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Translations of Chinese Boy’s Love webnovels. Only the English translation belongs to me everything else belongs to the original author.

Top Dupe CH 019 Good News Or Bad News?

Several of Gu Xiaowei’s head fans immediately shared and commented: Our Brother Gu is giving out candy! Thank you, senior brother, for acting lines with Brother Gu!

The fan support club also immediately forwarded: [Brother Gu gave candy to senior brother, thank you for your hard work, senior brother!]

Compared to He Mu, Gu Xiaowei’s fans were more positive.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The most important thing was that during the early days of the establishment of the fan club, rules were established: not to bully other entertainers, and respect the cast and crew who collaborated with Gu Xiaowei.

Gu Xiaowei’s Weibo showed his attitude——he respected Luo Yu. Thus fans would also clarify the rumors that were not conducive to Luo Yu.

The trend of the comments gradually reversed, suppressing He Mu’s fans little by little.

[Oh my God! Brother Gu actually called Luo Yu “senior brother”! I don’t care~ Brother Gu’s senior brother is my senior brother~]

[Brother Gu is indeed a gentle person! Thank you, senior brother! Thank you for your hard work, senior brother!]

[Grateful, finger heart~ I hope that after eating Brother Gu’s mint candy, senior brother can sing high and clear tomorrow~]

If He Mu’s fans were still making sarcastic remarks about Luo Yu rubbing against traffic, Gu Xiaowei’s fans would immediately go up and explain.

[Friends, please see clearly, it’s Brother Gu who gave the candy, not senior brother, there’s no rubbing against traffic!]

[Everyone, please be less malicious when surfing the Internet! If Senior Brother accompanying Brother Gu in practicing lines is just to rub against traffic. Then how will other actors cooperate with Brother Gu in the future? Please don’t label other actors as “rubbing against traffic”.]

Passers-by also felt annoyed after seeing too many of these negative comments, [He Mu’s fans, please stop coming to Gu Xiaowei’s space to stir up trouble! Gu Xiaowei is not so narrow-minded and thinks that everyone wants to take advantage of his traffic!]

Gradually, He Mu’s fans realized that they couldn’t win, so they stopped.

And #Guxiaoweigavecandy# became the new trending number one.

Fang Qin, who was so angry that he couldn’t sleep, finally breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw this hot search.

He turned sideways and looked at Luo Yu across from him, and found that the other didn’t care at all about things on the Internet, completely exemplifying the phrase the emperor is not anxious but the eunuch is.

But thinking about it more carefully, even if Gu Xiaowei didn’t post that Weibo comment, with Luo Yu’s mentality of eating well and sleeping well, the slanderers on the Internet would not be able to hurt him at all.

This was the real master!

When Luo Yu woke up the next morning, he found that his Weibo had inexplicably gained 30,000 to 40,000 more fans, and the number was still increasing every minute.

The strangest thing was that many people call him “senior brother”.

When he opened the private messages, he saw greetings from fans of Gu Xiaowei. 

[Thank you for your hard work, senior brother. I wonder if your throat feels better?]

[Wuwuwu I’m so envious that senior brother can eat the candy fed by Brother Gu~]

[Senior brother, can you post more about Brother Gu’s daily life~ No photos are needed, just let us know what he is doing during filming~]

Although they all came to follow him because of Gu Xiaowei, there was at least one thing——these fans have good intentions.

Luo Yu touched the tip of his nose enviously, “Are all Gu Xiaowei’s fans so sweet?”

Not only Gu Xiaowei, but also Li Qian, the public relations director of the “Counterattack” crew, had the art department rush to produce the film stills overnight. It happened to be the scene where Bai Ying pulled Yan Ye by the tie from yesterday. The caption: [#counterattack#Not only is there a confrontation to test each other’s bottom line, but there is also candy]

Attention level was drawn straight up again.

[The collision of their eyes is full of tension!]

[As expected of Gu Xiaowei, his acting is always convincing, but who is this long-haired guy? The look in his eyes is good too!]

[That’s Luo Yu! Even Gu Xiaowei calls him “Senior Brother”, his acting skills are definitely not to be missed!]

[Fight! Fight! I love this feeling of drama! Pheremones are overflowing!]

……

With the sharing of Gu Xiaowei’s fans, while everyone was paying attention to Gu Xiaowei, they also felt more and more attracted to Luo Yu in the stills.

Coupled with his previous audition video and selfie, netizens felt that Luo Yu was an extremely handsome guy, and even expressed that this was simply a hidden gem in the ocean. Why didn’t they think Luo Yu was so handsome before?

Before he knew it, Luo Yu had accumulated a lot of fans.

Luo Yu was still brushing his teeth when Fang Qin rushed in to announce the good news to him, “Luo Yu! Look! Look! The crew uploaded film stills of you and Gu Xiaowei! You and Gu Xiaowei are in the same poster! Moreover, the positions occupied by the two of you are of equal standing!”

Luo Yu turned his head to take a look, and this time he was really surprised.

He was a minor character, and he only appeared in a few episodes. If they posted such stills, the audience would think that he was some important supporting actor!

Then he realized that this was actually the publicity strategy of Li Qian, the public relations director in charge of publicity.

Luo Yu had experienced the other’s power in his previous life.

Li Qian, who was known as the head of publicity of Xinghan Pictures, knew just how to raise the audience’s expectations and arouse the audience’s curiosity. He could always find various points to maintain attention from the start of filming to the broadcast of the drama.

Today he posted the stills of the confrontation between Yan Ye and Bai Ying because the actor Luo Yu had gathered a lot of negative fans and topics, and in addition to the hot searches caused by Gu Xiaowei, of course he must take the opportunity to promote their drama at this time.

In the next two days, stills of Yan Ye and the heroine may be released, and not only the male lead and the female lead, he would also throw out the highlight interactions between the leading roles and the supporting roles, and even the supporting roles and the supporting roles, so that the audience could discuss it themselves.

Luo Yu didn’t have any scenes today, but he still understood the worldly ways. He got up early in the morning, had breakfast, and went to the set. If he could help, then he would give a helping hand. If he couldn’t be of help, he would observe other people’s acting skills.

As soon as he arrived at the set, he met Brother Long. He was going to act opposite Gu Xiaowei today. It was the scene in which he was calculated by Ah Lan who tipped the police to pursue him, only to be killed by Ah Lan in an alley. When Yan Ye arrived, he still had one last breath. Yan Ye wanted to save him and make him a tainted witness for the police, but Brother Long was too seriously injured and died in the end.

Before Brother Long died, he told Yan Ye that Ah Lan wanted to get rid of Bai Ying and replace him.

The scene backdrop had been set up. In a deep alley, Brother Long fell into a pile of smelly garbage, and several flies “buzzed” around him.

He was shot in the chest, and his hands were helplessly spread out to the side, while drops of blood dripped downwards. There was reluctance and despair in his eyes, as his life of reveling in wealth ended unexpectedly among the trash in a deserted alley.

Yan Ye appeared, covered Brother Long’s chest, lowered his voice and said, “Don’t die. If you die, you won’t have the chance to take revenge.”

Brother Long’s dim eyes flashed back with light. He pulled the corners of his mouth and coughed twice, “You… you are indeed a cop…”

Yan Ye’s face was expressionless, neither affirming nor denying.

“Then I’ll tell you… a piece of information… Tomorrow night on Ye Ming Xing Street… Ah Lan is going to kill Bai Ying…”

After saying this, Brother Long’s lips remained slightly open, but his eyes completely lost focus, and everything seemed to have become still.

Yan Ye frowned and moved closer to Brother Long, “What did you say? Ah Lan wants to kill Bai Ying?”

Brother Long didn’t respond. Yan Ye pressed his fingers on the side of his neck to confirm that he had no pulse.

Yan Ye did not let out a sigh or gnash his teeth. He looked at life and death in this world with the attitude of a bystander.

He stood up, and the moment he turned around, his sight accurately captured Luo Yu among the crowd of onlookers.

Yan Ye’s face no longer had the indifferent expression. On the contrary, it looked like he had been stuck in the quagmire for too long and was about to rush to the shore and grab Luo Yu who was standing and watching him struggle.

If yesterday, Luo Yu would be suppressed by Gu Xiaowei’s Yan Ye, then today it was intrigue that he felt more.

Luo Yu stood there upright, with his hands in the pockets of his casual coat, and smiled calmly.

Neither the wind nor snow could make him bow his head, let alone Yan Ye.

The eyes of the two met, and as if the air was compressed, sparks of provocation began burning excitedly.

When lunch was served, Luo Yu for once did not rush to the front because he received a call from Sister Cui.

Brother Long, who had finished filming, had just received a red envelope from the crew and gave Luo Yu an OK gesture, signaling him to feel free to answer the call from his agent.

