"In that case, let's first discuss the overall plot, then analyze specific questionable details," Li Xingyu, having resolved to decode the mystery, used his control over the discussion to guide the topic in this direction.
"First, regarding the film's ultimate mystery, we all know that the director hasn't provided a final explanation for the investigation's outcome in the script. However, as crew members, we need to form a conclusion in our minds when performing and creating props to better shape the environment and characters."
"So this question needs to be addressed first—the deceased fell from a tall building, was it an accident or homicide?" Li Xingyu looked at everyone around the table, posing his first question.
"Um... from the script, the possibility of an accident is almost zero," said the new art director Qin Lu, who joined the discussion first after a brief hesitation. As a former creator himself, he had a natural interest in reading and had gone through several mystery novels. Apart from Li Xingyu, he had studied the script the most among the crew. "And if it was homicide, the main suspects would be the deceased's father, sister, homeroom teacher, and ex-girlfriend."
Li Xingyu nodded slightly, while Nan Rongyu and Nan Rongzhou frantically took notes on their phones—these were the key points highlighted by the top student who had read the script! Much more comprehensive than what they had grasped from reading it themselves!
Cinematographer Jiang Miaomiao was initially too shy to speak up with so many people around, but after seeing others engaged in serious discussion, she mustered the courage to join in: "According to the police protagonist's investigation, these people indeed had motives. After the deceased's parents divorced, he lived with his mother and rarely saw his father. His father recently failed in business and owed a large sum of money, but before the divorce, he had taken out a five-year accidental death insurance policy for his son, which hasn't expired this year, with himself as the beneficiary."
"The deceased's sister isn't his biological sister, but a stepsister from a blended family after his mother remarried. The deceased underperformed in his high school entrance exam, scoring a few points below the threshold for Wenhua Middle School mentioned in the script. His family paid a substantial school selection fee to allow him to study there. Before the deceased's death, he had a big argument with his sister about this fee."
"The deceased's homeroom teacher has a daughter in the same grade. Though the deceased underperformed in the entrance exam, he excelled academically and consistently outperformed the teacher's daughter in tests. Apparently, the homeroom teacher believed the deceased cheated on his exams and frequently mocked him."
"Finally, there's the deceased's ex-girlfriend—not much to say there, but after the deceased initiated the breakup, she supposedly still had feelings and refused to accept it, possibly turning love into hatred."
Jiang Miaomiao herself enjoyed melodramatic plots, and these complex emotional entanglements, which might give others headaches to sort through, she read with relish. Initially nervous when joining the discussion, she became increasingly fluent as she continued.
"That's correct," Li Xingyu nodded. "The day the deceased fell was Parents' Open Day at Wenhua Middle School, with many visitors present, none of whom have alibis. According to the protagonist police officer's investigation, all these people should have seen the deceased on campus on the day of his death—there were student witnesses for the girlfriend and homeroom teacher, a call recording on the deceased's phone for the father, and the deceased's sister herself attended the parent-teacher conference as a family representative."
Nan Rongyu frowned at this point: "But to confirm which of them is the real culprit, it seems we're still missing something."
"Yes," Li Xingyu sighed.
"We lack direct evidence."
Indeed, for any suspect, the script provided no direct evidence of their guilt.
"Could there be hints in the script that we haven't discovered?" Jiang Miaomiao asked cautiously.
Li Xingyu disagreed: "I've read the script no fewer than ten times and haven't found any relevant hints. Have any of you made such discoveries?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Could the director truly want an open ending?" Li Xingyu murmured to himself. "But that ending with Yuan You attempting suicide doesn't seem to suggest leaving the culprit for the audience to judge..."
Just then, a new voice joined the discussion.
"Um, Li... Senior Li," Nan Rongzhou, who hadn't participated in the discussion but had been flipping through the script, suddenly interjected. Embarrassingly, he only remembered that Yuan You's actor's surname was Li, but completely forgot his full name. After struggling for a moment, he managed to say "Senior Li."
Strictly speaking, this form of address wasn't wrong—he truly was Li's senior in terms of acting! Nan Rongzhou justified to himself.
"Li Xingyu," the "Senior Li" in question, recognizing his embarrassment, reintroduced himself.
"Oh, right, Xingyu!" Nan Rongzhou naturally omitted the surname. With his gentle character and somewhat shy smile that gave him a bashful young man's charm, he wasn't easy to dislike. "Actually, I think the issue might not be that Lose All Hundred Thousand—I mean, Director Shao Yichen—didn't hint at the real culprit, but that we're thinking from the wrong angle."
"Have you thought of something?" Li Xingyu asked.
