I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 790 787. Murder Mystery

"XU, I saw you on the film festival broadcast. Haha, I thought you would bring a new work this year. What a pity."

As soon as he returned to the room, Xu Xin received an email from Jasmine Trica.

Now, his English level is good enough for daily communication, and the other party's messages are also in English, so he does not need Ai Qing to translate, and replies directly via email:

"Unfortunately, Jesse, my new work is still being filmed. You won't be able to see it until next year."

"Yeah, what a pity. The film festival is over, do you want to come to my house as a guest? After Antonio heard you talk about it last time, he went to buy MOUTAI and wanted to have a drink with you."

"It won't work this time. I'm going to Rome tomorrow and I have a show to attend the day after tomorrow."

"?Wait, you're going to Rome?"

"yes."

"I'm in Rome!"

"????"

"I have just finished filming a movie, and I originally planned to go back to Venice tomorrow. Are you coming to Rome? Then come to my house as a guest. How about it? Antonio really wants to drink MOUTAI with you."

Antonio Piarulli.

her husband.

The other party was not from the film and television industry, but a psychiatrist.

It was because of the filming of "My Son's Room" that made her famous throughout Europe that Jasmine Trica fell into psychological problems and sought help from a doctor and got to know him.

The two developed from a doctor and a patient to a couple, lovers, and finally entered into marriage.

The last time he came to Venice, Xu Xin went to her home as a guest.

My English was not very good at that time, so Ai Qing helped translate. I talked a lot with Antonio about the philosophy of China.

Antonio feels that the Chinese philosophy is superior to the West in some aspects in terms of logical and self-consistent psychological guidance. The two chatted a lot and drank wine happily.

Very easy to get along with.

When faced with her invitation, Xu Xin saw that everyone was able to get together in Rome, so he did not refuse.

replied:

"Okay, then what time is tomorrow?"

"How many people are there with you?"

"Me, Liu from last time, Emily (Ai Qing) and two assistants."

"Haha, I like crowds, and having a crowd makes it worthwhile for me to cook in person. I just happened to invite a few friends, and they also like your work. I will use my best cooking skills to entertain you tomorrow. See you tomorrow? "

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"See you there at 7 p.m."

After finishing the email with her, Xu Xin opened WeChat and sent a message to Liu Yifei:

"Do you remember Jasmine Trica?"

Liu Yifei delayed for a while before replying:

"I seem to have some impressions. We met at the reception last year, right?"

"Yes. She is still the judge last year. She just invited me to visit her home after arriving in Rome tomorrow, and she also invited you."

"What time? We have to go shopping for clothes tomorrow."

"dinner."

"good."

"OK."

Xu Xin responded with an angry Korean gesture:

"Then go to bed early, good night."

"Good night."

…

"We definitely can't go empty-handed when we meet. We also have to buy some gifts... we have to go to Chinatown."

On the plane, Liu Yifei, who heard Xu Xin's words and looked out the window, turned around and said:

"good."

"Well, what would you like to give me?"

"It's specialties. But can we buy our favorite specialties here?... How about you give Maotai a gift?"

"They are going to entertain me with Moutai today..."

"Get Wuliangye."

"...Do you dare to use your brain a little more?"

Hearing Xu Xin's complaints, Liu Yifei smiled slightly and shrugged:

"Anyway, I'm just adding on. You are the director and you make the decision."

"Tsk... a guy who is useless at critical moments."

Xu Xin complained and fell into thinking.

But this gave him a bit of a wake-up call.

Next time you go abroad, you should consider whether you have friends where you are going. If you have friends, you should prepare some gifts with Chinese characteristics.

But what should I give these two couples?

"well……"

He frowned.

Liu Yifei, who originally turned her head and continued to look at the sky, glanced at him again when she heard this sigh.

He sighed helplessly:

"Oh... I say you are smart, you are smarter than anyone else. I say you are stupid, why are you so clueless... Mengmeng."

"ah?"

"Go and get two boxes of tea from the cabinet."

Xu Xin was stunned.

Su Meng stood up, came to the cabinet where cups and tea sets were placed, squatted down and opened the door below.

