Top Dupe CH 068 Sword Dance Part 2

"Let’s go, it’s time to head back," Gu Xiaowei said as he left the railing and walked towards their bicycles.

"Do you think we’ll get photographed when we go back?" Luo Yu asked.

Those paparazzi must be waiting outside the hotel. They missed photos of their departure, so they’d definitely want to capture them returning together.

"Let them take pictures if they want," Gu Xiaowei said, his foot tapping the ground, "We can pull the curtains open and stand by the window for them to take pictures. Afterward, they can go home and rest early."

"Haha, I can’t even imagine that scene. Doesn’t it sound like royalty, standing on the terrace for the media to take pictures?"

Gu Xiaowei’s lips curled into a smile, seemingly in a good mood due to Luo Yu’s joke.

But when Luo Yu looked closely, his smile had already faded, a fleeting moment indeed.

Back at the hotel, Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu didn’t care about how many photos the paparazzi took. They hurried to their room to freshen up.

Luo Yu fell into bed and was asleep in three seconds.

The next morning, yawning, Luo Yu sat in the back seat of Sister Cui’s car with Gu Xiaowei.

"What did you two do last night?" Sister Cui turned around to look at them.

"Nothing much, Gu Xiaowei helped me film a video, which we’ll release when the fans hit five million."

Sister Cui patted her chest. "Good, good. The photos of you two returning to the hotel last night have been posted online. They say you left and returned together on bicycles, and there are a lot of speculations about what you two were doing."

"Oh, what are people guessing we were doing?" Luo Yu asked with interest.

"If you were with someone else, like Liu Songtao, people would think you went for a health treatment. If it was with Jiang Muxing, they’d assume you went to a KTV. But with Gu Xiaowei... the most commented speculation is that you two went cycling."

Luo Yu felt disappointed. "Really? Shouldn’t the speculation be that we went somewhere on a bicycle to do something?"

"But it’s Gu Xiaowei, the disciplined Gu Xiaowei. Could it be that you two were cycling to eat late-night snacks?"

"We already had hot pot; we couldn’t eat more."

"Exactly. Or were you two cycling out on a date?"

Luo Yu laughed. "Yes, we were cycling, enjoying the river breeze, out on a date! If only the civil affairs bureau were open late at night, we could even get our marriage certificates!"

Sister Cui saw Gu Xiaowei pulling out his phone and quickly said, "Look at you, speaking so freely. Gu Xiaowei will have to clarify things online quickly."

"I’m just shopping online," Gu Xiaowei said, raising his eyes.

"Shopping for what?"

"You wanted to get a certificate, right? I’m buying two online. Next time we get photographed, we can show the certificate to the netizens and make them stop guessing," Gu Xiaowei said.

"What certificate?" Luo Yu leaned over, and Gu Xiaowei generously turned his phone screen for him to see.

It showed the bold red words—"Good Buddy Certificate."

Luo Yu paused. "Does Cheng Fei also have this certificate?"

"He wanted to give me one, but I didn’t accept."

Luo Yu snickered inwardly, no wonder Cheng Fei had such a sour attitude when he first met him on the set.

Sister Cui dropped Gu Xiaowei off at the entrance of his upscale residential area. She could only drop him off at the gate.

As he was leaving, Gu Xiaowei knocked on Luo Yu’s window. "See you on the set."

Hearing these words, Luo Yu felt a particularly special emotion.

In his previous life, Gu Xiaowei had been so immersed in his role as Lu Pingfeng that he had to take two years off to recuperate.

If Luo Yu had one wish in his new life, it wouldn’t be to defeat He Mu or Ou Juntao but to accompany Gu Xiaowei through this journey and smoothly transition to another stage of life.

"See you on the set," Luo Yu said softly, watching Gu Xiaowei’s back as he pushed his suitcase along.

In the next two days, Luo Yu's days became a bit busy, but the busy schedule didn't quite feel like serious work.

For instance, Pinnacle Sports had already indicated to Sister Cui that there was a 70% chance they wouldn’t renew the contract with He Mu, and that the next spokesperson would be Luo Yu. Sister Cui was much more cautious than before. She knew that with He Mu’s team’s handling style, the announcement of not renewing the contract would definitely come from He Mu’s side. Pinnacle Sports needed to be strategic, not leaking any intention of signing with Luo Yu, and avoiding provoking He Mu’s fans into a conflict. Sister Cui thought that first, they should use "Burn, Little Cosmos" to warm up, making everyone feel that Luo Yu was more suitable for Pinnacle Sports, and then officially announce after "Counterattack" aired. This way, they could effectively buffer the attacks from He Mu’s fans.

