Chapter 2: Clumsy Acting

Chapter 2: A Poor Performance

Zhou Lan bought him a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which softened his gaze and gave him a more scholarly air.

"Is Chen Xitong nearsighted?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Mildly so," Zhou Lan said. "Keep your head slightly lowered, and don't tilt your chin up when looking at people—it makes you look arrogant."

"The profile says Gu Hansheng is 1.9 meters tall. So I'm supposed to be staring at his shoes?" Zhao Yu retorted.

"Keep your head down a bit, look up with your eyes, open them wide, and raise your eyebrows slightly."

Zhao Yu did as instructed. Zhou Lan took a photo of him, and the results were great—the edge in his eyes was gone, leaving only pure innocence.

Zhao Yu exclaimed, "Damn, the clothes really make the man."

Zhou Lan frowned. "Swear words are the easiest thing to slip out. You need to start watching your mouth from now on. If you let even one swear word slip, Gu Hansheng will immediately sense something's off!"

Zhao Yu gave an awkward twitch of the lips and rubbed his nose.

Zhou Lan sighed and continued his training. Zhao Yu and Chen Xitong were too different in personality; making him convincingly play Chen Xitong was going to be an uphill battle.

Just as he started going over the basics, Zhou Lan's phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed Gu Hansheng.

Zhao Yu sat up straight, and Zhou Lan made a quiet gesture before answering.

"Mr. Gu, this is Zhou Lan. Did you need something from Xitong?" Zhou Lan asked.

"Hey, Assistant Zhou, how come it's always you who picks up when I call Xitong? I thought you were Mr. Chen's assistant, wasn't that right?"

The man's voice came through the receiver—a magnetic tone laced with teasing. Zhao Yu instantly matched the voice to the photo: composed, teasing, exactly as he'd pictured.

Zhou Lan said, "Xitong's been practicing the piano pretty hard lately. Mr. Chen's worried he'll get distracted, so he had me hold onto his phone. I'll have him text you back once he's done practicing."

"No need. I'll come over to see him in a bit. I recall he usually practices at home, right?"

"He won't be done practicing for a while. It wouldn't be right to make you wait, so maybe—"

"I can wait."

"But Xitong, he—"

"Is it that he doesn't want to see me, or that Mr. Chen won't allow it?" The man's voice still carried a smile, but there was a hint of displeasure beneath it.

A flash of panic crossed Zhou Lan's face, and he looked at Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu just shrugged, signaling he was no help.

Zhou Lan gritted his teeth and made the call: "Alright, call me when you arrive."

After hanging up, Zhou Lan let out a troubled sigh.

Zhao Yu said, "I don't get it. Since Gu Hansheng likes Chen Xitong, even if Xitong's in a coma, he should still help Chen Li out for his sake, right?"

Zhou Lan said, "That's exactly the problem. Mr. Chen kept Xitong from meeting him before, and that already pissed him off. That's why we need you to patch things up in between."

"Can I even see him like this? Will he see through me? What if I just wave at him from far away?"

"No, I've been blowing him off on the phone the last few times, and he's probably pretty annoyed. This time, he has to see you. Look, Xitong hasn't accepted his advances yet, so you don't need to cater to him—just be polite."

...

In the GM's office at Tuotu Tower, the man hung up the phone and looked up at the female employee Yang Hanhan, who was poking her head in from the doorway.

"Mr. Gu, the proposal's ready. Got a minute to look it over?" Yang Hanhan flashed a smile.

Gu Hansheng motioned for her to bring it over. Seeing he was in a good mood, Yang Hanhan let out a quiet sigh of relief and hurried over with it.

The man leaned back in his chair, flipping through the pages with long, elegant fingers. The way he tilted his head down made his nose look sharper and his eyes deeper. If he didn't work in an office, he could easily be a male model. Yang Hanhan often thought wistfully—if only he weren't her boss, she could openly admire his face without any guilt.

"Yang Hanhan, take a look yourself. Does this even look good?" Gu Hansheng opened the design and placed it in front of her, raising an eyebrow. "I pay that much in sponsorship fees, and this is what you're using for brand exposure? That's an F1 track, not some podunk town! Forget putting this on a race car—it'd be too ugly to use as a doormat at my house."

Yang Hanhan said awkwardly, "But this designer's been working with us for ages and has a big name."

"Fire him."

"With who, then?"

"With you."

"Huh?!" Yang Hanhan's eyes went wide in shock. Seeing Gu Hansheng's deadpan look, she realized he was being sarcastic and scratched her head. "I'll find a new designer. What about the budget, though..."

"As long as it impresses me, money's no object."

Yang Hanhan thought, "What a baller," and said with full confidence, "I guarantee you'll be happy!"

...

At 6:30, just as Zhou Lan was getting antsy, Gu Hansheng had already pulled up downstairs.

Zhou Lan followed Zhao Yu out, looking even more nervous than he was. Seeing Zhao Yu skip the elevator and head for the stairwell, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhao Yu adjusted his glasses. "Using the walk down to get my head straight."

Though he thought it was weird, Zhou Lan followed him into the stairwell, going over the afternoon's instructions again.

A black Maybach S680 sat by the curb. Gu Hansheng stood outside in a gray coat, head down, sending red envelopes to the design team working late, which set off a wave of brown-nosing replies.

His height and looks had passersby doing double takes. Zhao Yu spotted him from a distance, took a deep breath, and walked over.

Hearing footsteps, Gu Hansheng looked up, a trace of a smile in his eyes.

