Top Dupe CH 069 Prying At A Corner Of A Wall Part 1

TN: About the chapter title "prying at the corner of a wall”, in colloquial usage, it means to steal someone else's partner, poach someone else's romantic interest, or undermine someone's relationship. It can also refer to attempting to take someone else's business opportunities or employees.

At that moment, a WeChat notification popped up on his phone. It was from Ye Shengyi: [Brother Luo, I'm really sorry. I finished work too late today, my eyes can barely stay open. How about we reschedule? QAQ]

Luo Yu frowned slightly. He remembered that last time Sister Cui had dropped Ye Shengyi off at home, and the neighborhood wasn’t far from him.

Luo Yu put on his jacket, grabbed his car keys, and headed out. He drove to the opposite side of the entrance to Ye Shengyi’s complex.

Just as he was about to call Ye Shengyi, a taxi pulled up at the entrance, and a boy with a backpack stepped out.

The streetlights cast a cold glow over him. He was so thin that he looked like a piece of paper figurine, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

Luo Yu squinted his eyes, trying to make out the figure. That back definitely belonged to Ye Shengyi. But wait, did this kid cut his hair? Where had all that purple luck gone?

Luo Yu began to wonder if he had the wrong person.

He opened the car door and quickly walked over, following behind the boy.

The boy seemed completely unaware of his presence, lost in his own emotions—particularly sad ones.

Sure enough, just as he was about to enter the complex, the boy raised his hand to wipe his eyes.

Luo Yu sighed and softly called out the boy's name, “Ye Shengyi.”

The boy stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around. The eyes that had once been so full of energy now brimmed with sadness and grievance as they met Luo Yu’s.

“Brother Luo—you… you…”

Luo Yu raised his hand, gently pressing the boy’s head onto his shoulder. “Alright, go ahead and cry.”

At first, Ye Shengyi was confused, but two seconds later, he burst into tears.

Even the security guard, who had been dozing off in the gatehouse, was startled awake by the loud wailing. He opened the window and stuck his head out to see what was happening.

Luo Yu gave the guard an apologetic wave, signaling him to just ignore it.

The guard thought for a moment—this kind of crying at such a late hour probably meant a breakup.

—The midnight darkness gave this kid a reason to express his upset unabashedly.

After imagining a dramatic breakup scene for about ten minutes, Luo Yu patted Ye Shengyi’s shoulder and said softly, “Let’s go, hop in the car. Let’s get some late-night snacks.”

Ye Shengyi sniffled and nodded hard. “Okay.”

Once in Luo Yu’s car, and after buckling his seatbelt, Ye Shengyi asked, “Brother Luo, why did you come? I clearly sent you a message saying… we weren’t meeting today.”

Luo Yu smiled slightly. “When I asked you, you seemed so eager to see me. Knowing that I waited until almost eleven, you still suddenly canceled, but with your personality I knew you wouldn’t just send a single text message. Normally, you’d at least send a voice message or give me a call. So, why didn’t you? Because you were afraid I’d hear the sadness in your voice. Since I guessed that you were upset, I had to come and check on you—especially since you haven’t posted on your social media in a while.”

Hearing this, a small smile finally appeared on Ye Shengyi’s face.

“So Brother Luo, you really do care about me.”

“This doesn’t count as caring. If I truly cared enough, I would’ve noticed your sadness earlier.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to a street stall, have some fried rice, and maybe some skewers. How does that sound?” Luo Yu asked.

“Brother Luo, you’re famous now! Going to a street stall, aren’t you afraid of being recognized?”

“The best way to hide is in plain sight. As long as you don’t treat me like Luo Yu, no one else will either.”

Luo Yu drove to the old town section and parked the car. Then, he led Ye Shengyi for a few minutes before they arrived at a street stall.

Under the red canopy were about a dozen small square tables, but only five or six were still occupied.

The shirtless chef, with a towel draped over his shoulder, was energetically flipping his wok. The smell of stir-fry and barbecue filled the air, making Ye Shengyi’s stomach growl uncontrollably.

Luo Yu, wearing black-framed glasses, pulled out a chair and motioned for Ye Shengyi to sit down.

Ye Shengyi glanced around. The other diners seemed to be men in their thirties or forties, so the chances of anyone recognizing Luo Yu were indeed slim.

“But your disguise is still too simple,” Ye Shengyi muttered under his breath.

“It won’t be simple for long.” Luo Yu raised his hand and called out, “Order up—”

The lady boss hurried over. “Coming! What’ll it be?”