"Just a guess," Nan Rongzhou, noticing everyone's intense gaze fixed on him, scratched his chin awkwardly. "Could we look beyond the circle of suspects and examine the story from another perspective, for example, Yuan You?"
When he said the last two words, Nan Rongzhou was clearly addressing Li Xingyu.
Possibly seeing Li Xingyu's confused expression, he elaborated: "Actually, my brother and I are self-aware enough to know our acting skills are mediocre—" At this point, his foot was forcefully stepped on under the table by his brother, but despite wincing in pain, he persisted, "So our characters probably won't have particularly deep complexity, just, you know, playing ourselves."
"But you're different, Xingyu!" Nan Rongzhou suddenly became exceptionally earnest. "Director Shao once said this was a custom script. So the role she reserved for you must be tailor-made! And given your acting skills, the character she designed for you must be multi-layered and complex!"
"Looking at it from another angle, why is Yuan You in this script? Is he really the deceased's good friend?" Nan Rongzhou spoke with increasing conviction. "During the police investigation, none of the classmates or family members ever mention this 'friend'!"
Hearing this, Li Xingyu was startled.
He realized he might indeed have overlooked something. With this thought, he quickly flipped through the script, organizing his thoughts as he did so: "Indeed... apart from Yuan You claiming to be the deceased's friend, no one else mentions him! Even when the police mention this person to the deceased's girlfriend, she says 'Who is he? I don't know him.' But this character is so passionate about the deceased, if the deceased truly had such a friend, she couldn't possibly be unaware... Yuan You very likely isn't the deceased's friend!"
"But if not a friend, why would he seek the truth for the deceased..."
At this point, Li Xingyu suddenly fell silent. Then, he abruptly closed the script—
"Unless he saw it."
Li Xingyu muttered.
"He saw the moment the fall occurred."
Saying this, he paused, then deflated with a frown: "No, that's not right. If that were the case, he could simply report it to the police as an outsider. Why use the friend pretext to guide the police investigation..."
"Why make it so complicated?"
As Li Xingyu was brainstorming, another abrupt voice interrupted his thoughts.
He looked toward the source of the voice and found Nan Rongyu chewing on a straw, speaking indistinctly, looking somewhat impatient. Ignoring his brother Nan Rongzhou's desperate attempts to elbow him in the ribs to shut him up, he continued: "I noticed none of you have considered one possibility—why couldn't my brother have committed suicide?"
Nan Rongzhou: "? What do you mean I committed suicide? I haven't committed suicide! It's my character who committed suicide!"
"Everyone understands, there's no real difference," Nan Rongyu waved dismissively. Just as Nan Rongzhou was about to seriously debate the distinction between himself and his character, Li Xingyu, who had remained silent since being interrupted, suddenly spoke.
"I see now."
He exhaled deeply: "I finally understand."
"Um, what do you understand?" Qin Lu, who had been watching these three interact like a comedy trio, finally found an opportunity to interject, also voicing Jiang Miaomiao's unspoken question beside him.
Li Xingyu calmly stated: "I know the truth about the deceased's fall—"
"He did commit suicide."
With these words, not only did Qin Lu and Jiang Miaomiao widen their eyes, but even the South twins, who had been arguing about whether "character and actor could be used interchangeably," stopped their dispute and looked at him.
"Really suicide?" Qin Lu was the first to voice his doubt. "Why do you think so?"
"Because if it wasn't suicide, Yuan You would have no need to request an investigation as a friend; he could simply report as a witness," Li Xingyu unconsciously tapped the table with his index finger knuckle, organizing his thoughts.
"But that makes even less sense," even Nan Rongzhou, who had previously supported Li Xingyu, was puzzled. "If it was suicide, wouldn't that align with the police's initial investigation? Why would Yuan You insist on further investigation?"
"This is intimately connected to the medicine bottle found in Yuan You's possession and the diary's contents mentioned at the end."
"But before that, we need to consider another question: if Yuan You wanted to witness the deceased's fall, he must have been on the rooftop at that time."
"According to the script, the school's rooftop had been abandoned for years, and generally no one went there. What was Yuan You doing alone on the rooftop?"
Jiang Miaomiao recalled the ending of the script and had a flash of insight: "So you're saying he was planning to..."
"Exactly, he was planning to commit suicide—just like the deceased," Li Xingyu nodded.
"And his subsequent request for the police to continue investigating, I suspect, is because—he saw himself in the deceased. As classmates, he might have known some of the deceased's family and academic situations, known that the reasons for his suicide were inseparable from the attitudes of those around him."
"In the script, there's a description of Yuan You—hugging a bookbag marked with footprints and torn textbooks, glaring at classmates when no one else is looking. And when the police finally search Yuan You's desk, they also mention some unspeakable curses scribbled on it."
