Junan City lay south of Luocheng and was one of Han Province’s best-known tourist cities. Originally, Junan was only a small town beside Junan Lake, but it gradually expanded into a city. The lake was divided into eastern and western sections. The east bordered the urban area and had long since been fully developed. The west backed onto the mountains and had only been acquired by developers a few years earlier, when villas were built all over the slopes.
Those villas had originally been sold as private homes with lake and mountain views. But as more and more tourists came to Junan City and the eastern side could no longer carry the crowds, the western mountain was also converted into a tourist area called Weimo Mountain Resort. Snow fell in the mountains during the coldest part of winter, and with the Spring Festival holiday underway, many guests had come to spend New Year’s there.
The mountain was large, but the villas were not densely packed. Guests without reservations were not allowed up the mountain, so even at full occupancy, Weimo Mountain Resort did not feel crowded.
Two cars stopped in front of a guesthouse called Shanshui House. Six young people got out, four men and two women, all dressed with a festive air. The blonde woman in front looked between her phone and the guesthouse sign. “This is the right place, isn’t it?” Then she glanced around excitedly. “But why can’t I see Lord Huo’s house?”
The long-haired woman beside her laughed and nudged her. “Go inside first. I’ll help you look later.”
The men behind them laughed. “Weiwei gets here and immediately starts looking for her husband.”
The blonde woman turned around and made a face. “We’re already here. Of course I have to check in at the spot!”
The guesthouses on the mountain had all been converted from villas and varied in size. Shanshui House was one of the larger ones and had a good reputation. When the young people entered, a group of middle-aged and elderly guests were already sitting on the lobby sofas around a long table playing cards. Every card they threw down came with loud shouting.
The blonde woman frowned and muttered, “Old people are so annoying. Yelling that loudly in public. No manners.”
The man in glasses said, “People get like that when they’re older. Look at how noisy you already are. When you’re fifty or sixty, you’ll probably be louder than all of them.”
The blonde woman huffed. “I will not!”
After checking in, the six went upstairs to put away their luggage. They had booked three suites: two ordinary two-bedroom suites and one larger three-bedroom suite with a spacious common area and big balcony. The blonde woman and the long-haired woman took one of the two-bedroom suites in the middle, while the men split the other two. Naturally, no one got the luxurious three-bedroom suite to themselves. It would be used for group activities.
The blonde woman first wandered around the men’s suite. The moment she pulled open the curtains, she cried out, “So beautiful!”
Snow had fallen during the night. White covered the red maples, and the lake below glittered like a fairy-tale world.
“Come on, come on! Let’s go walk around!” the blonde woman said excitedly.
“You guys go. I’m going to rest for a bit.” The tallest man gave a tired smile. “I think I drank too much at lunch. My head’s spinning.”
“Brother Ren, take it easy. We still have to drink tonight!” said the man with the ponytail. “We’ll head out first.”
The five were just about to go downstairs when the blonde woman suddenly remembered something and hurried back to the room. “Wait, wait, wait! I need to fix my makeup!”
The long-haired woman laughed. “I’ll stay with Weiwei.”
Inside the room, the blonde woman was touching up her powder in front of the mirror. Her medium-short hair had been curled, and paired with youthful makeup, it made her look playful. The long-haired woman looked more mature, wearing the nude-style makeup popular lately.
“Dudu, why don’t you change your lip color?” the blonde woman said, turning around.
“What color?” the long-haired woman asked.
“Like… blazing red lips! It would go perfectly with that waterfall of hair!”
“Blazing red lips went out of style years ago.”
“No way! We’re not at work. It’s the holidays. What’s wrong with going a little dramatic?” The blonde woman rummaged through her makeup bag and found a vintage red lipstick, then pouted. “I actually love this one, but I can’t pull off the color. Here, you take it.”
The long-haired woman smiled, accepted it, and thanked her without applying it. The blonde woman was about to say more when the long-haired woman suddenly asked, “Getting this pretty because you’re hoping to run into Huo Yewei?”
