Top Dupe CH 094 Deadly Duo Part 2

“Lu Pingfeng… maybe this was Zhuang Jie’s plan all along…”

“What?” Lu Pingfeng looked over.

“Am I important to you?” Wen Yuchi asked.

Lu Pingfeng frowned, “I’m not sure what ‘important’ means, but compared to everyone else, I’d rather be with you.”

Wen Yuchi clenched his fists; Lu Pingfeng might not understand the meaning of importance, but he would keep alive those he valued. To protect Wen Yuchi, he’d have to fight the other heirs, possibly even kill them.

This would lead to bloodshed.

Perhaps, to protect him, Lu Pingfeng would become an executor of death.

This was what Zhuang Jie wanted—a painter who creates death.

Wen Yuchi silently resolved that he would never let that happen.

Wait… what was he overlooking…

“Zhuang He, when you took my dagger, you seemed to use your left hand.” Wen Yuchi looked up.

“I… I’m better with my left hand… so what?” Zhuang He stammered.

“So what? Remember that girl in the white dress? Her name was Xie Yun.”

Zhuang He’s face changed instantly.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about! What girl in the white dress?”

Wen Yuchi laughed mockingly, “How could you not remember? You drove a sharpened metal branch into her left side, so nervous that you even cut yourself, leaving blood on her dress. You didn’t think the police would find it, but we had an expert analyze the bloodstains and found that one drop was different.”

“That’s impossible! No way! I didn’t cut my finger!” Zhuang He shouted in panic.

Wen Yuchi tilted his head, smiling, “Oh, you didn’t cut your finger?”

Lu Pingfeng’s eyes flashed with irony, “Why not deny being at that ‘banquet’ altogether?”

Zhuang He was frozen; Wen Yuchi had tricked him.

Wen Yuchi’s expression turned cold, “Tell me, what did you do to that college girl? How many people were involved?”

“I don’t know! I really don’t know! My uncle’s people picked me up for what I thought was a family dinner, and I thought he was finally considering inheritance matters! Who knew I’d be taken to a girl’s house and told I had to stab her! She’d already been stabbed several times! My uncle’s people said that if I didn’t do it, I was giving up my inheritance! They even said she’d been stabbed so many times, she wasn’t going to die from one more!”

“So where did you stab her?” Wen Yuchi asked.

“I swear, I only stabbed her thigh! That’s not fatal! I checked; she was still breathing when I left!” Zhuang He yelled, struggling.

“So you don’t know who attacked her before and after you?” Wen Yuchi asked.

“No, I really don’t know! All I know is that my uncle is crazy!”

Wen Yuchi looked at Lu Pingfeng, raising an eyebrow, “I told you you had a deranged fan, didn’t I?”

“Why would Zhuang Jie recreate the scenes in my paintings to commit murder?” Lu Pingfeng asked, meeting his gaze.

Wen Yuchi’s tone became slow, laced with sarcasm, “I heard that this wealthy man was left sterile after being plotted against in his business, so he never had children. He’s missed out on certain pleasures. Later he got cancer, and has since lived in the shadow of death—or, more precisely, in Death’s embrace. Your paintings must resonate with him.”

Lu Pingfeng gave a chilly smile, “So, what you're saying, Dr. Wen, is that recreating the deaths from my paintings in reality could allow Zhuang Jie to experience the long-lost joy he craves."

“Yeah, that’s what I learned in my criminology classes.”

“By using incentives, he manipulates people to carry out these killings, satisfying his need to control fate.”

"So, Mr. Lu, you not only paint but have also watched ‘Criminal Minds’?"

"No, I just put myself in Zhuang Jie’s shoes for a moment."

At that moment, Zhuang He, above, started to whimper.

"I can't hold it anymore... I really can't..."

Looking up, water started dripping from his shoes.

With this outburst, everyone fell out of character.

Luo Yu and Gu Xiaowei simultaneously looked up, following the water flow. The atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

Sheng Yunlan shouted through the megaphone, "Let him down!"

The crew rushed over, quickly lowering Huang Ling, who was hanging high. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was in tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

He put his hands together in apology towards Luo Yu and Gu Xiaowei, pleading with them to stop torturing him.

The crew, thinking he was apologizing for losing control of his bladder, comforted him.

"No big deal! Happens to everyone!"

"It's fine, it's fine! Just change your pants, and you're good to go!"

Huang Ling, however, felt he had no face left to stay with the crew.

Luckily, another staff member found him a clean pair of pants, and he went to change in the bathroom behind the cabin, hands trembling.

"They’re definitely targeting me!"

At first, Huang Ling just felt scared, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Since they’re targeting me, don’t blame me for leaking these photos!

Huang Ling took out his phone and was about to contact a gossip account he knew when someone else came into the bathroom. From the voices, it sounded like Luo Yu and Gu Xiaowei. His heart leaped, gripped by fear again.

"By the way, did our pictures really get taken?" Luo Yu asked while washing his hands.

"Do you care?" Gu Xiaowei asked.

"Nope. If it’s an ugly shot, it’ll just entertain the public. If it turns out well, it’ll save on publicity costs."

After Luo Yu’s words, Huang Ling looked at the photos on his phone. Even though they were quick candid shots, he had to admit Luo Yu and Gu Xiaowei looked great, especially in the photo of Gu Xiaowei shielding Luo Yu from fireplace sparks which exuded a compelling vibe. With fans obsessed with shipping celebrities these days, if these photos were released, it would cause a sensation! He’d be helping them for free!

While Huang Ling was hesitating, the door of the stall was suddenly slammed, startling him so much that his phone fell to the floor.