Luo Yu walked to a place with few people, “Sister Cui, do you want to tell me good news or bad news?”

“Good news, this time it’s good news! Yesterday, Gu Xiaowei fed you candy and it became a hot topic. This morning, the crew of “Counterattack” posted your film still and the response was very good. You were not as slandered as miserably as before! There are still people defending you! Your Weibo fans are also increasing. So several crews that rejected you before have extended invitations to us again!”

Luo Yu lowered his eyes and smiled softly, “Are they not afraid of Dijun Media anymore?”

“Isn’t it Dijun Media not doing anything? Maybe Ou Juntao wants to let you go for Director Lin’s sake. And from that film still, we can see that Bai Ying’s character is ruthless and good-looking. Nowadays, many people like characters with a bit of a yandere flavor.”

“I’m playing a villain.” Luo Yu said with amusement.

“Isn’t there a popular saying? Don’t be afraid of villains being bad, just be afraid of villains who are good-looking. If this role has no explosive points, why would He Mu compete with you for it? Those film and television companies are not stupid either.”

Luo Yu stood under a tree, tracing the texture of the trunk with his fingertips, and said with a smile, “Then tell me about the roles?”

Sister Cui quickly introduced them and compiled a list for Luo Yu’s reference.

“What do you think of the personal bodyguard role of the dandy young prince in this online costume drama? Although it is not a big production, this bodyguard can live from beginning to end and can let you gain more attention. What do you think?” Sister Cui asked.

After hearing this, Luo Yu pressed his forehead and said, “Dandy prince… is this an ancient costume version of “Meteor Garden”? I think the audience still prefers a male protagonist who is resourceful, sensible, and not a loser. Rather than watch a prince go around seeking death under the excuse of being a dandy. Isn’t this bodyguard the equivalent of a yes-man and a thug?”

“Well, that’s what’s in the script.”

“Isn’t that just an annoying bootlicker? The better my acting skills are, the more annoying I will appear on screen.” Luo Yu had a vague impression of this drama.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The actor who played the dandy prince was pretty good-looking. This drama wanted to have a comedy style, and there were several plot points where the dandy prince got into trouble and was taught a lesson by the heroine.

A male protagonist who didn’t understand the suffering in the world was really not likable. After all, the audience had to go to school, take exams, raise children, and work hard in the workplace. The real life was already hard enough, they really didn’t want to watch the female protagonist educating a naughty child in a TV drama.

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Top Dupe CH 018 The Correct Way To Rub Traffic

“Since we’re not dating, then it’s just a relationship between colleagues. Is there any problem with walking back to the dormitory together?” Gu Xiaowei asked back.

Luo Yu smiled helplessly, “I know you are open-minded, but my reputation is not very good. Copying the top star’s image, rubbing against the top star’s traffic, and claiming to be the top star’s dupe. If you walk with me, then…”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“Senior Brother, do you mind being accused of rubbing against my traffic?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

“I’ve been criticized for so many years that my skin is thicker than a pig’s skin even if it’s not as thick as a city wall. But if your agent finds out, you will be scolded.”

“He doesn’t care about these things.” Gu Xiaowei replied.

Luo Yu laughed, “I think… it’s not that your agent doesn’t care about this, it’s that he can’t control you.”

When Luo Yu was filming with Gu Xiaowei in his previous life, he knew that this person actually had his own way of doing things and was not to be restrained.

“Senior Brother, do you still mind the dirty water on the Internet?” Gu Xiaowei asked again.

His voice was clear and crisp, blending with the night wind like a glass of rippling wine.

“I don’t mind. Someone told me that if you open your horizons, dirty water can also become a wedding dress.”

A prop car carrying props for a night scene passed behind Luo Yu, and the bright car lights outlined his profile.

His eyes were tenacious, like the star at the end of the dim light, a sign of resistance that was unwilling to surrender, a small but dazzling fire.

Gu Xiaowei looked at him as if he was captured.

Until that car passed by, all the ups and downs in the heart seemed to have calmed down.

Under the backlight, no one could clearly see Gu Xiaowei’s smile.

“Senior Brother, let me teach you the correct way to rub against a top star’s traffic.”

After Gu Xiaowei finished speaking, Luo Yu looked over with confusion.

“Huh? What…”

The next second, Gu Xiaowei’s hand hooked the collar of Luo Yu’s T-shirt, causing him to come closer to him, as if to retaliate against Bai Ying for dragging Yan Ye into the situation from a watchful observer. Gu Xiaowei tilted his face, and that angle accurately replicated the scene of Bai Ying moving closer to Yan Ye. Luo Yu was almost frightened out of his wits, but Gu Xiaowei’s other hand slipped a mint into his lips.

The index finger then covered the seam of Luo Yu’s lips, as if sealing some secret and unspeakable feelings.

Gu Xiaowei let him go, and Luo Yu staggered back two steps.

“You… what are you doing!”

He looked around, and it was obvious that someone had snapped the scene just now.

“No matter how careful you are, you will be accused of rubbing against traffic, so just do it openly.” Gu Xiaowei said.

His gaze was deep, as if the deep night sky wanted to take back the starlight that had rebelliously fallen to the world.

Luo Yu opened his mouth. He wanted to explain to Gu Xiaowei the madness of the anti-fans in detail, and wanted him, who had been on the path of a professional actor since his debut, to understand the horror of the overwhelming public opinion of gossipmongers.

Sometimes a person didn’t need to do anything wrong. As long as someone didn’t like you, they could formulate their own rules with the power of numbers, and then become public order in the online world. Anyone who did not comply with these rules would be eliminated.

“You…” Luo Yu raised his hand, but didn’t know how to formulate his words, “You are… you have been suppressed for a long time, and have entered your rebellious phase?”

Gu Xiaowei put his hand in his pocket and smiled softly, “I just want to know how much traffic I have.”

After saying that, it was as if everything had never happened, and Gu Xiaowei walked into the night.

A few seconds later, Luo Yu lowered his head and smiled helplessly.

He suddenly understood, Gu Xiaowei was declaring war on him just now.

Because of the impromptu script changes made by the director and screenwriter during the daytime scene, Luo Yu’s action of blowing cigarette smoke was unexpected by Gu Xiaowei and he almost slipped up.

This future film king had a desire to win that could not be underestimated.

Luo Yu smiled and said loudly: “Then… we will battle another day.”

Sure enough, within ten minutes, someone posted the photo online, and several marketing accounts shared it in order to gain traffic.

Luo Yu returned to the dormitory, took a shower, and sat on the bedside, intending to review his final scene of the script. Fang Qin shouted to him in a hoarse voice: “Brother Luo! You and Gu… Gu… Gu Xiaowei are on the hot search!”

Luo Yu was startled for a moment. Although he expected that it might be a hot search, he thought it would take at least late at night, but he didn’t expect that it would already reach the hot search before midnight?

“Oh my God… it was around ten o’clock when the photo was posted, and it is the third most popular search before midnight… It seems that it will reach the top in a while, huh?” Fang Qin took a deep breath, “It is said that He Mu is the king of the hot search, but that depends on the joint efforts of marketing accounts and his fans. But look at Gu Xiaowei, this is just sheer discussion by netizens!”

Luo Yu thought of Gu Xiaowei’s words, “I just want to know how much traffic I have.”

“Brother Luo, aren’t you going to look?” Fang Qin asked curiously.

Luo Yu shook his head and said with a smile: “No thanks. With Gu Xiaowei’s traffic, I am destined to be cut to death.”

“Then… this photo, at first glance I thought Gu Xiaowei was going to kiss you! Even the hot search topic is ‘Gu Xiaowei has an intimate meeting with someone late at night’.”

“Fortunately, the title is not very scandalous, even though it contains the word ‘intimate’.”

“Then what were you two doing?” Fang Qin didn’t want to gossip, but he saw someone with a dirty mouth, criticizing Luo Yu, saying that Luo Yu was shamelessly rubbing against Gu Xiaowei’s traffic, as expected of a serial traffic moocher.

Fang Qin was anxious and wanted to protect Luo Yu, but one mouth could not withstand the malicious intentions of so many people.

“Actually, it’s nothing. We met in the supermarket and walked back together. My throat felt uncomfortable on the way… Gu Xiaowei just fed me a mint.” Luo Yu replied.

“Fed you a mint? Did he personally feed it?” Fang Qin looked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Many times there is no complicated story behind a photo, only a direct and simple reason.”

Luo Yu then thought that He Mu’s fans would rush to attack him when they saw it, saying that he wasn’t satisfied in just rubbing against He Mu’s traffic now he dared to rub against Gu Xiaowei’s traffic.

In the past, when he faced such public attacks, he wished that he had never entered the entertainment industry. Looking back now, the glass heart had already grown into a tempered one, and Luo Yu didn’t feel anything at all.