The blonde woman’s face immediately turned red. She cupped her cheeks in exaggerated infatuation. “That’s not something you can just hope into happening. He probably doesn’t even stay here anymore.”
“Then why get this dressed up?”
“Hey, I’m going to take pictures outside his house! By that logic, I’m basically the lady of the house!”
“You…”
Once they finished getting ready and went downstairs, the middle-aged and elderly guests were still loudly playing cards. To their surprise, three of their male companions were watching with great interest.
The blonde woman shouted, “Dong Jing! Zhang Pin! Zhu Xiaodi! Let’s go!”
Her voice actually drowned out the card table. Everyone looked over. The ponytailed man and the man in glasses hurried across, while the short-haired man remained far more interested in the game. “You guys go. I’m staying to watch!”
The man in glasses walked up to the blonde woman and grinned. “First you criticize bad manners, then you understand bad manners, then you become…”
The blonde woman snorted, then turned and squeezed out a sweet smile. “Ma’am, do you know where Huo Yewei lives?”
The famous musician Huo Yewei owned a villa on this mountain and had been among the earliest residents. Most owners had sold their homes to guesthouse operators, but he still came back from time to time. Plenty of fans came to take photos or wait around, so the front desk was used to this question and smoothly produced a hand-drawn map. “Follow this red line. Have fun taking pictures!”
The blonde woman beamed. “That’s so thoughtful!”
The receptionist smiled. “It’s nothing. But he hasn’t been back in a long time.”
“That’s okay. Thank you!”
The four left the guesthouse and headed toward the liveliest commercial street. Decorative lights hung along both sides of the road. The blonde woman led from the front, looking around curiously. The street was full of trendy shops selling food, photography services, and small goods. Prices were high, but tourists were willing to spend money when traveling, so every shop was busy.
“‘lake’ is actually here.” The dark-haired woman stopped.
“What lake?” the man in glasses asked.
“‘lake,’ a perfume brand.” After saying that, the dark-haired woman entered a shop shaped like a little wooden cabin, and the other three followed.
The shop smelled wonderful. Rows of samples sat inside the display cases, and a clerk came over enthusiastically to introduce the signature products. It turned out this was not just one of lake’s shops. The company itself was based here, with both research and production carried out on the mountain.
The dark-haired woman chatted with the clerk for a while and bought a citrus perfume. The design was unusual. Instead of an ordinary bottle, it came in a tiny sachet shaped like a protective charm. It was cheaper than the full-price perfumes and perfectly suited the Spring Festival atmosphere, so it sold extremely well.
The blonde woman smelled it and asked curiously, “Dudu, you like this kind? It doesn’t seem very you.”
The dark-haired woman smiled. “What kind suits me?”
“Hmm. Either something really hot and bold, or something quiet and elegant.”
The blonde woman had barely finished speaking when her hand suddenly grew heavier. The dark-haired woman had placed the gift bag with the perfume charm into it. “I have plenty of lake. This one’s for you.”
“For me? No…”
“Didn’t you give me a lipstick? Fair exchange. Happy New Year.”
The blonde woman immediately smiled. “Okay! Happy New Year!”
The ponytailed man leaned over. “Giving what away? Why don’t I get anything?”
The blonde woman laughed and shoved him away. “Stay out of girl business!”
They left the bustling shopping street and continued uphill. Strangely, the farther they went, the more people appeared. One glance was enough for the blonde woman to know they were all her “love rivals.”
Sure enough, a crowd had gathered in front of Huo Yewei’s villa: men and women, young and old. Some had even prepared banners, standees, and flowers. They took pictures at the entrance and shouted Huo Yewei’s name despite knowing he was not home.
The blonde woman quickly joined them, only regretting that she had brought no props. The long-haired woman patiently found flattering angles and made every photo beautiful. The man in glasses and the ponytailed man grew bored and stood to one side chatting.
“Why did someone bring flowers? Doesn’t that look like they’re visiting a grave?”
“Holy crap, you absolutely cannot let Weiwei hear that. She’ll cut you off!”
“Tch. She’s been working for years and she’s still this childish.”
