Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Super Unlucky Guy

After grumbling in her heart, Du An Rao secretly poked her head out from behind Du He Xuan and curiously studied Pei Yi Yuan several times.

[A Top Star’s schedule must be packed, right? Even so, he can still jump from one relationship to another without a break and not get caught. He really is a time management grandmaster! But even playing around this hard, he doesn’t have dark circles. Should I say young people really are healthier?]

Du He Xuan’s eyelid twitched. In his heart he thought: No, maybe the foundation is just thick.

“I know, I know. I’m Senior Du’s loyal fan. I’ve watched all of Senior Du’s works. I even brought several of Senior’s DVDs this time. Senior, could you sign them for me later?”

Completely unaware that he had just been exposed down to the bone the moment they met, Pei Yi Yuan showed a shy smile. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Du He Xuan, as if he really were just a little fanboy meeting his idol.

Even someone like Du He Xuan, who prided himself on having seen all the schemes of the circle, had to admit that without Du An Rao’s warning, he probably would have misjudged this kid just like the Director.

Who would think that a young man who looked this clean, like a boy next door, was actually a walking teddy dog who played around so hard in private!

[He asks for an autograph and tries to get close so smoothly right from the start. He’s probably said these exact words to plenty of people, right? No wonder he can swim in the world of fame and profit. His acting is much better than that little white lotus Bai Xiu Qing. It’s a pity he doesn’t use it in a good way. He’s going to crash sooner or later.]

Du He Xuan: “…”

Exactly. It was thanks to the fact that the other guy did not use his skills in a proper way. Otherwise, this “old wave” might get crushed on the beach by the “younger wave.”

“There’s no need to be so polite. We’ll be in the same crew from now on. Let’s take care of each other.”

Du He Xuan spoke politely, but he did not answer Pei Yi Yuan’s request for an autograph at all. His polite words clearly held a bit of distance.

Of course, Pei Yi Yuan noticed this too. A trace of displeasure flashed through his eyes, but he hid it quickly and turned the topic toward Du An Rao.

“Is this Miss also a new actress in our crew? I don’t think I’ve seen her before.”

[Why is he suddenly talking to me? He’s not targeting me, right?]

What Du An Rao meant by “targeting” was that Pei Yi Yuan wanted to use her as a way to get closer to Du He Xuan. But Du He Xuan clearly misunderstood. His face darkened at once, and he yanked Du An Rao behind him.

“My sister is on break and has nothing to do, so she came over to be my assistant for a few days and travel a bit.”

“So she’s Senior Du’s sister. I was rude.”

Only now did the unusually slow Director seem to notice the subtle mood between them. He hurried to smooth things over.

“Alright, alright. You two have a lot of scenes together coming up. You’ll have plenty of time to talk. Little Pei, go get ready. The next scene is yours. He Xuan, you should get familiar with the script too.”

Right after the Director and Pei Yi Yuan left, a middle-aged man with a kind face strolled over to the brother and sister, holding an enamel cup. In a friendly tone, he greeted them: “You’re here.”

Du He Xuan was clearly familiar with him. His expression relaxed a bit as he said: “Brother Yang.”

“These days, young people have a lot on their minds. The methods they use to climb up aren’t always honest. Don’t take it to heart. You’re only staying with this crew for a few days anyway. There’s no need to offend the capital behind him over such small things.”

Du He Xuan’s eyes flickered. Sure enough, older ginger is spicier. He had to rely on his sister’s “cheating” to see the boy’s true face, but this man had basically guessed it right just from a first meeting.

Seeing that Du He Xuan was listening, Yang Jian Tao did not nag more. Smiling, he changed the subject: “So this is that real sister you’ve been hiding and won’t let anyone see? She’s so cute. No wonder you guard her so tightly. She’s still in school, right? How old is she this year?”

“In a little over a month she’ll turn eighteen. An An, this is Yang Jian Tao, Brother Yang, a senior from the same company. My first work was filmed with him. He has taken care of me a lot over the years.”

Mm, that first work was exactly the one that stuck in Du An Rao’s memory, the one with the idiot. Yang Jian Tao had played the idiot’s dad.

With this reminder from Du He Xuan, Du An Rao also remembered.

“Hello, Brother Yang. I’ve watched your movies. Your acting is really great, and thank you for taking care of my brother all these years.”

When Yang Jian Tao heard that Du An Rao was still underage, his expression grew even softer as he said: “You’re about the same age as my daughter. Calling me ‘Brother’ doesn’t feel right. You should probably call me ‘Uncle.’”

Du An Rao smiled sweetly and said: “My brother calls you Brother. If I call you Uncle, wouldn’t that mess up the generation? And you only look a bit over thirty. No one would guess you have a daughter my age. If I call you Uncle, I’ll be calling you old.”

Yang Jian Tao burst out laughing, the enamel cup in his hand almost shaking. After he finished laughing, he teased: “He Xuan, your sister’s mouth is much sweeter than yours.”

Du He Xuan and Du An Rao both laughed, but halfway through her laugh, Du An Rao suddenly seemed to think of something. Her smile froze on her face.

[Wait, Yang Jian Tao? That Yang Jian Tao?]

Du He Xuan paused for a second. A bad feeling rose in his heart.

Sure enough, the next second he heard Du An Rao’s shocked inner scream in his head.

[The one who gets stabbed in the back by his wife and brother-in-law, has all his years of savings taken and ends up in huge debt, almost wandering the streets with his daughter… that super unlucky guy, Yang Jian Tao!]

Du He Xuan: !

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling sick?” Yang Jian Tao noticed something was off with Du He Xuan and asked with concern.

“N-no… I’m fine. I just caught a bit of wind this morning and my head hurts a little.” On the surface, Du He Xuan was talking to Yang Jian Tao, but in truth his mind was completely on Du An Rao.

All the things related to Yang Jian Tao came from a Jack Su style wish-fulfillment novel about the entertainment circle. In that story, he was just an unimportant background character.

Because he had filmed a show with the male lead, who had only just entered the circle, they had some small interactions and spoke a few times. Sadly, before the drama wrapped, something happened to Yang Jian Tao’s family. After that, he vanished from the circle, and no one could find any news of him.

[Yang Jian Tao’s wife is named Huang Zhao Di. He met her when they were working in the north. The two of them supported each other for many years before finally getting married and having a daughter, but unfortunately…]

Giving a girl the name “Zhao Di” (“Summon a Younger Brother”) made their goal pretty clear.

And reality was exactly like that. Huang Zhao Di was born in a family that valued boys over girls to an extreme. Not only did she suffer all kinds of unfair treatment since she was young, but her parents also brainwashed her into becoming her younger brother’s human ATM.

Before marriage, she worked like crazy to earn money for her brother. After marriage, it got even worse. She dragged her husband along to help support her brother.

After she gave birth to a daughter, the situation only got more serious. It was not that Yang Jian Tao never tried to stop it, but this was not something he could stop just because he wanted to.

[Brother Yang just said his daughter is about the same age as me. That means his brother-in-law should have already started gambling by now. In a while, his wife will secretly take his ID card to be her brother’s guarantor, then run away with her brother, taking all the family’s money.]

[Tsk tsk tsk, are brother-obsessed demons really this scary now? For her brother, she doesn’t even want her husband and child. Sure, the brother is her real brother, but isn’t the husband her real husband and the daughter her real daughter? That brother must have been her dad in a past life!]