I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 13: Mark
“Shuangxue” was Song Muxue’s forum ID, the one displayed when she performed the ban operation.
The newly opened post had aggressive language, claiming that the previous two posts hinting at plagiarism, prostitution, and forgery were all about Sun Jiawen, without mentioning Kou Shuang at all.
– Who is Sun Jiawen? From the art department, right? I’ve seen her realistic paintings, they’re really good!
– She always gets the highest scores in imitation class, even better than KS.
– Isn’t this talking about Sun Jiawen? Why drag Kou Shuang into it?
– In the last two posts, everyone was guessing it was Kou Shuang, and now any random passerby sets the trend and says it’s Sun Jiawen? Give me a break. Sun Jiawen doesn’t deserve the title “goddess.” Kou Shuang doesn’t need to stoop so low just to clear her name, does she?
••••
Kou Shuang watched, somewhat speechless, feeling like this was turning into a fan-anti war. A perfectly good school forum, why couldn’t they learn something better than this kind of atmosphere?
She closed the webpage and said to Song Muxue: “Unblock the previous post; let them tear into each other. It wouldn’t be good if you got dragged into it too.”
Song Muxue heard Kou Shuang’s movements over the phone and asked: “What’s wrong? Are you going out?”
“I’m going to find Sun Jiawen,” Kou Shuang said, “The cat’s already out of the bag, so there’s no need to wonder if she’s innocent. I’ll just go ask her directly.”
“Hey, don’t… What if…”
“It’s fine. Sun Jiawen is frail and timid; she wouldn’t even dare to confront a pervert,” Kou Shuang smiled and said: “On the other hand, don’t be too righteous. What if, in places you can’t see, I really am a fake ‘goddess’ involved in forgery and prostitution?”
Kou Shuang told the phone “hanging up,” then bent down to put on her shoes and hung up. She didn’t hear Song Muxue softly say, “I believe you.”
Kou Shuang went to the dorm to find Sun Jiawen but couldn’t. However, her roommate said Sun Jiawen was practicing in the art studio. Relying on Baidu Maps, Kou Shuang finally found the department building in the unfamiliar campus.
There were only a few art studios in the painting department. Kou Shuang searched them one by one, didn’t see anyone, but found Sun Jiawen’s bag in one of them, the one she carried when she interviewed at Wanxiang Magazine that day.
Kou Shuang thought of waiting for Sun Jiawen in the art studio. There was a half-finished oil painting on an easel, with paints placed nearby. On a blank sheet of paper, a black “S” was written with a pen of unknown material.
The painting was pretty good, but Kou Shuang felt the style was somewhat familiar. She hadn’t studied art and had a weak perception of color, relying only on impression. She lifted the painting and found several more sheets of paper behind it, each with an “S” written on it.
This was probably Sun Jiawen’s personal watermark.
In the corner, there were many other paintings, like practice works. Kou Shuang casually looked at them, and her heart sank.
These paintings varied greatly in style, but they all looked somewhat familiar, like imitations.
Are these all Sun Jiawen’s? Why is she imitating so many paintings?
A phone ringtone suddenly echoed throughout the art studio, startling Kou Shuang. She didn’t intend to invade anyone’s privacy, but when she followed the sound, she found an old-fashioned phone ringing on a corner table.
The screen displayed “Brother Chun” and below it, a string of numbers, the caller’s phone number.
Kou Shuang was sensitive to numbers and knew it was Old Chun’s phone number at a glance.
Sun Jiawen still has contact with Old Chun? And “Brother Chun”?
Footsteps came from outside the door, perhaps Sun Jiawen was returning. Kou Shuang’s heart jumped, and she quickly ducked under the lecturer’s podium. The podium was enclosed on three sides, creating a very small space, but it was more than enough to hide Kou Shuang.
She didn’t know if what she was doing was right, but she could hear Sun Jiawen’s footsteps.
Entering the door, pausing, walking towards the old phone.
“Hello, Brother Chun… I’m at school… It’s fine, no one’s around… Mm, okay, I’ll go to the dorm to get it.”
In just a few words, Kou Shuang’s heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
Then came the sounds of packing up tools and hurried footsteps leaving the art studio.
Kou Shuang remained hidden under the podium, her thoughts scattering aimlessly, finally reaching a conclusion: Sun Jiawen really isn’t a good person.
Classes happened to be in the afternoon. When Kou Shuang arrived at the art studio, everyone stared.
Of course, a small number of people also turned their gaze to Sun Jiawen.
Sun Jiawen had a hunched back, a self-protective posture. But Kou Shuang sat down gracefully and even asked: “Is class starting soon? Has the teacher arrived?”
The student who was asked shook her head and quickly said: “Not yet, but soon.”
The gazes then dispersed.
The professor acted as if nothing was wrong, looking like an enlightened immortal. He tossed a bunch of sunflowers for everyone to draw, then closed his eyes to rest.
If there was anything to say, it would have to wait until after class. This was Kou Shuang’s first time painting in class, and she was a little afraid of tarnishing “Kou Shuang’s” reputation.
Sun Jiawen was definitely in cahoots with Old Chun and was not innocent. Kou Shuang confirmed this point.
Now, she was just a little curious: what was the other party thinking when she introduced her? Kou Shuang wasn’t stupid; she certainly wasn’t going to believe that the other party genuinely meant well for her.
Was it for Lu Renjia?
Then… did Sun Jiawen also post those threads? But why would she drag herself into it?