This idea resonated with Pinnacle Sports, and both sides were already in preliminary discussions about the contract details.

Another thing was that Sister Cui took Luo Yu to the studio apartment she rented for him, which was a duplex structure.

Luo Yu followed Sister Cui, feeling like Liu Laolao visiting the Grand View Garden. What made him shy was that the background wall in the studio apartment was adorned with large, high-definition stills of Bai Ying, with every strand of hair depicted in a flowing and beautiful manner.

That wasn't all; as they walked further, the wall was covered with an oversized grid of the photos Gu Xiaowei took for him as well. Sister Cui specially explained that she had obtained Gu Xiaowei’s consent for these photos.

Luo Yu’s ears turned red, feeling as though the whole world was filled with himself.

The first floor was an activity area with a large sofa where he could lie down, watch videos, and play games lazily. Besides the activity area, there was also a walk-in closet.

Luo Yu opened the door and found rows of cabinets. He pointed inside and said, “Having so many cabinets… isn’t it a bit wasteful?”

“Not at all. With 'Counterattack' about to air, believe it or not, your business activities will increase. Even if there aren’t business activities, you’ll need to cooperate with basic interviews and drama promotions. Do you plan to continue wearing white T-shirts and linen casual pants?”

“I don’t have the money to fill them all up.” Luo Yu casually opened one of the cabinets and then froze.

Inside were rows of formal attire, ranging from silver-gray to pure black, with varying materials and styles. Although Luo Yu believed that he wouldn’t be able to distinguish them all when taken out.

“These were prepared for you by President Jiang.”

“So many? Even if I went on a blind date every day, I wouldn’t be able to wear them all in a week, right?”

“President Jiang means that for formal occasions, it’s better to have your own clothes rather than borrowing them last minute and scrambling to find the right style. As for other wardrobes, your stylist can help you shop when they arrive. But I think… Teacher Gu’s taste suits you best. The clothes he picked last time were impeccable in terms of style,” Sister Cui said with admiration.

“He… indeed has much better taste than I do.”

Sister Cui then took Luo Yu to the second floor, which had a spare bedroom for the team to rest, an office with a small conference table, and even a projector for PPT presentations. Everything was well-organized.

Looking at the empty table, Luo Yu really felt the need to recruit a team.

“There are two makeup artists coming for interviews today,” Sister Cui said, pulling out a chair at the main seat. “I understand your personality. You’re not used to having assistants around, which makes you uncomfortable. But a makeup artist is necessary. When you’re in 'Beast and Rose,' you’ll need touch-ups at all times. Do you plan to use Gu Xiaowei’s makeup artist?”

“Wait! What about Xiao Yezi? Can’t he stay with me?” Luo Yu appreciated Ye Shengyi’s skills, and he was also Brother Yan’s apprentice.

“Xiao Yezi has already found a job. Brother Yan introduced him to Ai Cheng as an assistant makeup artist,” Sister Cui said with resignation. “Before, Xiao Yezi wanted to follow you, but at that time, you were about to terminate the contract with Bo Wenyuan, and you were worried you wouldn’t be able to pay him. Now he has a good place to go. I didn’t have the heart to poach him. If Xiao Yezi agreed, it would offend Ai Cheng, and if he didn’t, it would be a disappointment to you. I didn’t want to put him in a difficult position.”

“Oh…” Luo Yu felt disappointed instantly.

The two makeup artists who came for the interview today didn’t quite meet Luo Yu’s satisfaction.

One had a makeup style that was too heavy, which highlighted Luo Yu’s facial features but appeared tacky up close.

The other was good at fashionable styles, making Luo Yu’s face more recognizable, suitable for magazines but not for film shoots.

Luo Yu took photos of both styles, intending to send them to his friend group, but thinking about Cheng Fei’s straight male taste, he decided to send them to someone with better taste who could provide a tactful response.

Half a minute later, the phone buzzed twice. Luo Yu opened it to find that Gu Xiaowei’s comments were indeed tactful and concise.