Eventually the blonde woman finished taking enough pictures and came back holding the long-haired woman’s hand. “What are you two talking about?”
The man in glasses said, “About how you married Huo Yewei.”
The blonde woman burst out laughing.
By the time they returned to Shanshui House, the sun had set. Most guests were back, and the lobby and courtyard were lively. The guesthouse had prepared a whole-roasted-lamb feast free for everyone staying there. The tall man and short-haired man were sitting with the middle-aged and elderly card players from the afternoon.
The roast lamb feast lasted past eleven at night. The guesthouse owner was excellent at creating atmosphere. Complete strangers somehow became friends pouring drinks from the same bottle. The blonde woman, who had initially complained the older guests were too noisy, was now holding hands with two older women and dancing, apparently prepared to keep going until dawn.
At that moment, cheers sounded outside the guesthouse. Many people rushed toward the entrance to see what was happening. The blonde woman recognized several from Huo Yewei’s villa. She stopped one to ask and learned that Huo Yewei had actually returned.
What kind of luck was this? The blonde woman hurried to join them. Many tourists who were not fans heard that a celebrity had arrived and came along simply to watch.
Huo Yewei had not visited this villa once all year. There had been too many obligations near year’s end, and he wanted to avoid them, so he came to Junan City under the excuse of seeking inspiration. He knew most mountain villas had become guesthouses and that the area was full of tourists, yet he still refused to sell this property or deny that he lived here. What he wanted was to enjoy his fans’ cheers.
Whenever he returned, fans humbly asked for photos and looked at him as if he were a god. It was different from appearing on a program. On a show, he might not be the main character. Here, he always was. Those ordinary, ugly people went to enormous trouble just to come to his door and catch one glimpse of him. When he was absent, they looked at his house instead, carried away dirt or grass from beside the villa, even kissed the courtyard wall.
It filled him with immense satisfaction. They were his slaves, and he was the master they looked up to.
Huo Yewei stepped elegantly from the car and waved to the crowd. Screams erupted. Everyone raised their phones. The blonde woman lifted hers desperately too and shouted with complete abandon, “Lord Huo, I love you! I’ll love you forever!”
Huo Yewei basked in that ocean of love when suddenly a cold voice stabbed through it. “Despicable bastard! Talentless and shameless, you get attention by running your filthy mouth. What the hell are you?”
Before the words even finished, an open bottle flew through the air. Liquid splashed across the crowd, triggering terrified screams. Huo Yewei froze, then quickly ducked with his hands over his head. The bottle struck a nearby car and shattered. The remaining liquid foamed white across the bodywork, while the sudden silence filled with the smell of beer.
Several seconds passed before people reacted and turned toward the voice. A young woman in work clothes stood beneath a streetlamp, glaring furiously at Huo Yewei.
“You fucking want to die?” one fan shouted and charged at her. That cry became a signal. All the fans rushed toward the woman. The blonde woman had been drenched by the liquid. Even after realizing it was beer, she was still frightened.
Huo Yewei had never expected this. Shock stayed frozen on his face. His assistant Xiao Xiang quickly stepped forward, shielded him, and pushed him into the villa. The moment the door closed, the chaos was shut outside, but Huo Yewei’s heart still would not slow down. Who was she? Who had insulted him in front of all those people? Who was trying to ruin him?
Huo Yewei felt as though he had been floating in a hot-air balloon, his fans’ love an endless supply of fuel. Then a gunshot suddenly punctured the balloon, and he plummeted from the sky to smash into pieces.
He punched the wall and only then noticed that beer was on his hand too. He fled inside in humiliation and ordered his assistant to call police immediately and have the attacker arrested.
Before police arrived, the woman who threw the bottle had already been seized by the fans. They were furious. If a few people had not remained rational, she might have been beaten to death.
When police cars came up the mountain, the crowd gradually dispersed. The blonde woman had wanted to follow them down to the police station, but her hair was sticky with beer and felt unbearable. Before leaving, she heard that the woman taken away was a worker at the perfume workshop.