As soon as the door opens, a dazzling array of tea leaves comes into view.

Liu Yifei pouted towards Su Meng:

"Look, it's solved."

"..."

Xu Xin, who came back to his senses, took a look at the tea jars bought by various wives... couldn't help but clasped his hands together and bowed to Liu Yifei:

"The fairy sister who saves the suffering! So compassionate!"

"well……"

Liu Yifei sighed again.

He turned his head away again.

Stop looking at him.

…

Liu Yifei looks better in black than other colors.

This is the pattern Xu Xin concluded after watching her try on clothes for a day.

The main reason is that she is very fair and has a fair temperament, so black clothes can add a touch of black swan-like texture to her.

A little less immortal, a little more mysterious elegance and confidence.

This was his advice to her as a director.

Originally, the fairy sister listened, but in the end she chose a mesh skirt with Italian characteristics as her dress for the event.

Don't ask why.

The question is, Xu, you wear black, and I wear black too.

People who don’t know think that we are going to funerals for others.

However, she still listened to the opinion.

"I will try more black styles in the future. I used to feel that I was too young to control them. I didn't expect that the sets you picked for me today were okay and pretty."

Then……

"Nonsense, as I'm getting older, I'll definitely look better in black."

"Puff", the fairy sister who was pricked in the heart for no reason was speechless.

"Is that ivory in your mouth?"

Hearing this, Xu Xin laughed:

"Haha, don't do this. You are all left over from my wife's fun."

Sitting in the Volvo, he looked at his watch.

6:30.

Traffic jam.

We should be there around 7 o'clock.

Speaking of which... this is really my first time in the city of Rome.

He looked at the church-like buildings that appeared around him from time to time and thought to himself.

Look...it's not bad.

It's a pity that I don't have time this time. I will visit more next time.

Liu Yifei's focus is different from his.

She looked at the mess on the street and said to Xu Xin:

"This general strike seems to be quite powerful."

She was talking about the Italian general strike that just ended a few days ago. It is said that the cause was Italy's proposed 45.5 billion euro fiscal austerity strategy, which aroused many people's dissatisfaction.

In early September, people in Rome and Florence went on strike.

There are quite a lot of people.

It seemed like traffic in Rome was at a standstill for several days.

And now it's just over.

Xu Xin didn't know the specifics, but it was true that the mess left by the strike could be seen everywhere on the streets here.

So.

It's okay, don't keep looking down.

It'll be terrible to see.

…

7:10.

When Xu Xin got out of the car, Antonio with a beard and Jasmine Trica in a purple dress came up to them:

"Xu~Liu~welcome, welcome~"

"Hi, Antonio, Jesse~"

Xu Xin said hello, then gave Jasmine a little unfamiliar face-to-face greeting, and then hugged Antonio.

Antonio patted his back and said with a smile:

"Xu, MOUTAI, I won't come home until I'm drunk today."

"Haha, okay~"

Xu Xin agreed happily.

But in fact, Xu Xin knew how much this guy drank.

With less than a bottle of red wine, my face is all red... How can I still drink Maotai without getting drunk?

Ya'er, I'm afraid you don't know that Maotai is flowing in our old Xu's veins, right?

…

After the host greeted the guests at the door, he walked home with them.

Soon, Xu Xin also saw four other people at the door.

"Xu, Liu, let me introduce to you..."

To be honest, the name is very long.

But the abbreviation is quite easy to remember.

Philip, Joe, Pep, Eva.

Among them, Philip is a screenwriter and Eva is a show host.

Joe and Antonio are college classmates, and Pep, in everyone's words, is an absolute iron rice bowl.

He was a legal clerk in the Roman town hall.

And this party, from a Western perspective, is a very typical gathering of the elite.

Everyone has achieved certain achievements in their respective fields, and they have very good personal relationships with each other in private.

Even though it was the first time I met Xu Xin, Xu Xin was quite impressive in terms of his reputation in Italy and his personal achievements.

Especially Phillip, he always praised Xu Xin.

The expression looked very excited.

Following Jasmin's greeting, Xu Xin came to the restaurant.

