Top Dupe CH 089 Toasting Bai Ying And Yan Ye Part 1

“Then let me talk about Senior Brother,” Gu Xiaowei lowered his gaze, glancing at the porcelain cup by his hand. “The character of Yan Ye is the opposite of my own personality. I tend to be somewhat obsessive and serious, maybe even a bit boring, which doesn’t make me a popular person in real life.”

“Don’t say that; Brother Cheng still likes you. Give him a solid ‘bro’ certification sometime,” Luo Yu teased, prompting laughter from the others.

Gu Xiaowei shot Luo Yu a glance, smiled faintly, and continued, “But Yan Ye is different. He’s adaptable, never fixates on problems. To complete his undercover mission, he’s able to shift from being a disciplined, principled cop to someone flexible, unruly, even unconcerned with rules, fixated only on earning Bai Ying’s approval. For him, boundaries aren’t just words on paper or a list of rules to recite; they’re a moral line in his heart that judges right from wrong.”

Luo Yu listened intently, curious to understand how his portrayal of Bai Ying might have impacted Gu Xiaowei.

“At first, I hadn’t quite adapted to the shift, nor did I grasp the feeling of… offering the kingdom to win someone’s heart,” Gu Xiaowei confessed.

Hearing the phrase “offering the kingdom” made Luo Yu feel a bit embarrassed, as if he were the legendary Bao Si, and Gu Xiaowei was King You of Zhou lighting the warning beacons for his amusement. But deep down, an indescribable thrill arose.

Gu Xiaowei’s voice was smooth, drawing people into his thoughts. “But when I saw your portrayal of Bai Ying in the audition tape, I suddenly understood what Yan Ye wanted—absolute trust from Bai Ying. Bai Ying’s love and hate are too clear, too intense, a bias Yan Ye could never find in his cold, black-and-white world. Once he gains Bai Ying’s trust, Bai Ying will offer his wealth, connections, power, even his life, all in unwavering loyalty. This absolute devotion holds a fatal allure for Yan Ye.”

Gu Xiaowei looked at Luo Yu, his eyes calm yet stirring a power capable of turning Luo Yu’s world upside down.

It felt as though he wasn’t talking about Yan Ye desiring Bai Ying’s trust, but rather Gu Xiaowei longing for Luo Yu’s devotion.

“In the dark world of the drama, everyone else is chasing personal gains; only Bai Ying values trust above all. From the first moment Yan Ye sees Bai Ying, he knows others would betray him for their benefit, but Bai Ying would break the world to stand by him.”

Luo Yu raised his porcelain cup and smiled, “So really, Bai Ying is the one offering everything to win the other’s favor.”

“To Bai Ying,” Gu Xiaowei lifted his cup.

“To Yan Ye.”

They exchanged smiles, in complete understanding.

That evening, the drama’s episode aired with a scene where Bai Ying single-handedly fought the assassin Ah Bao. The clean, no-nonsense combat had the audience thrilled.

As Bai Ying’s knee strike flowed into a sweeping move, his fierce gaze held the screen. If not for the lack of a replay feature on TV, fans would have replayed that scene endlessly.

Once the episode streamed online an hour later, comments exploded. Many analyzed Bai Ying’s moves, noticing that most shots were wide-angle rather than close-ups, proving Luo Yu hadn’t used a stunt double. His actions were sharp and powerful, and fans were impressed with Luo Yu’s combat skills.

Especially the scene where Bai Ying kicked Ah Bao onto the beam, snapping his spine. It brought viewers an unmatched thrill.

[OMG, I could watch this fight a million times!]

[Luo Yu did it himself; I analyzed every frame. He didn’t use a double! Absolute legend!]

[So strong! This is a man worth Yan Ye’s loyalty!]

[He could just rely on his looks, but he’s all about skill! Luo Yu is a hidden gem!]

[If he starts doing action films, I’d book every seat!]

The fight sequence, though short, left the audience's nerves on edge, lingering long after the scene ended.

Luo Yu’s fan base grew by hundreds of thousands overnight.

