Top Dupe CH 068 Sword Dance Part 1

"Okay." Gu Xiaowei nodded.

The private room fell silent for a full three seconds.

"Is this considered a crazily indulgent affection?" Li Shengyu said with a face full of doubt, as if he thought his ears were malfunctioning.

Luo Yu laughed, "How is this related to indulgence?"

Li Shengyu answered solemnly, "I would only let my girlfriend on my van!"

Luo Yu’s eyes lit up, "Oh, Li Shengyu—so you have a girlfriend!"

As expected, the topic veered off course and shifted to a thorough interrogation of Li Shengyu. However, Li Shengyu was as tight-lipped as ever, even after three bottles of beer, he wouldn’t reveal who his girlfriend was.

The gathering that evening was very enjoyable for everyone, and Li Shengyu and Jiang Muxing both added Gu Xiaowei on WeChat.

Jiang Muxing repeatedly confirmed that Gu Xiaowei was on his friend list. When Luo Yu and Gu Xiaowei got into the car, Gu Xiaowei’s phone buzzed. He checked to find it was a sticker from Jiang Muxing, a small rabbit peeking through a door crack.

"What does it mean when he sends me this sticker?" Gu Xiaowei frowned and studied it seriously.

Luo Yu smiled, "He probably wants to know whether you added him out of courtesy or if you genuinely plan to talk to him."

"I see." Gu Xiaowei finally relaxed his frown and replied with a cute bunny sticker.

"I can imagine Jiang Muxing should be spinning around with his phone in hand right now," Luo Yu glanced out the window and then quietly said, "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because I know you’re not really into social gatherings. You came to have hotpot with us, listen to Li Shengyu talk about filming, and chat with Jiang Muxing about music, all because they’re my friends."

Gu Xiaowei said, "I’m not that pretentious, nor am I socially awkward. I just trust your judgment in friends."

"Trusting my judgment in friends?" Luo Yu smiled self-deprecatingly, "You must have forgotten about Bo Wenyuan, right?"

"I also thank him for teaching you the skill of identifying scumbags."

The car arrived back at the hotel. After eating and drinking so contentedly, Luo Yu stretched and said, "I’m a bit full. I want to go out for some exercise."

"Sure, let’s go together."

Luo Yu checked the time. It was 10:30 PM, and there were still some pedestrians outside. Moreover, he noticed there seemed to be paparazzi waiting outside when the car returned.

But knowing Gu Xiaowei, he wouldn’t care about that.

Walking or shopping at night is a perfectly normal activity, so there’s no fear of being seen.

"I feel that after this variety show airs, your fan count should break five million. Don’t you need to record a VLOG to thank them?" Gu Xiaowei asked.

"Did you record one when your fans broke ten million?"

"I don’t remember."

Luo Yu laughed out loud; that response was very much like Gu Xiaowei.

"You don’t even remember whether you did it, yet you ask me to?"

But Luo Yu thought for a moment and said, "I could do one. Otherwise, if my fan count really breaks five million, Sister Cui might organize something bigger, making me embarrassed."

"Recording one at night might not show your face clearly, but the blur effect can be good. Just like your previous street lamp selfie."

"Wait a moment, I’ll wash my face. Even if it’s blurry, I can’t have an oily face," Luo Yu went into the bathroom, thoroughly cleaned himself, and then suddenly remembered something. He stuck his head out and asked, "You saw my street lamp selfie?"

"En."

"Back then, we hadn’t followed each other on Weibo, right?" Luo Yu asked again.

"After we followed each other, I looked back."

Luo Yu felt a bit guilty. After he followed Gu Xiaowei, he didn’t go back through his photos or anything, which made it seem like he didn’t care much about Gu Xiaowei.

Who knew Gu Xiaowei seemed to read his thoughts and teased, "Are you thinking that you never went back through my Weibo, worried I’d find out you don’t care much about me, and now you’re trying to make up for it?"

Luo Yu chuckled, "How could that be... I actually don’t use Weibo much."

After drying his face, Luo Yu silently decided to go through Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo history once he got back.

"But my Weibo isn’t very interesting. Most of it is posted by my agent."

Luo Yu came out and changed into a T-shirt. "Posted by your agent? But didn’t you help me a few times? And posting my pictures last time?”