[……]

Luo Yu: [Teacher Gu, even if you send an emoji, it’s fine.]

In "Beast and Rose," Gu Xiaowei played a great painter and was currently learning the basics of oil painting in a studio.

Xiao Qin sat next to him, bored, scrolling through her phone, when she suddenly heard Gu Xiaowei speak after being quiet for a while.

“Is there an emoji that can express ‘none of these look good’?”

Xiao Qin paused and asked seriously, “Brother Gu, is the emoji for a buddy or a female friend?”

“What’s the difference?”

“If it’s for Brother Cheng, he might just reply, ‘Get lost! You look the best in the whole wide world.’ But if it’s for a girl, like Miss Xie Chang, she might not block you because you’re handsome, but she’ll definitely give you an eye roll.”

“It’s not a girl, but I don’t want to receive an eye roll from the other person,” Gu Xiaowei said.

“Then just say ‘none of these look good, but you look the best,’” Xiao Qin suggested. “It’s not Brother Cheng, right? If it were straight guy Brother Cheng, he would definitely laugh.”

Gu Xiaowei calmly lowered his head and sent a simple and direct message: [Change the makeup artist.]

Luo Yu received the message and smiled knowingly: [As expected, Gu Xiaowei doesn’t send emojis.]

Sister Cui knew Luo Yu wouldn’t be satisfied, so after sending off the two interviewees, she made coffee, and the two sat at the table, silent for about three minutes.

“Why don’t you poach him?” Sister Cui suggested.

Luo Yu raised his eyebrows, “Aren’t you afraid of offending Ai Cheng?”

“You’re a male actor, and Ai Cheng is a female singer. There’s no competition between you. Even if you offend her… the harm should be minimal. Besides, given your nature, you’ll feel awkward with unfamiliar people around you. Xiao Yezi’s skills and style still suit you best.”

Sister Cui’s actual thought was that if it did offend, Jiang Yinchuan would handle it.

What’s a boss for? To take the heat!

“Well… I’ll give it a try.”

Luo Yu lowered his head and opened Ye Shengyi’s Moments, originally intending to check his recent activities, but found that he hadn’t posted for over a month.

Luo Yu frowned, “Ai Cheng must have many activities, right?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Then… why hasn’t Xiao Yezi posted any Moments about Ai Cheng’s activities?”

Even if he couldn’t post pictures of Ai Cheng, he could share what he ate, saw, and the fan situation on-site.

This kid used to be impatient if he didn’t post on his social media for a day.

When Luo Yu mentioned it, Sister Cui also felt it was odd, “Hey, yeah. What happened to him? It doesn’t seem like him?”

Luo Yu wasn’t sure if Ye Shengyi was busy with work, so he sent a WeChat message: [Xiao Yezi, are you busy lately? I want to invite you to dinner and talk about something.]

But there was no response. Luo Yu searched online for Ai Cheng’s recent schedule; she should be attending a high-end jewelry launch today.

“Maybe today isn’t the right time. Xiao Yezi should be busy.”

But unexpectedly, Ye Shengyi sent a voice message, sounding like he was in a bathroom with a bit of echo: [Ahhh, Brother Luo, you finally contacted me! I’d love to have dinner with you! Even if you don’t treat me, just seeing your handsome face would make me eat three more bowls of rice!]

Luo Yu: [How about tonight? Are you attending the high-end jewelry event with Ai Cheng?]

Ye Shengyi: [Yes! My event ends at ten tonight. Will it be too late? But if we arrange it after, I’m afraid I’ll be resting, and you’ll go to the 'Beast and Rose' set!]

Luo Yu: [Then tonight it is. I’ll pick you up after work. Let’s go for a late-night snack.]

Ye Shengyi: [Sure! Sure! Brother Luo, they’re calling me. I need to go over!]

Although only a few words were exchanged, Luo Yu could sense that Ye Shengyi was very eager to meet him.

That evening, Luo Yu spent the time at home waiting by watching documentaries about forensic science.

Sister Cui had checked with the crew, and before the official shooting starts, Luo Yu would undergo two weeks of forensic training. In the meantime, Luo Yu wanted to learn as much as possible about the professional aspects of the character Wen Yuchi.

After watching episode after episode of the documentary, Luo Yu picked up his phone and checked the time—it was almost eleven at night. Was Ye Shengyi’s work still not finished?