Top Dupe CH 053 He's Not As Good-looking As Senior Brother Part 1

With a simple motion, his neck perfectly displayed a dynamic line, the movement of his Adam’s apple and hand gestures were relaxed and elegant. His fingers were bent, holding the tie knot, and the slight smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to convey effortless mastery over everything in the world—this was the real heart-throb killer.

Looking at these photos, Luo Yu swallowed hard as well, Gu Xiaowei's photography skills were indeed top-notch.

Moreover, the photos Gu Xiaowei selected were quite special. They didn’t immediately reveal the identity of the person in them, creating a strong curiosity and even sparking discussions about who was being photographed.

Some speculated that the model might be a new signing of Xinghan Pictures, using Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo to create hype.

Others suggested it could be an exclusive shot for some fashion magazine, which would be revealed soon.

But soon, a sharp-eyed fan discovered the model's true identity in the photos.

[Look! The model in the photo has a mole on his hand! Our Brother Gu's senior brother also has a mole on his hand!]

[I’m sure it’s Luo Yu. That height, that profile! I want to rush into his arms! No, I can’t betray Brother Gu!]

[Hahaha, has the senior brother become Brother Gu’s exclusive model for practicing photography skills?]

[Brother Gu’s lighting techniques and atmosphere are indeed unparalleled.]

[By the way, isn’t this trench coat that Luo Yu is wearing the same one He Mu just posted?]

[No way? Luo Yu looks like a professor from a magic academy, while He Mu looks like a muggle freshman!]

He Mu hadn’t practiced dancing for a long time. His agent, worried that his basic skills were deteriorating and he might not be able to keep up with any sudden stage performances, kept him in the dance studio for three hours.

Finally done with the practice, He Mu was exhausted and, while his dance teacher was stretching his legs, he flipped through his phone.

He wondered how fans were reacting to the photos he had posted earlier. During their last meal together, Mr. Gao from the company mentioned that He Mu was getting older and couldn't always stick to the school campus style; he should start incorporating a more mature style. So, He Mu specifically chose a trench coat from Why Me for a set of more lifestyle-oriented photos.

He Mu was a bit excited; when he saw the photos, he thought he looked very handsome and manly.

He opened Weibo, ready to receive compliments from fans, and when he saw the trending topic #HeIsOutOfPrint#, he couldn’t help but click on it out of curiosity, only to find it was Gu Xiaowei's post.

At first glance, He Mu thought the nine-grid photos were of Gu Xiaowei himself and marveled at Gu Xiaowei’s figure, thinking only someone with such broad shoulders and long legs could wear a trench coat with such beauty. It truly matched the fan comment below—"With the wind, moon, stars, and rivers, poetry is composed while leaning on the railing."

He Mu just posted some enthusiastic praise using his secondary account when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

This... this can’t be Gu Xiaowei! Then who is it?

A name popped into He Mu’s mind, and he quickly scrolled through the comments.

It’s Luo Yu! Gu Xiaowei actually photographed Luo Yu again and directly posted it on his Weibo!

He glanced at the trending topics; his own topic was already in the twenties, but #HeIsOutOfPrint# was still high on the list with no sign of dropping.

Some were praising Gu Xiaowei’s photography skills, with a few photographers in the industry reposting and commenting that Gu Xiaowei might be taking their jobs.

But more people were saying that Gu Xiaowei had captured Luo Yu’s "out of print" glow.

He Mu, hiding it from his agent, created a secondary account and mobilized his fans: [Didn’t anyone notice? Luo Yu is wearing our gege’s clothes again! It must be intentional! It’s really infuriating!]

Sure enough, some people started cursing and were ready to go to Luo Yu’s Weibo to vent.

Who knew a major fan of He Mu spoke up: [Don’t be impulsive! Luo Yu’s trench coat was chosen by Gu Xiaowei, and if we go confront Luo Yu, we’ll be attacked by Gu Xiaowei’s fans.]

[So the trench coat Luo Yu is wearing was selected by Gu Xiaowei! Does that mean our gege’s taste is the same as Gu Xiaowei’s!]

[Exactly, it still boils down to Gu Xiaowei having good taste and photography skills, making Luo Yu look better than he is!]

[When will Gu Xiaowei take photos of our gege? He would definitely be more handsome than Luo Yu!]