"The photography works were posted by me."

Luo Yu said enviously, "Your agent is really good. They’re so indulgent with you."

Other agents typically don’t forward things unrelated to their artists, but Gu Xiaowei’s agent not only didn’t restrict him but also forwarded things for him.

"Sister Cui is also very indulgent with you," Gu Xiaowei said.

"That’s different. There’s an understanding between Sister Cui and me about what can and can’t be posted."

Who knew Gu Xiaowei’s lips curled up slightly, "Are you sure? Didn’t Sister Cui teach you to edit photos before posting them?"

"This..."

"But you don’t need to edit. Your candid photos are already quite good."

After Gu Xiaowei said this, he walked towards the door.

They took the elevator down, walked out of the hotel, and Gu Xiaowei gestured at the public bikes. They scanned the code and rode off.

Luo Yu looked back curiously and saw that three or four people had stood up, their surprised expressions still visible. After waiting so long at the hotel entrance, the target had ridden away on a bike?

The problem was if they also followed on bikes, they’d be too conspicuous. If they went back to the car or hailed a taxi to follow, they wouldn’t be able to catch up now.

Both Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu had long legs, and they rode swiftly, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.

"Where are we going?" Luo Yu asked Gu Xiaowei.

Since leaving school, he hadn’t ridden a bike in a long time.

He smiled, and the night wind seemed to be pulled long and far by an invisible force, the streetlights casting fleeting lights over his brows, and the light in his eyes and smile on his lips became all that the night was.

"To a place that’s less crowded and more open," Gu Xiaowei replied.

"Haha, good thing I’m not a girl; otherwise, I’d be suspicious you have other intentions," Luo Yu said as he rode, glancing at Gu Xiaowei. "On the way back from the mountain mushroom hotpot restaurant, I saw a viewing platform by the river. It’s open. Just don’t know if there will still be people walking there at this hour. It should take about twenty to thirty minutes to ride there—perfect for digesting!"

"Have you thought about what to record?" Gu Xiaowei asked.

"Well... I don’t seem to have any particular talents. Singing, dancing, performing comedy—none of them are impressive," Luo Yu scratched the back of his head.

Gu Xiaowei smiled helplessly, "Are you sure?"

"My talent is carrying you—want me to carry you again?"

Luo Yu looked over, his eyes full of laughter, bright as if someone had scattered a handful of glittering diamonds in his eyes.

They passed by a night market, with stalls lined up on the roadside, the smell of barbecue and fried skewers wafting through the air.

There were also some small vendors with stalls on tricycles.

One stall had various glowing toys, small cars, and piggy banks made from beads. Whenever a child passed by, they’d rush to that stall.

Luo Yu’s feet tapped the ground as he navigated through the crowd. He suddenly noticed Gu Xiaowei was missing, stopped, and looked around. He hesitated to call out "Gu Xiaowei" loudly, as even if people in this street weren’t fans, they’d probably still recognize him.

"Where did he go?"

Luo Yu pushed his bike to the side of the road and called Gu Xiaowei’s phone.

"Classmate, where are you?"

"I'm next to the tricycle selling glowing balloons."

Luo Yu tilted his head and found the toy stall. Gu Xiaowei, wearing a mask, was discussing something with the stall owner.

"Hey, Gu Xiaowei, what are you looking at? Senior Brother will buy it for you?" Luo Yu approached and threw an arm around Gu Xiaowei’s shoulder.

Surrounded by children clamoring for balloons, Gu Xiaowei leaned towards Luo Yu and said in his ear, "Guess."

The breathed word was very light, containing a hint of a smile, tickling Luo Yu’s ear.

"Guess? Glowing balloons?" Luo Yu raised his eyebrows.

"Why glowing balloons?"

"Because... I just feel like you’d like bright things."

Gu Xiaowei chuckled softly and pointed to a toy sword in the tricycle stall, saying, "But I want that."

"You want this?" Luo Yu picked up the toy sword in surprise and waved it around.

It was very light, with a plastic sheath and hilt. Luo Yu drew the sword, and the blade appeared to have a metallic sheen but was quite soft. It was likely designed to prevent injuries if children played with it, so it would bend upon contact with anything.

