Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Joanna Kennedy had been on many reality shows before. Most production teams provided an outline script that the cast was expected to loosely follow. There was room for improvisation in between, but you couldn’t go too far, ensuring no major problems would crop up.

So, she was a bit surprised when filming for Investigation Together began and she still hadn’t received an outline.

’No wonder this show’s been so popular for so long,’ she mused. ’They’re really bold. Aren’t they afraid one of the guests might say something they shouldn’t? This show is truly live and unfiltered.’

Before filming started, Joanna Kennedy was led to a temporary structure built to look like a guesthouse. Then, all the staff members withdrew.

Joanna’s role was the guesthouse owner. She changed into the costume provided by the production team. It didn’t fit quite right; the waist had been taken in with a safety pin, and it rubbed against a small patch of skin on her lower back when she walked.

It was a bit uncomfortable, so she didn’t move around much. Instead, she grabbed a cloth and started wiping down the front desk.

”Boss lady, I need a room!” a man’s voice called out, drawing closer. It was one of the show’s permanent cast members and the TV station’s star host, Big Mouth Carter.

”My nightly observation of the celestial signs has revealed an ominous omen looming over this guesthouse. For a mere 200 yuan, I can help you resolve this, boss lady,” Big Mouth Carter said, his face a mask of inscrutable mystery.

Joanna Kennedy tossed her cloth down and played along. ”First off, I’m the owner, not the owner’s wife. If you’re here for a room, pay up. If you’re here to scam and swindle, the competition’s across the street!”

”Hey, what kind of owner are you? How can you be so—” Big Mouth Carter was about to play it up for the cameras some more when a scream rang out. ”There’s been a murder!”

’Here we go,’ Joanna Kennedy thought.

She followed Big Mouth Carter over and saw the other guests approaching. Todd Crowe was among them. The one who had ”found” the body was another female guest, who had become famous on the show for her ”code-breaking” skills, which had earned her a lot of fans.

”Brother!” Todd Crowe gave a sudden, explosive performance, rushing forward to hug the NPC. ”Who did this to you?!”

”Serves him right! He’s better off dead! After all the people he hurt, he had this coming!”

”What a jinx! Boss, I want to check out!”

Joanna Kennedy stepped over the NPC’s body. ”Now, now, dear guest, perhaps you’d like to reconsider?”

After everyone hammed it up for a bit, Big Mouth Carter pulled a detective’s notebook from his pocket. With a grand wave of his hand, he declared, ”Seeing as you all knew the deceased, and I’m the newcomer here, that makes me the detective!”

”Now, everyone please move to an open area and state your timelines—what you’ve been doing all day!”

Joanna Kennedy followed the group to the open space in front of the guesthouse.

Going from left to right, they each stated their timeline. Todd Crowe was the deceased’s younger brother, staying in the room next door. The other female guest was a major influencer who was here to review the guesthouse.

Of the two remaining male guests, one was the deceased’s creditor. The other’s role was unclear; he claimed he was just another guest who didn’t know the victim.

Everyone was clearly hiding something.

As the guesthouse owner, Joanna Kennedy recalled her character’s backstory and was deliberately evasive, revealing only harmless, trivial information.

Once the timelines were established, it was time to search for evidence. Everyone had ten minutes. They were to grab a phone from the show’s sponsor and head to the search area.

To help the guest stars feel included, the permanent cast members would occasionally toss out topics for conversation. Joanna Kennedy was quick on the uptake and played along well, all without revealing any secrets about her own character.

She was most interested in the ”creditor,” so she searched his room first. It was a simple, generic room. In addition to the character information left out in plain sight, Joanna Kennedy also found a locked box under the bed.

Even though she was wearing a long dress, she didn’t hesitate to get down on the floor and pull the locked box out, unconcerned with her image.

”Find anything?” a man’s voice asked from behind her.

Zachary Carter. He was a handsome former boy band member, but at five-foot-nine, his height was something of a disadvantage in the entertainment industry. His career had been lukewarm until he joined this show and started to gain a little fame.

’For a relatively unknown boy band member to land a permanent spot on this show, he either has a powerful agency or some serious backing.’

Her character, the guesthouse owner, was supposed to be lovers with his character, a university student guest. So, it was perfectly in character for Zachary Carter to approach her.

”A box, but it’s locked. We need to find the key,” Joanna Kennedy said.

Zachary Carter stayed to help her find the key. ”I think Mr. Crowe is pretty suspicious,” he said as they searched.

He had, in fact, just come from the room of Todd Crowe’s character. Joanna Kennedy asked, ”What did you find?”

”Even though he and the deceased were brothers, they weren’t on good terms.”

As Zachary Carter shared his findings, Joanna Kennedy spotted a key hidden on top of a bookshelf. It was a bit high, and as she stood on her tiptoes to grab it, someone pressed close behind her.

Zachary Carter deliberately leaned in very close, turning away from his mic to whisper, ”We’re supposed to be lovers. It’s just for the cameras, don’t take it to heart.”

The cameraman, filming from a hidden position, zoomed in on the moment. Unable to get a shot of Joanna Kennedy’s face, he focused instead on Zachary Carter’s gentle expression.

Zachary Carter retrieved the key, and the production team began a countdown. Although Joanna Kennedy felt uncomfortable, she knew they were filming. ’Making a big deal out of it would just make me look petty and like I can’t take a joke,’ she thought.

In the final five seconds, the two of them opened the box and photographed the information inside with their phones.

The first round of evidence gathering ended, and the group discussion began. Everyone shared the information they had found.

Todd Crowe had searched Joanna Kennedy’s room, finding proof that she and Zachary Carter were lovers. The other female influencer had also searched Joanna’s room and found numerous photos of the deceased.

Joanna Kennedy: ”...”

’Why is everyone searching my room? I’m just the guesthouse owner!’

All eyes immediately fell on Joanna Kennedy. Big Mouth Carter instantly jumped in with a theory: ”Could it be that Boss Kennedy’s affections strayed, Carter found out about it, and killed the victim in a fit of shame and rage?”

Zachary Carter retorted, ”Impossible! I’ve never even seen those photos! Besides, Jennings and I are truly in love...”

As he spoke, Zachary Carter shot a flirtatious look at Joanna Kennedy, prompting the others to jokingly call out about how cheesy he was being.

Joanna Kennedy didn’t take the bait. She smiled and said, ”Don’t use me as your shield. For all we know, this is just an excuse you’re using to get away with it.”

Zachary Carter’s expression stiffened. Under the suspicious gazes of the others, he said, ”Of course not. I’m innocent. I’m definitely not the killer.”

Joanna Kennedy shrugged, showing her disbelief.

The topic easily shifted back to the case itself. A flash of resentment flickered in Zachary Carter’s eyes.

The first round of discussion concluded with Zachary Carter as the prime suspect, but with no direct evidence, a second round of evidence gathering began.

This time, Zachary Carter stayed by Joanna Kennedy’s side the entire time. It was no coincidence that several cameras were now trained on the two of them.

’Create a story, get the screen time.’

Joanna Kennedy knew what he was doing. Zachary Carter wanted to get them shipped as a temporary ”couple.”

Whether on a scripted drama or a reality show, forcing a ”ship” was the quickest way to get more camera time.