Chapter 95: First Update

It was quite easy for Xu Lu to slip a laxative into Tang Runjie's food. After all, they were friends, and Tang Runjie had no suspicions about him. Since he wasn’t a professional actor, Tang Runjie didn’t follow any pre-performance rituals like fasting or avoiding water.

Xu Lu mixed the laxative into Tang Runjie's food and felt a weight lift off his shoulders when he saw him eat it.

The plan was successful. Xu Lu hurried to report the news to Jia Hui, who nodded and stopped worrying about Qin Yao’s team. Instead, she began observing other communes and units' drama groups, exchanging information with them.

Feeling triumphant, Xu Lu rushed to style his hair and apply makeup, determined to present his best self on stage.

Today, if he won first place in the qualifying round and then first place in the finals, he would definitely become a prominent figure in the cultural center, far surpassing anyone, including Tang Runjie.

"Gurgling—"

Tang Runjie clutched his stomach, feeling a spasm. At first, he thought it was just nervousness since he had little experience with performances.

The police officer character he was playing was originally a minor role with few lines. But Qin Yao later added more detective elements, giving him a lot more lines. Although Tang Runjie had memorized everything, he still felt nervous.

Tang Runjie was really into the role and its lines. Holding his notebook, he continued to review the lines, ignoring the condition of his stomach, thinking it was just nervousness that would pass.

However, after a while, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and the bloating and cramping in his stomach became more intense. Unable to hold it in any longer, Tang Runjie stumbled to the public restroom and had a massive case of diarrhea.

"This is bad," he thought, feeling a sense of foreboding.

At that moment, the cast of *Cracking the Case* was searching for Tang Runjie. For the female roles, they needed to do their makeup, and for male roles like Tang Runjie, Qin Yao had planned to give them some light makeup to enhance their appearance.

"Where’s Little Tang? Where’s Little Tang?"

"It’s past the gathering time."

"He was just here, memorizing his lines. I remember seeing him. Now he’s gone. Did he go to the restroom?"

…

No one thought much of it at first, assuming Tang Runjie had gone for a long bathroom break. But after waiting for a while longer and still no sign of him, everyone started to feel something was wrong.

Qin Yao arranged for a few people to go look for Tang Runjie. "Go find Little Tang."

Qin Yao was juggling a million things at once. She had to manage the drama team and accompany the leaders from other communes and units. She also needed to double-check the costumes and props.

Amidst all the chaos, Qin Yao greatly admired Gu Cheng, envying his ability to manage people so effortlessly. Now, she found managing people to be the hardest task. Managing even a small group of people and keeping everything running smoothly was a huge challenge.

"Where’s Little Tang? We can’t find him?"

…

The cultural center’s gate was wide open today, with many cars parked in the yard and people coming and going. The guard at the entrance, an old man, was leisurely smoking a cigarette.

With so many participants today, it was impossible to question everyone. Most people were allowed to pass, except for a few who seemed "off."

Gu Cheng, dressed casually, and his assistant, He Lian, entered the cultural center without any issues. It was strange. Gu Cheng had thought the guard would have to notify his wife, but they just walked right in.

Looking at the banner, it was a play competition?

Gu Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. A play competition? Was Yaoyao working today? She wasn’t one to enjoy crowds, so she might either be in the audience or at home taking care of the child.

If she wasn’t there, he’d be wasting his time.

Having just completed an errand, Gu Cheng thought that if he went home early, he might not see her since she would still be at work. It would be better to go to her workplace, both to assert his presence and to return home together as a couple.

Now it's all up to luck, I hope you're at work today, honey...

"Captain Gu, should we ask someone? How about the old man at the gate?" He Lian quickly analyzed the situation. There were many people in the cultural center, including staff from other units. It wouldn't be easy to find the right person to ask, so the gatekeeper at the entrance seemed like the best option.

Lately, He Lian had been riding a streak of good luck. As a small clerk, he had been temporarily assigned and had the opportunity to accompany Captain Gu on a business trip, which was incredibly beneficial. Captain Gu wasn’t much of a talker, but he was a great mentor who always had answers when asked. He Lian hoped to learn more and strive to be transferred to a higher-level organization.

He Lian could probably guess Captain Gu's thoughts. He wanted to surprise his wife, so he had come to her unit. Of course, they couldn't alert her in advance; it would be better to show up directly in front of her.

The thought of the reunion between the loving couple made He Lian's heart race, and he even felt like howling—though he didn’t know why.

He Lian wasn't married himself and had seen many married men in the army. Some despised their nagging wives, some cared more about their children, and others held their wives dear. However, most men were reserved and rarely expressed their love.

Qin Yao was beautiful, and many people thought Gu Cheng was attracted to her, just like how Zhao Mingjin had immediately noticed her. Men, after all, were drawn to beauty. Who wouldn't want a beautiful wife?

Many men didn't have much of an idea about women, let alone beautiful ones. The ones they knew were the gossipy women in the village, and young girls were too shy to interact with. The beautiful women in the art troupe were admired from afar, not spoken to.

Imagining a man's life after marrying a beautiful wife... it was hard to picture.

Get married, have kids, and check off the big milestones in life?

As for Qin Yao, they hadn’t seen much of her. It was quite a stroke of luck that He Lian had seen Captain Gu turn beet red. He had also learned what a wonderful person she was. The little dolphins she gave had stirred Captain Gu so much... it was so full of affection.