“What do you want? The fried rice here is top-notch, and the small meat skewers, beef skewers, and grilled gluten are all amazing.”

Ye Shengyi, having smelled the food for a while, was already drooling. “I don’t know what’s good. Whatever you order, I’ll eat.”

“Alright. We’ll have what I just mentioned, and two bottles of cola,” Luo Yu said.

“Brother Luo, you know me so well—I really need some ‘happiness water’ right now!”

Once the lady boss brought over the colas, Ye Shengyi gulped down several mouthfuls, letting out a few loud burps before exhaling deeply.

“Before the food arrives, why don’t you pour out what’s been bothering you? Otherwise, there won’t be any room left for the delicious food.” Luo Yu looked at Ye Shengyi.

His gaze was gentle, without any sense of coercion, and instead, it felt very accepting.  

This made Ye Shengyi suddenly feel a surge of desire to confide.  

"Actually, when Brother Yan first introduced me to work as an assistant makeup artist for Ai Cheng, I was really happy. Because Ai Cheng is also my idol. Before I went, I studied a lot of her makeup looks from various events—some were very fashionable, some were pure, and some had a natural, no-makeup look. I seriously researched how to enhance her features in each style." Ye Shengyi took a deep breath and then smiled wryly.  

"And then?" Luo Yu broke apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, smoothed off the splinters, and handed them to him.  

"Then, like any industry, seniority matters. Look at my face. Doesn't it scream 'young, inexperienced, and unreliable'?"  

"Young, yes. Inexperienced and unreliable, I don't see that," Luo Yu chuckled, having a rough idea of what Ye Shengyi had encountered.  

"So, after I became Ai Cheng's assistant makeup artist, the thing I did the most was handing over brushes. I didn’t even get the chance to apply her foundation. Then, a few days ago, she attended a music festival, and the makeup artist gave her a smoky eye look. It looked quite trendy up close, but it really didn't suit Ai Cheng. She has big, round eyes, and she's petite, so her look ended up resembling..."  

"The Corpse Bride?" Luo Yu asked.  

"How... did you know?"  

"Before picking you up, I did some browsing. When I saw that look, I knew it couldn't have been your work," Luo Yu smiled as he lowered his head.  

"Exactly. I know cyberpunk is really popular among singers lately, but it just doesn't suit Ai Cheng. I spoke up at the time, but Ai Cheng was quite unhappy, and her makeup artist told me to go help the assistant take care of her leather jacket. I barely had any chance to do makeup during this period and was basically stuck running errands."  

"And today? What happened at the jewelry launch?" Luo Yu asked softly.  

When his gentle gaze fell upon Ye Shengyi, he suddenly felt like a child, and the strong front he had been forcing himself to maintain softened in an instant.  

"Today was a jewelry launch, and Ai Cheng was wearing a long dress, looking elegant and intellectual. But the makeup artist, Sister Lan, because the brand was from the West, decided to give Ai Cheng a Western-style makeup look—deep-set eyes, prominent brow bones, and high cheekbones."  

"Ai Cheng is better suited for a princess style, and makeup that emphasizes her facial contours too much would overshadow the jewelry itself," Luo Yu imagined Ai Cheng's makeup in his mind.  

"Exactly. I made a suggestion at the time, too. When Ai Cheng stands next to other women with similar Western makeup, she loses her distinctiveness. But Ai Cheng and Sister Lan believed that highlighting her facial structure was more high-class, and since the organizers had no objections, I had no right to say anything..."  

Luo Yu smiled knowingly, seemingly understanding Ai Cheng's desire to follow the mainstream aesthetic. "So, how did the organizers react after seeing the result?"  

"I wasn’t at the scene, but apparently the official photographer barely spent any time on Ai Cheng. Her makeup made her seem..."  

"Quite ordinary."  

"Yes. For the evening banquet, she had to change into another dress. That outfit is really ethereal, so I wanted to suggest a more romantic, colorful makeup look. But Ai Cheng and Sister Lan still disagreed and decided to stick with the pure style."  

"Because that style, while not outstanding, is at least safe."  

Ye Shengyi shrugged helplessly, "Exactly. I guess my repeated suggestions annoyed Ai Cheng and Sister Lan. I ended up being asked to move things around and return the dresses. After the evening banquet, Sister Lan even had a talk with me. She made it clear: I don’t have much experience, but I have too many ideas. Sometimes, I should observe more instead of rushing to speak. Most importantly, she knows Ai Cheng best and understands what Ai Cheng wants, so there’s no need for me to disrupt their rhythm."  

