Top Dupe CH 071 White Rose Part 2

Back in the car, Luo Yu waved goodbye through the window, and the girls, as if prearranged, called out in unison to say goodbye.

"Jiang Chenyun—good luck—"

"Li Jingshan—good luck—"

…

"Bai Ying—good luck—"

"Huo Haoyan—good luck—"

"Wen Yuchi—good luck—"

Hearing their cheers, Luo Yu’s eyes welled up.

Jiang Chenyun was the senior brother he played in ‘Plum Blossom Rain’, and Li Jingshan was the countryside student he portrayed in another drama.

These roles, which he thought no one cared about, were still remembered by so many people.

He would keep walking down this path.

Please believe that the best version of me is yet to come.

Sitting in the van, Luo Yu opened their letters and slowly read them, sometimes smiling and sometimes feeling emotional.

It wasn’t long before photos of Luo Yu giving flowers to his fans surfaced online. The girls who were there in person all remarked how gentle, elegant, and genuine he was.

Luo Yu’s van drove for over two hours before finally arriving at the movie’s filming location—Rose Manor Resort.

It was a resort scheduled to open to the public in about six months, said to be landscaped with various types of rose family plants. The resort featured villas and cottages, nestled against a famous mountain shrouded in mist, with a crystal-clear lake at its base, where you could see your reflection even while boating.

Ye Shengyi leaned out of the window, admiring the bright red rose trellises in the distance, exclaiming, "Wow, I’ve never seen such a fancy resort!"

"Because the word 'rose' is in the movie’s title, and Director Sheng likes to use colors and symbolism. Plus, famous painter Lu Pingfeng’s home is a villa, so they chose this as the filming location." Luo Yu patted Ye Shengyi on the head.

His purple hair was surprisingly soft.

"Do we get to stay here, too?" Ye Shengyi asked.

"Yes, for part of the time. The resort is sponsoring the film, so once it’s released, a lot of people will probably come here for vacation. The production team has already sent out the accommodation arrangements. Let’s drop off our luggage first; the official shoot starts the day after tomorrow."

Luo Yu replied.

"I can’t even imagine what it’s like to stay here—feels like becoming a millionaire!"

"Thousand feet large mansions, but at night, all you need is three feet of bed space. After two days, you might even find the villa too big, inconvenient to walk around in." Luo Yu chuckled.

Typically, movie shoots wouldn’t have such luxurious accommodations, but this was a special case due to the unique filming location and the resort’s sponsorship from the resort.

Master Jiang drove the van to the villa arranged by the production team for accommodation.

Ye Shengyi looked up and said, "This villa has three floors… are just the three of us staying here?"

“Of course not. That would be too luxurious.”

Luo Yu walked around to the back of the car and had just moved one suitcase when the villa door opened.

Gu Xiaowei and Brother Yan walked out.

“You finally arrived! If you hadn’t come, we would have been too embarrassed to pick rooms!” Brother Yan carried two suitcases by himself.

Ye Shengyi was stunned: “So… are we living with Brother Gu?”

Gu Xiaowei took the suitcase from Luo Yu’s hand, said “Yes” and went inside.

With more people, things were more efficient. Master Jiang hadn’t been at the door for even a minute, and all the luggage was already inside.

This villa was quite large. The first floor was the living area with a living room, dining room, and kitchen, plus a small garden in the back.

The second floor had three rooms, and the third floor had two rooms plus a large terrace.

“I think this arrangement is quite good,” Brother Yan said. “Brother Gu and Luo Yu will live upstairs, and the second floor will be for the rest of us. Xiao Qin is a girl, so she needs a separate room. The remaining two rooms…”

“I’ll share a room with you. We’re both makeup artists, so our habits are quite similar,” Ye Shengyi said.

“Then I’ll share a room with Brother Gu’s driver. We know each other anyway,” Master Jiang said.

The rooms were quickly assigned, and everyone started to unpack.

The two rooms upstairs were connected rooms, sharing a bathroom and a walk-in closet, one room larger and one smaller.

This arrangement was probably meant for families with children, making it easier for parents to look after them.

“I’ll take the smaller room! The view from that room overlooks the rose garden. It’s so beautiful,” Luo Yu said.

“Alright.” Gu Xiaowei didn’t refuse.

Luo Yu opened his suitcase, took out the clothes that suited Wen Yuchi’s character, and put them in the room’s wardrobe, while less used clothes went into the walk-in closet.

When he walked in, he saw Gu Xiaowei hanging clothes as well. Gu Xiaowei still liked to organize things himself.

Luo Yu smiled. “I didn’t expect the crew to arrange for us to stay together.”

Gu Xiaowei came over, took Luo Yu’s suitcase, and hung up his clothes neatly. “It was my request.”

“Huh?”

“Since you and I are the streamlined type of team, we’ll definitely be grouped with others. Rather than that, it’s better to live together so we can practice lines together—our scenes together are quite a few.” Gu Xiaowei said. “And this is also Director Sheng’s wish.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Your request is both reasonable and convenient.”