Anyway, no matter how much He Mu’s fans jump around, everyone knew that the role of Bai Ying belonged to him, Luo Yu, and except for He Mu’s fans, passers-by all knew that it was He Mu’s inferior acting skills that made him lose this role to Luo Yu.

So… Luo Yu, who had no money for marketing, would like to thank He Mu’s fans for giving him this wave of attention.

Fang Qin, on the other hand, was so angry. He sucked on one of the mints Luo Yu brought him while logging into his sub account and left comments to explain to everyone who scolded Luo Yu for rubbing against Gu Xiaowei’s traffic, saying that Gu Xiaowei was just feeding Luo Yu a throat mint.

But He Mu’s fans, who lost momentum last time, could not let go of this opportunity to win back a victory. They actually besieged Fang Qin, saying that he was Luo Yu’s sub account.

And He Mu, who was lying on the bed with a facial mask on, was also shocked by this hot search.

He zoomed in the photo posted by the marketing account, and clearly saw Gu Xiaowei’s finger on Luo Yu’s lips. This scene made people wonder if the two of them were filming an idol drama! But whether it was the naturalness of the gesture or the dim lighting, it reminded He Mu that this was a snapshot! This was real!

He wanted to get close to Gu Xiaowei but couldn’t get close to him. Gu Xiaowei, who wouldn’t even let him call him “Senior Brother”, actually touched Luo Yu’s lips!

He Mu was so sour at that moment that it could corrode the surrounding air.

Even though his fans were tearing Luo Yu apart, he just couldn’t swallow his hatred, so he called his agent directly and wanted to buy a water army to drown Luo Yu to death.

But this time, his agent was much more sensible.

“He Mu, listen to my advice, Luo Yu is in the crew of “Counterattack”. In the photo with Gu Xiaowei, it has no relation to a detriment in moral character or principle. What if Gu Xiaowei explained that he saw something on Luo Yu’s mouth and was just helping him wipe it off, and this matter will be over with just like that. On the contrary, Director Lin and his team are not stupid. They must know that it is you who is slandering Luo Yu, which is equivalent to causing trouble for his drama. Do you think Director Lin will give you another chance in the future?”

He Mu choked and clenched his fists unwillingly.

“It’s just a small role, isn’t it?”

“Small role? What I heard is that Hua Xingyun revised Luo Yu’s lines on the spot, and Director Lin personally discussed the script with him. At least this means that the crew attaches great importance to this small role. Don’t forget what Chairman Ou said, that we must not make trouble. If this matter is not handled well and Lin Yue thinks that Dijun Media is targeting him, and it becomes a competition between Honghe Film and Television and Dijun Media, we will be the first to be cannon fodder.”

Hearing what his agent said, He Mu could only suppress his thoughts about messing with Luo Yu, and watched helplessly as the photo of him and Gu Xiaowei became more and more popular on the hot search list, ranking first in the late-night hot search list.

At this moment, Gu Xiaowei was just about to go to bed when his agent called.

“Gu Xiaowei, you are quite capable, giving me a hot search gift package while filming?” Meng Yu did not blame Gu Xiaowei like other agents. In his opinion, there was no public opinion trend that couldn’t be reversed.

“It only just reached the hot search? It seems that my traffic is average.” Gu Xiaowei said lightly.

“Are you being sarcastic? Tell me, do you want to explain that you two are not close? Or do you want to take down the hot search?”

“Why? I just fed my Senior Brother a candy. Is it because I can’t be seen, or am I not allowed to be close to my friends?” Gu Xiaowei asked back.

Meng Yu understood what the other meant.

Gu Xiaowei did not let people enter his personal space easily, but once this person got his recognition and respect, he would spare no effort to protect them.

For example, Director Lin Yue, Screenwriter Hua Xingyun, and a few professional acting stars, and then there was Luo Yu.

Meng Yu believed in Gu Xiaowei’s judgment in making friends. He couldn’t say much about Luo Yu’s future, but his character was definitely not bad.

A few minutes later, Gu Xiaowei’s personal account directly forwarded a certain marketing account’s Weibo account that posted the photo, with the text: Senior Brother, thank you for working hard with me, have a mint to soothe your throat.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Fans who were still speculating about Gu Xiaowei’s relationship with Luo Yu before suddenly understood.

As long as it was someone Gu Xiaowei thanked and defended, fans would certainly not let them be bullied!

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The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 013 Teacher, Save Me!

Tang Shen followed Tang Huang into the small courtyard.

As soon as they entered the door, a black thing flew at the two of them. Tang Shen pulled his sister behind him and kicked the thing away. The earthen pot fell to the ground and shattered with a crack. Tang Shen’s expression became angry. He looked up and saw that the things in their yard had all been smashed.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Seeing him back, Yao San hurriedly ran over: “Little boss, what should we do? If it was someone else who came then fine, I dare to argue with him, the worst is to end up in a fist fight. But that person said that he is the eldest son of Tang juren‘s family. He brought two people over and has been smashing the yard for an hour, ignoring me no matter what I say. They claim that it is exactly us they want to smash.”

Tang Shen saw the sturdy young man standing in the corner of the yard at a glance.

This sturdy young man wore a satin robe and a tortoiseshell jade crown. He was decent-looking, just a little portly, and had a wealthy appearance. He heard the sound of his entrance and followed the sound to look over. The eyes of Tang Shen and the young man met across the yard. The young man was stunned for a moment, and then said domineeringly: “Are you that Tang Shen?”

Tang Shen held back his anger and sneered: “And what is your name.”

“Oh, you don’t even know my name? My surname is Tang and my given name is Yun. I am the eldest son of the Tang family in the west of Gusu City.”

This was the biological son of Tang juren and Madam Tang. He was Tang Shen’s elder cousin by seniority.

Tang Shen half-smiled but said: “Tang Yun, what are you doing here?”

Tang Yun signaled at the two strong men he had brought, and the two men immediately stopped smashing things. The three of them stepped forward, and Tang Yun spoke in an arrogant tone: “What am I doing here? Of course I have something to do! What kind of drug did you, a mere boy from the countryside, give my mother to pay for you to make that soap or whatever. Bah! What the hell is that? Where did a scammer like you come from, how did you confuse my mother!”

Tang Yun was fifteen years old this year, two years older than Tang Shen, and half a head taller than him. Coupled with his strong build, he looked a lot bigger than Tang Shen.

Tang Shen looked at the other’s attitude and suddenly let out a laugh.

Unexpectedly, Tang Yun came here for this matter.

Tang Yun became angry from embarrassment: “What are you laughing at!”

“Why should I tell you why I’m laughing? You can take a guess.”

Tang Shen ignored Tang Yun and started walking in the yard.

Tang Yun smashed a lot of things, including the earthen pot with flower petals, the pickles made by Aunt Yao last month, and the rice wine Yao San bought two days ago. They didn’t smash anything inside the house, but they smashed the things in the yard. Fortunately, Tang Shen bought a workshop on the outskirts of the city two days ago and moved all the tools for making soap and essential oils there, otherwise Tang Yun would probably have smashed it all today.

Seeing Tang Shen walking in the yard and ignoring him, Tang Yun stepped in front of him angrily: “You scammer, if you don’t apologize today and explain your deceitful tricks to my mother, you won’t be able to walk out of this yard.”

Tang Shen was amused: “What do you want to do?”

Tang Yun said: “You two, seal up this courtyard.”

The two strong men stood in front of the door, guarding the door.

Yao San said angrily: “Don’t bully others too much!” As he said that, he wanted to take action.

Tang Shen stopped him and said to Tang Yun: “I have to apologize? Young Master Tang, you smashed my things, but you want me to apologize to you? I didn’t know that this Gusu City belongs to your family, or… that the Song empire actually belongs to your Tang family!”

Tang Yun’s face changed drastically: “You scammer, how dare you talk nonsense, don’t slander me!”

Tang Shen dared to say such rebellious words because he was sure that no one in the courtyard would dare to tell anyone about what happened today. If this were to be spread, none of them would be able to escape being beheaded.

He said: “Brother Yao, please calculate for him, and let him know just how much loss he has caused us today!” 

Yao San watched Tang Yun smash the things, and he had already calculated it in his mind. He directly counted: “Forty strings, at least forty strings!”

Tang Yun said coldly: “It’s only forty strings, which is not even enough for my daily allowance.”

Tang Shen: “Heh, Brother Yao, count it for Young Master Tang.”

Tang Yun glared at Tang Shen, suddenly at a loss. This was the first time he saw the rumored Tang Shen. When he brought people over, he didn’t expect that Tang Shen would be like this. Madam Tang and Tang Shen cooperated to do soap business and did not hide it from the Tang family. Tang juren tried his best to object, but Madam Tang insisted on having her own way, and Tang juren could do nothing to his wife.