"I remember you’ve done some wuxia films. Haven't you had enough of swordplay?" Luo Yu asked with a smile.

"I want to see you perform," Gu Xiaowei said.

"Me? You mean when we record the video later using this?"

"Yes," Gu Xiaowei nodded.

Under the colorful lights, Gu Xiaowei's profile had a rugged yet inscrutable outline, with a childlike clarity that seemed to see through everything, but also a restraint that hid all emotions deeply.

"I’ve already said... I've almost returned everything I learned to my former teacher." Luo Yu felt a pang of guilt about this.

"Then don’t lose what’s left. Let me see," Gu Xiaowei said.

Luo Yu paused for two seconds, suddenly finding the phrase "don’t lose what’s left" very precious. 

Since Gu Xiaowei wanted to see, then he would show him everything.

The sword only cost eight yuan, and it came with a strap on the sheath. Luo Yu initially wanted to sling it on his back, but unfortunately, since it was meant for children, the strap was too short. He could only hang it on his shoulder.

The two of them got on their bicycles and set off again.

Away from the noisy night market streets, they rode along the riverside boulevard. By nearly eleven at night, they finally arrived at the observation deck that Luo Yu had mentioned.

The river breeze blew gently, and there were no pedestrians around at this time. Only the lonely streetlights illuminated the platform, and the distant, dim river.

Luo Yu stood in the center of the observation deck, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I’m asking, do you really want to see me perform with the sword? It’s a bit awkward. Should I go back and prepare, practice for a week or two, and maybe set it to music...?"

"Do you remember the sword dance you performed during the school anniversary in your junior year?" Gu Xiaowei asked.

"Don’t tell me... you were watching from the audience at that time?" Luo Yu asked.

"Of course. Everyone around me was gasping. When you leaped with the sword, it seemed like you would stay suspended in the air forever."

"Ah, my old teacher also said that my airtime was very long." Luo Yu lowered his eyes, feeling a bit sad as he recalled his martial arts teacher.

"Don’t think about those predefined moves. Didn’t you like martial arts back then? If you still like it now, just think of it as playing a piece of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ on the piano. Not every martial artist can become a champion in the end."

Gu Xiaowei had a calm demeanor, as if he was waiting for something or protecting something.

And under his gaze, all of Luo Yu’s past frustrations and disappointments faded into calm, and what remained was the passion hidden deep in his heart.

"Alright, you need to record it well today, because regardless of whether this video gets seen by many people online or not, tonight you are my only audience."

Luo Yu smiled as he stepped back, rotating his wrists and stretching his legs. He then took down the toy sword from his shoulder.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Xiaowei’s lips as he leaned back against the observation deck railing. The river breeze lifted his hair as he watched Luo Yu.

At that moment, Luo Yu felt as if he had returned to his previous life, seeing Gu Xiaowei still practicing on stage just before he was about to leave the theater.

The prelude of "Floating Clouds and Flying Steps" began, with the pipa’s layered and resonant tones followed by the guzheng’s sound, like a waterfall cascading down.

Luo Yu had long forgotten the specific moves he performed back then. He moved spontaneously, making the sword whistle and clang.

His movements were elegant and vigorous, the swordplay precise and profound. His steps were measured, and when he leaped, his back arched like a bow, reaching towards the sky. The sword flourishes were graceful, as if releasing the wildness hidden in his bones.

Despite being on an observation deck, the performance gave a sense of vastness.

As the sword dance came to an end, Luo Yu’s movements combined softness with strength, as if he had sheathed all the wind, frost, and snow.

"As expected... if you don’t practice, you can’t do it. Many of my moves are no longer performable," Luo Yu sighed regretfully.

"But there’s no rule on how you should perform swordplay, nor any requirement for how one move should connect to the next. It’s all based on your preference, performing freely as you like. Isn’t that good?" Gu Xiaowei asked.

Luo Yu adjusted his breathing and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yes, I feel very refreshed!"

"Among the performances during the school anniversary, your sword dance is the only one I want to watch countless times," Gu Xiaowei said.

If the heartstrings really existed, Luo Yu suspected they were held by Gu Xiaowei’s fingers, plucked to the extreme and then suddenly released.

"Thank you," Luo Yu said.