"The character Yuan You is likely a victim of school bullying—and he clearly harbors hatred toward those people! His suicide wasn't just for escape, but to expose the reality of campus violence through his death!"
"Looking at the deceased, though there's no description of him experiencing school bullying, from his family and school situations, it's similarly the attitudes of others that led to his suicide. But without the protagonist police officer's reinvestigation, not only would the true causes of the deceased's suicide remain unknown, those who caused it might even benefit or find relief from his death."
"The deceased's father would receive the accidental death insurance payout, the deceased's sister would become the sole heir of this blended family, the deceased's homeroom teacher could let her daughter secure a nomination spot without competition, and the deceased's girlfriend could move on from this relationship. Yuan You, who originally planned to take revenge on his bullies through suicide, saw this situation and could easily relate it to himself."
"He seemed to foresee his own suicide being hastily closed with no one caring—contrary to his hopes. That's why he tried to expose what the deceased experienced, also to satisfy his own psychological needs."
"But would these people really be punished after an investigation?" Nan Rongzhou still seemed confused. "Without key evidence, they can't be convicted, and Yuan You doesn't seem capable of or interested in fabricating evidence to frame them."
"This connects to the ending of the script," Li Xingyu opened the script and turned to the relevant page. "What did the police officer read in the diary? What message did his phone receive? The script mentions one thing—he opened a social media platform and saw trending content."
"I suspect Yuan You leveraged the power of the internet."
"As the so-called 'good friend of the deceased,' he successfully gained the trust of the newly recruited police officer and learned about the investigation's details and progress. Then, at an opportune moment, he made this information public!"
"Although these people wouldn't face legal consequences, netizens would remember their names and attack them personally... For the rest of their lives, they would have to live under such a shadow."
"That's Yuan You's real purpose!"
At this point in the discussion, not only did the other creative team members appear enlightened, but even Li Xingyu felt a sense of sudden clarity.
Honestly, before this meeting, he had always thought Yuan You was simply a "friend of the deceased," and even his final rooftop decision seemed intended to draw more attention to his friend's case, allowing the truth to emerge.
He never expected the character to be so complex, with motives entirely different from his initial understanding.
Although the question of why the police officer and the deceased looked so similar remained unsolved, Li Xingyu considered it and felt that after resolving so many script issues, this minor point seemed inconsequential. Perhaps the director deliberately created this red herring to mislead the audience.
Li Xingyu also thought that his ability to reach such conclusions was closely related to the creative team's guidance. It seemed that although his senior had not sought particularly famous industry professionals for her crew, their abilities shouldn't be underestimated!
As for himself, his previous character interpretation had clearly been too simplistic, indicating he hadn't been thorough enough in reading the script.
Realizing this, Li Xingyu felt somewhat grateful that he could participate in such a creative team meeting before formal filming began. Without this meeting, he would likely have performed the entire script with this mistaken impression, and the final result would naturally have contradicted the director's intended outcome.
Fortunately, there was still room for improvement.
With this in mind, Li Xingyu silently decided that after the meeting, he would revisit Yuan You's plot, using this newly recognized facet to interpret the character's performance in the story.
Art director Qin Lu was just as excited as Li Xingyu. He breathed a sigh of relief and drained his glass of water, looking as if he had solved a major problem: "Honestly, I've been struggling with prop creation for days. For example, the diary and empty medicine bottle mentioned in our discussion. What should be written in the diary? What handwriting should be used? What label should be on the empty bottle?"
"I was completely at a loss before, but after this discussion, we've found answers! Based on our conclusion, if Yuan You seeks revenge, his experiences must be similar to the deceased's. He might suffer from depression or mental illness, so the medicine bottle label should focus on that. As for the diary, it would naturally contain his plans for 'avenging' the deceased."
"Though the specific details need to be finalized later, I already have a general concept!"
Qin Lu grew increasingly animated. As both a creator and a recent university graduate, though he was the oldest among the meeting participants, he was still quite young. Clearly, this discussion not only resolved his confusion but also ignited his passion.
The remaining three, though their insights weren't as profound as Li Xingyu's and Qin Lu's, had also deepened their understanding of the script (or what they believed to be their "understanding"). Especially the twins, who had initially thought such meetings were a complete waste of time, now realized that collective discussion within the film crew was indeed necessary.
For a moment, all the meeting participants felt they had gained tremendously and were thoroughly satisfied.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
When Shao Yichen burst into the café, this was the harmonious scene that greeted her.
The people she had invited, who originally shouldn't have known each other, had apparently not only quickly bridged their distances during her brief half-hour tardiness but were also enthusiastically discussing what seemed to be script content.
