annoyed by her stare.
"Don't just ask me. You haven't explained your phone call at 9:27."
Bai Lulu nodded.
"I accepted it."
Everyone was taken aback.
She did not continue to hide.
"He Yuan called me and said that the hosting position was gone and told me not to make trouble. I went to the office and took the old contract with me."
Lin Jiahe immediately asked:
"So you admit you went into the office?"
"admit."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
Bai Lulu looked at her with a smile.
"Because you didn't say so."
Lin Jiahe immediately shut up.
Shen Teng slammed his hand on the table.
"Okay, that's a beautiful sentence."
In the control room, editor Chen was getting restless.
He originally came to help monitor the materials, but the more he looked, the more he felt that the timeline was already taking shape in his mind.
Bai Lulu retaliates against Lin Jiahe.
Shen Teng pointed out Zhou Chi.
Recording reversed.
Bai Lulu admitted that she had been in the office, then countered, "You didn't say anything either."
These segments, when put together, form the basic structure of a three-minute sample video.
The trial recording is not over yet.
Tang Zhou sat in the corner, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Shen Teng noticed it.
"Tang, why are you so quiet again?"
Tang Zhou looked up.
"I didn't."
"You seemed even more nervous than screenwriter Zhou when you heard the recording just now."
Tang Zhou gripped the identity card tightly with his fingers.
"This is my first time recording a TV show, so I'm a little unaccustomed to it."
Bai Lulu looked at him.
"You were the first to notice that Producer Ho was missing this morning, right?"
Tang Zhou nodded.
"Was the scene like this back then?"
Tang Zhou's lips moved slightly.
Lin Jiahe also realized what was happening.
"You paused here during your first statement."
Shen Teng placed the thermos on the table.
"Come on, child. Tell me your story."
Tangzhou is about to collapse.
He glanced in Shen Yan's direction.
Shen Yan still did not give any hints.
In this situation, everyone has to move forward on their own.
Tang Zhou lowered his head.
"Actually... when I was the first one to come in this morning, Producer Ho was already gone."
Bai Lulu asked:
"and then?"
Tang Zhou's voice was even lower.
"But there was no blood at the scene."
The shed fell silent.
Shen Teng slowly sat up straight.
"Wait a minute."
"There was no blood at the scene?"
Tang Zhou nodded.
"The trophy wasn't broken. The wine glass wasn't overturned on the table either."
Zhou Chi frowned.
"So who did this?"
Tang Zhou fell silent.
All eyes were on him.
Shen Teng opened his eyes wide.
"It couldn't be you, could it?"
Tang Zhou looked like he was about to cry.
"I didn't mean to. I sneaked into the office last night to find the expense report that Producer Ho signed. When I found out he was missing this morning, I was afraid that the security footage would find me, so... I messed up the scene a little."
Bai Lulu paused for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"You call this a little bit?"
Shen Teng was also stunned.
"You staged a crime scene for us so you wouldn't get your wages docked?"
Tang Zhou panicked.
"I never imagined it would turn out like this!"
Lin Jiahe looked at him.
So, did Producer Ho actually get into trouble?
The broadcast then came on.
"Final voting begins."
"Please select the person who staged the scene."
This time, no one hesitated much.
The votes were almost unanimously overwhelming.
Tang Zhou.
The final result was revealed very quickly.
He Yuan was not attacked, but rather, after discovering the contract alteration and the audio recording backup, he temporarily hid to observe who would come to the office to destroy the evidence.
Zhou Chi revised the contract, Assistant Bai took the old contract, Host Lin concealed that he had been to the office, and Old Friend Shen touched the wine glass.
In order to cover up his sneaking into the office to look for expense reports, Tang, the stage manager, falsified the crime scene in a panic.
When the truth was revealed, Tang Zhou almost shrank under his chair.
Shen Teng looked at him and remained silent for two seconds.
"I really didn't expect that the most honest kid would be the best at setting up the scene."
Tang Zhou looked miserable.
"I'm just afraid of having my salary docked."
Bai Lulu laughed so hard she lay on the table.
"You almost got us all arrested just to avoid having our wages docked."
Lin Jiahe finally relaxed.
"I really thought I was going to be voted out of the game."
Shen Teng picked up his thermos, his tone particularly serious.
"This program taught us that expense reimbursement should be done promptly and accounting should be done in a standardized manner."
The whole audience burst into laughter.
Shen Yan watched this scene from behind the monitor and finally pressed the button on his headset.
"stop."
"Recording session complete."
The lights in the shed slowly came on.
