Mei Xi Hu Theatre

In the mid-summer of 2019, Shuo, standing behind the stage, was constantly peeking at the rehearsal going on in the theatre. He was twenty-two, young and energetic. He wore a formal black suit with a white collared shirt and a thin black bow tie tightly wrapped around his neck. He seemed nervous; he kept playing around with his perfectly done hair and continuously walking around the backstage area. Just as he began to pace around the backstage a fifth time, Shawn, his singing partner, came in, tapping on Shuo's shoulder to signal him to stop. Shuo looked up and saw that familiar arrogance in Shawn's eyes.

"Shuo! Are you ready for the show?" Shawn asked in a commanding tone.

Shuo ignored his question, and hurriedly walked toward the dressing table, which had pieces of sheet music and notes spread all over it. He hastily stacked his papers so Shawn could not see that one of the notes had "I want to kill Shawn!" scribbled all over it in red ink.

****

On September 29th, 2019, a bloody murder was reported: a man about the age of thirty-eight had been killed in the Mei Xi Hu Theatre's dressing room. According to the police, the man was wearing a formal black suit with a white collared shirt and a thick black bow tie loosely tied around his neck. He was sitting on a chair, and there was neither fear nor surprise showing on his face. There were no wounds except for a blood-smeared bump on top of his head. The only other thing on the crime scene was a V-shaped golden trophy that says "2019 Best Male Musical Actor" covered in blood. The police believed that the murderer and the man must have known each other very well because there was no sign of any struggle. Soon after the body was found, a person from the theatre identified the dead man as Shawn.

****

The police came knocking on the door of hotel room 5021. Shuo opened the door, surprised to see so many police officers standing in front of him.

"We are here about Shawn Zheng," one policeman with dark hair said.

Shuo hesitated, then said in a pretended calm voice, "Um... What happened to him?"

"He was killed," another policeman answered.

"Wha...What?" Shuo moved back unconsciously. He stared at the ground. The police realized his discomfort, gave Shuo a few minutes to process in silence.

"We know it must be very sad news to you, and we will do our best to find the murderer." The dark-haired policeman stopped for a second before continuing. "Also, I am Officer Elvis. The head policeman in charge of this murder."

"Um... Ah... Thank you, Elvis." Shuo, still looking at the ground, moved more into the room.

Just then, a man walked into the room. He wore a simple grey hoodie and dark blue jeans. He seemed tall to many women yet normal among men. Though his face and body movements showed no sign of age, to many people, he was considered the king of musicals. Shuo finally looked up when the man abruptly stopped in front of him.

"Shuo. What's happening right now? Why are the police here?" the man asked.

"Yan, Shawn is dead."

"Wait, what?" The man, Yan, was shocked. His mouth opened wide, and his movements became rigid.

"Who are you?" Elvis asked. He studied Yan with a peculiar look.

"Um... I am Yan. Shuo's roommate and also Shawn's partner." Yan tried to answer calmly, but his hands shook uncontrollably.

"So as I said before... We will try our best to find the killer. In the meantime..." Elvis paused for a moment then said in a quieter voice. "Please stay safe! I don't want to be in another murder."