[We can ask Gu Xiaowei about it!]

[Yes, our gege is more popular, far surpassing Luo Yu!]

He Mu saw the conversation had completely derailed and wondered what was going on.

I told you to go confront Luo Yu, not to ask Gu Xiaowei to take photos!

Hey! Come back! Come back!

Oh heavens, can it be more embarrassing?

[Don’t go! It will make our gege be mocked! Previously, we mocked Luo Yu, but doing this will only get us mocked by Luo Yu’s fans!]

He Mu started to doubt if something was wrong with his brain due to the fans' replies.

[Luo Yu only has a few fans! How could they mock our gege!]

No! Luo Yu’s fans might be few, but Gu Xiaowei’s fans are more than mine!

[Gege deserves the best!]

I also think I deserve better, but Gu Xiaowei doesn’t even pay attention to me!

[Since so many fans have asked for it, and Gu Xiaowei still won’t take photos of our gege, he must have some private deal with Luo Yu!]

Oh heavens, Gu Xiaowei isn’t even a photographer! And we’re not even in the same company! I don’t even follow him on Weibo! If you ask him to take photos for me, he’ll think you’re crazy!

He Mu was anxiously watching, afraid the fans would go to Gu Xiaowei. He closely monitored the comments on Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo and indeed saw a few stubborn ones running over.

Those with a good tone said things like, “Our gege He Mu is also excellent, Brother Gu, take a look at us too,” while more assertive ones said, “Our He Mu is unparalleled, doesn’t he deserve to be in your camera?”

He Mu was red-faced with anxiety, closely following the trending topics, fearing that these fans might push him to the headlines again.

At this time, Luo Yu was holding a psychology book. Since he was preparing to audition for the role of Wen Yuchi, he needed to be well-prepared. Wen Yuchi’s scenes mainly involved interactions with Lu Pingfeng, who was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Luo Yu decided to study psychology thoroughly.

His phone buzzed, and Luo Yu saw it was a message from Ye Shengyi, whose avatar looked like a big eggplant.

[Brother Luo! Do you know how retarded He Mu’s fans are? They’re jealous that Gu Xiaowei’s photos of you look great and actually went to Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo to ask him to take photos of He Mu! It’s really hilarious!]

Luo Yu smiled, realizing that Gu Xiaowei was truly a hot commodity in the entertainment industry.

[Little friend, gossip has no nutritional value, don’t take it too seriously.]

Ye Shengyi complained: [Brother Luo, are you an old-timer?]

Luo Yu sighed; in a sense, he really was like an old-timer, glancing at the thermos on the coffee table, filled with goji berries and chrysanthemum.

But this time, he matched clothes with He Mu, and surprisingly, He Mu’s fans didn’t come in droves to attack him. Luo Yu found it a bit strange.

He casually mentioned it to Sister Cui, who then revealed the truth to him.

“Isn’t it because President Jiang knows that He Mu sees you as a rival and is always stirring up trouble for you? So he specially arranged for someone to infiltrate his fan groups and your anti-fan groups to keep track of their movements. If He Mu didn’t cause you any trouble, President Jiang wouldn’t target him. But once his side starts using fans to deal with you, President Jiang will definitely act first.”

Luo Yu rubbed the back of his head, having never thought of this strategy.

“Then this time... were these fans arranged by President Jiang to comment on Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo?”

“Of course not. Those are all die-hard fans of He Mu, genuinely supportive,” Sister Cui said with a smile.

“Huh? I remember He Mu valued Gu Xiaowei quite a bit, so his fans have always been polite to Gu Xiaowei, right?”

“Ai, mainly, today our people found someone stirring trouble in He Mu’s fan group, worrying they might come after you. So, our allies diverted the topic, casually suggesting Gu Xiaowei should also take photos for He Mu. Who knew He Mu’s fans would get all worked up?”

Luo Yu was speechless.

Probably because He Mu had been bullying him for a long time, and now seeing many netizens mocking He Mu online, Sister Cui felt a rare sense of satisfaction.

“He Mu has always relied on his massive fan base to deal with others, but this time, he’s finally being backlashed by his own fans. I saw that the request for Gu Xiaowei to take photos for He Mu had even made it to the top twenty... Ah, I can't see it now; it’s probably been taken down by Dijun Media.” Sister Cui laughed. “He’s now the laughingstock of the entertainment industry. It’s really the first time I’ve seen such a begging-style photo request.”