The group of people looked like they had just come from the police station, and their expressions were somewhat dazed.
Lin Jiahe's first reaction was to breathe a long sigh of relief.
"I was so nervous that my palms were sweating."
Tang Zhou covered his face.
"I will never take expense reports without permission again."
Zhou Chi smiled and shook his head.
"As an insider actor, I almost wanted to defend myself just now."
Shen Teng leaned back in his chair, not getting up immediately.
He looked at Shen Yan.
"This thing is fun to play with."
Zhou Qiming happened to hear this sentence as he walked out of the control room.
He paused for a moment.
Shen Teng, holding his thermos, continued:
"When we officially start recording, the case can proceed a bit more smoothly, and the clues shouldn't be too dense. But the direction is fine."
He glanced at Bai Lulu.
"Especially Lulu's few moves."
Bai Lulu was organizing her ID cards when she heard this and paused.
She looked up.
"Can you cut it?"
Shen Teng smiled.
"It's not that it's possible."
"It absolutely has to be cut."
Bai Lulu smiled too.
This time, her smile was genuine.
It wasn't to save the day, it wasn't to catch a joke, and it wasn't because I didn't know what expression to make.
She was truly relieved.
Chen Man stood by the shed, looking at her, her expression softening slightly.
At least tonight, Bai Lulu isn't part of the atmosphere team.
She won once in the game.
In the control room, Lao Chen had already started replaying the footage.
The screen is currently showing the scene where Bai Lulu puts the photo on the table.
"Jiahe, you just said you've been in the dressing room since nine o'clock."
"Is that you?"
Zhou Qiming stood behind, remaining silent for a long time.
Lu Jingran didn't say anything either.
This part can definitely be cut.
And it's not just about cutting.
It is easy to cut out the transmission points.
Bai Lulu was suspected, so she turned around and took out the photos.
Shen Teng added insult to injury from the side.
Lin Jiahe panicked.
Zhou Chi was implicated.
This segment doesn't need much explanation; the audience will understand it.
Old Chen dragged the timeline forward, back to the part where the recording reversed.
Bai Lulu looked at Zhou Chi and asked with a smile:
"You were helping him revise the contract while simultaneously recording it. Were you trying to save your own life, or were you trying to blackmail him?"
Old Chen looked up.
"President Zhou."
"This section can also be used."
Zhou Qiming finally spoke.
"How quickly can we get a rough cut?"
Old Chen thought about it.
Three hours.
"I want the three-minute version."
"Then we have to make a choice."
Shen Yan walked into the control room.
"The opening scene shows Lin Jiahe being interrupted by a photo, followed by Shen Teng's line, 'Now it's really starting.'"
Old Chen turned around and looked at him.
Shen Yan continued:
"The recording in the middle of the segment reverses, and Bai Lulu questions Zhou Chi."
"Finally, the scene was staged using Tang Zhou as a comedic element to end the film."
After listening, Lao Chen immediately marked out several key points.
Zhou Qiming looked at Shen Yan.
"Don't sleep tonight."
Shen Yan said:
"I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway."
Lu Jingran suddenly spoke:
"If this is shown to Yang Mixue, she will read it."
Zhou Qiming looked at him.
Lu Jingran added:
"At least I will."
That sounds better than a compliment.
Shen Yan glanced at him.
Lu Jingran didn't laugh; he just lowered his head and continued watching the replay.
At 2 a.m., the lights in shed number seven were still on.
Old Chen sat in front of the editing table, piecing together Bai Lulu's close-up shots, Lin Jiahe's pauses, and Shen Teng's line, "Now it's really starting."
The timeline on the screen is getting tighter and tighter.
Bai Lulu's laughter was no longer just a lively background noise, but a buffer before each follow-up question.
She listened to others' explanations with a smile, pushed the photos onto the table with a smile, and asked the question the other person least wanted to answer with a smile.
Old Chen put the first version of the title at the beginning of the sample video.
Bai Lulu smiled and smiled, then silenced the entire audience.
Zhou Qiming frowned when he saw the headline.
"A bit like a marketing account."
Shen Yan said:
"Change the title to the official title when you hand it to Liu An."
"And what is this?"
"For internal use only."
Zhou Qiming didn't say anything more.
He looked at the long table on the screen.
Suddenly, he felt that this low-cost studio variety show, which he had thrown out of the trash can and given to Shen Yan, seemed to have actually come to life.
Shen Yan stood behind the editing table, looking at the rough cut on the timeline.
He knew that this was the real first card.
The card "Bai Lulu" has already been revealed.
Next stop, Yang Mi Xue.