Even in the pre-show popularity polls, Luo Yu suddenly matched Gu Xiaowei!

Taking advantage of the hype, Meng Yu and Cui Zhuxin posted some vlog photos from earlier that day on Weibo.

One was of the two on bicycles beneath a rose trellis, with Gu Xiaowei’s hand above Luo Yu’s head, scattering rose petals.

[Is this really Teacher Gu? How did he pull off something so childish yet romantic?]

[Teacher Gu has never done idol dramas, right? But this is pure rom-com sweetness! I’m in love!]

[I can’t bear anyone else under Brother Gu’s petals, but for Luo Yu, I’ll make an exception!]

Another shot showed Gu Xiaowei lifting Luo Yu in a reed field, both of them leaning precariously, as if they’d tumble into the reeds together.

[Is that a smile from Brother Gu? Never seen him smile so tenderly! Clearly, the Senior Brother is special!]

[Yan Ye lifted Bai Ying in the show; Gu is lifting his senior brother in the reeds!]

[Lock these two in every film and drama till I’m in the ground!]

[Forget wandering in the woods; these two are tumbling through the reeds!]

Meng Yu captioned his post, “Clocking in with Bai Ying at Rose Valley Resort. See you tomorrow at noon on the official ‘Counterattack’ vlog.”

Cui Zhuxin’s caption read, “Clocking in with Yan Ye at Rose Valley Resort. See you tomorrow at noon on the official ‘Counterattack’ vlog.”

Bai Ying and Yan Ye fans practically turned into screaming chickens, and the comments flooded to over ten thousand within an hour, with “Counterattack”’s official account gaining tens of thousands of followers within minutes.

Jiang Yinchuan nearly choked on his tea when he saw their posts.

“Luo Yu, I could understand, but now even Gu Xiaowei is pulling these moves? Building up all this hype, how are we going to untangle them later?”

On second thought, what’s the point of untangling them? They’ll be together for “Beast and Rose” too.

And not just “Beast and Rose”, but the fencing part of that Olympics mini-series, too. Those two will be together for quite a while.

Jiang Yinchuan rubbed his chin, suddenly suspecting they might never need to untangle; together, they were ratings gold.

In the first episode aired tonight, the more audiences loved Bai Ying, the more worried they were for the next.

The second episode ended right at the scene where Bai Ying pulled over, sending Yan Ye into a convenience store.

Bai Ying sat alone in the car, face pale, sweat beading on his forehead and neck. Shakily, he undid the seatbelt that had held him so tightly, and exhaled deeply.

Luo Yu’s expression carried a haunting intensity, enveloping viewers in a gut-wrenching ache.

He’d looked so thrilled moments ago, talking to Yan Ye as if he’d survived a close call, but now every bit of him was fading away.

Strands of hair clung to his cheek, a fragile and broken aura piercing through, yet even within that frailty lay a resilient strength, refusing to bow.

The screen froze on his smile toward Yan Ye through the convenience store window.

A smile that held exhaustion, relief.

A calm resolve and a blessing.

The audience went wild, igniting frantic online discussions—did Bai Ying really die?

Fans of Bai Ying were distraught and loudly wailing; they were so enthralled by this character that they flooded the official account, begging not to let Bai Ying die. Everyone shared ideas:

Things like, "Make Bai Ying a state witness and put him under protection," "Give Bai Ying an open ending," and "Bai Ying knows so many of Bai Zhongxing’s secrets, they need his testimony to convict Bai Zhongxing"…

Some impassioned fans even declared that if the writer dared to kill off Bai Ying, they’d start mailing razor blades and boycott Hua Xingyun’s work forever.

The hashtag #BaiYing# quickly climbed the trending list, reaching the top spot after tonight’s second episode aired. The whole internet was buzzing over whether Bai Ying would live or die. The character created by Luo Yu had become the top "strong, beautiful, and tragic" figure in the last five years.

