Bai Qiwei took a deep breath.
"Zhizhi, do you know how difficult it is for Dad right now? Our family no longer has the possibility of collaborating with the An Family, and if we cancel the contract with Guo Dengdeng, we are very likely to go bankrupt. If it really comes down to it, you should just admit your guilt, and you could still end up with a good reputation for correcting your mistakes!"
Bai Zhi stared blankly at the message Bai Qiwei had sent her.
She couldn’t believe these were her father’s words! Why? Why was An Yan, a girl who grew up in the mountains, pampered and cherished like a princess by the entire An Family as soon as she returned? And her, who had always been so hard-working and excellent, was she to be abandoned by her father just because she framed An Yan once? In her father’s heart, was Bai Zhi just a pawn to be sacrificed at any moment?
"I understand, Dad. I’ll listen to you!"
Bai Zhi hung up the phone.
She then saw Jiang Xiaoze, who had been following her and fawning over her, now glaring at her furiously.
Bai Zhi averted her gaze!
Jiang Xiaoze let out a cold laugh, "Why did you use me ? There was nothing wrong with the mosquito repellent; it was you who deliberately led me to suspect An Yan, wasn’t it?"
Bai Zhi met her gaze coldly. "Jiang Xiaoze, I only say what I want to say. Whether you believe it or not is your own choice, right?"
Jiang Xiaoze was stunned. "How... how can you be such a person?"
When looking at An Yan, though she clearly came from no simple background, she joined the show as a layperson. She was sincere from beginning to end. In contrast, it was her, who for some reason believed Bai Zhi’s words and wanted to target An Yan at every turn. In the end, even though An Yan knew she had released snakes to scare her, she still helped her neutralize the poison, holding no grudges! Her face turned red! She was embarrassed!!
An Yan didn’t pay any more attention to Bai Zhi and Jiang Xiaoze; she was preparing to expose the next person.
"...The miasma is generated from the gas produced by the decay of animal and plant corpses as well as fallen leaves. Although this gas is harmful, it’s not enough to cause poisoning and unconsciousness! Especially Abei and Anan, both are survival experts in the wild, and they knew very well that there could be miasma in the forest and had prepared the corresponding medicine in advance. But when the miasma actually appeared, they didn’t react immediately. Do you know why?"
The staff was also puzzled and turned to look at Abei and Anan. "Yeah, why?"
Anan said, "I wasn’t prepared because normally, miasma isn’t supposed to enter the cave."
Abei added, "Yes, when we went in to camp, I checked, and the cave was dry, which means its elevation was higher than the outside. Under such circumstances, miasma simply couldn’t get in! And I even conducted an air quality test, proving that the air in the cave was normal and non-toxic when we set up camp!"
Both of their judgments were consistent, so neither of them used any anti-miasma medicine!
"But the truth is, you all were poisoned by the miasma! So there is only one truth: someone poisoned you!"
As An Yan spoke, she approached Fu Xiao.
"And the person who poisoned you is him!"
Abei said, "But he’s the most severely poisoned; he looks like he might die any moment."
"Detective fiction often features a plot where the culprit disguises themselves as a victim," An Yan said.
"If what Miss An Yan said is true, then why would Fu Xiao do such a thing?"
"I’m not sure, but we can let him tell us himself!"
An Yan said as she took out the needle.
Fu Xiao quickly regained consciousness. The first thing he noticed upon opening his eyes was the thumb ring on An Yan’s neck that caught his attention.
Less than a foot away! He could grab it with just a lift of his hand. But now was not the time.
He coughed and asked, "What happened to me? Is everyone else okay?"
An Yan cooperated and said, "You were poisoned. How do you feel now?"
"I’m alright. Did you save me? Thank you, thank you, Miss An Yan!"
An Yan smiled faintly as she straightened up, and for some reason, the thumb ring on her neck tumbled off. It just so happened to fall right beside Fu Xiao’s stretcher!
Fu Xiao noticed that An Yan didn’t see it. Everyone else’s gaze was blocked by Bai Zhi and Jiang Xiaoze nearby, and even the cameras couldn’t capture it. So, he did not hesitate to reach down and take it in his hand.
An Yan noticed his movement and subconsciously tightened her lips, trying not to smile.
Bai Zhi angrily said from the side, "Fu Xiao, why are you trying to harm everyone? We’re just here to participate in a show. You can have your fun, but how can you joke about people’s lives?"
"What are you looking at me for? I said I was just joking with Miss An Yan. I knew that Green Tail was not poisonous! But Fu Xiao, you really did use poison on everyone! Fu Xiao, what exactly are you trying to do? What do so many lives mean to you?"
Bai Zhi wanted to use her accusation against Fu Xiao to convince everyone that she was indeed just joking.
Fu Xiao was startled for a moment and looked at Bai Zhi. "What are you talking about? What poison?"
Bai Zhi said, "Stop pretending. An Yan said it was you who poisoned us, so it must have been you. She is a doctor, after all!"
An Yan gave Bai Zhi a thoughtful look.
What’s wrong with this woman? Suddenly standing on her side made her feel quite uncomfortable.
Fu Xiao then looked at An Yan. "Miss An Yan, why would you suspect me?"
An Yan countered, "Don’t you know what you did last night?"
Fu Xiao frowned as if he was seriously contemplating. "Last night, I was going to call everyone back to the cave to shelter from the rain, and then I called Film Emperor Mo and a few others. After we returned to the cave, Teacher Anan said I had been working hard for a long time and that I should rest well, leaving him and Teacher Abei to stand watch during the night. Since there weren’t enough tents, I found some dry grass in the cave and placed it beneath me. Could it be that there was something wrong with that grass?"
An Yan raised an eyebrow. "Where would there be dry grass in the cave?"
"I found it under those pottery jars. Could it be that the grass..."
Fu Xiao’s expression changed. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry everyone, it’s all my fault, it’s all because of me!"
An Yan stated, "It should be blamed on you! You deliberately used something in the dry grass to poison everyone! To clear your own suspicion, you even made sure to be the most heavily poisoned! You really went to great lengths!"
"Miss An Yan, what are you talking about?" Fu Xiao looked innocent, as if he truly knew nothing.
"Stop pretending. It was raining hard yesterday, and the show’s drones followed you all into the cave. Do you really think your actions were not captured by any of the drones?"