It’s Not Easy To Be A Stand-In

When not facing Quan Quan, Qiao Guang Yu could easily hold his image. Or rather, when he was not acting in front of Huo Zhou, Qiao Guang Yu was quite normal.

In his words, “if you hold back all the time, something will go wrong.” So outside of the “work” hours, Qiao Guang Yu would never restrain his actual personality.

He was a serious, well-behaved person who did whatever he was told. He treated the stand-in gig as a job and never thought of injecting even the slightest drop of love; he did his best to act as if he were in love with Huo Zhou, so there were no visible flaws.

But, he was still very young, after all, and had no formal training. He alternated between being hot and cold, which, over time, could lead to schizophrenia. If it hadn’t been for Quan Quan’s psychological construction and counseling, he would have long succumbed to Huo Zhou’s charm.

Even so, Qiao Guang Yu knew his mind was affected.

He never had this temper in college. Back then, Qiao Guang Yu had been quite mature for his age. Because his mother had been ill and he had lost his father from a young age, he had been independent since high school. This had also made him realize early the cruelty of the world.

For the last three years since he was being kept, he had to pretend to be a sultry and pure flower of Kaolin and had to be “elegant” in everything he did. However, Qiao Guang Yu scrupulously abided by professional ethics and never fell in love with his gold master. Therefore, he was exactly the opposite in private: the neater he was in front of Huo Zhou, the rougher he was in front of Quan Quan.

Years are like a butcher’s knife. How many people who shouted, “I won’t change,” didn’t really change in the end? In the first two seasons of My Fair Princess, the monarch pledged not to marry, but the third season became a big joke.

Quan Quan parked his car downstairs. Qiao Guang Yu looked at the completely dark sky and asked, “Brother Quan, why don’t you come up for dinner before leaving?”

Quan Quan rolled up the jacket sleeves and looked at the exquisite watch. “No, the boss might have to work overtime, so I have to bring him dinner.”

Qiao Guang Yu was slightly disappointed, “Oh.”

Quan Quan looked at him.

“He is working overtime tonight because he saw Wu Yu during the day and was not in a good mood. Does he want to paralyze himself with work?” Qiao Guang Yu guessed it right.

Quan Quan nodded. “I’m afraid it’s more than … “

He looked at Qiao Guang Yu again but did not go on.

When Huo Zhou had searched for a stand-in, he had been obsessed with Wu Yu. Seeing Wu Yu again after 2-3 years and realizing that for several years there had been another person around him with a similar face, he would inevitably feel confused, wondering whether he loved Wu Yu or the stand-in.

In fact, Quan Quan had discovered this from the first time they had met, but he didn’t intend to say anything, let alone remind Huo Zhou about it. Quan Quan thought mockingly, from this point of view, he was really not a good secretary.

Quan Quan said, “I put that magazine there on purpose.”

“Huh? Which one?” Qiao Guang Yu continued as soon as he stopped asking. “Did you deliberately let Mr. Huo see Wu Yu’s interview?”

Quan Quan nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Qiao Guang Yu almost went crazy. “He abandoned literature to pick up martial arts. No, he abandoned music to pick up finance! If he is no longer playing the piano, do I still have to foolishly continue my piano lessons?”

Quan Quan thought, “Well … your current state is ‘sad and upset, knowing you are a stand-in’, so it’s reasonable to be angry and not go to classes.”

As soon as Qiao Guang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, Quan Quan continued, “however, when do you think Huo Zhou is more distressed and cares about you more – when you throw a temper tantrum and miss classes because you know you’re a stand-in or when you still go to classes, showing dedication to him?”

“The second … the second one?” Qiao Guang Yu observed Quan Quan carefully and continued, “If I were Mr. Huo, I would be deeply moved seeing a small stand-in trying to imitate the white moonlight to please me. But, Brother Quan, our purpose is not to let Mr. Huo abandon his white moonlight and fall in love with the substitute. We want to let Mr. Huo and the white moonlight pick up the pieces and continue the relationship.”

So, don’t go to classes?”

Quan Quan shook his head. “You are wrong. If you have a temper with your boss and don’t go to classes, it means you’re no longer willing to be someone else’s stand-in and want to be his real partner. Look at the boss’s performance today. You see that he still cares a bit about you. If you are capricious, he will start looking at you with different eyes and treat you as a separate entity from his white moonlight.”

These words successfully scared Qiao Guang Yu into stupidity, and he couldn’t speak for a long time. It wasn’t until Quan Quan pushed him out of the car that he said, “Don’t … then I’ll better continue my lessons tomorrow.”

Wasn’t it just playing the piano?

During the next day’s piano session, Qiao Guang Yu was much more relaxed and pushed aside his last night’s anxiety and insecurities, because Huo Zhou was not there this time.

Sure enough, the white moonlight was more appealing to him, Qiao Guang Yu thought happily. He no longer made mistakes while playing the piece. After being in a better mood, his hands danced on the keys with unmatched skill, while he smiled openly, immersing himself in the smooth sound of the music.

Qin Li no longer had a casual look. When she was seriously teaching the piano, she was pretty strict. When finding errors, she would interrupt Qiao Guang Yu and let him repeat it over and over again.

It was a pity that with Huo Zhou around, this young seedling would be forever buried.

Now, however, she hardly stopped him. Although she never told Qiao Guang Yu, he was indeed one of her most talented students.

Today, Huo Zhou’s assistant, Qian Tong, came to pick him up. Instead of taking him to the company, he wanted to take him directly home.

Finally, Qian Guang Yu didn’t need to pretend with Huo Zhou. He didn’t want to stay home, so he sent Qiao Tong away. He said he could go back alone. Since Huo Zhou was so busy, he wanted to return his assistant to help.

After class, Qian Guang Yu called Quan Quan.

Quan Quan was always abrupt in front of him, but his tone sounded even worse right now. “Go straight home after class and don’t go anywhere.”

“What’s wrong?” Qian Guang Yu heard a trace of nervousness in his voice.

“You will know soon.” Quan Quan didn’t spoil the surprise. After these few sentences, he sounded busy and hung up in a hurry.

Qian Guang Yu had always listened to him, so he controlled his curiosity and went home.

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon after the meal, Huo Zhou and Quan Quan came to his apartment.

Qiao Guang Yu invited Huo Zhou to sit down and went to the kitchen to make a pot of expensive coffee. As soon as he boiled the water, he heard Quan Quan’s voice. “Leave it to me. You go pack a suitcase with some muted colored clothes.”

“Do I even have fancy clothes?” Qiao Guang Yu whispered. To cater to Huo Zhou’s appetite and imitate the white moonlight, Qiao Guang Yu’s clothes were naturally elegant.

Quan Quan pushed him out. “Ok, you know it, I’m just reminding you.”

“What is going on? Speak clearly.” To stop Huo Zhou from hearing, they both deliberately lowered their voices. Qiao Guang Yu spoke in a hushed voice and stood very close, so his breath fell on Quan Quan’s body. “Is the boss planning to take me on a business trip? This county or another county?”

Quan paused and then said, “He canceled the trip to Chang Feng Island.”

“Ah.” Qiao Guang Yu remembered that Huo Zhou had scheduled a trip to Chang Feng Island to see Wu Yu this weekend. How could he cancel it now?

Quan Quan looked at him with deep eyes, “The boss has rejected all his work and intends to accompany you back to your hometown.”