My Roommate Is a Detective Episode 24 Recap
> My Roommate Is a Detective Recap
Lu Yao asked Principal Guo to introduce British St. Mary's Hall, a school funded by the British that mainly caters to children of diplomats, though most students are from wealthy Shanghai families. Principal Guo mentioned that Williams is the foreign principal but is often busy. As Lu Yao inquired, Bai Youning stayed close, evidently nervous that Principal Guo might inadvertently reveal embarrassing details from her time as a student there.
Lu Yao then brought up a past incident from the previous year that had no record at the police station. Principal Guo admitted it was not a murder but a schoolgirl's suicide, which they had resolved privately to prevent it from escalating into a sensitive diplomatic issue. Insisting on all the facts, Lu Yao requested a detailed account of the suicide case.
Due to the school's foreign investment, British shareholders mandated that all faculty and students provide detailed personal records, including fingerprints. This led to a swift breakthrough: fingerprints found on the murder weapon matched Fu Mingyue, a student who had died by suicide the previous year. Lu Yao then sought out the students to gather information about Fu Mingyue. Miao Xizi, a close friend of Fu Mingyue, revealed that Fu Mingyue had also died by that same piano.
Bai Youning shared what she knew, recalling that last September, Fu Mingyue had finished playing "To Alice" on the piano when a gunshot suddenly rang out, and the incident had since become a school ghost story. Bai Youning also mentioned rumors that Fu Mingyue's death was linked to her music teacher, Qin Shutong, who had taught her "To Alice" as her very first song, suggesting a forbidden romantic relationship.
Despite Qin Shutong's insistence on his innocence and the school's inconclusive investigation, they intended to dismiss him after the current session concluded. Lu Yao, Qiao Chusheng, and Bai Youning went to the infirmary to speak with Fang Yu about the previous night. Fang Yu described staying late after the rehearsal to clean the room, as was her routine due to her mysophobia.
She then heard piano music, followed by a gunshot, but admitted she was alone in the rehearsal room at the time and had no one to corroborate her alibi. Lu Yao's direct questioning about her being uncorroborated sparked outrage among the girls present, who strongly defended Fang Yu. When Qiao Chusheng sternly rebuked them, they all burst into tears.
Qiao Chusheng, visibly flustered, quickly exited, leaving Lu Yao to calm the distraught students, which he did by promising them ice cream. The girls then urged Lu Yao to focus on why only Fu Mingyue's fingerprints were found on the gun. Upon hearing Fu Mingyue's name again, Fang Yu appeared visibly uneasy and promptly excused herself, citing discomfort. Bai Youning then pressed the girls, asking if they believed Fu Mingyue and Qin Shutong had been secretly dating.
She subsequently revealed herself to be their alumna, which immediately sent the girls fleeing in terror. Puzzled, Lu Yao asked Bai Youning what she had done in her past to make them so scared, to which she playfully responded that she would have to kill him if she ever told him.
Qiao Chusheng uncovered that Qin Shutong and Fang Yu had secretly obtained a marriage certificate three days before the murder, a fact they kept hidden, with Fang Yu only acknowledging her status as his fiancée. Given Qin Shutong's significant family wealth, Lu Yao surmised that Fang Yu might be motivated by inheritance, a theory Qiao Chusheng confirmed.
Qiao Chusheng also revealed that patrol officers, during Fang Yu's interrogation, had discovered a suspicious bloodstain on her necklace, leading to her immediate detention. Meanwhile, Lu Yao speculated that Fang Yu had acquired Fu Mingyue's suicide gun, used it while wearing gloves, and then fabricated the "female ghost's revenge" story to deflect suspicion and escape justice. Lu Yao then went to the school to investigate Qin Shutong's movements.
He reviewed the in-out register for the teaching building, finding no record of Qin Shutong entering after 9 PM. Teachers also confirmed that Qin Shutong had returned to his dorm around 8 PM and had not been seen leaving through the main exit. However, Lu Yao discovered shoe prints on Qin Shutong's dorm window, indicating he had climbed out, likely to conceal a secret activity from the register.
Bai Youning volunteered to question the students, confident that her dual role as a reporter and an alumna would grant her unique access, despite Lu Yao's initial concern she might scare them off. She confidently explained that her past actions had established her as the "king of the jungle" within the girls' school, making her name a nightmare for others, not something they would run from.
The following morning, newspapers were rife with sensational reports about the St. Mary's Hall murder, claiming it was a "female ghost's revenge." Lu Yao suspected this widespread media coverage was deliberately orchestrated to create an alibi for the true perpetrator, confirming it wasn't Bai Youning responsible for these particular articles.
Qiao Chusheng also provided details about Qin Shutong's past: a 25-year-old from a wealthy Shanghai family, he inherited his parents' fortune before becoming a piano teacher at St. Mary's Hall, where he was popular among female students and frequently received gifts. Meanwhile, Bai Youning revealed her method for gathering information.
She had coerced Principal Guo into providing a school uniform by reminding him of a past incident during her student days: she had arranged for British students who bullied her classmates to be kidnapped and thrown into the Suzhou River, an incident that nearly sparked an international dispute and led to the previous principal's dismissal, which she jokingly claimed paved the way for Principal Guo's current position.
