Top Dupe CH 048 Supermarket Part 2

Luo Yu went to the living room with his phone, “What’s up, Sister Cui?”

“Who was that person talking to you just now? Was it Gu Xiaowei?”

“Yeah.”

“It really is him! Gu Xiaowei went to the supermarket and it’s trending. They said someone went shopping with him, but no matter how the paparazzi tried, they couldn’t capture the friend’s face! When I saw that down jacket, I knew it was you! I didn’t expect it to be you!”

Luo Yu shook his head with a smile, realizing that Sister Cui wasn’t calling for work but purely for gossip.

“Sorry, Sister Cui. To disappoint you, the person shopping with Gu Xiaowei is a man.”

“I knew it! If it’s a man, why be so secretive? It made it seem like you two were in a relationship!”

“I don’t want to ride this wave of hype. Please don’t use this to create publicity.”

“Of course not. Since Gu Xiaowei is protecting you, it would be a shame to expose it online and waste his effort.”

Hearing this, Luo Yu felt relieved.

After hanging up, he checked the trending topics and found the hashtag #GuXiaoWeiGoesToTheSupermarket# amusing.

In the future, will there be trending topics like “Gu Xiaowei Eats a Late-Night Snack,” “Gu Xiaowei Sleeps,” or “Gu Xiaowei Takes a Walk”?

Luo Yu clicked to see why it was trending—a photo showed him handing a jar of doubanjiang to Gu Xiaowei, who lowered his eyes and turned his face to sniff it.

His expression was gentle, and everything around him blurred, making him appear calm and elegant amidst the bustling supermarket. It seemed as if he was about to kiss the jar of bean paste.

However, the netizens’ brain circuits were different from Luo Yu’s.

[Oh, I want to be that little finger!]

[Brother Gu doesn’t look like he’s smelling bean paste; it’s like he’s about to kiss the hand of the handsome guy next to him!]

[Who is Brother Gu’s friend? The fingers and wrist look so nice! This scene is so beautiful!]

[Top-tier bean paste advertisement!]

Luo Yu’s fingertips felt slightly warm. He looked at his hand and couldn’t resist touching the knuckle of his index finger, which seemed to be the place where Gu Xiaowei’s nose had touched.

In the photo, Luo Yu’s side was more prominent, and with his mask on and hairstyle changed, only his ear was visible. It was hard to distinguish him.

Other photos clearly showed Gu Xiaowei shielding Luo Yu.

Fans were praising Gu Xiaowei for being a gentleman and guessing that his friend was an ordinary person. They assumed that Gu Xiaowei was shielding his friend to avoid media disturbance.

Gu Xiaowei’s fans also voluntarily agreed to respect his wish for privacy and not investigate further.

Luo Yu put his phone back into his pocket and returned to the kitchen to find Gu Xiaowei diligently monitoring the stew pot.

“Haha, you’re so serious. It's like we're cooking phoenix flesh from the sky or dragon meat from the sea.”

“Did you talk to your agent?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

“Yeah, Sister Cui has sharp eyes and immediately recognized me from the supermarket outing. Also, I just posted the nine-grid photos you took of me, so it won’t be long before people realize it was me shopping with you.”

“Guessing is fine. It's just a trip to the supermarket.”

“Yeah, going to the supermarket isn’t like going to a hotel.”

Luo Yu swore he said this casually, but suddenly Gu Xiaowei coughed, his ears even turning red.

“No way? You’re actually shy? You were so confident before, saying things like beating drums and gongs and marriage…”

“Heh.” Gu Xiaowei let out a rare vold sneer, “That’s still nothing compared to you, flirting around despite having no interest.”

Luo Yu furrowed his brow, unable to recall when he had flirted with anyone, “I haven’t! I’m not! You’re talking nonsense!”

“Heh. You dare to do it but not take responsibility, scumbag.”

As Luo Yu placed the dishes on the table, he said, “Gu Xiaowei, if you ‘heh’ again, our friendship will come to an end!”

“Then let it end quickly. I want to see what lies beyond the end.”

Luo Yu sat down helplessly, not understanding how he ended up in such a childish conversation.

Gu Xiaowei served some rice, tried a piece of rib, and said, “It’s quite good.”

“Of course. Ribs cooked with my special sauce can’t be bad, can they?”

Luo Yu thought for a moment and then asked, “Are you really sure you want to play Lu Pingfeng?”

“What’s wrong?” Gu Xiaowei raised his eyes.

“Lu Pingfeng is definitely not within the scope of normal people. In my understanding, what an artist wants to express is often something they admire or want to showcase. Lu Pingfeng depicts death; according to the script, the death he portrays is gloomy yet splendid, decadent yet attractive. In other words, for Lu Pingfeng, death is a beautiful thing. A person who pursues the beauty of death... how should his opponent compete with him? If the forensic assistant Wen Yuchi can’t interpret death, who will lead you out of the scene? Then you’ll be trapped in Lu Pingfeng’s shell.”

Luo Yu looked at Gu Xiaowei seriously.

Gu Xiaowei looked at Luo Yu, stunned for three seconds, and then seriously pondered Luo Yu’s gaze. He said slowly, “Everyone says I’m the most suitable person to play Lu Pingfeng, only you worry about whether I can come out of the role.”

Luo Yu lowered his head and took a bite of the potato, “Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about this while eating, affecting your appetite…”

“No, I’m glad you’re discussing this with me. Except for Director Lin, almost no one talks to me about this.” Gu Xiaowei’s voice carried a trace of imperceptible softness, “And you? How do you think Lu Pingfeng should free himself from his pursuit of the beauty of death?”