Following close behind were hashtags like #BaiYingFightScenes# and #GuXiaoweiAndLuoYuVlog#, turning tonight into a "Counterattack Night." Even viewers who usually didn’t follow dramas found their curiosity piqued.

Initially, Luo Yu thought these trending tags were bought by the media team at Xinghan Films, but Sister Cui informed him that this drama had so many organic fans, and Bai Ying's role was sparking an incredible amount of real-time discussion online. Li Qian did invest in some marketing; however, it was minimal—just enough to guide fans toward trending topics, barely worth mentioning. Now, their PR team was just monitoring the public mood; there was no need to stir up topics, as the fans were already intensely engaged.

On several streaming platforms, subscription rates multiplied in recent days, with viewers eager to catch replays online after the TV broadcast.

Hearing Li Qian’s words, Luo Yu still hadn’t realized he was a hit, only feeling relieved that he hadn’t let Director Lin or Screenwriter Hua down after they modified the script for him.

For the first time, Hua Xingyun’s inbox was overrun by drama fans—not just begging, but also threatening, using all sorts of coercion to try and keep Bai Ying alive.

But Hua Xingyun was helpless; it wasn’t his decision for Bai Ying to die—it was Director Lin’s idea!

Worried, Hua Xingyun called Director Lin, saying, “Director Lin, I’m really concerned! The audience loves Bai Ying so much. They’re all saying they’ll never watch my dramas again if I kill him off! What should I do? Will I lose my job?”

Lin Yue, overwhelmed by the unexpectedly high ratings for “Counterattack”, was busy handling the surge of projects now wanting him as a director.

“You won’t, you won’t. Believe me, for your next drama, if you cast Luo Yu again, viewers will just call you a scriptwriting genius. Just try not to kill off his character again.”

Lin Yue was the kind of director who moved on emotionally after completing a project. But in recent days, watching “Counterattack”, he found himself drawn back into the intense emotions through the performances of Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu.

Hua Xingyun scratched his head and laughed, “Suddenly, I think Sheng Yunlan is extremely lucky. His film ‘Beast and Rose’ delves deep into human nature; even if it wins an international film award, I wouldn’t be surprised. But domestic audiences… with short videos taking over, it’s hard for them to appreciate complex plots. I was worried about his box office. But now, with Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu, their chemistry brings any scene to life.”

Lin Yue nodded with a smile, “Yeah, it’s hard to imagine any other actors pulling off the same chemistry. Without that dynamic, it just wouldn’t be as compelling.”

Meanwhile, He Mu finally wrapped up recording a singer selection show. Stepping out of the TV building and into the van, he was greeted by a crowd of fans holding banners, shouting his name.

He Mu was long used to this and kept his head down, scrolling on his phone.

Opening Weibo, the first thing he saw was "Bai Ying," and he practically tossed his phone aside. But he couldn’t resist picking it up again, curious about the audience’s opinion on Bai Ying. Was the trending topic positive or negative?

It turned out that any hashtag related to Luo Yu was better left unopened for He Mu’s peace of mind. The entire internet was genuinely praising Bai Ying, raving about Luo Yu’s acting. Every comment was rich in detail and engagement—clearly, not a bought trend.

Luo Yu… was genuinely famous.

Famous without needing to buy numbers.

Just one supporting role, and he was famous.

During the recording, he’d heard people talking about “Counterattack”, excitedly discussing Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu’s scenes together. Even the program’s guests were buzzing. He Mu realized that all the black marks he’d tried to create for Luo Yu were overshadowed by the aura of Bai Ying.

The worst part was, he couldn’t even join in when others discussed Luo Yu, leaving him feeling isolated.

Adding to his frustration, the show’s producers kept bringing up “Counterattack” to capitalize on its popularity, even asking He Mu about working with Luo Yu on “Burn, Little Cosmos”. The audience, many of whom were Luo Yu fans, lit up at the mention.

Among the guests was Ai Cheng, who openly admitted to being a Luo Yu fan, eagerly asking He Mu to share stories about Luo Yu.

This was one of the most awkward moments of He Mu’s life. He barely restrained himself from storming off set.