[Gossip Auntie: Lin Shuangyi’s new drama “Xing Tianqing” is in talks with GYN and QXS, with GYN being more likely. But today I saw GQC went to audition, so GYN is a bit uncertain.]

1L: Politely decline, my brother has already taken eight dramas on a certain site, marketing accounts please have some conscience and let him go

2L: GYN is Gu Yuning, QXS is Qin Xiaoshan, but who is GQC? Waiting for someone to decode

3L: Waiting

4L: Gu Xichi?

5L: Who is Gu Xichi? Never heard of him

6L: He’s a fake, just another plastic surgery case

The set was very noisy with constant foot traffic. Gu Xichi sat in a corner at the back row, eyelashes lowered, the blue light from his screen reflecting in his eyes.

As expected, everything he searched about himself online was nothing but mockery and abuse.

“Next.”

Inside came the sound of papers flipping. Lin Shuangyi casually opened a resume, her gaze drawn to the one-inch photo.

A face so white it was overexposed, lips redder than the chili peppers she’d eaten that morning.

Lin Shuangyi scoffed, leaning back with little interest as she called out Gu Xichi’s name, wanting to see what kind of monster dared to edit themselves like this.

Even his mother probably wouldn’t recognize him from this photo.

The door opened. A youth entered beneath the black curtain. Whispers rose and fell around them. Lin Shuangyi looked up from the pile of resumes and couldn’t help pausing.

Against the black curtain backdrop, Gu Xichi’s face appeared even more fair. His slightly upturned peach-blossom eyes, long and soft lashes, red lips and white teeth—he looked exactly like the person in the photo, even better.

Lin Shuangyi retrieved Gu Xichi’s resume from the trash pile, muttering quietly: “So it wasn’t photoshopped after all.”

After studying him for two more glances, she became slightly more serious.

Lin Shuangyi: “Scene forty-eight. Act out the scene where Shen Qingye’s entire family is slaughtered.”

Gu Xichi was handsome, but Lin Shuangyi’s productions never needed mere eye candy.

She’d chosen the most difficult scene, yet it was also Gu Xichi’s favorite.

Shen Qingye was a carefree and romantic youth, unrestrained by worldly conventions. Originally a brilliant young man of radiant charm, he brought disaster upon his family by mistakenly trusting the wrong person.

Overnight, he fell from noble prince to prisoner, even humiliated and sent to the imperial court, never able to live as a man again.

After briefly considering Shen Qingye’s state of mind at that time, Gu Xichi quickly immersed himself in the role.

The youth suddenly kneeling on the ground had shattered eyes. Shock, pain, and regret intertwined in his gaze. Tears silently streamed down his face, yet his spine remained ramrod straight—like green bamboo forcibly broken by someone, though fallen into the mud, refusing to admit defeat.

He possessed a unique fragility that inexplicably aroused the desire to protect him.

Lin Shuangyi’s eyes brightened. She leaned forward, the pen between her fingers spinning twice before she murmured: “Gu Xichi, right?”

Hearing her call his name, Gu Xichi’s fingertips moved slightly. He lowered his eyelids, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, stood up, and silently stared at Lin Shuangyi.

Gu Xichi: “Is that enough?”

Lin Shuangyi nodded, drawing a circle on his resume.

“Go home and wait for notification.”

“Okay.”

After Gu Xichi left, Lin Shuangyi put down her pen, took out her phone, stood up, and walked outside the conference room.

The man on the other end never answered.

Lin Shuangyi persisted. By the fourth call, he finally picked up.

“Lin Shuangyi, you’d better have something urgent.”

Noticing Bo Yu’s displeasure, Lin Shuangyi laughed awkwardly twice before getting straight to the point.

“Do you remember this drama of mine that Bo Corporation invested in?”

Bo Yu didn’t respond. He sat completely naked on the large bed, clothes scattered everywhere on the floor—not a single piece wearable.

Besides that, several red bills lay brazenly on the nightstand, each one challenging his limits.

Lin Shuangyi’s voice continued from the phone.

“My people told me the investors forced someone in. I figured you don’t have the hobby of keeping a secret lover, so why not clean up the parasites under you?”

Lin Shuangyi’s eyes shone as she enthusiastically introduced: “I discovered a treasure today—that third male lead I mentioned before. We’ve finally confirmed the casting.”

Bo Yu rubbed his brow, not in the mood to hear this gossip.

“Whatever you want.”

He hung up decisively and notified his secretary to prepare a new set of clothes and pick him up at the hotel.

When putting on his clothes, Bo Yu discovered several bright red scratch marks on his back.

They didn’t hurt, but were somewhat itchy.

The youth’s appearance from last night surfaced again in his mind.

His hands were beautiful—fair, slender, with distinct knuckles. When held and played with carefully, his other hand had to grip the edge of the vanity tightly to maintain balance, the root of his thighs trembling.

His porcelain-white face was steamed pink by the bathroom, the corners of his eyes crimson, tears flowing intermittently—like a flower crushed to pieces.

When leaving, Bo Yu’s footsteps paused. His expression slightly unnatural, he turned to look at Bai Heng, the secretary responsible for his daily life.

“Check on the guest who came to this hotel with me yesterday.”

“After you’ve investigated clearly, send it to my office.”

As a qualified secretary, all one had to do was diligently fulfill the boss’s requests. Bai Heng efficiently closed the room door and acknowledged with a yes.

After that audition, Gu Xichi didn’t have any additional schedule.

He holed up in his apartment all day facing Ah Ci. Besides feeding the cat, he just slept, even managing to go entire days without saying a single word.