“Let’s not worry about He Mu. As long as we don’t care about him, all his little tricks won’t affect us.”

Sister Cui’s voice became even more cheerful: “You’ve become much more spirited this time, and your attitude has improved a lot. It’s affecting me too. Keep it up.”

“Of course. That way, I can live a few more years.”

After finishing the conversation with Sister Cui, Luo Yu exhaled and sent a WeChat message to Gu Xiaowei: [I think next time you should switch to a new model for Photography Works 3.0.]

At this moment, Gu Xiaowei was also reading a script, and his agent, Meng Yu, was discussing the upcoming audition with him.

“I understand you want a highly skilled partner, but there’s no need to act directly with them. There are more than twenty people auditioning for Wen Yuchi. If you go through each one, you’ll exhaust yourself even before the shoot starts,” Meng Yu said helplessly.

Gu Xiaowei replied calmly: “Interacting with different actors sometimes gives different inspirations. I feel I’ve hit a bottleneck in my understanding of the character Lu Pingfeng, and I can’t break through on my own, so I have to seek other ways.”

Meng Yu rested his chin on his hand and nodded. “I feel you’re particularly close to Luo Yu; this is the second time you’ve taken photos for him. The results are pretty good, and fans say you’re a talented ‘hidden gem,’ but... it’s a bit difficult for me in the industry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Your good buddy Cheng Fei is feeling sour, saying after being close to you for so many years, you wouldn’t even smile in photos with him, but now—”

“Now what?”

“Now you’re obsessed with taking photos for your senior brother Luo Yu. After version 1.0, there’s even version 2.0, and he’s asking if he can get version 3.0.”

Gu Xiaowei answered, “He won’t get it.”

“Why?”

“He’s not as good-looking as Luo Yu.”

Meng Yu nearly choked, “Then you tell Cheng Fei yourself.”

Although this was said to Cheng Fei, Gu Xiaowei’s fans seemed to be in sync with him. After being annoyed by He Mu’s fans, they collectively replied: “He’s not as good-looking as the senior brother.”

Such a brief sentence, constant and unchanged, made He Mu’s fans furious and retreat.

Gu Xiaowei’s phone vibrated. He looked at Luo Yu’s WeChat message: [I think next time you should switch to a new model for Photography Works 3.0.]

His expression softened, and his fingers quickly typed: [You need to let me continue shooting for 3.0 to even happen.]

Meng Yu watched Gu Xiaowei’s face and frowned, “Brother Gu, if an iron tree blooms, you have to tell me. Don’t let me be caught off guard by a trending search.” (TN: fallen in love)

“If an iron tree could bloom, wouldn’t you see it?”

Meng Yu was speechless, thinking to himself that he felt Gu Xiaowei’s iron tree not only had bloomed but was even blooming roses.

If you’re so proud, don’t hide it or try to cover it up. If one day it can’t be hidden anymore and the blossoms pierce the sky, what can I do? Rip my hair out and weave a happy character (喜) for you?

A few days later, the audition for “Beast and Rose” finally began.

The audition location was in a hotel on the outskirts of the city. Although the hotel was only five stories high, the security measures were quite strict. Each of Sheng Yunlan’s films attracted a lot of attention, and media outlets always wanted to cover them. The industry predicted that Wen Yuchi was a completely delicious and fragrant piece of pie, and whoever played this role would become popular. Therefore, major media outlets competed to report and wanted to know in advance who would get this role.

A big name on Weibo even started a poll on who people wanted to see as Wen Yuchi.

The top choice was He Mu, thanks to his large fan base; second was Liang Shengqiu, a new signing by Honghe Film and Television. This guy graduated from a professional acting school, has acted in several TV dramas, and is one of the few in the new generation with both looks and acting skills; and third was Luo Yu.

Sister Cui was incredulous. Although Luo Yu had gained some fans from his previous TV dramas, his popularity and recognition were definitely not on par with He Mu’s. However, it was surprising that he received almost as many votes as Liang Shengqiu.

Sister Cui wondered if Gu Xiaowei had posted those photos intentionally to create buzz and increase Luo Yu’s popularity.