Today, Tang Yun heard the news just after he returned from the Ang family private school. How could this happen, a boy from the countryside actually dared to deceive his mother. He was so angry that he brought two house guards with him to demand an explanation. Unexpectedly, after smashing so many things, Tang Shen didn’t look angry at all, and instead asked him for compensation.

Was this Tang Shen so devoid of self-esteem? He had smashed so many things, but Tang Shen still didn’t get angry. On the contrary, his attitude was so shameless.

Tang Yun was about to speak when suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. Tang Yun looked up and saw Madam Tang rushing over with her maid and the housekeeper.

Tang Yun was dumbfounded: “Mother…”

Madam Tang strode up to Tang Yun, raised her hand high, and slapped it downwards. But when it was about to hit Tang Yun’s face, she stopped, and finally used her finger to poke Tang Yun’s forehead hard, and said angrily: “You unfilial son, go back with me now! You two actually followed him to do evil, after going back I will also deal with you. Drag him back!”

With scolding words on her lips, Madam Tang carefully observed her son over and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Tang Yun was not injured.

Madam Tang looked at the mess in the courtyard and said apologetically: “Shen’er, I didn’t teach your elder cousin well. You have been wronged.”

Tang Shen: “It doesn’t matter, none of us were injured, but a lot of things in the yard are broken.”

“Eldest Aunt will make it up to you later. This unfilial child has been spoiled since he was young, so don’t quibble with him. I promise that nothing like this will happen again in the future.”

Tang Shen didn’t care. Madam Tang felt very guilty towards him and apologized repeatedly. The Tang family servants grabbed Tang Yun and were about to take him home, but Tang Yun shouted angrily: “Mother, why are you always on the side of that boy? He is just a country bumpkin who has never read a book! What kind of bewitchment has he cast on you, deceiving you so. You believe him, but I don’t!”

The moment Tang Shen knew that the person who smashed things was Tang Yun, he had Tang Huang go to the Tang Manor to report the news, and then find Madam Tang. The little girl came with Madam Tang. When she heard this, Tang Huang couldn’t bear it: “You are a country bumpkin! My brother is much better than you. My brother will be a xiucai and juren in the future. He will be an official!”

Tang Yun said disdainfully: “Ignorant child, narrow and shallow.”

Tang Huang: “You…”

“Who are you calling narrow and shallow?”

Tang Yun did not expect that Tang Shen would suddenly ask this. He was stunned for a moment then replied with ridicule: “Two children of a concubine, you don’t even know where the academy gate is. Narrow and shallow, ignorant and uneducated brats. You two siblings are the same!”

Madam Tang scolded: “Shut up and drag him back home!”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “I’m afraid you can’t even compare to me, a narrow and shallow,  ignorant and uneducated child.”

Tang Yun: “What a joke, how can I not compare to you? I took the county exam last year and got the rank of tongsheng.” (TN: candidate who has passed the county exam of the tongshi)

“You’re just a tongsheng, it’s not like you are a xiucai.”

Madam Tang persuaded him: “Shen’er, don’t quibble with this rascal. Eldest aunt will teach him a lesson when we go back.”

Tang Shen said: “Eldest Aunt, I’m not quibbling with him. It’s just that tongsheng is really not that impressive. I’m just telling the truth.”

Tang Yun: “Mother, you see him, he is so arrogant!”

Tang Huang: “Bah, you are clearly the one who is arrogant.”

Tang Shen said calmly: “Is it difficult to become a tongsheng?”

As soon as this was said, everyone was stunned. Even Tang Yun didn’t understand what Tang Shen wanted to say.

Then, Tang Shen said casually: “The county exam will be held in February next year. Why don’t I take the exam and become a tongsheng?”

Madam Tang was startled: “Shen’er, it is your eldest cousin who is wrong.”

Tang Yun: “Mother, let him take the exam, I don’t believe he can become a tongsheng!”

Tang Shen: “Oh, what if I do?”

Madam Tang was about to stop him when she heard Tang Yun say: “Then I will be your slave for the rest of my life, Tang Shen,  I will call you eldest brother!”

Tang Shen muttered, “Who wants to be your eldest brother? I’d a loss on my part,” and then said, “That’s fine. Eldest Cousin, you didn’t pass the prefectural exam last year. We will take the exam together next year. Don’t let me pass the prefecture exam and become a xiucai, while you are still a tongsheng.”

Tang Yun: “Oh, I want to see what capital you have to dare to talk so big.”

The corners of Tang Shen’s lips curled, but what he said was like thunder: “What capital do I have? If I say, I will go to Gusu prefecture academy to study from tomorrow, and my teacher is Liang Bowen, one of the four great Confucian scholars in the world?”

There was dead silence in the courtyard, and no one spoke.

Only when Madam Tang took Tang Yun away did Tang Huang and Yao San react.

Tang Huang was so excited: “Brother, you said Liang daru accepted you as his student?”

Yao San: “Little boss, is this true?”

Tang Shen: “Why would I lie to you about this? I am indeed going to Ziyang Academy to report tomorrow. Ziyang Academy is a prefecture academy in Gusu Prefecture, and I am not a xiucai. If it weren’t for my teacher’s guarantee, could I go to study there?”

“That’s great! Did you see Tang Yun’s speechless look? I could remember it forever.”

Everyone was happy for a while, and Yao San spat: “Bah, that Tang Yun is really spoiled rotten, with his eyes above his head. Little boss, you didn’t see his attitude before Madam Tang came. I really wanted to give that brat a good beating.”

“You think I don’t want to?”

“Ah, little boss, I didn’t think you were angry at all.”

Tang Shen looked at the broken tiles all over the yard: “In your mind, I am just a clay figurine? Even clay figurines have a temper. But Brother Yao, if I beat him, Madam Tang would definitely result in a disagreement.”

Yao San: “No way, Madam Tang seems very fair. This was clearly the fault of Tang Yun who was looking for trouble.”

“Yes, that eldest aunt of mine is a fair person, and she also understands in her heart that we have been wronged in today’s matter. However, people’s hearts are made of flesh, and he is her only biological son. From now on, we will be cooperating together. It is exactly because she is a fair person that she will definitely compensate us twice as much for the grievances we have endured today. Beating Tang Yun would only create a crack between us and Madam Tang. If we don’t beat him, and let him act out in front of Madam Tang, Madam Tang will feel guilty.”

Yao San: “Little boss is truly a scholar. You are right.”

Tang Huang: “Brother, are you really going to take the county exam in three months?”

Tang Shen: “…”

“Elder Brother?”

“…”

“Tang Shen?”

Tang Shen raised his head and looked at the sky, speechless and choked up: “The boast I made must be carried out even if I must cry while doing so!”

On the second day, Madam Tang sent someone to bring two large boxes of things over. At the same time, she asked the housekeeper to bring a message to Tang Shen: “Young Master, Madam asked me to tell you that Tang Yun is used to being spoiled and arrogant, but with his temperament it should not have come to smashing things indiscriminately. She will investigate this matter carefully and will definitely give you an explanation. In addition, the essential oils have begun to be prepared to be put up in the shop today. Madam would like to know when you can have the first batch ready.”

Tang Shen: “It will be ready in half a month.”

“That’s good!”

After sending the housekeeper off, Tang Shen didn’t even eat breakfast. He tied a long piece of cloth around his forehead and ran to Liang Manor. At this time, Liang Song was still eating breakfast when he suddenly heard from the steward that Tang Shen had arrived. Liang Song wondered strangely: “What time of the day is this? What is he doing here? Isn’t he supposed to report to the prefecture academy?”

Before he finished speaking, he saw Tang Shen running over with a long cloth tied around his forehead with tears in his eyes.

“Teacher, you must save this student!”

Liang Song: “Ah?”

Tang Shen wiped the non-existent tears from the corner of his eyes: “Teacher, there are still three months left,do you think with this student’s talent and intelligence, could I pass the county exam?”

Liang Song: “…”

“Teacher!”

Liang Song almost kicked Tang Shen in the butt. He scolded with amusement: “You little rascal, you ask for help, and you have to throw in a praise for yourself. And your talent and intelligence? You don’t even know the eight-legged essay formula, let alone have decent enough handwriting. The more handsome your looks are, the more disgraceful your handwriting is!”

Tang Shen: “…Teacher, my handwriting isn’t that ugly.”

Liang Song said with exasperation: “Tell me, what happened.”

Tang Shen: “Teacher, save me!”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: Little Tang Lang: The boast I made must be carried out even if I must cry while doing so!