What perfume workshop could there be here besides lake? Back at the guesthouse, the blonde woman saw the lake perfume charm and nearly threw it away in anger.
Hearing that a lake worker had attacked Huo Yewei, the long-haired woman looked a little embarrassed too. The blonde woman hurriedly said, “Dudu, it’s fine. Perfume is perfume, people are people. I’m going to wash my hair.”
Most guests at Weimo Mountain Resort were ordinary tourists, not fans. The attack on Huo Yewei did not become a major incident there. Once the woman responsible was taken away by police, the parties at the various guesthouses continued.
Huo Yewei was furious. If he had known this would happen, he would never have come. He did not personally go to the police station; his assistant went instead. Huo Yewei searched online, expecting himself to be trending, but although some people had posted about the incident, there were barely any shares. Aside from his own fans, onlookers were mostly mocking him, either saying it was publicity or saying the throw had been deserved.
Someone even joked, “Such a huge incident and nobody’s talking about it? Heavenly King Huo is completely washed.”
That was what he could not stand. How was he washed? He released songs every year and appeared on music shows as a mentor. What right did anyone have to call him washed?
It had to be because it was too late and all the fans were asleep! That was how he comforted himself.
The blonde woman’s group kept partying until four in the morning. She and the ponytailed man were the last to return to their rooms. When they left, plenty of people were still drinking in the courtyard and reminiscing about old times.
By dawn it was truly Lunar New Year’s Eve. Many guests at Weimo Mountain Resort had booked three-day, two-night packages. On the second day, they planned to wake up, boat on Junan Lake, and watch the lakeside fireworks that evening.
The blonde woman did not wake until two in the afternoon. They had agreed to tour the lake together, but none of her companions were around. Remembering the previous night, she hurried downstairs. The middle-aged and elderly group was still in the lobby, though this time they were not playing cards, only drinking tea. The loudest older woman was absent. The blonde woman greeted them and ran toward Huo Yewei’s villa.
The Huo residence was locked, but Huo Yewei appeared on the balcony. In the middle of winter, he actually had the window open while he played piano. Fans gathered outside the villa and sang emotionally along with the music. The blonde woman immediately joined them, completely forgetting about boating with her friends.
After playing for a while, Huo Yewei greeted everyone across the courtyard. He said he was fine, thanked them for coming to see him, and said the girl from yesterday had already been recorded by police and taught a lesson. He asked everyone not to make things difficult for her anymore.
The fans were nearly moved to tears. Huo Yewei returned to the piano and continued playing.
The blonde woman stayed until after five. Remembering that the lakeside fireworks were about to begin, she prepared to leave. Huo Yewei also called to the fans, “That’s it for today. I heard there’ll be fireworks down by the mountain. If you go now, you can still get a good spot.”
The fans reluctantly left, thinking Huo Yewei was unbelievably gentle and considerate. The blonde woman followed the crowd downhill. No one saw Huo Yewei roll his eyes toward the ceiling as he drew the curtains.
On the way down, the fans exchanged information.
“I found out. That woman is a Lin Dong fan named Liu Qing. She’s not a lake employee at all. She’s the owner’s younger sister!”
“What? So lake is against Lord Huo?”
“I specifically searched it. Lin Dong’s fans have catalogued what perfumes he uses, and lake is one of them!”
“Tch, tch. How cheap. What kind of bargain-bin brand is that?”
“He never had money to begin with. Lord Huo was right before. He simply doesn’t have the background to belong in entertainment, doesn’t have the class! Yunxiang only made him look important. He’s still a poor dog underneath it all. Didn’t people say Yunxiang’s boss is in trouble? I want to see how long he can keep acting proud…”
The fans’ vicious remarks were gradually swallowed by music from below. The blonde woman met up with the dark-haired woman, and together they headed toward a hotpot restaurant. Around Junan City, New Year’s meant eating mutton hotpot, while the eastern tourist area of Junan Lake had a large fish farm. So anyone celebrating at Junan Lake had to eat both mutton and grilled fish. It was one of the area’s major specialties.