Thinking about how Captain Gu usually gave lectures and then recalling that day when he turned red, it was hard to believe it was the same person. It showed how even the toughest man could become soft as butter.

Unfortunately, no one else knew, and He Lian didn’t dare to gossip about that day. If any news got out, it would be traced back to him. He didn’t dare talk behind Captain Gu's back, so he hadn’t revealed a single word.

He Lian felt like he was going to burst.

However, this secret that only he knew made him light up like a mouse seeing a pot of rice.

Only I know how much Captain Gu adores his wife!

The thought made him swell with pride.

"Go ask," Gu Cheng's cold gaze swept over He Lian. Seeing that the kid wasn't getting it, he felt a bit frustrated.

His wife had given him the little dolphins and said such heartfelt words when they parted. Why hadn't anyone mentioned it in over a month?

Was he supposed to go around bragging? That wasn’t his style.

Before heading home, he had to let the news out while visiting his wife, right?

"Little Tang, you're here? Everyone's been looking for you like crazy."

Xue Guo, a petite woman, jogged over. She was from a neighboring unit and had come to help at the cultural center today. With too few people around, she was assisting with logistics. Tang Runjie had disappeared, and Qin Yao and Lan Baiyu had sent several people to look for him, including asking Xue Guo to keep an eye out.

Unexpectedly, she spotted "Tang Runjie" at the entrance.

Xue Guo had only met Tang Runjie a few times and remembered him as very handsome, almost like a different person after getting a haircut.

As she approached the man, Xue Guo realized he was very tall. Most ordinary men were around 1.7 meters tall, but this man—was Tang Runjie this tall?

Had he gotten another haircut and put on some makeup? His presence was impossible to ignore, and Xue Guo spotted him immediately in the crowd.

His expression wasn’t warm or inviting, and it made her swallow nervously.

"—Qin Yao comrade is looking for you," Xue Guo said, feeling halfway through that something wasn't right but unable to pinpoint what.

"Qin Yao?"

Gu Cheng's eyes narrowed. "Qin Yao? Could there really be someone else with the same name? And what’s going on with Little Tang? Why is my wife looking for him, and why did this woman mistake me for him?"

"Take me to see Qin Yao."

With a cold expression and a fierce aura, Gu Cheng led He Lian inside. Xue Guo walked ahead, too scared to look back. She felt like she might have made a mistake. Though the man behind her was handsome, he gave off a terrifying vibe.

It felt like she was being pursued by wild animals.

"Something's wrong! Little Tang has diarrhea and says he can’t go on."

"He's in terrible shape and can’t perform."

……

They found Tang Runjie, who was weak from diarrhea and definitely couldn't perform. They had no understudy for the role since the rehearsals were done in a hurry.

"What are we going to do? He can't perform. Where will we find a replacement?" Lan Baiyu said anxiously.

Normally, there would be understudies (backup actors) for a theatrical performance, but this was just a competition, and they had barely managed to gather enough people. Would today's competition be canceled?

No, they had worked too hard to let that happen. They were aiming to win the competition.

After her initial panic, Qin Yao quickly came up with a solution. She said calmly, "Don’t panic. Little Tang’s role isn’t that important. I’ll take his place. The role of a police officer doesn’t change much whether it’s played by a man or a woman. We’ll just have to adjust the clothes, maybe use some clips to fix them."

"You… can you do it?"

Qin Yao nodded firmly. "I can."

Who else could do it besides her? She was the most familiar with the entire play. The lines and dialogues were written by her, and she had participated in every rehearsal. Additionally, she had a "photographic memory" and wouldn’t forget her lines halfway through.

The only concern was that she was too striking and beautiful, lacking the fierce demeanor and commanding voice needed for the role, which might make her seem less convincing.

Lan Baiyu said, "Do you remember all the lines? Should we remove the added lines and use the original version?"

"No need. Changing lines last minute is a big no-no. Trust me, I remember everything." In front of everyone, Qin Yao recited the police officer’s lines without missing a beat.

Hearing this, people like Lan Baiyu felt relieved.

"Yaoyao, you’re amazing!"

The other actors couldn’t help but admire Qin Yao. "Wow, can you really remember all the lines?"

"If I review them a few more times, I should be fine. After all, I wrote them myself."

Tian Xiaojia, the lead actress, looked up to Qin Yao with admiration, feeling that Qin Yao was destined for great things.

Cui Ying, who had come to assist, couldn’t help but admire Qin Yao’s talent. She used to think Jia Hui was talented, but compared to Qin Yao, she was truly exceptional.

"Using clips won’t work. We should sew it a bit. Hem the pants and roll them up. We can remove the stitches later. Is anyone good at sewing?"

"I’ll give it a try."

Qin Yao stood still while someone measured her with a tape. They needed to quickly alter the costume and let her familiarize herself with the lines. She was about to go on stage. Their cultural center had two plays, one right after the other.

Xu Lu passed by them on his way to the preparation area, a seemingly mocking expression in his eyes.

Qin Yao noticed him and became alert. Why did Tang Runjie suddenly suffer from severe diarrhea? Could someone be behind this?

As Qin Yao pondered, someone called her from behind:

"Yaoyao."

Qin Yao turned around, her eyes widening in surprise.