TN1: Imperial Examination Ranks: tongsheng (county level)—>xiucai (prefecture level)—>gongsheng (all gongsheng are xiucai but not all xiucai can become gongsheng)—>juren (provincial level)—>gongshi (all gongshi are juren but not all juren are gongshi)—>jinshi (palace/highest level, divided by third rank, second rank, and first rank. First rank includes tanhua(3rd), bangyan(2nd), zhuangyuan(1st))

TN2: Examinations and their resulting rank: tongshi (divided into county exam=tongsheng, prefecture exam=xiucai, academy exam=gongsheng)—>xiucai/gongsheng, xiangshi—>juren, huishi—>gongshi, dianshi—>jinshi

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Top Dupe CH 017 Are We Dating?

“Aiya——” Xiao Qin, who was arranging Gu Xiaowei’s costume not far away, rushed over, but was a step too late.

“Be careful” sounded in Gu Xiaowei’s ears.

The partition falling down towards him shook, someone had held it up.

Gu Xiaowei turned his face sideways and met a pair of eyes.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It was Luo Yu who rushed to his side. The two sides of the supported partition were still shaking. The staff members hurried over to help the partition up.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” They apologized hurriedly.

“Teacher Gu, are you okay?”

Not only did it hit someone it even almost hit the male lead.

“It doesn’t matter.” Gu Xiaowei didn’t intend to quibble over it at all.

Luo Yu was about to stand up when he found that Gu Xiaowei next to him was still looking at him. His gaze was like Yan Ye in the drama, who wanted to use his gaze as the world to trap a certain someone.

Not to mention that Gu Xiaowei seemed to be getting closer. His eyes were getting closer and closer and Luo Yu had the illusion that his city was about to be captured. He lost his balance and fell backwards.

Gu Xiaowei put one hand on his side and clasped his arm with the other hand to hold him before he fell to the ground.

His figure almost completely enveloped Luo Yu.

“Senior brother, are you okay?”

“Ah, no… I’m okay…”

Clearly that look belonged to Yan Ye, but Gu Xiaowei called him “senior brother”.

Did this mean that he was not still immersed in his role, and he clearly knew that the person in front of him was not Bai Ying, but Luo Yu?

Gu Xiaowei stood up and pulled Luo Yu up as well.

His hands were big and his fingers were so long that he could completely wrap Luo Yu’s wrist in his hand.

“Thank you.” Luo Yu quickly thanked him.

“I should be the one thanking you.” Gu Xiaowei said.

Luo Yu could feel Gu Xiaowei’s aura, which was by no means simply cold and aloof, but more complicated——a natural destructive desire and possessiveness were quietly mixed together, covered up by a sense of distance, so it was not easy to pick up on.

Luo Yu stepped back, while Gu Xiaowei looked into Luo Yu’s eyes and took half a step forward until Luo Yu bumped into the makeup artist.

The static space suddenly became moving again.

“I’m sorry!” Luo Yu quickly apologized and left quickly.

He clenched his fists and then unclenched them subtly, a thin layer of sweat forming on his palms.

If Gu Xiaowei’s Yan Ye maintained such an aura, Luo Yu was not sure that his Bai Ying could control him.

But fortunately… fortunately, they didn’t have to act against each other anymore!

Bai Ying will receive a box meal the day after tomorrow! Hallelujah!

When the last scene of the day was filmed, everyone ended the work happily and started eating again.

Luo Yu returned to the dormitory with the box meal. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Fang Qin sitting on the bedside with a troubled face. There was an untouched box meal on the bedside table.

“Fang Qin, what’s wrong?”

“Brother Luo, my voice is hoarse.” Fang Qin pointed at his throat and said.

Luo Yu squinted his eyes and walked over. He found that Fang Qin not only had a hoarse throat, but also had several bumps on his chin, which was obviously a sign of excessive internal heat.

But after they entered the set, they didn’t eat anything spicy like hot pot and skewers.

“This is from you stressing yourself out.” Luo Yu said helplessly.

He and Fang Qin were not in the same group. Luo Yu was in group A and Fang Qin was in group B. Group B mainly filmed police scenes.

“Then what should I do? I still have lines tomorrow…” Fang Qin said helplessly.

Luo Yu opened his suitcase and threw several bags of medicine powder at him.

“Eat the food and then take the medicine.”

Fang Qin almost burst into tears with gratitude, “Thank you, Brother Luo! I didn’t expect you to bring medicine! You are really well prepared!”

“That’s right. Your Brother Luo has a lot of experience. After all, I have eaten salt ten years more than you!”

“Ah? Brother Luo, you are not thirty or forty years old. How could you eat so much salt in your youth?”

“Haha, I’m exaggerating.”

Fang Qin took out his mobile phone, took a picture of the medicine powder, and posted a message on Weibo with the text: [Thank you, Brother Luo, for giving me the medicine. My Brother Luo is handsome, kind-hearted, and thoughtful.]

It was just that Fang Qin was an 18th-tier supporting actor who just debuted. He didn’t have more than 10,000 fans on Weibo. A few real friends and classmates liked and commented, “Thank you Brother Luo, our idiot is now in your hands.”

But Fang Qin felt very happy. Although many people on the Internet misunderstood Luo Yu, it was good if he could spread some kindness for him.

Luo Yu opened the lid of the box meal. Not bad. Every meal had new surprises. They even had chicken wings tonight!

Just for the box meals, Luo Yu felt that it would not be a loss to be an extra for Lin Yue’s crew.

After dinner, Luo Yu went out for two walks as usual, a walk and a night run.

Although chicken wings were tasty, he still needed to keep in shape.

After jogging for about two hours, Luo Yu suddenly thought that he had to prepare some mints to prevent throat discomfort. And Fang Qin should also be able to use it in this state.

He walked into a small supermarket and saw several crew members and actor assistants buying things there.

Everyone said hello to each other.

If it were in the past, these actors’ assistants would have looked down their noses at Luo Yu. After all, if they said even a word to Luo Yu, what if he tried to rub against their traffic like how he copied He Mu’s image?

But today, Director Lin specially called Luo Yu to talk about the scenes, and the news that Hua Xingyun changed the script for him on the spot instantly spread throughout the entire crew.

Although Lin Yue had a good temper, he was also known to be strict. If he was not satisfied with a scene, he could film it over and over again for several days until the actor gets it. Not to mention his acting opposite Gu Xiaowei. Many actors couldn’t handle acting scenes with Gu Xiaowei, but Luo Yu not only held his own, but also passed almost every scene without an NG.

If it was because his lines were few and the scenes were simple, then having Hua Xingyun modify the script for him on the spot was real talent!

This also made the actors in the same group be more polite to him. Even if they met Luo Yu in the small supermarket with their assistants, even if they didn’t call him “Brother Luo”, they would still at least nod as a greeting.

“Brother Luo, why are you still out shopping so late?”

“Buy some mints.”

“Oh, I just saw it over there.”

“Brother Luo, did you just finish your night run?”

“Yeah.”

These colleagues and assistants who often measured the amount of enthusiasm they displayed based on the other’s traffic volume suddenly became polite to him. Luo Yu was really not used to it and kept wondering if they had become possessed.

He found the candy aisle and saw all kinds of gummies, chewing gums, hard candies… but no mints.

“Ai… they just said it was here.”

Luo Yu’s fingers slid over row after row, but couldn’t find the mints.

He was so focused that he didn’t notice a tall figure standing behind him, watching him quietly for almost half a minute.

Luo Yu thought to himself, why not ask the cashier, maybe he was at the wrong shelf.

He just took half a step back to turn around when he bumped into someone.

“Sorry!”

Tsk… this guy’s chest was so hard!

Luo Yu took a closer look and found that the person standing behind him was Gu Xiaowei!

Once meeting his eyes, Luo Yu felt a sense of tension that suddenly gripped his heart.

Why did Gu Xiaowei appear in this small supermarket?

If he wanted to buy something, shouldn’t he ask Xiao Qin to buy it?

Luo Yu was quite tall, and he was not a paper person either. Logically speaking, the impact of being bumped by him was quite large, but Gu Xiaowei did not move at all, and even supported Luo Yu’s lower back to help him regain his balance.

“What are you looking for, senior brother?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

“Uh… mints.” Luo Yu replied.

Gu Xiaowei’s other hand went around Luo Yu and picked up a round iron box from the lower row of shelves, “Is it this?”

“Yes… that’s it.”

Luo Yu felt that this position was like being held by the other person, so he quickly turned around to face the shelf, pretending to pick up a few more boxes to put a distance from Gu Xiaowei’s side.

“Why did you come out to the supermarket so late? Where is Xiao Qin?” Luo Yu asked casually.

Gu Xiaowei raised his hand, and Luo Yu saw the box of band-aids in his hand.

“Xiao Qin’s heel was rubbed raw by her shoe, so I came out to buy her some band-aids.” Gu Xiaowei answered.

