The director's expression darkened slightly. He glanced at the people in the adjacent rooms and said, "Come on out."
The others shuffled out sheepishly.
Su Ding led them down the corridor, just in time to see Lu Xi emerge from a room.
The group exchanged glances, their eyes communicating their speculation about the relationship between Su Ding and Lu Xi.
Lu Xi appeared flustered, his gaze asking Su Ding what was going on.
Su Ding spoke directly, "To prove my innocence."
She walked over and opened the door, stepping aside and pointing to it. "Director, this door has been tampered with. Look at the lock."
The director frowned and leaned in, testing it with his hand.
Indeed, it couldn't be opened from the inside. It looked the same as the lock in his own room, but its mechanism was peculiar.
There was a faint footprint on the door and subtle signs of cracking.
The director turned to Lu Xi. "Did you kick it?"
Lu Xi shook his head and glanced at Su Ding.
The director looked surprised. "Su Ding, are you implying someone locked you both in the room?"
Su Ding nodded thoughtfully. "Not only that, the room number was also altered!"
Everyone gasped and looked up at the plaque above the door.
"It was really tampered with?!" he exclaimed, staring at the plaque. He grabbed a male actor who was watching. "Old Deng, we came back together just now. Did you also see this room number as 208!"
Old Deng was pulled over, frowning as he examined the door. He tilted his head to recall.
"Yes, we came back and were specifically looking for rooms. Isn't this your room? Why has it become 206 now?"
Old Deng clapped his hands and cried out, "This is spooky!"
Su Ding curled her lips into a cold smile. "Please ask the director to contact the hotel staff."
The director mused for a few seconds and then said to his assistant, "Go get someone."
The assistant quickly made a call to contact...
Su Ding stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall, her expression as cold as ice but remarkably composed as she calmly awaited the staff.
"Don't worry, I will handle this for you," the director said gravely.
He was considered a director with considerable conscience and integrity in the industry, and this was the first time an actor had called him to handle such a matter.
But fortunately, he had been called.
If anything had gone wrong, it was within his crew, and he would have been unable to account for it.
The director looked at Lu Xi. "Tell me what exactly happened."
Lu Xi nodded. "When Deng Xia and I returned, we had a bit too much to drink. We were looking for our rooms together then, and I confirmed this was my room before entering."
"My room was double-locked," Su Ding added.
"But when I entered, the key just went in," Lu Xi scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I remember!"
The director narrowed his eyes at him.
Lu Xi exclaimed loudly, "I didn't even turn the key, and the door could be pushed open!"
Su Ding's expression grew even more grim. This meant someone had secretly opened her door!
The director said sternly, "And then?"
Lu Xi irritably ran a hand through his hair. "Then I discovered someone inside. Su Ding was also startled awake by me. When we tried to leave, we found the door locked!"
"Then, Su Ding kicked it open."
Everyone unanimously looked at the crack on the door, their admiration for Su Ding growing in their hearts!
Su Ding said coldly, "There's something even more outrageous."
The director quickly asked, "What?"
He was truly infuriated. If a female actress was framed within his crew, his reputation would be ruined.
At this moment, the young assistant arrived with the hotel staff.
"Excuse me, what happened?" The staff member, seeing so many celebrities for the first time, was a little nervous.
Su Ding pointed to the room. "What room number is this?"
The staff member pointed to the room number. "206."
"That's not right! We clearly saw 208!" Deng Xia and Lu Xi said in unison.
"But this room is 206, it's consecutive with the room around the corner," the staff member said, also surprised.
With both sides sticking to their story, Su Ding stated indifferently, "Do you have hallway surveillance footage? Call your staff and have them pull the footage for the past three hours."
Seeing the overwhelming presence of the other party, the staff member dared not delay. "Okay, I'll make the call right away."
After hanging up, the staff member's expression became somewhat troubled. "I'm very sorry, but our surveillance system is broken. It was broken before you checked in and was only taken for repair today..."
The director could no longer listen. "How could it be such a coincidence?!"
Startled by the outburst, the staff member flinched. "I am truly sorry."
Su Ding sneered, "The surveillance is broken? Right."
The staff member quickly nodded.
Su Ding pushed the door open forcefully, walked to the table, and revealed a hidden pinhole camera within a mural. "What is this?"
Seeing it, the director immediately went over and took it down!
His old face flushed with anger. "The surveillance is broken? And you install this in guest rooms? Is this your service?!"
"This, this isn't from our hotel," the staff member panicked. "We've never seen it before."
"You check into your hotel, the door lock is tampered with, the room number is changed, and there's a camera in the room. If this gets reported to the media, your owner's hotel won't be able to stay in business!"
Su Ding roared angrily, her face blazing with fury.
The staff member's legs turned to jelly. "It's really not from our hotel. Perhaps another guest put it here, or maybe another hotel is framing us..."
The director slammed the table heavily. "These are all film and television artists. Don't you understand the importance of privacy? This is outrageous!"
The staff member couldn't bear it any longer. "How about we waive your room fees for these days? We are truly sorry."
It was already late at night, and those who had gathered to watch were getting tired, but they still wanted to see how the matter would be resolved.
"I will contact the police about this matter and cooperate with your investigation. If there is any concealment, I will expose your establishment to the media!" Su Ding declared forcefully.
"Yes, we will definitely cooperate with the investigation." Could the staff member dare to refuse?
The director pondered for a moment, then said gravely, "Su Ding, Lu Xi, you are public figures after all. It's best not to escalate this matter. Let the police handle it, and don't publicize it. This is for your own good."
What the director said made sense, but what he valued most was his production.
He did not want this incident to be exposed and negatively affect the production, and he also wanted to quell the controversy.
Su Ding nodded. "Tonight, I wanted everyone to be a witness that Lu Xi and I were framed. My only concern is that the mastermind behind this will use this matter to their advantage in the future, which is why I called everyone here."
Everyone nodded. If Su Ding hadn't called them all, they might have been unable to clear their names even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
It was frightening to think about.
A female actress sleeping, a male actor entering the room, the door locked, and a camera pointed at the bed!
The consequences were too severe, severe enough to completely destroy a person's future!
Su Ding said, "Thank you, Director, and thank you, everyone. I won't disclose this matter externally, and I hope everyone will keep it confidential and try not to bring any stigma or trouble to our production."
Hearing this, the director looked at Su Ding with admiration.
"Exactly, let's put this matter to rest. No one should discuss it again."
Everyone nodded.
Lu Xi looked at Su Ding with admiration in his eyes.
Soon, everyone dispersed.
The director returned to his room to rest, and the staff arranged a new room for Su Ding. The room was thoroughly inspected to ensure there were no issues before she moved in.