"Giving Ai Cheng what she wants— from that perspective, Sister Lan isn’t wrong. But..."  

Just then, the fried rice and skewers arrived, golden and fragrant. The young man serving them gave Luo Yu a glance.  

Luo Yu stood out among the crowd at the food stall, with his broad shoulders and upright posture.  

But when the young man tried to get a clearer look at Luo Yu's face, he noticed that Luo Yu had placed a napkin under the nose pads of his glasses to keep them from slipping. This obscured his features, but even through the lenses, the young man could tell Luo Yu had beautiful eyes.  

Once the young man left, Ye Shengyi gave Luo Yu a thumbs-up. "As expected, even if Brother Gu showed up, he might not recognize you like this."  

"Teacher Gu has sharp eyes," Luo Yu laughed, pushing the fried rice towards Ye Shengyi. "Eat up. I’ve already had dinner, so I’ll skip the main dish."  

"By the way, you were saying 'but' earlier. But what?" Ye Shengyi asked.  

"But Ai Cheng and Sister Lan have their rapport. Ai Cheng trusts Sister Lan, and Sister Lan knows how to meet her needs. They've reached a balance, and your arrival might have unintentionally disrupted that balance, so..."  

"So I’ve been excluded by them?"  

Luo Yu smiled slightly, knowing that Ye Shengyi understood his point.  

There were also more practical and self-serving reasons: Sister Lan had spent years building trust with Ai Cheng and didn’t want Ye Shengyi to take that away.  

Ye Shengyi picked up his spoon and started eating the fried rice in big bites.  

Luo Yu thought that after realizing the harsh reality, this kid might lose his appetite, but surprisingly, he ate with great relish.  

Before long, the fried rice was gone, and Ye Shengyi grabbed a skewer, devouring it in a few bites, leaving streaks of chili oil on both sides of his mouth.  

"Previously, to stay in Ai Cheng’s team, I kept compromising and changing myself! Ai Cheng didn’t like my purple hair, so I dyed it black! She didn’t like my accessories, saying they might get caught in her hair, so I took them all off! She didn’t think much of my makeup skills, so I ran errands instead! I even learned how to apply fake nails just to earn her approval! But so what? We don’t get along, and staying there won’t get me anywhere!"  

Ye Shengyi pressed the skewer stick onto the table and gulped down several swigs of cola, quite boldly.  

"So, what’s your plan?" Luo Yu asked with a smile, resting his chin on his hand.  

"What else? She doesn’t appreciate my skills, my hair, or my Christmas tree-like fashion sense, but I wasn’t dressing up for her in the first place! Tomorrow, I’m going to tell her I’m done, I’m quitting. I feel bad for wasting Brother Yan’s favor in getting me this job, but if this road is a dead end, I can’t stay stuck forever!"  

Luo Yu lowered his eyes and smiled, reminded of his former self.  

Ye Shengyi was braver than he had been.  

"So, have you found your next job? Most people don’t quit without securing something else first," Luo Yu asked with a grin.  

"I have!" Ye Shengyi said confidently.  

Seeing that look, Luo Yu felt an inexplicable unease—could it be he had a new competitor?  

"Where?"

"You! I want to be your exclusive makeup artist!" Ye Shengyi looked into Luo Yu's eyes, speaking boldly and earnestly.

"My makeup artist?" Luo Yu was momentarily stunned. He had thought he'd have to persuade Ye Shengyi, but unexpectedly, Ye Shengyi had beaten him to it!

"The moment I saw you, I just knew... that saying—‘A golden fish cannot stay in a pond; when the time comes, it will transform into a dragon!’”

Luo Yu almost spat out his soda. "Th-thanks..."

"I believe that once ‘Counterattack’ airs, your Bai Ying will become iconic! And once ‘Storm’ airs, your Huo Haoyan will also become the ultimate supporting character! I'll use my skills to make your roles shine! If you have other candidates for a makeup artist, I'm willing to compete for the position! But I can guarantee you won't find anyone with a better value for money than me!" Ye Shengyi patted his chest in confidence.

For some reason, Luo Yu felt warmth in his heart.

This Ye Shengyi, someone who actively fought for their chance, someone who unwaveringly believed in him, gave Luo Yu a sense of responsibility he'd never felt before.

He knew he had to choose his future roles carefully, walk the right path, and not let down those who were willing to walk alongside him.