“You are so considerate. Xiao Qin is lucky to have a boss like you.”

After Luo Yu finished speaking, he turned sideways and walked past Gu Xiaowei with three boxes of mints in his hand.

When he passed by the other party, Luo Yu was extremely careful, for fear of accidentally bumping into the other man.

Standing in front of the cashier, Luo Yu put the mints on the counter. Someone reached out from behind him, put down the box of band-aids, and said to the cashier, “I’ll pay.”

Luo Yu knew it was Gu Xiaowei. Just as he was about to decline, the other man had already extended his mobile phone QR code to the cashier.

Although the cashier in the film and television studio had seen some celebrities, this was the first time she had seen someone of Gu Xiaowei’s started status.

Many celebrities out of makeup were no different from passers-by.

But Gu Xiaowei was different. His facial features were handsome and his makeup-less appearance never disappointed.

The cashier was stunned for two seconds, quickly scanned the QR code, and then checked out.

Oh my god, she scanned Gu Xiaowei’s QR code!

This was definitely her highlight moment as a supermarket cashier!

Gu Xiaowei handed the three boxes of mints to Luo Yu. His fingers were very long and he could hold the three iron boxes effortlessly.

“Thank you.” Luo Yu lowered his head. He tried his best not to touch Gu Xiaowei, but he didn’t expect that when Gu Xiaowei’s fingers opened, they brushed against his palm.

The other man just bought him three boxes of mints, and he didn’t need to embarrass each other by insisting on paying back the money.

But Luo Yu took a box and handed it to the other man, “Do you want to keep one box?”

“Thank you, senior brother.” Gu Xiaowei did not refuse, took the box and put it into his coat pocket.

The two live in the same direction, so they could only walk back together.

Along the way, they met several other crew members. When they saw Gu Xiaowei, they couldn’t help but take out their mobile phones to take pictures.

When Luo Yu saw this, he immediately quickened his pace and distanced himself from Gu Xiaowei, but he didn’t expect that Gu Xiaowei would step forward with his long legs and walked shoulder to shoulder with Luo Yu in the blink of an eye.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Luo Yu couldn’t help but remind him: “Didn’t you see they were taking pictures? It would be bad if you were photographed with me.”

“Senior brother, are we dating?” Gu Xiaowei asked.

Luo Yu choked immediately, “I… how can we be dating?”

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The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 012 Eighth Of The World’s Talents

In the biting cold wind, two armored guards, holding spears and with their backs upright, stood guard in front of the manor.

Suddenly, a thin figure rounded quickly from the corner of the street. The guard standing on the left was about to yell, but when he saw the person clearly, he smiled and said, “Tang Gongzi, you just left at noon, why are you here again today?”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

These guards were all veterans who had retired from the battlefield, apparently they were injured on the battlefield. They were originally from Gusu Prefecture. After being disarmed and returning to their hometown, they could not do any other work, so Liang daru took the initiative to recruit them to be his guards. They were originally ruffians in the army, but after entering the Liang Manor, they all absorbed Liang daru‘s literary halo, and after a few years they became much more polite and courteous when speaking to others.

Tang Shen said: “Brother, please report that I am here to see Liang daren.”

“Wait a moment.”

After a short while, Tang Shen was led by the steward to the study of Liang Manor.

Liang Song was painting. What he painted was an orchid, rooted between cliffs and swaying in the cold wind. A young man wearing a green robe was grinding ink for him. This person’s name was Xu Hui, also known as Yu Zhi, and he was Liang daru‘s maternal nephew. (TN: maternal cousin’s son)

Seeing Tang Shen coming, Liang daru glanced at him and then continued painting. He was holding a thin brush, while brandishing it freely, he said: “Why did you come back after only a couple hours? Did you forget something, if so let Yu Zhi go and get it with you.”

Tang Shen took three steps forward and took out something from his sleeve.

“Sir.”

Liang Song looked up and saw what was in Tang Shen’s hand. He was slightly startled.

After a long while, Liang Song said with a smile: “Yu Zhi, you go out first.”

Xu Hui bowed his head and left the study.

Tang Shen raised his arms, held the invitation in both hands, and leaned forward in a salutation.

Liang Song said: “Yu Zhi left, why don’t you come and grind ink for me?”

Tang Shen stepped forward and handed the invitation to Liang Song. Liang Song took the invitation and placed it on the corner of the table, and began to draw again. Tang Shen rolled up his sleeves, picked up an ink stick, and grinded the ink on the inkstone. Under the brush, the orchids on the cliff were noble and elegant, but there was silence in the study.

After finishing painting an orchid, Liang Song said, “Why did you come back?”

Tang Shen grinded the ink and said, “I’m here to apologize to you, sir.”

“Oh, apologize? Did you do something wrong?”

Tang Shen thought for a while: “Maybe I didn’t do anything wrong, but I didn’t do anything right either.”

“Tell me, what did you do right and what did you do wrong.”

“Three days before the Double Ninth Festival, sir gave me an invitation, inviting me to come over for a chat. I did the right thing and guessed that the date was noon on the Double Ninth Festival to admire the chrysanthemums with sir in the pavilion. However, to this day, I have done one thing wrong.”

“What is it?”

“Arrogant and conceited, proud and forgetting myself.”

Liang Song put down his brush and said with a smile: “I didn’t say that, young man, you are quite good at finding troubles for yourself.” 

Tang Shen also put down his ink stink: “Sir, if you didn’t say that, wouldn’t I feel even more ashamed? I am not talented, and once said that I have a retentive memory and can recite the Four Books and Five Classics backwards. However, sir also said it twice, even old xiucai who have read it fifty or sixty times dare not talk so big. To this day I hadn’t understood the word puzzle on the invitation. Now I understand that sir only said to appreciate the chrysanthemums, and has sincerely invited me. Sir also hid the words “Double Ninth” in the poem to tell me that I am still very shallow. There are others better than yourself, thus one must not be arrogant.”

Liang Song looked at Tang Shen for a long time and said, “You said everything I wanted to say. You also said what I hadn’t wanted to say. Little Tang Lang, you really leave me speechless.”

Although he had nothing to say, Liang daru stroked his long beard and looked pleased.

When Tang Shen saw that Liang daru was not angry, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He continued: “Before coming, I heard a story.”

“Oh, what story?”

Tang Shen hesitated for a moment and said: “In the third year of Kaiping, outside Wuyuan City, the Liao army invaded with great momentum.” After Tang Shen said the first sentence, Liang daru‘s expression changed and his lips moved, but he did not speak. Tang Shen continued: “The Liao people suddenly attacked, and Wuyuan City was short of soldiers and horses. It was a drought year, and there was not much food and grass in the city. The imperial reinforcements would not arrive for ten days, and the Liao army surrounded Wuyuan City.”

“Not ten days, they only arrived half a month later.”

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment: “Yes, it took half a month to arrive. Seeing that the soldiers and civilians in the city were trapped and unable to get food, the general guarding Wuyuan City took out one hundred thousand silver taels and gave it to the provincial military commander at the time, asking him to secretly leave the city to raise food and grass.”

That was twenty-one years ago, in the third year of Kaiyuan, some unrest occurred when the new emperor ascended the throne, and the country’s strength was seriously damaged. For ten consecutive years, the Liao people invaded frequently, making the common people miserable.

Wuyuan City was not bordering the Liao territory, so there were only more than 3,000 defenders in the city. Unexpectedly, the Liao people took advantage of the drought in the Song Dynasty and suddenly launched an attack. They captured Youzhou City overnight and arrived at Wuyuan City. The general who defended the city was named Zheng Yuanping. He came from a common background and was a general who rose in the ranks with his own sweat and blood.

The Liao army attacked the city, and Zheng Yuanping defended it for three days. The food in the city had already reached the bottom. Zheng Yuanping found the provincial military commander Liang Song. He knelt down and asked Liang Song to take one hundred thousand silver to Xixia and come back to save the people.

Zheng Yuanping: “Wuyuan and I shall live and die together.”

At night, Liang Song escaped from the defenders and went to Xixia. There was a waterway from Xixia to Wuyuan. If they transport grain by water, they could avoid the Liao army’s spies. But at that time, Xixia had friendly relations with both Liao and Song and had an alliance. Liang Song found a Xixia merchant who coveted the one hundred thousand silver taels, but was worried about getting involved in the war.

Liang Song was in his early thirties at the time and was a well-known talent in the Song Dynasty. Seeing that day by day passed, there was no food and grass in the city, and the Liao army was laying a fierce siege against the city. He immediately knelt down, knocked the ground with his head, and kowtowed until his forehead was bleeding. He begged the Xixia merchant to send out two ships full of food and grass to Wuyuan City.