How did she know they were discussing her script? Li Xingyu's annotated printed script was spread out on the table.
Looking at this... it seemed they didn't really need her?
Shao Yichen felt a mix of gratification and an inexplicable sense of loneliness and world-weariness.
Seeing these people discussing at a table with only drinks and no food, she first snuck to the ordering counter and ordered a bunch of food—since the system was reimbursing, it would be a waste not to—then sheepishly approached the group.
No matter what, being late is never good.
And it was at this moment that the people engaged in their heated discussion finally noticed Shao Yichen's arrival. They all greeted the director, and Shao Yichen responded, putting on an appearance of great urgency as she said, "I'm truly sorry for being so late...! I didn't expect the traffic to be so bad, otherwise I would have allowed more time!"
Honestly, Shao Yichen herself thought this lie was quite clumsy—who gets stuck in traffic at 2:30 in the afternoon?
But whether it was because the creative team trusted her too much or simply didn't care about her tardiness, remarkably, no one questioned her excuse. No one even mentioned it much, as if her late arrival had never happened.
Shao Yichen thought to herself: Seeing that their first reaction wasn't to accuse me, it seems they weren't anxiously waiting—what have they been doing all this time?
Discussing the plot?
Impossible! My headless, tailless garbage script doesn't have any room for discussion!
But then she reconsidered—perhaps it was precisely because the script was so terrible that they were all sitting around criticizing it.
So their calm reaction to my lateness must be because they're planning to settle accounts later and have a good discussion with me about the script's plot!
No way, I can't let them have their way! I absolutely cannot discuss the script with them!
Just as Shao Yichen was thinking this, Li Xingyu addressed her: "Senior—"
"Just call me Shao Yichen." Shao Yichen corrected him for the third time. "We've collaborated twice now, shouldn't we be considered friends?"
"Alright, Director Shao Yichen." Li Xingyu finally gave up, no longer dwelling on the matter of address. He continued, "We were just discussing the script. Would you like to hear whether our understanding is correct—"
See, her guess was spot on! Shao Yichen's gaze sharpened as she thought, here comes the interrogation!
She immediately interrupted Li Xingyu: "I'm happy that you all care so much about my film. As for discussing the plot, there's no need to go over it with me. I trust you all have your unique understanding of the script! Just perform according to your interpretations!"
After saying this, she observed Li Xingyu's expression. He looked slightly disappointed, yet also as if he had anticipated this response. He didn't insist further, simply nodding and saying, "That's indeed your style. We won't press the matter."
He thought to himself, as expected of my senior—Director Shao Yichen—to have such high trust in us. Perhaps she planned this meeting specifically because she anticipated we might misinterpret aspects of the script and wanted us to resolve these misconceptions through our discussions? This decision was truly wise.
While Li Xingyu was once again transforming into an overthinking monster, Shao Yichen breathed a sigh of relief.
Great, I've smoothly gotten away with it!
Amidst her joy, she was also a bit confused: Are they really this easy to handle? Even if they realized the script was atrociously bad, they'd just let it go so easily?
But then she thought again—since they're so obedient, these film creators must follow whatever I, their director, say. In that case, I just need to slightly mislead them, and this film is guaranteed to lose money!
With this in mind, she nodded with satisfaction and said, "Actually, the purpose of this so-called meeting wasn't primarily to discuss film-related work, but rather to let everyone get to know each other and socialize!"
And incidentally to enjoy a good meal on the system's expense, she added mentally.
"I've already ordered food. Let's end the script discussion here and just chat casually from now on. Remember, not a word about work-related matters!"
Saying this, Shao Yichen raised her drink.
"Let's toast to the film's—" money-losing success, "—cheers!"
The glasses clinked together, producing a crisp sound.
Author's Note:
Shao Yichen: Why are everyone's gazes so strange? What exactly have you all been imagining behind my back?
Li Xingyu: We imagined an entire plot.
Today's first update! 6000 words!
But there might only be this one update (?)
Let's see if I can successfully rush the work today...
Thanks to the little angels who cast Emperor Votes or poured Nutrition Fluid for me during the period from 2020-08-25 22:46:11 to 2020-08-26 11:14:47~
Thanks to the little angels who poured Nutrition Fluid: One Straw Rain Cape, 23333 30 bottles; Snow Chestnut, Three Mountain Evening, Xi An 10 bottles; Miao Miao Xi, 30016325, Ice Bathed Phoenix Dance 5 bottles; Prince Little White 3 bottles; lani, Yu Yu 2 bottles; Little Fish, Make a Little Heart, Thirty-five 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!