"Why'd you come down in just a sweater?" Gu Hansheng slipped off his coat and draped it over Zhao Yu's shoulders, the hem nearly brushing his ankles.

As the coat, still warm from his body, settled over him, Zhao Yu caught his scent—a cool, understated cologne. His body tensed for a second, and almost on reflex, he took a half-step back, putting space between them.

The air instantly turned awkward.

Zhao Yu's mind raced. He immediately forced the rehearsed smile, flashing Chen Xitong's sunny grin. "Have you been waiting long?"

Luckily, it was dark, and the streetlights hid his micro-expressions; otherwise, his stiff face would've given him away.

"Just got here." Gu Hansheng let go, his dark eyes locked on Zhao Yu's face. Then he said, "You seem different after just a few days."

The air grew tense, and Zhao Yu's throat went dry. "Different how?"

Gu Hansheng studied him, then reached out and plucked a stray hair from his shoulder. "Got a haircut?"

"Yeah."

Another stretch of silence. Zhao Yu's heart pounded harder as he felt Gu Hansheng's probing gaze, like it could see right through him.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Nothing." Gu Hansheng flicked a stray hair off his fingers and said gently, "I heard you've been practicing piano diligently lately. Are you preparing for a concert?"

Zhao Yu let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. "No. I just slacked off for a while and wanted to practice more."

"It's good to work hard, but you also need to rest." Gu Hansheng took a delicately wrapped box from the car. "It's been cold lately with this late-spring chill, so you should dress warmer. This is for you—see if you like it or not."

Zhao Yu opened the box and saw a cream-colored scarf with the corner of a price tag peeking out from underneath. He pulled it out and was instantly floored by the price.

Just a plain solid-colored scarf, and it cost over thirty grand!

"I..."

Damn!

Zhao Yu almost blurted it out but choked back the last word, changing it to, "I love it." Cold sweat was already breaking out on his back.

His lousy acting caught Gu Hansheng's attention.

"What's wrong? Sore throat?" Gu Hansheng asked.

Zhao Yu cleared his throat, seizing the chance to roll with it: "Yeah, a little. I've had a cold lately."

"Did you go to the doctor? Did you take any meds?"

"Yeah. I took some meds, and I'm already feeling way better."

Gu Hansheng took out the scarf and wrapped it around him, bending slightly to look him in the eye. His fingers grazed Zhao Yu's cheek as he said softly, "If you're sick, don't practice. Get some real rest. Look how skinny you've gotten. Alright, head on back now and get to bed early."

Zhao Yu nodded and bolted for the entrance gate, then suddenly remembered he was still wearing his coat. He turned around and found Gu Hansheng still standing by the car watching him, that intense stare making him feel guilty.

"What's wrong?" Gu Hansheng asked.

"Your coat..."

"Keep it on. You can give it back next time."

With one sentence, he'd already set up the next meeting. Zhao Yu walked in wearing his coat, exhaling a long sigh of relief at clearing the first hurdle.

Zhou Lan was sitting on the stairs, his phone still connected to the one in Zhao Yu's pocket, having heard the entire conversation. He was also soaked in cold sweat and let out a long breath, saying, "Nice job. Keep it going."

...

Over the next few days, Zhao Yu worked even harder at mimicking Chen Xitong. The files on the desk were dog-eared from being flipped through so much, and he finally managed to shake off his verbal tics and many little habits, becoming more and more like his twin brother.

Zhou Lan handed Zhao Yu Chen Xitong's SIM card. "From now on, when Gu Hansheng calls, you pick up. Also, go through their chat history."

Zhao Yu opened the chat logs and scrolled through them little by little, discovering that Gu Hansheng treated Chen Xitong extremely well. He replied to every message Chen Xitong sent right away, and in just over a month of knowing each other, he'd already given tons of gifts—that thirty-grand scarf was just the tip of the iceberg. Chen Xitong occasionally sent gifts back, nothing pricey, but Gu Hansheng always reacted with huge enthusiasm.

The files said Gu Hansheng had a colorful romantic history—more relationships than he could count on both hands, none lasting long. He wasn't very loyal, even a bit of a "player." But he was surprisingly patient with Chen Xitong and showed real devotion.

Zhao Yu asked, "How did they meet?"

Zhou Lan said, "It was at a performance Xitong was in. After it ended, Gu Hansheng walked up to him and asked for his number."

"Love at first sight?"

"Probably. Xitong didn't know him before."

Zhao Yu opened Gu Hansheng's social media page and found he was different from what he'd imagined—no rich-kid partying or flaunting wealth, not even any selfies. Just a few company promo posts. He seemed pretty old-school.

Soon, Zhao Yu got a call from Gu Hansheng. He exchanged a look with Zhou Lan, cleared his throat, and hit the answer button.

"Xitong, how are you feeling? Is your cold better?" Gu Hansheng asked.

"Much better," Zhao Yu said.

"I booked a restaurant for tonight. You should like their signature dishes. I'll pick you up tonight—you free?"

Zhou Lan nodded, and Zhao Yu said, "Sure, I'll be waiting at home."

"Make sure to dress warm. It's cold at night."

"Okay. You too."

After hanging up, Zhao Yu asked, "Any food rules I should know about for dinner?"

Zhou Lan thought for a moment. "Xitong hates onions, can't do spicy food, likes his steak medium-well, and loves mushrooms."

"Loves mushrooms?!" Zhao Yu made a disgusted face.

"You don't like them?"

"They're gross."

"Aren't you twins?"

"Twins just look alike. We don't have to like the same stuff."