Chapter 12

The Gilded Dance Shoes 4, Glory and Praise

Though it seemed incredible, Mo Fei wasn't surprised to hear this from Angler. He listened for Angler to continue, but Angler stopped just then, looking around instead.

Still curious, Mo Fei asked, "Hey, who is the killer?"

Angler glanced at Mofei, and instead of answering, asked, "What do you think of Xu Mei’s dancing?"

Mo Fei paused, thought for a moment, and answered, "She dances well, I guess. I spent most of the time asleep."

Angler couldn't help but laugh, "Xu Mei dances very well, and she puts a lot of effort into it."

"Effort?" Mo Fei inquired.

Angler nodded, "Because opportunities are hard to come by, so she must cherish them."

Mo Fei, surprised, asked, "Did she really do it?"

Angler shook his head slightly, saying, "Let's go backstage and see."

Mo Fei wasn't in a hurry. Truth be told, if this had been before, he would've been annoyed by such mystery. But with Angler's unhurried manner, he didn't get upset and obediently followed behind.

Although everyone backstage was still saddened by Anna's passing, the great success of the performance meant they were all quite happy.

The director, a bald old man, asked Angler, "Has the killer who murdered Anna been caught?"

Angler nodded.

"Caught?" exclaimed the director in surprise, prompting others to gather around and ask, "Who was it?"

Angler, without speaking, asked, "Where is Xu Mei?"

"I'm here," Xu Mei said as she appeared, holding the costume she wore for the performance. She was dressed in black, her slender and elegant figure indicative of a skilled dancer, though her face was somewhat pale.

Seeing the pair of gilded dance shoes in her hand, Angler reached out, "Such exquisite shoes, may I take a look?"

Xu Mei handed the shoes to Angler.

Angler examined them closely and remarked, "Such fine craftsmanship, it must have taken a lot of effort, right?"

The prop master nodded, "These shoes are genuinely gilded, very expensive. It took a month to make a pair."

Tapping the gilded pattern on the shoes, Angler asked, "They're so hard, can one dance in them?"

The prop master smiled indifferently, "They were made precisely to fit the actor's feet, very suitable, and the insides are quite soft."

"Right," laughed the director, "after this grand tour is over, we plan to auction these shoes."

Angler nodded and looked at the prop master, "So, you admit you killed Anna?"

……

As soon as Angler finished speaking, everyone froze. The prop master's face flickered with emotion, and he angrily retorted, "I... what nonsense are you talking about? What evidence do you have?"

Ignoring him, Angler turned to Xu Mei, "Do you also have doubts?"

Xu Mei's face was pale, and it took her a moment before she gently nodded.

The prop master tried to argue, but the director interrupted, asking Xu Mei, "Xiao Mei, do you know something?"

Xu Mei shook her head.

"Then why do you suspect him?" asked the other staff members.

"I..." Xu Mei hesitated, then looked up at the prop master.

Angler glanced at the two and said calmly, "Because these gilded dance shoes are too comfortable to wear, right?"

Everyone was taken aback. The prop master's face turned white, and after a long pause, Xu Mei nodded and finally said, "Yes."

Angler reached out, took a file bag from Mo Fei's hand, and showed the photographs inside to everyone.

"One picture shows Anna's foot, wearing her usual red dance shoes," Angler explained as he took out another photo of the gilded dance shoes. "This is the photo of the gilded shoes." He raised both photos for everyone to see. "There are subtle differences... in size and shape. In other words, Anna's feet in these shoes would have felt uncomfortable while dancing... because these shoes were custom-made for Xu Mei."

Everyone turned their gaze to the prop master, whose face had gone pale.

"The stage has a hardwood floor, with bloodstains in the cracks," Angler continued. "Though it's been cleaned, traces remain. That's the primary crime scene." As he spoke, Os also arrived with the police. After listening, he frowned and ordered his subordinates, "Go conduct a luminol test on the stage."