Luo Yu turned his face, thinking for a moment. This question was something he had pondered for a long time, perhaps because Gu Xiaowei’s portrayal of Lu Pingfeng was so captivating that Luo Yu couldn’t bear to see him sink into despair.

“I think... for Lu Pingfeng, true redemption isn’t about proving those people weren’t killed by him, nor about believing he wouldn’t kill for art. What he needs isn’t the trust from Wen Yuchi in the script that he won’t kill. Because believing Lu Pingfeng won’t kill doesn’t fundamentally change him.”

Gu Xiaowei’s eyes lit up with a smile, and he picked up a rib for Luo Yu, “You’re the only one who shares this idea with me. Even Director Lin and Screenwriter Xia Tan, who read the script, feel there’s a lack between Wen Yuchi and Lu Pingfeng’s relationship. I believe Wen Yuchi is just proving and believing that the murderer isn’t Lu Pingfeng. But this doesn’t save him or change him, nor does it enlighten him.”

Luo Yu’s fingers lightly tapped on the table, “Exactly! I think Lu Pingfeng’s desire for death is because—his last memory of seeing his mother was her dying beside him. At that time, he was still young, in the formative period of his worldview, and his mother’s death became the ultimate form of love he understood. So Lu Pingfeng doesn’t have an antisocial personality; it’s just that his understanding of love is different from others.”

Gu Xiaowei’s eyes brightened, “So... Wen Yuchi needs to prove not whether Lu Pingfeng killed someone, but to respect his understanding of love and help Lu Pingfeng understand other forms of love.”

“Exactly.” Luo Yu smiled.

As long as Gu Xiaowei could understand this, no matter who eventually played the forensic assistant Wen Yuchi, even if their acting was poor, it would at least give Gu Xiaowei a reason to detach from the role.

“So, if I were Lu Pingfeng, only you are suitable to be Wen Yuchi.” Gu Xiaowei said.

This person would never flatter an opponent he didn’t agree with.

His simple statement filled Luo Yu with inexplicable ambition, making him suddenly want to break through the barriers of the world, and reignite the passion that had long cooled with time.

“I really want to play Wen Yuchi.” Luo Yu looked at Gu Xiaowei and said firmly, word by word.

He wasn’t asking Gu Xiaowei to fight for an opportunity for him; he just wanted him to know his determination.

“I believe in you.” Gu Xiaowei lowered his eyes, the corners of his mouth subtly curling upwards.

“Let’s finish this beef stew with potatoes first!” Luo Yu’s appetite was open, eating half a bowl more than usual.

After finishing the meal, Luo Yu lay back and rubbed his belly, “I need to go for a run tonight.”

“Do you want to join me?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

Luo Yu turned to look at him, “That’s fine. If you appear running in my neighborhood, even the neighbors who see you at night won’t believe you’re Gu Xiaowei.”

Gu Xiaowei stood up, putting the used dishes in the kitchen sink, and soon the sound of washing dishes came.

There’s no reason for guests to help clean up, so Luo Yu quickly got up, “I’ll do the washing!”

“It’s fine. I’ll wash, and you can dry.”

While tidying up, the two chatted casually.

Gu Xiaowei said, “Hu Wei’s incident has had a big impact on Zhuque Media. Several roles Bo Wenyuan had taken on for him have fallen through, and he doesn’t have any other notable artists at hand.”

“Yeah.” Luo Yu nodded. Now, hearing Bo Wenyuan’s name, he felt much calmer inside, “Bo Wenyuan was always trying to hold on to the big tree of Dijun Media. But once Hu Wei’s incident happened, public opinion of Zhuque Media dropped to rock bottom. Dijun Media is probably trying to find ways to shake off Bo Wenyuan now.”

“I thought you’d be happy to hear about Bo Wenyuan’s misfortune.” Gu Xiaowei said.

“Happy? What’s there to be happy about? I didn’t like the roles Hu Wei took on, and wouldn’t have asked for them. I’m just relieved that I left Zhuque Media before Hu Wei’s incident. Otherwise, I’d be sinking with that broken ship.”

Luo Yu smiled faintly.

“Then you’d better be prepared.” Gu Xiaowei said with a hint of implication.

“Prepared for what?” Luo Yu frowned, wondering what was the point of speaking so ambiguously.

At that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Ding-dong—ding-dong ding-dong—”

“What time is it? Why would someone come to find me?” Luo Yu glanced at the time on his phone.

“Go answer the door. I’ll put the dried dishes into the cabinet.”

“Oh, thanks.”

The doorbell rang more urgently, “Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong—”

“I’m coming.”

Luo Yu quickly walked out of the kitchen and stood at the door, looking through the peephole.

He was shocked to see who was at the door—Bo Wenyuan was standing outside!

Bo Wenyuan’s face was flushed and he was slightly swaying, with his eyes closed as if about to fall asleep on his feet. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and seemed ready to frantically press the doorbell again. Luo Yu, fearing he might disturb the neighbors, quickly opened the door.

“Mr. Bo? Why are you…”

Before Luo Yu could finish his sentence, Bo Wenyuan collapsed onto him, the heavy smell of alcohol making Luo Yu hold his breath.

“Ah Yu... it’s my fault... I’m sorry... When Ou Juntao was targeting you... I was too weak, didn’t support you…”