"Hey, bigshot photographer, finished changing yet?" Luo Yu’s voice came, laughing.

Huang Ling stayed silent, holding his breath.

Luo Yu started knocking on the door playfully, drumming at one point and then strumming at another. "Come on out, we’re about to start shooting again. You don’t want us filming in the bathroom, right?"

"I... I didn’t take your pictures!" Huang Ling shouted.

Gu Xiaowei’s calm voice replied, "We don’t care if you did."

Outside the bathroom, the script supervisor was announcing the time for the next scene.

Biting his lip, Huang Ling opened the door, only to meet Gu Xiaowei’s icy gaze. He suddenly remembered the scene where Lu Pingfeng choked Li Heng unconscious, and his neck started to ache as he struggled to breathe.

"But if you don’t focus on acting, next time, it won’t just be about holding it in," Gu Xiaowei said.

"I... I... I promise to focus on acting!"

With that, he practically fled, giving Luo Yu a haunted look as he passed by.

Luo Yu looked puzzled, "Am I that scary? A senior brother as patient, kind, and fatherly as me, you don’t see guys like me every day! Why’s he running away?"

"Fatherly?" Gu Xiaowei raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to Luo Yu. "Do I look like I need fatherly love?"

"Huh?" Luo Yu didn’t follow.

Gu Xiaowei stepped closer, and Luo Yu instinctively backed up. "In your eyes, am I that lonely, fragile, and pitiable, making your fatherly instincts overflow?"

"If I were to radiate fatherly love, it wouldn’t be directed at a guy taller, stronger, and better-looking than me!"

"Oh? Then what do you radiate towards me?" Gu Xiaowei tilted his head.

This guy... he definitely has potential to be a bad boy.

"Light and warmth... You want me to be a sun for you?" Luo Yu punched Gu Xiaowei on the shoulder and walked off.

Gu Xiaowei stood in the shadows, watching Luo Yu’s retreating figure.

Just then, Huang Ling received a call from his company. Not his agent, but the company president.

The moment he answered, he was met with a furious roar.

"Huang Ling! Are you an actor or a paparazzo? Addicted to selling photos to gossip sites?"

"I... I... I haven’t sold them yet!"

"Haven’t sold them? So you’re planning to! Listen, Xinghan and Yinchuan are top-tier production companies. Selling their stars’ photos is like declaring war on them! Don’t think you can get away with using a fake account! If these companies dig, they’ll find you. Forget about acting anymore; you’ll drag the whole company down!"

"I... I... I understand..."

"Don’t play both sides, promising me and then thinking you can get away with it! How much can you even sell the photos for? If Xinghan and Yinchuan sue, that gossip site will rat you out, and you’ll end up in court!"

Swallowing, Huang Ling stammered, "I understand! I won’t do it again!"

He’d thought he could cash in on the buzz around Yan Ye and Bai Ying, but hadn’t expected Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu to be such trouble.

And as Luo Yu pointed out, if he sold the photos, it would just be free publicity for them, and their company would follow up with a lawsuit, forcing the gossip site to reveal him as the source. He’d suffer while Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu benefited.

Just then, a crew member came over, "Huang Ling, the assistant director wants to see you."

"I’m coming!"

The assistant director was sitting under a tree, his face looking grim.

"Did you take photos?"

Huang Ling hadn’t expected the assistant director to confront him directly and was stunned. Knowing meant Sheng Yunlan knew too. Sheng Yunlan despised actors causing trouble on set, and if the photos created a negative impact on the film, it would be the last straw.

"It’s just... Yan Ye and Bai Ying are so popular. Someone close to me is a fan, so I took some photos just to show them, not to sell."

"I get it. But don’t let the photos spread. Delete them now." The assistant director nodded at him.

Huang Ling quickly deleted the photos in front of the assistant director.

"In the future, if people around you are fans, ask for autographs openly like Yan Jun does. If random photos cause a misunderstanding with the director, you’ll have to leave the crew. And leaving means finding someone to reshoot all your scenes."

With this, the assistant director gave him a way out.

Huang Ling nodded, "Understood! I’ll never do it again!"

Gu Xiaowei and Luo Yu, after retouching their makeup, headed to the next scene location, and saw this exchange on the way.

"Will Director Sheng kick Huang Ling out?" Luo Yu whispered to Gu Xiaowei.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because his terrified reaction in that scene was perfect. Replacing him wouldn’t give the same effect."

Hearing this, Luo Yu covered his mouth, laughing.

"The sky’s getting dark."

"Peering through the dark—that’s the effect the director wants," Gu Xiaowei replied.

As night fell, the crew set up a tent by the stream.

In front of the tent, a bonfire burned, and a woman and two men sat around it.

These were Zhuang Jie’s adopted daughter, Zhuang Feifei, and his nephews, Ding Bing and Zhuang Chao.

Each held a weapon, resting in their laps.

Zhuang Feifei sneered, "Zhuang He screamed so pitifully just now; I wonder if those two have already finished him off?"

She used to have big, voluptuous curls and red lipstick, a free spirit. Though she was Zhuang Jie’s adopted daughter, she’d seen him only a handful of times, and each time he looked frail, making her feel uneasy. Zhuang Jie didn't have much time left, but she wasn’t counting on any inheritance either. She much preferred a life unrestrained.

She’d expected to attend the old man’s funeral, but upon waking, found herself on this forsaken island. She always knew the old man had mental issues, but not to this extent.

Only when she was almost killed by Zhuang He did Zhuang Feifei realize this battle for the inheritance was real.

So she promptly cut her hair and formed an alliance with the other two.