When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 247: Chapter 101: Leading Lady of the 1960s Cultural Troupe (40), Part 2

"If something happens to Comrade Wang Huiwen, can you and I bear the consequences?"

Director Yuan’s expression was grim. She looked at Xia Zhaoyun and the other girls in the dorm. "So, what do you want to do?"

Xia Zhaoyun didn’t back down an inch. "Call the police. Let the comrades from the bureau handle it."

Director Yuan grunted. "Fine. Handle it yourselves, and you can bear the consequences yourselves, too."

As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Huiwen, who was crying so hard she was about to pass out. Lips pressed tightly together, she turned and left, shooting a subtle glare at Jie Xiaoqin on her way out.

Xia Zhaoyun dispersed the crowd, then said quietly to Troupe Leader Xue, "Leader, we’ll call the police discreetly. We’ll have comrades from the bureau come in plainclothes to investigate. We’ll try to identify the culprit while minimizing the impact."

"We don’t actually want to make a big scene. The main issue is that this person’s intentions are just too vicious. A rusty nail piercing the flesh carries the risk of tetanus. That disease progresses quickly, and you can’t afford to wait for treatment!"

"If we do nothing this time, there will be another Comrade Wang Huiwen. Sooner or later, someone will die, and when that happens, no one in the entire troupe will escape punishment from our superiors."

These were all Troupe Leader Xue’s concerns as well. Xia Zhaoyun was merely repeating them, but the effect was to amplify the leader’s worries even further.

’Failing to bring glory to the factory would be a shame, but she was not willing to get embroiled in a case involving someone’s death.’

’After all, she was the highest-ranking leader in the troupe. If anything happened, she would be the first to be held accountable!’

Troupe Leader Xue nodded. "Alright, we’ll do it your way. Call the police as soon as possible. The sooner we catch that vicious person, the better."

"Also, get Comrade Wang to the hospital for a check-up right away."

Once everyone had left, before Xia Zhaoyun could even speak, Yao Yunying nervously peeked outside before securely shutting the door.

Zhao Si’en was the first to explain in a low voice, "Miss Xia, Huiwen is fine, but the rusty nail in her shoe is real. Didn’t you say before that we should turn their own plan against them if necessary?"

Wang Huiwen wiped away her tears. She had been crying her heart out, and her eyes were red and swollen, the tip of her nose also flushed. She smiled and nodded. "That’s right. We can’t let the culprit get away with this. We can at least scare them half to death!"

Xia Zhaoyun chuckled lightly. "I guessed as much. Huiwen, you have a fiery temper; you’re not the type to just sit there and cry after something like this. You’re more likely to stomp around, cursing out every single dorm and declaring everyone a suspect without a second thought."

Wang Huiwen opened her mouth, glanced at the others, and scratched her head with an embarrassed smile. "I didn’t think that far ahead. I just figured if I cried miserably enough, it would make the ’injury’ seem really serious. Then I could let you all take the lead and get justice for me."

The others’ hearts leaped into their throats. "Miss Xia, if you could see something was off, can’t other people guess, too? What if they come back to check on us?"

Xia Zhaoyun raised an eyebrow. "Are we going to give them that chance? Whoever seems overly concerned and comes forward will be the most suspicious. We’ll lock onto them and see who dares to get close."

"Besides, the culprit won’t think this is fake. After all, who inspects their slippers carefully before putting them on?"

The group nodded fiercely, gritting their teeth. "Exactly! I’ve never seen someone so vicious. It’s just one chance to perform on stage. Is that worth trying to kill someone over?"

"It’s gotten to the point where we all feel like our lives are hanging by a thread. What if someone else holds a grudge and decides to just go all the way? What if they try to burn us all alive in a fire?"

They couldn’t help but let their imaginations run wild, scaring themselves silly with their own dark thoughts.

Xia Zhaoyun smiled, pressing her lips together. "That won’t happen. This will all be resolved soon."

Then, she instructed Zhao Si’en, "About calling the police, we’ll have to trouble your uncle. See if he can get two female comrades to come by in plainclothes, just to put on a show."

"Have them make a point of walking past Group One and Group Two. The officers must make eye contact with every single person—you know, that ’I know you’re guilty’ kind of look!"

"If we really handed this over to the bureau, even if they caught the person, they could just claim they didn’t know about tetanus, and it couldn’t be ruled as attempted murder. And since Huiwen isn’t actually injured, the most likely outcome is that the culprit would get a lecture and escape any serious punishment."

Everyone nodded. Yao Yunying spoke for the group, "Right, Miss Xia, that’s what we were thinking too. That’s why we’re putting on this big show—to lower the culprit’s guard. We have to end up giving a perfect performance on stage. We can’t let them get what they want."

Xia Zhaoyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. She then had someone take Wang Huiwen to the hospital under the cover of night to make the "injury" official.