The officers went down and soon returned, reporting to Os, "Inspector, there's a reaction, lots of blood."

Os frowned and looked at Angler.

"Let's take a look outside," Angler suggested, leading everyone to the stage.

The luminol reaction revealed the bloodstains clearly under the cold blue light, showing the trajectory of the blood splatter.

"Look here," Angler pointed to a spot near a scenery panel. "There's a clear interruption in the blood trail, abruptly stopped by the panel." He looked at the prop master, "You were very nervous when we moved the panel earlier. It was the last one, and if damaged, there'd be no replacement, right?"

The director paused, turning to the props master, "Aren’t scenery boards usually made in pairs for each scene?"

Angler pointed to the floor, "Some of the nails here are different from the others." He instructed the officers, "Pry it open and take a look!"

The officers exchanged looks, gathered their tools, and opened the stage floor, revealing something underneath. Upon retrieval, it was a bloodstained scenery panel and a box.

"This is a camphor wood chest for storing costumes," the director explained. "The costumes are expensive, so we keep them in these chests. There are many, all under the prop master's care."

"Open the chest," Os commanded.

The officers opened the chest, releasing a foul odor.

Everyone frowned at the sight: a woman's corpse lay inside, her throat slit, severing the carotid artery, and her legs amputated below the knees.

"Anna..." several staff members exclaimed.

"Why kill her?" Os asked the prop master.

After a long silence, the prop master began, "Anna was a dancing prodigy. She couldn't understand the feeling of struggling without success, only performing one perfect dance in a lifetime... So she couldn't play the role of the gilded dancer well. But I saw Xu Mei practicing alone on the stage at night. Though there were no audiences, I felt she danced better than Anna. That's when I thought, maybe Xu Mei was more suited for the gilded dance shoes."

There was a heavy silence; even the director sighed, "Although Xu Mei is less talented than Anna, her hard work has surpassed her now."

"When making the shoes, for some reason, I crafted them to fit Xu Mei's size. After the first performance, Anna called me here late at night, complaining the shoes were uncomfortable and asking for adjustments... Suddenly, I found her so repulsive, her triumphant air unbearable! Why do some people never face setbacks yet succeed? I've seen dancers starving themselves to maintain their physique, but Anna, naturally slim, flexible, musically gifted, intelligent, and beautiful, was born to dance without troubles. Her love for dance wasn't as deep as Xu Mei's! This seemed so unfair to me. I studied dance for seven years before realizing my physique wasn't suitable. I had to give up dancing for props! How could she understand my feelings?! I lost control and killed her with a craft knife. Remembering she told the director about her nightmare, I disposed of her body in this bizarre manner, mimicking the act of a deranged fan or stalker, then sent back the photos..." The prop master rambled on, then turned to see everyone staring at him in horror and scoffed, "Why such faces? Didn't you all work hard to get here... Doesn't someone like her annoy you? Don't you ever wish for such perfect and lucky people to face bad luck or pain? Seeing her made me feel worthless, my efforts cheap, so I wanted her to suffer too."

Everyone listened with heads bowed, exchanging looks. Os shook his head and instructed the officers, "Take him away."

Several officers approached, handcuffed the prop master, and led him away.

Once he was taken away, Os turned to the director, "The case is solved. You can go." He then took the photos, compared the two pairs of shoes, and looked at Angler skeptically, "You could tell they were different?"

Angler raised an eyebrow, "To me, the differences are significant."

Os shook his head, gathered everything, and said to Angler, "Thanks. I'll send your payment tomorrow. I'm off." He nodded at Mo Fei and left with his team.

Mo Fei also felt somewhat dizzy and headachy, partly due to the continuous music of the ballet, and partly due to the prop master's horrifying motive for murder.

"Shall we go back?" Mo Fei asked Anger.

Anger pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "How about attending the celebration banquet?"

Mo Fei was surprised, "They're still in the mood for a celebration banquet?"