It was a pity that by the time he arrived, Wuyuan City had already been destroyed, and Zheng Yuanping’s head was chopped off by the Liao army and hung on the top of the city gate.

Tang Shen said: “Seeing that you had failed General Zheng’s instructions, sir drew your sword and planned to apologize with your death. Fortunately, sir was saved by the people accompanying you.”

Liang Song seemed to recall the people and things from more than twenty years ago. He sighed and said, “More than twenty years have passed. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao army in Shuozhou. Why do you mention this again today?”

Tang Shen walked to stand in front of the desk, bowed respectfully, and said: “I was born in the countryside. Since I was a child, I only knew about frogs and insects, but not the world. Today I heard an old xiucai talk about this, and I finally understood what sir meant by ‘be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family’.”

Liang Song looked at him: “Then tell me what it means.”

Tang Shen raised his head, his eyes were very bright, and he said word by word: “For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

Liang Song’s body shook, as if he had been enlightened, and he remained motionless for a long time.

After a long time, he murmured to himself, “For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation.” After a while, he laughed loudly: “Yes, for the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation! You are right. Do you know why I gave you this invitation card, or why I gave you that name card in Zhao Family Village that day?”

Tang Shen paused.

He had never thought about this before. Now that he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt as if he had a bucket of icy water overturned on him and realized his ignorance.

From the moment he transmigrated into the ancient times, he had always had a feeling of superiority. He felt that as a person from a thousand years later he was smarter and more knowledgeable. Whether it was Zeng fuzi or Liang daru, he never really took these ancients too seriously. He always maintained a high position and saw no one in his eyes. Even if he didn’t show it, he had this thought deep in his heart, but he never noticed it. Now that he had discovered it, he was simply too ashamed.

Tang Shen was ashamed, and he said frankly: “I don’t know, sir.”

Liang Song: “Because you and I are so similar!”

“Ah?”

“I have also seen a child prodigy with a highly retentive memory. Of the ten talents in the world, he occupied eight (TN: expression for extraordinary talent). Speaking of myself, I gained the rank of xiucai at the age of twelve and juren at the age of sixteen. At the age of twenty-one, I passed the palace examination as the zhuangyuan (TN: top scorer). Tang Shen, do you dare to say that you would be a jinshi at the age of twenty-one?” (TN: successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination)

If it were in the past, Tang Shen might still have confidence that this was possible. But he was no longer arrogant now. He knew that in ancient times, becoming a jinshi was as difficult as climbing the skies.

The imperial examination was held every three years, and each time 300 jinshi were admitted. On average, there were only 100 jinshi a year.

These one hundred people were to the backdrop of the entire Song Dynasty, not a certain city or a certain province! In later generations, Tsinghua University and Peking University admitted tens of thousands of people a year, but in ancient times, there were only a hundred jinshi each year. All the scholars of the world were taking the exam with you and were your classmates.

Tang Shen said: “I don’t dare.”

Liang Song looked at Tang Shen’s humble and ashamed look, and felt even more satisfied. He sighed: “Alas, you are so similar to me. Tang Shen, twenty-four years ago, I was just like you, feeling that the world was in the palm of my hand. But you have to remember that there are things in this world that you can’t do, and there are people that you can’t save. Have you ever seen bones covering a thousand miles, and blood flowing everywhere outside Youzhou City?”

Tang Shen said sincerely: “Sir, I was too arrogant.”

“Enough, come here, Little Tang Lang, that proud and complacent look of before suits you better. But what you said is quite right, for the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

No matter how thick-skinned Tang Shen was, he was still a little embarrassed at this moment. How was he proud and complacent? Sir really doesn’t know how to speak.

Liang Song: “When are you going to study?”

“Uh, this…”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to catch up with next year’s county exam. There are only three months left. You haven’t even learned the eight-legged essay format, have you?”

Tang Shen lacked confidence: “No…”

Liang Song: “Next month, go to the prefecture academy to study.”

Tang Shen was surprised and said: “Sir, isn’t it true that only xiucai can attend the prefecture academy?”

“My students can attend too.”

Tang Shen said in surprise: “Sir?”

Liang Song laughed and scolded: “You naughty Little Tang Lang, you have come to visit me several times since the Double Ninth Festival, isn’t it just to formally become my student?”

Tang Shen pretended to be dumb: “I just want to see you sir.”

“Enough, go.”

After sending Tang Shen off, Liang daru looked at his thin back and felt relieved and amused at the same time. He rolled the orchid painting into a scroll and put it away, took out a letter paper, and began to write a letter. At the end of it, he pondered a bit and then added another sentence.

“…You old fellow, you found a good student eighteen years ago and showed off to me again and again for eighteen years. Did you know that I also accepted a student today, and he also has a retentive memory like Zi Feng? Moreover, this student of mine is no more than thirteen years old yet he said this to me.”

“For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

“Did Zi Feng ever say this when he was thirteen?”

After writing the letter proudly, Liang Song called his maternal nephew: “Send this orchid painting and letter to the old fellow in Shengjing.”

“Yes.”

On the other side, Tang Shen still felt a little light-headed after he walked out of the gate of Liang Manor.

Liang daru was right. From the beginning, Tang Shen did not come to visit him for no reason, but with selfish motives: he wanted to formally become the student of Liang Song.

Liang daru was not a person who did not accept students. It was said that before the tenth year of Kaiyuan, when he was the provincial military commander and when the late emperor was still on the throne, he also accepted a few students. It was a pity that most of these students died on the battlefield, and one died of illness many years ago. Perhaps because he was older now, he stopped accepting students.

Logically speaking, Tang Shen was not qualified to have the other make an exception for him, but Tang Shen had one confidence: Liang Bowen personally gave him his name card.

Even if Tang Shen did not enter officialdom in the future, the title of “Liang Bowen’s student” would allow him not to worry about other things.

Now, Tang Shen sincerely wanted Liang Song to be his teacher.

He didn’t have that kind of integrity, but he respected people like that. The world could lose one Tang Shen, but the world could not lack people like Liang Song.

When he returned home, Tang Shen saw his sister waiting outside the door from a distance. As soon as she saw him, Tang Huang hurried over.

Tang Shen was still a little proud at this time. He smiled and said, “Ah Huang, guess what I just accomplished.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tang Huang stamped her foot: “Bad Tang Shen, I don’t care what you accomplished, something happened, hurry and come in quickly!”

AN: Why do I feel that today you all are going to start guessing the age of old Wang next door…

Old Wang next door: Huh? I’m very young.

Thirteen-year-old little mantis: What, what are you guys talking about? (TN: Little Tang Lang=homonym for little mantis)

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Top Dupe CH 016 I Am Your Beacon

Lin Yue smiled as he analyzed: “Although the entertainment industry has given Gu Xiaowei a lot of praise, he does have enough strength to aspire to be the top young actor under the age of 35. Even so you don’t need to deify Gu Xiaowei. “

Luo Yu listened carefully. He didn’t expect Director Lin to bring up Gu Xiaowei.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

“Gu Xiaowei is not a statue in a temple for people to admire and pray at. He is just an ordinary person who keeps his emotions tightly under control. But when he enters a role, he will express his suppressed emotions.”

“En.” Luo Yu nodded.

“Acting skills can also be mutually dependent. The more involved you are in the role, the more outstanding you are, then the more complex human emotions Gu Xiaowei opposite you can perform.”

“Thank you, Director Lin.” Luo Yu knew that Lin Yue was worried that he would be under too much pressure when facing Gu Xiaowei. That he had just started filming but once the two of them had more and more scenes opposite each other, he would not be able to hold on anymore.

In fact, Luo Yu had also seen a Gu Xiaowei who was even more experienced in acting.

The current Gu Xiaowei, who got a little nervous because Luo Yu was too close, was actually quite cute.

At this time, Gu Xiaowei came to the restroom. He turned on the faucet and lowered his head. The moment he was about to splash water on his face, someone grabbed him by the collar.

“Don’t——”

Gu Xiaowei subconsciously grabbed the other with a twist of his wrist, and then realized that it was his makeup artist Ah Yan.

Ah Yan grimaced in pain, “Stop! It’s going to break, it’s going to break!”

Only then did Gu Xiaowei let him go.

“Brother, you still have a scene! Don’t wash your face in such a hurry!” Ah Yan observed Gu Xiaowei carefully and said worriedly, “Brother Gu, are you allergic to the foundation? Your face is a little red…”

“I’m just a little hot.”

“Hot?”

It’s late autumn, how was it so hot?

Gu Xiaowei pulled a paper towel to wipe his hands and walked out of the restroom.

Passing by a vending machine, he actually stopped and bought a bottle of iced Coke. Unscrewing the cap with a “hiss”, he raised his head and drank it in.