Every restaurant was packed. After searching for a long time, the two women finally found the man in glasses and the tall man. The blonde woman looked around. “Where are Dong Jing and Zhu Xiaodi? You weren’t together?”
The man in glasses said, “I thought he was with you. Aren’t the two of you always together?”
The blonde woman frowned. “How could that be? That was ages ago.”
“He said he’d wait for you in the courtyard,” the dark-haired woman said. “You didn’t run into him?”
The blonde woman shook her head. She said that when she woke up, no one had been around, and she had spent the whole afternoon at Huo Yewei’s place. “Then you guys… didn’t go boating?”
The dark-haired woman said she had gone downhill first. There were many activities there, lantern riddles, sugar painting, and so on. She wandered alone until after five.
The man in glasses said he had also been below, but there were too many people and no phone signal, so he could not find anyone.
The tall man said that before leaving Shanshui House, he had played cards with the older guests for a while, then got dragged into taking pictures for them, and only went downhill afterward.
The blonde woman exclaimed, “So much for this being a group trip!”
Night fell completely. Fragrant mutton hotpot and spicy grilled fish arrived at the table. Their seats had a perfect view of the fireworks, but the ponytailed man and the short-haired man never appeared, and neither could be reached by phone.
At midnight, bells rang in the new year and people exchanged greetings. Fireworks above the lake were especially beautiful. But as people gradually left the shore and returned to their guesthouses, Huo Yewei lay with his eyes wide open, blood running from his mouth into the carpet. There was no life left in those eyes. The final burst of fireworks in the night sky was reflected in them.
On the first day of the new year, Weimo Mountain Resort prepared its usual garden activities. But when guests yawned and opened their windows, they all sensed a subtle tension. Police cars were driving between the guesthouses, more than one of them.
“What happened?”
“Somebody got into a fight last night, maybe over a lakeside spot?”
“Could one of the courtyards have gotten too wild and caught fire?”
“What’s going on? Police two days in a row…”
Tourists gathered and discussed it. Then a burst of crying sounded. A group of young people came from the direction the police cars had gone. They were Huo Yewei’s fans. Curious tourists hurried to ask, “What happened? Why are you crying like that?”
“Lord Huo… Lord Huo was murdered!”
The blonde woman’s face instantly turned white. The long-haired woman tried to grab her but missed. Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground.
Luocheng, Mobile Unit.
Lin Dong had been missing for a week. Because the matter might involve Heaven-Measuring Ruler, police had never disclosed it publicly. During the investigation, Chen Zheng discovered that Huo Yewei, an old rival of Lin Dong’s, had mentioned him multiple times recently and had even gotten into arguments with Lin Dong’s fans online. One fan posted a private-message screenshot in which Huo Yewei personally told her that Lin Dong was already dead.
Lin Dong’s disappearance was suspicious. Considering Heaven-Measuring Ruler’s ruthlessness, there was a real possibility he had already met with disaster. But even police had no definite information. How could Huo Yewei know?
The private message was timestamped six in the evening on January 17. After that, on the eighteenth, Huo Yewei posted several promotional photos of himself playing piano at home.
“Huo Yewei was connected to a police-station case on the night of the seventeenth too.” Ming Han walked over to Chen Zheng. It was the first day of Lunar New Year and some Mobile Unit members were off. Chen Zheng, an idler whose name was not even officially on the Mobile Unit roster, insisted on working overtime, so Ming Han had no choice but to stay with him.
“That was the same day he sent the message?” Chen Zheng asked. “What happened?”
“More precisely, his assistant went on his behalf. Huo Yewei was the victim.” Ming Han opened several pictures he had found online. “He was vacationing at Junan Lake and someone threw beer at him. His assistant called police. I just checked the station record. Guess who threw the beer?”
Chen Zheng raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to tell me it was Lin Dong.”
“A Lin Dong fan,” Ming Han said. “But not an ordinary fan. Remember the whole set of lake perfumes we found at Lin Dong’s place? She’s the younger sister of lake’s owner.”