Anger nodded, gesturing Mo Fei to look at the crew members tidying up and said indifferently, "Initially, they didn't know who the murderer of Anna was, so they were suppressing their joy. Now that the murderer has been caught, it signifies that the matter is over, and they can express their happiness."

Mo Fei frowned, looking at Anger, "Are they happy because the ballet was a success, or because Anna is dead?"

Anger shrugged, looking at Mo Fei, "Have you ever envied someone so much that you wished misfortune upon them?"

Mo Fei was taken aback, thought for a moment, and then nodded honestly, "Sometimes, it feels very unfair."

Anger nodded, and after a long pause, said, "Perhaps, you're also the type of person who can incite such envy that others wish you dead."

Mo Fei, half laughing and half crying, said, "Indeed, many people want me dead, but it's probably not due to envy."

Anger laughed, shook his head, and went with Mo Fei to the hotel behind the stage. In a small hall on the top floor of the hotel, the Red Shoe Ballet Troupe organized a small dance party to celebrate the success of the performance. All the cast and crew attended, along with sponsors ready to lavish their money. Naturally, the star of the evening was the lead actress, Xu Mei.

At that moment, as the music started, Anger gestured to Mo Fei to wait for him, and then slowly walked over to Xu Mei, whispering, "May I have the pleasure of this dance?"

Xu Mei turned and seeing it was Anger, nodded. There was an inexplicable elegance about this man that she found hard to resist. Of course, basking in the happiness of being the center of attention for the first time, she was overwhelmed by such unprecedented joy. The admiration from a man like Anger only added to her bliss.

Anger escorted Xu Mei to the center of the dance floor, while Mo Fei watched from the side with a drink in hand, puzzled by Anger's mysterious demeanor, which made it hard for others to discern his intentions from his expression.

"I watched your performance," Anger said to Xu Mei, "It was quite impressive."

Xu Mei smiled, "Thank you."

Anger's smile was slight, his tone shifting as he asked, "The black cat you gave to Anna, it was from you, wasn't it?"

Xu Mei was taken aback.

Anger continued, "Many people realized that your dancing had surpassed Anna's. Naturally, Anna noticed too. You, fond of wearing black while dancing, gave her a beautiful black cat, a subtle form of intimidation and pressure."

Xu Mei's steps faltered slightly, her eyes widening as she looked at Anger.

"You practiced here every night, aware that the prop masters and other crew members often left late... Your performance on stage was that of a lead, not a supporting role, to prove one thing – you were better than Anna," Anger spoke calmly, "Perhaps your intention was just to be noticed, but deep down, you wished her pain. The words spoken by the prop master... weren't they also what you felt? Anna's dream about becoming the lead was actually her way of handing over the role to you, a notion the director also entertained. Just when you thought everything was going smoothly, the murder occurred."

Xu Mei's eyes moistened. As the music ended, Anger gracefully stepped back, escorting Xu Mei to the edge of the dance floor. He whispered, "The black cat knows your deepest secret. You wanted it to torment Anna, but in the end, it tormented you. I believe it will haunt your dreams for a lifetime." With that, he politely nodded to Xu Mei and walked away.

……

The next morning, Anger sat eating breakfast prepared by Mo Fei, looking at Mo Fei who entered while reading a newspaper.

"Anger," Mo Fei said, "Xu Mei has left the Red Shoe Ballet Troupe and declared she will never dance again."

Anger, unfazed by the news, simply asked, "And what's the public's reaction?"

Mo Fei, looking at the newspaper, replied, "Many audience members were moved by her, calling her the true gilded queen of dance."

Anger gave a slight smile, shook his head, and continued eating his porridge.

"What's wrong?" Mo Fei noticed a hint of mockery in Anger's smile.

"Praise often comes absurdly, and glory is mostly insincere," Anger said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, and then told Mo Fei, "Go start the car, I'll take you to see my grandmother."