Gu Xiaowei lowered his head to adjust the collar of Luo Yu’s windbreaker. His fingers were slender, and as they bent, Luo Yu suddenly had an illusion—that he wasn’t adjusting the collar but caressing his neck.

His throat tightened, and just as he was about to take a small step back, Gu Xiaowei reached out his hand again. “The next piece.”

“Oh… this one.”

Gu Xiaowei tilted his head as if thinking about something. “The clothes you brought this time don’t quite match your personal taste.”

Luo Yu felt a bit awkward. “I know my taste is quite simple—always casual clothes and sweatpants. These were chosen by Boss Jiang for me.”

“Our body types are similar; you can wear mine too,” Gu Xiaowei said.

Soon, the clothes were sorted out, and they started arranging toiletries.

Luo Yu then remembered the bouquet of flowers and hurriedly thanked him. “Thank you for ordering those flowers. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to thank the fans when I saw them.”

“Once you have more experience, you’ll be prepared in advance,” Gu Xiaowei said.

Luo Yu found a decorative vase in the room and put the white roses Gu Xiaowei had given him inside.

“Thank you for the flower.”

“Giving you the flower was to apologize,” Gu Xiaowei said, leaning against Luo Yu’s room door.

“Apologize? What are you apologizing for? I have more to thank you for,” Luo Yu said with a smile.

“I really want to interact with you more, to practice lines with you… and I want you to look at me. Maybe when I become Lu Pingfeng, you might be frightened,” Gu Xiaowei said seriously.

Luo Yu was taken aback. He hadn’t forgotten how deeply Gu Xiaowei immersed himself in this role.

“Lu Pingfeng isn’t a scary person. You won’t scare me,” Luo Yu lightly tapped Gu Xiaowei’s chest with his fist.

Before his hand could pull back, Gu Xiaowei grabbed it.

Gu Xiaowei’s fingers gripped his wrist with more force than Luo Yu had imagined. Luo Yu could feel the warmth of his palm.

It seemed like a gentle warmth but had an underlying scalding heat.

Luo Yu tried to pull back a bit, but Gu Xiaowei remained unmoved. He just looked at Luo Yu, his gaze seemingly gentle, but the longer they locked eyes, the more Luo Yu felt that Gu Xiaowei’s eyes were like a reversed abyss, enveloping everything.

He was using this method to claim Luo Yu’s pulse.

“Maybe what’s frightening isn’t Lu Pingfeng, but me.”

A sense of dangerous premonition surged in Luo Yu’s heart, yet he felt like a puppet on strings, gently drawn step by step closer.

Footsteps were heard on the stairs.

“Brother Gu, I brought your box up! It’s all painting supplies, right? Will it fit in the room?” Brother Yan asked.

Gu Xiaowei finally let go, a gentle smile on his lips, and turned to walk towards Brother Yan. “The room is big enough. Place it by the bay window.”

After Gu Xiaowei left, Luo Yu let out a breath.

His heart felt like it was gripped in the other’s hand, with breathing and heartbeat being controlled at that moment.

This kind of aggression was something Gu Xiaowei hadn’t shown before.

Was this a trait of Lu Pingfeng?

Luo Yu closed his eyes, recalling the script. It didn’t seem like Lu Pingfeng from the script, because Lu Pingfeng had a detached aloofness.

He watched the battlefield surrounding his paintings with an indifferent attitude, observing each person’s destruction. Even when attracted to Wen Yuchi, he appeared as an observer, without showing the kind of heart-stopping possessiveness that had just been displayed.

“Brother Gu, is it okay to just place the easel here?” Brother Yan’s voice sounded.

“Sure, thank you.”

“Brother Gu, who is the painting of?”

“You’ll know who it is once I finish the painting,” Gu Xiaowei said.

Gu Xiaowei didn’t close the door, which allowed Luo Yu to hear their conversation clearly.

Gu Xiaowei seemed very normal talking with Brother Yan. Was his behavior earlier intentional?

Luo Yu knew that Gu Xiaowei had learned to paint specifically for playing Lu Pingfeng. So what were his paintings like?

Curious, Luo Yu went to Gu Xiaowei’s door and lightly knocked. “Did you bring a lot of painting supplies? I can help you organize them.”

Gu Xiaowei turned towards him, the curtains were drawn back, and the bright light fell on his face, giving it an almost ascetic flawlessness. When he looked at Luo Yu, the smile on his lips was like the soft boundary where the starry night meets dawn, making it hard for Luo Yu to connect him to the person who had just held his wrist.

“You just want to see what I’ve painted but pretend to offer help.”

Luo Yu didn’t feel embarrassed at being called out and walked directly to his side. “Well—if I were good at tidying up, the housework industry would disappear.”

On the bay window seat were Gu Xiaowei’s painting supplies: paints, palettes, several drawing boards, pencil holders, and so on.

