Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR WANTS ME TO LIE TO THE POLICE

The Inspectors are good at keeping their poker faces on, but the extreme neutrality they try to efface gives them away.

Inspector Qing clears her throat. "I was under the impression that the two of you were trying to keep your relationship under wraps. A wedding is...very dramatic."

Yao Shen drums his fingers on the tabletop, keeping his tone casual. "It's not going to be an open-door wedding. It will be a private ceremony with only a few people in attendance, and we have no plans to announce it to the general public."

He can see the gears in the Inspectors' heads turning as they fit in his story with everything else they know about him.

He can see the moment they believe it.

Xin Hulei was right. It was a good idea to admit something right away, give them anything they thought they would have to fight hard to dig out of him. It made him seem more honest, and it made the Inspectors think their investigation was moving in the right direction.

It helps that Yao Shen hopes it will be true one day, and not just something he's telling two police officers interviewing him as part of a murder investigation.

"So, it seems you were very close to the victim, if he merited an invitation in person," Inspector Wei says, his tone even. "Yet you don't seem too upset about his death."

Yao Shen frowns, offended. "I'm an actor, if I didn't know how to hide my emotions what would I be doing here? Besides, Ye laoshi informed us as soon as she found Gao Wu's body. We've had time to grieve his passing together."

The two of them write down everything he says, barely looking down at their notepads as they make notes Yao Shen can't read.

"When we informed you that his death was a murder just now, you didn't seem shocked."

That's the question Yao Shen was waiting for. "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't."

"Why is that?" asks Inspector Qing, leaning across the table, her face open and candid as if she wants Yao Shen to think of her as his childhood best friend, or perhaps an older sister who looked after him when his parents were busy.

Yao Shen sighs and rubs his palms on his jeans. "Odd things have been happening, ever since me, Xin Hulei, and Ye Fang went on that tv show to reveal the crime we uncovered."

Inspector Wei snorts. "Just one piece of advice, laoshi should stick to acting, I'm not sure that detective is a role that suits him."

Yao Shen nods seriously, pretending to take his words at face value. "I suppose we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. Ever since that day, there seems to be a daily barrage of slander about the three of us online."

Inspector Qing stops him. "I'm sorry, but doesn't that always happen to you actor types?"

The condescension in her words almost makes him laugh. "Yes, but this was different. It seemed like a deliberate attack, like a concerted effort."

Both of them hum to themselves, writing something else down on their notebooks.

And just like that they've written Yao Shen off as a delusional megalomaniac, who has just made his coworker's death all about him.

They think he's a terrible person, but not the kind who would kill Gao Wu. People like that wouldn't want to take the attention away from themselves.

"Thanks for your time," Inspector Wei says, getting back to his feet. "We'll be in touch."

Yao Shen watches in silent amusement from his seat as both of them scramble to leave the trailer as soon as they can.

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