Ah Yan, who was following him, could only see his throat rising and falling, as if his internal organs and lungs were burning and he was eager to put out the fire.

Assistant Xiao Qin rushed over with Gu Xiaowei’s usual thermos cup and looked at him in surprise as he drank Coke.

After drinking nearly two-thirds of a bottle of Coke, Gu Xiaowei stopped and kept his eyes closed, as if to empty out something.

“Brother Gu… the next scene is about to begin. Let me touch up your makeup.” Ah Yan said.

“En.”

When Ah Yan touched up Gu Xiaowei’s eyebrows, he saw a hint of restraint in Gu Xiaowei’s eyes.

In the distance, several actors were chatting and cracking cold jokes.

Luo Yu put his elbow on Brother Long’s shoulder, “Brother Long, that one wasn’t funny, listen to mine——there used to be a man surnamed Tie who didn’t have a hair on his body. What disease do you think he had?”

Brother Long asked: “I don’t know, what’s the disease?”

Luo Yu smiled and said, “Old Tie hairless disease!” (TN: homonym for ‘homie, we’re good’ or ‘it’s cool, bro’)

Brother Long didn’t understand it for a while, but Xiao Qin, who was standing next to Gu Xiaowei, understood it and giggled.

Luo Yu looked for the laughter and winked at Xiao Qin.

At that moment, Gu Xiaowei, who was having his eyebrows done, suddenly closed his eyes and turned his head.

Ah Yan put away the eyebrow pencil and whispered, “How about I go tell them to keep their voices down?”

“No need.” Gu Xiaowei replied.

After finishing his makeup, when Gu Xiaowei opened his eyes, what he saw was Brother Long handing a cigarette to Luo Yu.

But Luo Yu didn’t take it. Instead, he pointed at his throat and said, “I promised my agent that if it’s not necessary for filming, I won’t smoke.”

“Young man, you’re very restrained!”

Luo Yu didn’t know that the way he smoked was like the flickering shadow of a lamp light after being drunk. Absurdity and unruliness were the swaying wick.

Gu Xiaowei opened the Coke again and drank the rest.

The crew started to switch to the next scene, which was regarded as Yan Ye’s solo. In order to get to the top as soon as possible, he followed Ah Lan in several places similar to the KTV and went on a killing spree, which won Bai Ying a lot of venues.

The prop master was preparing, and the cameramen were also rearranging the camera positions.

Luo Yu looked at the schedule. Today’s filming had ended for him and there would be no scenes for tomorrow either. The day after tomorrow, Bai Ying would be betrayed by Ah Lan and stabbed to death by his enemy on a busy street. After receiving the box meal and wrapping things up he could go straight home. (TN: receiving the box meal=showbiz slang for the death of your film role)

But for some reason, Luo Yu kept feeling like someone was watching him. He looked around, but couldn’t find the source of that sight.

Luo Yu simply lowered his head to scroll through his phone, chatting with Brother Long next to him from time to time and smiling heartily. After each scene was filmed, he could easily get out of Bai Ying’s skin and reveal his original and true self.

At this time, Luo Yu turned around, raised his eyes and met Gu Xiaowei’s gaze. He curved his lips and smiled at Gu Xiaowei.

It was a polite smile between colleagues, but it was a smile that Bai Ying could never give to Yan Ye.

The actors were in their places, and as the sound of the clapperboard rang out, Ah Lan and Yan Ye led people to block a few small mob bosses in a private room.

Yan Ye was holding a cigarette in his mouth, carrying half of a broken chair, and suddenly smashed it on the coffee table. The expression on his face was the arrogance and madness of a beast out of its cage. He was a beacon on the Great Wall, just to let a certain someone see, smoke and dust billowing, deceiving the sky and cheating the sun.

The small bosses screamed and hid under the coffee table, but were pulled out one by one by Yan Ye.

“This boss, please eat less. Look, it’s all stuck.” Yan Ye said with a smile.

Seeing this, Luo Yu had to say that Gu Xiaowei’s line skills were top-notch. The blend of intimidation, ridicule and wantonness became Yan Ye’s protective color as an undercover agent.

Ah Lan grabbed the head of a small boss and banged it on the coffee table, then smiled and put a hand on Yan Ye’s shoulder, “Old brother, you’re playing quite wild?”

Yan Ye looked around boredly, like a victor inspecting a plundered city, and finally his eyes fixed on Luo Yu who was watching.

A wave of aggression surged towards Luo Yu without concealment, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

“As long as the boss is happy.” Yan Ye smiled.

Luo Yu almost forgot to breathe. At this moment, Gu Xiaowei’s eyes were full of drama——I am your beacon, only you can ignite me.

Like the burning stars in the wilderness, Yan Ye wanted to destroy all the rules in this muddy world, and then hold it up in front of Bai Ying and let him reshape it into another image.

The scene ended very smoothly. The director did not shout “cut” or mention any adjustments throughout the whole process, letting the actors play freely.

The fact was, the results were also very good.

Luo Yu had the illusion of being entrapped by Gu Xiaowei’s Yan Ye. He knew that Gu Xiaowei’s acting skills were good, but he didn’t know that his aura was so powerful. Luo Yu wanted to go back to the dormitory several times, but Gu Xiaowei seduced him into watching the next few scenes.

Before he knew it, it was time for lunch.

Luo Yu’s tense heartstrings could finally relax. He happily came to the tricycle delivering food with Brother Long and others, and helped take the food down.

Xiao Qin also came over happily. Luo Yu asked her with a smile: “Are you here to get food for your Brother Gu?”

Xiao Qin nodded and said: “Yeah! Working with Director Lin is the best. There are fried beef slices in the lunch boxes!”

Brother Long said in surprise: “How come Gu Xiaowei also eats box meal? Shouldn’t he have his own separate order?”

“Haha, Director Lin’s crew has never been stingy when it comes to food! There’s no need to be special. And as for separate orders or something, maybe it won’t even arrive fast enough to eat before the afternoon filming starts again.”

As a girl, Xiao Qin found it difficult to hold two boxes of lunch, two boxes of vegetables and two bowls of soup.

Luo Yu was just about to say to help her carry it over, when he heard Gu Xiaowei’s voice.

“I’ll carry it.”

His voice was very close, seeming to have returned to Gu Xiaowei’s normal state, sounding calm and cool.

Luo Yu’s back tensed up subconsciously, and he pretended to chat with Brother Long next to him, not daring to look back.

He didn’t know why he was so timid. Maybe he was afraid that he would be suppressed by Gu Xiaowei’s aura, which would make him less heroic when he received the box meal the day after tomorrow.

Soon the smell of food spread around.

Luo Yu mingled with Brother Long and a few extras. He sat cross-legged on the ground, put the side food in front of him, and started eating it with the rice.

“Xiao Qin isn’t telling lies. The box meal provided by Director Lin and the crew is so rich!” Luo Yu took a large piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth. “If this happens every time, I will gain at least three or four pounds after filming!”

Luo Yu’s words were affirmed by other extras.

Gu Xiaowei didn’t eat much at noon. He had a scene in the afternoon and was afraid that he would become sleepy after eating and would affect his condition.

He raised his eyes and looked past the layers of crew members, knowing vaguely who he was looking for in his heart.

The young man was holding a disposable soup bowl, and his hearty appearance made people mistakenly think that he was drinking wine instead of seaweed and egg soup.

After taking a big mouthful of rice, Luo Yu could still feel that faint gaze. He raised his eyes and looked around, and found that everyone was busy eating, so he continued to eat with peace of mind.

He didn’t have any scenes in the afternoon, so he just watched on the set, occasionally helping the prop master and cameramen, and even helped lift the reflector.

Unexpectedly, Xie Shang, the heroine of this drama, joked and commented: “Quick, quick, give me a replacement for the reflector board holder. Brother Luo is so handsome that I only focus on watching him and can’t remember my lines!”

Everyone laughed.

“This is Brother Gu’s boss! He is personally holding your reflector board yet you’re not satisfied!”

“No, no, no, it’s the boss who’s about to receive the box meal!”

Luo Yu rubbed his nose and went to the side to watch the filming sheepishly.

In today’s last scene, thanks to Director Lin’s lightbulb moment, everyone was working hard to adjust the scene layout.

Gu Xiaowei had one hand in his pocket and the other hand holding the script and was studying it.

The makeup artist turned on his motor and retouched his makeup efficiently. A small brush fell from the tool bag on his waist.

“I’ll pick it up…”

“I got it.”

Gu Xiaowei bent down and half-crouched to pick up the brush without caring.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

At this time, the props team passed by pushing a partition, and the makeup artist happened to hit the partition when he turned around.

The partition swayed, lost its balance, and fell towards Gu Xiaowei, who had not yet stood up.

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