The long table was already filled with a variety of Italian dishes.

Obviously, just as she said, she tried her best to entertain her friends today.

"Xu, come on, sit down."

As the head of the family, Antonio called Xu Xin to sit next to him, and at the same time raised the bottle of Maotai on the table:

"I can't wait. However, I can't find the small cup you mentioned. How about we use a whiskey cup today?"

For Maotai, Xu Xin naturally accepts everyone who comes.

Nod:

"OK."

Seeing that he agreed, Antonio unscrewed the bottle cap and said to his friends around him:

"Xu told me last time that this was his favorite wine. It was very strong. To be honest, I don't know what it tastes like... Oh God..."

As he leaned closer to the mouth of the bottle and took a sniff, a mask of pain immediately appeared on his face.

"Hahaha~"

Xu Xin was happy.

"It feels like gasoline."

Antonio said, pouring some into his glass.

Xu Xin didn't say anything, just smiled and watched the excitement.

He also wanted to see how these foreigners would react to Moutai.

"Shall I pour this wine directly?"

"Well, just pour it... Pour a little bit for each person first, and let everyone have a taste. Everyone, as a Chinese person, I advise you rationally, it's still too late to regret now. Hahahaha~"

Regarding Xu Xin's words, several people looked at each other...

Antonio picked up the cup:

"I'll taste it first."

He poured a shallow layer of at most half a cup, put it to his mouth, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then he raised his head...

"..."

Visible to the naked eye, two or three seconds after the wine entered his mouth, his face quickly turned red.

"God...Mom...Oh my god..."

"Hahahahahaha~"

Xu Xin burst out laughing when he saw his reaction.

Antonio couldn't even speak except covering his mouth and waving his hands.

Pep saw this and took it.

I smelled it first, but I didn’t have as much of a reaction as Antonio.

Just his eyes widened slightly and he said to Xu Xin:

"It smells a little sweet...I'll give it a try."

He poured some for himself and others.

Finally, Xu Xin took it and turned to ask Liu Yifei:

"How much did you drink?"

"This cup is only three taels? Fill it up."

Xu Xin was speechless:

"Then how can we divide it?"

He poured a third of the amount for each of them, and then turned to look at Antonio.

Antonio quickly shook his head:

"No, no, no, please let me drink red wine. If I drink any more, I will die."

look.

He was the one who set up the game, but he was the first one to slip away.

All I can say is that it has a very Italian style.

"Come on, come on, cheers."

Jasmine, who was still preparing the last dish in the kitchen, heard this and said:

"Just wait for me."

"Let them taste it first, my dear, the hot dragon's breath."

Following Antonio's words, several cups touched together.

Xu Xin and Liu Yifei's expressions were normal, while Ai Qing's expressions changed slightly.

Su Meng and Wu Qiqi didn't drink.

And the other four people...

"God……"

"vomit……"

"WTF..."

"No, no no no no, bye MOUTAI, see you in the next life."

completely annihilated.

On the contrary, Xu Xin and Liu Yifei looked calm.

Isn’t this wine delicious?…

…

After it was clear that no one else would dare to try it again, Xu Xin and Liu Yifei divided the bottle of Moutai between them.

The others were drinking red wine and felt incredible when they saw the calm and calm faces of these two people drinking Maotai.

After the meal started, we chatted and drank.

Halfway through drinking, Eva seemed to be ignited with fighting spirit again.

I poured some more Maotai for myself.

I estimate it's about five dollars.

Seeing how brave the lesbians were, the other three thought for a while and bravely picked up the cups.

Except for Antonio, several people including Jasmine shared some.

Facts have proved that for junior students of liquor, being greedy is obviously not a good thing.

White wine is spicy, so rinse your mouth with red wine.

If one bottle is not enough, a second bottle will make up for it.

After finishing this drink, there are three more to go.

After going back and forth, several foreigners began to stagger around.

But the atmosphere became increasingly lively.

They talked about football, current affairs, law, strikes, North Korea and Italy.

The atmosphere at the entire table was simply not pleasant.