Locked in this body for too long, sometimes Gu Xichi couldn’t distinguish clearly who he was now.

Himself, or the prisoner trapped inside a shell.

Not until midnight when his stomach throbbed with hidden pain, forcibly waking him, did Gu Xichi realize something was wrong with him.

He seemed to have not eaten in a very long time. Not intentionally dieting—he simply had no appetite and couldn’t eat anything.

Gu Xichi fumbled to turn on his phone. The time pointed to 2:43 AM.

A text message appeared—

“Mr. Gu Xichi, congratulations on being hired by the ‘Xing Tianqing’ production team. We have contacted your agent. Please arrive at xxxx tomorrow to sign the contract. No waiting after the deadline.”

Below that were messages from Wen Xi congratulating him and specific details about tomorrow’s contract signing.

Getting this role was actually within Gu Xichi’s expectations.

Shen Qingye was actually the character with the most fully developed personality in “Xing Tianqing”—complete growth experience, distinctive personality. Unfortunately, the selected actor wasn’t particularly outstanding, probably someone forced in by an investor. After broadcast, not only was the response lukewarm, but he also received bombardment from book fans.

Shen Qingye thus withdrew from being the book circle’s most heartbreaking male supporting character, disappearing from public view, leaving countless book fans heartbroken and regretful.

In his previous life, he’d also struggled in the entertainment industry for many years. His acting was passable. Unlike the original who just played around, acting was his job.

…

The contract went quickly. Gu Xichi was amiable and didn’t like causing trouble. He had no objections to Lin Shuangyi’s requirements, and both parties cooperated very happily.

Lin Shuangyi had even prepared the photography studio. As soon as he signed the contract, he was pulled in to shoot costume photos.

Shen Qingye was Lin Shuangyi’s favorite character. This drama was also invested by Bo Corporation—wealthy and generous. The costumes had been prepared early, everything complete.

The costume designer saw Gu Xichi and beamed with joy, immediately giving him a set of dark red riding clothes.

Only the makeup artist was troubled.

The makeup artist had struggled in the entertainment industry for many years and seen all kinds of people, but someone with appearance as outstanding as Gu Xichi’s was truly rare.

His skin was very good—almost no visible pores, no dark circles under his eyes either. His whole person exuded a healthy complexion.

Aside from being somewhat listless, he was almost flawless.

“Your skin is really good. No need for primer—foundation seems not even as white as your natural color.”

The makeup artist picked and chose, slightly troubled.

Gu Xichi smiled embarrassedly, very apologetic.

“Then should we use foundation to darken it? It would highlight masculine vigor.”

The makeup artist shook her head, very disapproving: “The early-stage Shen Qingye is a youth basking in success, raised in gold and jade—definitely delicate-skinned. How could his skin be dark?”

“Let’s just draw eyeliner and trim the eyebrows. Your brow bone is high, eye sockets deep, lashes long—you don’t really need contouring.”

When Gu Xichi finished his barely-there makeup and walked out of the fitting room, everyone on set couldn’t move.

Even Lin Shuangyi, who was used to seeing beauties, couldn’t help gasping.

No other reason—he was too suitable.

He seemed born to exist for the role of Shen Qingye.

Gu Xichi wore a black silk shirt today, his whole person listless without much energy.

But after changing into Shen Qingye’s clothes, it was like he became a different person.

A red silk ribbon tied his high ponytail, complementing the dark red riding outfit perfectly. Black leather boots wrapped around his slender calves, making his legs appear even longer.

His upturned peach-blossom eyes held a smile, aegyo-sal puffed up. That carefree young master’s aura immediately surfaced.

Lin Shuangyi: “Excellent. Shoot like this.”

He was born to do this work—excellent camera sense. Before long, he’d efficiently finished the costume photos.

Gu Xichi changed back into his clothes, fingertips picking up the black shirt to put on, planning to get up and leave.

But Lin Shuangyi called out to him.

Lin Shuangyi: “There’s a dinner with investors today. Since you don’t have anything else to do anyway, why not come along? Good opportunity to let the investors recognize you.”

Gu Xichi had no choice but to stop and follow her into the car.

The car ride was silent throughout, only Lin Shuangyi alone fiddling with her phone.

Lin Shuangyi: Bo Yu, won’t you really come see? I’m telling you, just based on his face, “Xing Tianqing” will definitely be a huge hit

In the office, the lighting was hazy, falling on Bo Yu’s chiseled profile, making his expression unclear.

He hadn’t moved in a long time, looking at the photos Lin Shuangyi sent over and over again.

“Gu Xichi—”

He murmured this name in a low voice, his gaze cryptic, meaning unclear.

This face had been appearing in his dreams recently. Combined with the information Bai Heng delivered, he couldn’t have mistaken the person.

Gu Xichi was that night’s person.

As soon as the private room door opened, the air conditioning’s cold air hit him head-on.

Gu Xichi wasn’t quite used to it and shrank his neck slightly.

Beside him came Lin Shuangyi’s delighted, teasing voice: “Bo Yu, didn’t you say you weren’t coming? How did you end up here?”

Bo Yu’s gaze swept inch by inch over Gu Xichi, lingering for a long time on the black shirt on his body before moving back to his face.

This feeling of being stared at by a predator wasn’t pleasant. His scalp tingled slightly, stirring up a sense of dread.

Gu Xichi frowned and raised his head.

Their gazes collided. Eyes meeting.

He saw Bo Yu curve his lips in a half-smile, saying meaningfully: “Nothing much. Just came to catch a little thief.”

---

Author’s Note:

Bo Yu: Love wifey so much, came to catch wifey