Seeing Luo Yu come in, Brother Yan said, “I’ll go check on how Xiao Yezi is doing,” and left.

Luo Yu also saw a sketchbook. He lifted his chin. “Can I take a look?”

“Go ahead. If you don’t, you won’t be at ease,” Gu Xiaowei said.

“I’m not uneasy about anything.” Luo Yu opened the sketchbook. The drawings were quite ordinary: a mother pulling a child with a backpack to school, a dog clinging to its owner’s calf, students riding bikes.

Gu Xiaowei’s drawing skills were much better than Luo Yu had imagined. The lines were clean and decisive, capturing the characteristics of each image with a unique charm.

“Your drawings are really good.” Luo Yu looked down, as if he were seeing not just the sketches but the mental state of Gu Xiaowei.

“Are you reassured now?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

His eyes revealed understanding, as if he already knew all of Luo Yu’s thoughts.

With a slight sigh, Luo Yu said honestly, “Alright, I was a bit worried about you. I thought that with all the preparation you’ve done for the role of Lu Pingfeng, from painting to mindset, I wondered if I would see dead nightingales, scarred withered roses, broken-winged butterflies—after all, Lu Pingfeng is best at depicting death. He sees every person and every beautiful thing as their end.”

Gu Xiaowei stood up, lowered his gaze, as if trying to discern Luo Yu’s expression at that moment. “But Wen Yuchi is the starting point for Lu Pingfeng, the beginning, and also a rebirth. So, I have never understood what kind of feeling this is.”

His gaze was typical of Gu Xiaowei—reserved and flat, yet imbued with an elusive extremity and persistence.

Luo Yu knew that Gu Xiaowei was adjusting himself. Once he found the right entry point, he would infinitely approach Lu Pingfeng—who had no reverence for life, immersed in a fascination with death—but Wen Yuchi existed outside Lu Pingfeng’s comprehension of life and death.

Therefore, Luo Yu could not retreat. If he stepped back, he would lose the essence of Wen Yuchi. Only by truly becoming Wen Yuchi could he pull Gu Xiaowei out of the paradox of life and death.

Luo Yu’s fingers gently traced the lines Gu Xiaowei had left on the paper, as if sensing the force with which he had drawn.

Gu Xiaowei came to Luo Yu’s side and gazed at his profile. “Lu Pingfeng observes everyone around him like a bystander—his students, his agent, the collectors of his paintings, even the police investigating him. Only with Wen Yuchi, Lu Pingfeng is no longer a bystander; he wants to become a part of Wen Yuchi’s life.”

Luo Yu looked up into Gu Xiaowei’s eyes, neither retreating due to the other’s proximity nor fearing the immeasurable darkness in his gaze.

Gu Xiaowei moved a bit closer. “So why is that? Is Wen Yuchi Lu Pingfeng’s savior?”

“No.”

Gu Xiaowei asked again, “Then why Wen Yuchi, when there are so many bright and strong people in the world?”

Luo Yu leaned back, the back of his head hitting the wall. Only then did he realize that he was cornered by Gu Xiaowei.

Despite the other’s hands being casually stuffed in his pockets, with paths of retreat on either side, Luo Yu felt there was no choice but to face him.

As a wisp of cloud passed across the sky, the sunlight was obscured, and the room suddenly darkened.

Gu Xiaowei’s features fell into the shadow of the backlight, all gentility and restraint seemingly retreating like a tide, and his cold face was touched by a layer of hidden desire. Luo Yu suddenly felt a sense of precariousness, as if he were suspended in mid-air.

“See, this is the unequal obsession between Lu Pingfeng and Wen Yuchi.”

Gu Xiaowei suddenly stepped back.

Fresh air rushed in, and Luo Yu’s fingers clenched and then relaxed.

Sunlight streamed back in, falling on Gu Xiaowei’s shoulder, and reality and illusion peeled away into alluring hues.

Luo Yu realized that he was trying too hard to maintain his rationality. If he couldn’t immerse himself as deeply as Gu Xiaowei, he wouldn’t grasp his essence.

Unequal obsession.

So, what exactly is Lu Pingfeng’s obsession with Wen Yuchi?

Luo Yu had always arrogantly thought that he understood Wen Yuchi well enough, but when facing Gu Xiaowei, he realized he was too aloof, always thinking about saving Gu Xiaowei, being both arrogant and self-satisfied, without truly immersing himself.

“Don't worry, the closer you get to Lu Pingfeng, the more I will become Wen Yuchi.”

Neither of them could abandon the other to independently understand their roles.

When he looked back, Luo Yu saw the unfinished oil painting on Gu Xiaowei’s easel—boldly colored in large areas, bright and vivid, but upon closer inspection, it revealed the outline of a person, though still indistinct.

This might be how Lu Pingfeng sees Wen Yuchi—not a concrete image, but a passionate, unrestrained emotion.