And when everyone had had enough wine and food, Jasmine Trica, whose cheeks were red from drinking, said to Xu Xin:

"Xu, let's play a game?"

Xu Xin's bloodline was immediately awakened:

"Can you guess guessing?"

As a result, this new-generation Italian national treasure actor had a question mark on his forehead.

Obviously the game she was talking about was not the same thing as what Xu Xin was talking about.

What she wants to play is a game called "Murder Mystery".

The rules are simple. She brought over a small box. In the small box were some cards and small notes.

Let everyone smoke.

Xu Xin didn't understand what this so-called "murder mystery" was at first, but he just listened to Trika's introduction, which meant:

"This is a very old game. It's very interesting~! There is a murderer among us. We all have to work together to find him. It's that simple."

Then he drew his card.

The card stipulates that it cannot be shown to others.

Xu Xin covered his card and took a sneak peek.

Then I was speechless.

Because it says in English:

"SUNNY BOY."

There is another line of explanation below:

"You are a cheerful and warm-hearted kind person."

He opened the note again and took a look:

"Five days ago, you were sleeping."

?

Translate again:

"Four days ago, you were sleeping."

"..."

Translate again:

"Three days ago, you were in a daze by the river."

From the fifth day to the last, his characters are sleeping, dazed, milking cows, sleeping, and knitting straw sandals.

What does it mean...

A sunny and cheerful boy?

Immediately afterwards, I heard Jasmine Trica say:

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, a murder occurred on the banks of the Thames in 1821. Someone murdered Mr. Parker, the most respected man in the village... Soon, Mr. Sheriff came to the village. Mr. Sheriff?"

"Hats off to you, ma'am."

Eva raised her hand.

Jasmine Trica nodded:

"Very well, Mr. Sheriff, all the suspects in this murder case are already sitting at this table. You can exercise your rights."

"good."

As a female host, Eva is obviously very experienced.

After coughing slightly, she said in a rough voice with a hint of drunkenness:

"I'm going to start investigating... Well, you, who are you! What's your name?"

"..."

Seeing her pointing at him, Xu Xin was stunned.

I thought this seemed a bit similar to Werewolf.

But... just ask someone to reveal their identity when they come up? Is it really appropriate?

Since he had never played before, he decided to follow the rules.

Anyway, his identity is here.

So he shrugged:

"I am a sunny and cheerful boy."

"No, sir, you will never be a sunny and cheerful boy until the murderer is found."

"..."

Xu Xin twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered in his heart, if you knew what I was doing these days, you would never suspect me.

And what happened next was exactly what he thought.

Every day, everyone will have an action, and then Jasmine Trica will also provide a scene or something for everyone to reason through as the host.

What everyone says may be true or it may be a lie.

This game is somewhat similar to Werewolf, but a little different.

Quite interesting.

But...Xu Xin has to admit that it was really a bit disappointing for him to take this role.

Because every time Eva asked "Sunshine Boy, what do you think?" Xu Xin could only respond with a silly answer:

"I lie down and watch", "I sit by the river and watch", "I milk the cow and watch"...

He replied and the group at the table burst into laughter.

Obviously, his character is really useless.

But……

Inexplicably, he was eventually identified as the murderer.

Because Mr. Parker's nephew, played by Antonio, provides a clue. That was the cow at Sunshine Boy's house, which Mr. Parker lent him money to buy.

But Sunshine Boy was lazy every day and made no money from cows, so he became murderous and killed Mr. Parker.

Xu Xin was speechless.

On the fifth day, I was obviously knitting straw sandals at home. Can this also lead to suspicion on me?

But in the end, all the evidence showed that he used the needle used to knit straw sandals to assassinate Mr. Parker.

Finally, the Sheriff decided to arrest this sunny and cheerful boy.

Punished by hanging.

Xu Xin is "dead".

The sunny and cheerful boy didn't know who killed whom before he died.

When the game ended, Liu Yifei raised her hands and cheered.

"I won! Hahahahaha..."

She plays a fisherman in this game, making a living by fishing on the Thames River.

She is the real murderer.

And her motive for killing Mr. Parker was simply because Mr. Parker would not let his daughter, Miss Lilia, played by Philip, marry her.