Once in uniform, Bai Youning posed as a transfer student and infiltrated the school's film club. By offering a signed movie poster of Lin Xirong, she successfully obtained extensive information on Fu Mingyue's classmates, including their family backgrounds and academic records, specifically mentioning Liu Tong, Miao Xizi, and Lu Qian.
Critically, she learned that a student named Sun Meng had an exceptionally close relationship with Qin Shutong, and Sun Meng's name appeared on the teaching building's in-out register after 9 PM on the night of the incident. Qiao Chusheng and Lu Yao interviewed Sun Meng, who vehemently denied any illicit relationship with Qin Shutong, emphasizing that she had a fiancé and would pursue legal action if rumors persisted.
Meanwhile, Principal Guo desperately appealed to Qiao Chusheng to lift the police blockade on the auditorium for the graduation party scheduled for the following night, citing numerous dignitaries who had already been invited. However, Qiao Chusheng remained firm, stating the auditorium would remain sealed until the murder case was fully resolved. Separately, Lu Yao spoke with Auntie Zhang, the house parent for the girls' dormitory.
Auntie Zhang recalled seeing Sun Meng dragging a heavy cello case out of the dorm on the night of the incident, with Sun Meng claiming it was for graduation party preparations. Lu Yao then obtained a copy of the graduation party's program from Auntie Zhang, only to find that Sun Meng was not listed to perform, nor was there any cello performance scheduled for the event.
Upon entering the music room, Lu Yao was immediately surrounded by enthusiastic students, who showered him with small gifts. He then instructed everyone to retrieve their personal instruments and performance props from the backstage.
Noticing that Sun Meng's cello case was remarkably heavy, requiring assistance from her classmates, Lu Yao publicly revealed that Qin Shutong had been transported into the teaching building concealed within that very cello case, citing the presence of rosin on Qin Shutong's collar despite his lack of cello-playing ability.
Sun Meng burst into tears, adamantly denying she was the killer, explaining that someone had only asked her to lure Qin Shutong to her dormitory, and then move him in the cello case to the teaching building as a lesson, not realizing he would die.
Lu Yao acknowledged that Sun Meng was not the murderer, explaining that she had been blackmailed into participating due to her secret romantic affair with Qin Shutong, a revelation that caused immediate uproar among the other students. Lu Yao meticulously reconstructed the entire crime.
He explained that Miao Xizi, leveraging her knowledge of Sun Meng's secret affair with Qin Shutong, blackmailed Sun Meng into luring Qin Shutong to her dorm, sedating him with ether, and then transporting him in the cello case to the teaching building, placing him by the piano. Lu Yao confirmed that Sun Meng had left the building before the murder, as recorded in the register, making her innocent of the killing.
Miao Xizi then used Fu Mingyue's suicide gun to kill Qin Shutong, intending to frame Fang Yu. Miao Xizi vehemently denied the accusation, claiming she was in the shower with other students when the gunshot occurred. However, Lu Yao exposed her alibi as fake, revealing she had sneaked out of the shower after her classmates entered their individual compartments.
He then demanded she produce a hidden modified record, explaining that the "To Alice" piano music and gunshot they had heard were actually played from this record on a gramophone in the backstage. The murder weapon, he noted, had traces of a silencer, allowing Miao Xizi to commit the crime before the record played, using the sound to create a short time gap and establish her false alibi.
Lu Yao further revealed that Miao Xizi was the anonymous source who had leaked the sensational "female ghost's revenge" story to the tabloids, recognizing the distinct student-like writing style. Cornered, Miao Xizi confessed without remorse. She explained that Fu Mingyue was her best friend, who had been seduced and raped by Qin Shutong, ultimately leading to her suicide.
Miao Xizi had kept Fu Mingyue's suicide gun, patiently waiting for the day she could avenge her friend by killing Qin Shutong in the very same way. She added that Fang Yu was not entirely innocent in Fu Mingyue's tragic fate, which motivated her attempt to frame her. Miao Xizi expressed profound satisfaction, feeling "no complaint nor regret" for her actions.
Bai Youning returned home in high spirits after attending a movie premiere with the girls from St. Mary's film club, now her self-proclaimed "sisters" and "predators" in the "cruel jungle" of the school. She excitedly recounted their enjoyable evening to Lu Yao, also sharing a new ghost story she had heard, about students faintly hearing "To Alice" in the school at night.
However, Bai Youning soon admitted to feeling a persistent unease and proposed a trip for her and Lu Yao to relax, driven by her concern that he might be kidnapped again, especially after his previous abduction. Lu Yao dismissed her fears, assuring her that he would not be easily taken, and if he were, he would escape and return to ensure he paid his share of their rent.
He firmly stated that he would only leave Shanghai on his own terms. Relieved, Bai Youning and Lu Yao reaffirmed their shared commitment to not terminate their tenancy agreement. Meanwhile, Lu Zifu, Lu Yao's father, was plagued by severe insomnia and night sweats, consumed by worry for his son. Lu Miao, Lu Yao's brother, volunteered to travel to Shanghai himself to bring Lu Yao back, determined to help him make a clean break from any entanglement with local gangsters.