Kou Shuang was curious about Sun Jiawen, much like a reader’s interest in a slightly strange villain. Perhaps it was because Sun Jiawen looked so gentle and docile, a stark contrast to her actions, which naturally surprised someone as judgmental by appearance as Kou Shuang.
However, before class even ended, the Dean of Students suddenly appeared at the art studio door, called the professor out. After exchanging a few words, both reappeared at the doorway.
“Kou Shuang, come out for a moment.”
Everyone’s attention gathered.
••••
It was a police summons.
“Are you Kou Shuang?”
“National University, Art Department?”
“Usually have good grades? Are your paintings good?”
“Any extra little quirks? I heard artists are all like that.”
“After the art exhibition ended, did you go to the gallery? Your fingerprints were found at the scene.”
“Did you contact Zhang Chunsheng after the art exhibition ended? Do you know where your boss might have gone?”
••••
After asking a series of questions, the young police officer released Kou Shuang. Although the officer repeatedly emphasized it was just a routine inquiry, Kou Shuang noticed that his attitude was different.
The difference was too great… Last time, it was nominally an “interrogation of a suspect,” but the atmosphere was relaxed; this time, the officer watched her eyes throughout and didn’t smile.
What’s going on? Is there new evidence pointing to me?
After the questioning, she met Zheng Fenglin again. Zheng Fenglin smiled at Kou Shuang and said: “I know you, so I need to avoid suspicion. Don’t be afraid; it’s just a routine inquiry. They usually ask several times to avoid missing any details.”
Kou Shuang stared at Zheng Fenglin’s face and said: “Have they found any new clues? Have they found Old Chun and them?”
Zheng Fenglin looked awkward, averted his gaze, and said nothing.
That meant there were new clues.
Kou Shuang smiled understandingly and said: “Alright then, I won’t ask. Anyway, I’m innocent, and I trust your department.”
Zheng Fenglin hesitated for a moment and said: “I’ll take you back to school.”
“No need,” Kou Shuang politely declined: “I’ll take a taxi back myself. You focus on solving the case and clearing my name.”
Zheng Fenglin could only give up.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked out, she received a call from Song Muxue.
“Hello, Song Muxue? What’s wrong?”
Song Muxue’s voice was still unhurried. She said: “You were taken away by the police? The forum exploded again.”
“Hey, yeah, routine questioning, at least that’s what the police said,” Kou Shuang said with a hint of helplessness: “Why is everyone so gossipy? Are they even serializing it on the forum? Did you delete or block the posts this time?”
“Since you don’t care, I won’t block them. Routine questioning should contact you first; there’s no such thing as suddenly taking someone away. Don’t be too relaxed,” Song Muxue chuckled.
“So they’re treating me as a suspect, huh,” Kou Shuang shrugged, “I can feel it, but I have a clear conscience. I just asked Zheng Fenglin, and he wouldn’t tell me what happened, so there’s no point in me being anxious.”
“Conflict of interest principle, no choice, rules are rules,” Song Muxue changed the subject: “But he gave me a heads-up; he told me to call you.”
Kou Shuang found it amusing. She said: “I find you two quite interesting. When it comes to following rules, you’re better than anyone, but when it comes to doing bad things, you’re both very good at finding excuses, always absolving yourselves. Truly worthy of being the public security, procuratorate, and judiciary duo!”
Kou Shuang’s tone was cheerful; she genuinely found the two of them so well-matched and was admiring their future tacit understanding in advance.
But to Song Muxue’s ears, it carried a hint of sadness. Song Muxue seemed to perceive a heart forcing a smile through the other’s teasing, and she remembered Kou Shuang lowering her head to avoid her gaze. Song Muxue felt an inexplicable displeasure and could only change the subject: “Aren’t you curious what the decisive evidence is?”
“What?” Kou Shuang was very supportive, but Song Muxue didn’t proactively mention it, so she didn’t ask.
When Zheng Fenglin called, he specifically told Song Muxue to call quickly, saying Kou Shuang had asked about it. At that time, she thought Kou Shuang was very concerned about the matter, but now it seemed that the other person just wanted to talk to Zheng Fenglin.
This kind of love, humble to the dust… made Song Muxue feel a little heartache.
“Perhaps the paint was too inferior, and the paint on that fake painting actually peeled off…” Song Muxue said slowly. Hearing this, Kou Shuang couldn’t help but exclaim: “What the hell! It’s a 420,000 project, at least! They can’t be that stingy with costs!”
Song Muxue then said: “After the paint peeled off, the police found a mark on the canvas.”
—”Any extra little quirks? I heard artists are all like that.”
“It’s an ‘S.’ Preliminary guess, it might be from Kou Shuang’s ‘shuang’. They think you might have forged it,” Song Muxue said.
Kou Shuang suddenly startled and said: “S? A black S, with two perfectly round half-circles, and a small black dot behind it?”
She was so agitated all of a sudden that Song Muxue was startled. Song Muxue said: “What’s wrong? Do you know who it is?”
Song Muxue didn’t retort with “Is it really you?” but instinctively stood by her side, which made Kou Shuang feel thoughtful and warm. But there was no time to savor the feeling. She immediately told Song Muxue: “It’s Sun Jiawen! The ‘S’ isn’t Kou Shuang’s ‘shuang’; it’s Sun Jiawen’s ‘sun’! I’m going to find her right now!”
Song Muxue’s tone also became serious. She said: “Sun Jiawen? I thought she was just particularly jealous of you. Where are you now? Do you know where Sun Jiawen is?”
“At the police station entrance. I’m going in right now to tell them this news and have them question Sun Jiawen.”
Saying this, Kou Shuang hung up on Song Muxue and turned to enter the police station.