I have to admit that she seems to be very good at playing this game. She becomes Philip's licking dog throughout the game, completely hiding herself behind "Lilia" played by Philip, who is least likely to kill people.

So much so that no one doubted her until the end of the game.

In the end, except for Liu Yifei, everyone who had not found the murderer raised their glasses.

The cup with Maotai.

This was their punishment for not finding the real culprit.

Even Xu Xin, the unlucky guy who was pushed out to block the knife, was no exception.

However, his sip of wine was nothing.

After everyone else finished drinking Maotai, they all showed their masks of pain again.

Antonio quickly shook his head at Jasmine:

"Honey, wait a minute, wait a minute before starting the next round. We all need some time..."

From the first bottle to this cup of punishment.

These foreigners, who couldn't drink liquor, drank close to one or two drinks each.

Otherwise, Antonio, who is supposed to be sensitive, would not be able to act as a psychiatrist. He would not be able to detect any clues and would not know anything when asked...

…

Now that everyone has decided to take a breather, Xu Xin, as the unluckiest person, has his own opinions on the game:

"This game is very interesting, a bit similar to... a board game we have over there, called Werewolf. Everyone's note is not fixed, right?"

Hearing this, Jasmine Trica nodded:

"That's right, for example, the SUNNY BOY you took, if the note is given to you and you are the murderer, then you will be a killer with a sunny appearance but a dark heart."

"I hope my death will be worth it."

Xu Xin shook his head helplessly:

"It's not a good feeling for a kind-hearted person to be wrongfully accused and die."

"It depends on your underlying personality."

Antonio, who was as red as a monkey's butt, spoke at this moment.

"In my opinion, the most interesting thing about a game like "Murder Mystery" is that everyone can reveal their potential personality that is not easily exposed through settings.

What’s really interesting about it is not the content given to you by your identity or behavior, but when these behaviors become established facts in the game, everyone will give different feedback and answers to these behaviors through their own different personalities.

That's why this game has endured for so long. The same answer, Liu can hide it very well, but when it comes to Xu you, maybe it can't be done... Just like your performance in this game. "

"It's like a birdcage effect."

Antonio's classmate and friend, Joe, who is currently a lecturer at the university, shrugged:

"The behavior on the note is that birdcage. Everything we do is to finally buy a bird and put it in it."

"more than."

Antonio continued what Joe said:

"If we really analyze it from a psychological perspective, this game also includes primacy effect, stereotype effect, etc. In fact, this is the complexity of human nature. We are all good friends, but everyone has a hidden personality. "

"But this kind of hidden personality is not necessarily a bad thing. It's not that we are not honest, but that once some things are exposed to others, many facts may appear that others cannot bear..."

This is what Eva said.

"Yes, personal privacy is indeed very important. This reminds me of last month, I heard a friend from the city hall talk about an affair and divorce case he handled..."

While the game was waiting for "cooling down", everyone started chatting about trivial things again.

This is not to show off, but this is the way people at this table eat.

Xu Xin even didn't understand some things.

It's not that he doesn't understand, but he doesn't understand some of the vocabulary and doesn't quite know what it means.

That night, he asked Ai Qing for help many times.

But at this moment, he didn't say much.

He just kept staring at these talking friends.

He will look at whoever speaks.

By the time everyone had finished chatting, the Maotai feeling in their stomachs was suppressed.

Jasmine plans to start the next round of the game.

At this time, she turned to look at Xu Xin and asked in confusion:

"Xu, what are you thinking about?"

Xu Xin glanced at her and said with a smile:

"Jesse, have you ever thought about one thing, that is, putting our table on the screen? ... It feels like it would be a good story."

Jasmine was stunned.

Looking at him in confusion:

"On the screen?"

"Yes, just like what you just talked about, what the people at our table say may not be the truth. But not telling the truth is not necessarily a bad thing. Because often we can't bear the truth. of……"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone at the table looked at him.

Especially Philip.

As a screenwriter, his professional instinct gave him a whiff of inspiration.

"Xu, please tell me in detail?"

He said to Xu Xin with curious eyes.