However, he suddenly stretched a hand out and looked up dramatically, "Wait! Don't leave! Sister in law!"
". . . What?!" He Xinyan scrunched her face up when she heard what Gu Yebei just called her. What did that mean?
He Xinyan's mouth suddenly fell opened when a thought she had pushed away suddenly came back again, "You're Gu Yechen's brother?!"
Gu Yebei smiled sheepishly and slowly got up from the ground, "Surprising, right? I know, I know. I'm so much more handsome and likable than him. I'm also surprised that we are related."
". . ." He Xinyan didn't know what to say and whether she should be surprised or not. She did guess that maybe Gu Yebei was somehow related to Gu Yechen, but she was still very surprised to find out that they were brothers.
"Are you younger?" He Xinyan asked.
"Yes, yes! Two years!" Gu Yebei responded as he held up two fingers with his hand, "Is it easy to tell? I look younger, right? I take care of my skin very, very well!"
"Is that why you called me over?"
Gu Yebei smiled, "Yep! I wanted to meet my future sister in law. . . Wow, my brother is quite lucky. He's so unpleasant. Why would a beauty like you choose to date him?"
By now, He Xinyan had a basic understanding of who Gu Yebei was. He was like the opposite of his brother and was probably much easier to interact with.
He Xinyan relaxed a bit and sat down on a chair in the corner of the room, "Is this your private resting room?"
Gu Yebei nodded, "Yes, yes. It's much fancier than those tents, right? You can come over whenever you want. You're always welcome!"
". . . Are you trying to curry favor with me?"
Gu Yebei cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly, "You don't have to expose me."
"Why?"
"Hehe. . . Sister in law, you're so pretty, you must be extremely kind too, right? When you are with my brother, can you talk good about me to him? You know, like increasing my allowance, or treating me to some good food."
He Xinyan frowned, "If I talk good about you to him, you will probably be dead soon."
Did Gu Yebei not know about the famous vinegar tub, Gu Yechen?! She wasn't going to go dig her own grave and talk good about another man.
Gu Yebei pouted and looked down dejectedly, "My sister in law doesn't like me. . ."
He Xinyan eyed him up and down and sighed. The two brothers were so different. . .
He Xinyan stood up to leave to check on the makeup tents again when there was a knock on the door. A few seconds later, a woman dressed in a traditional light blue gown walked in.
Her makeup was completed already and she fanned herself with her script as she walked in, "Gu Yebei!"
He Xinyan gasped when she saw who it was, "Yang Siyue!"
Yang Siyue turned around and seemed to just notice He Xinyan. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at He Xinyan up and down, "Who's this?'
"I'm He Xinyan, playing the role of Concubine Xi." She felt as her heartbeat sped up in front of her idol.
Yang Siyue suddenly frowned and turned to look at Gu Yebei, "Gu! Ye! Bei! How dare you hide such a pretty little girl inside your room and not show me?!"
Yang Siyue ran over to Gu Yebei in her long costume and strangled him with her arm.
"Ah! Ah! Forgive me, sister Yang! Wait!" Gu Yebei swung his arms up and down like he was drowning, and He Xinyan watched their dramatic act with a weird expression.
Wasn't Yang Siyue a proud and elegant person. . .
After hitting Gu Yebei several times on the head, Yang Siyue put her attention back to He Xinyan and she ran over, "Xinyan, right? Wow, you're so pretty. Almost as pretty as me. . ."
Gu Yebei rolled his eyes, "Ch! Just admit it, she's prettier than you."
"What did you say?" Yang Siyue turned her head around and shot daggers at Gu Yebei.
"Nothing, nothing. You're the prettiest. . ."
After turning her head back around, Yang Siyue's expression changed immediately, "Are you new to the industry? Do you need help? I can mentor you! Let's be friends!"
He Xinyan was more than happy to be friends with Yang Siyue, and it would be an honor if she could be mentored by the acting queen. However, He Xinyan was still a little confused.
"Um. . . Sister Yang, do we know each other?" Or else why was she treating her so affectionately.
"Call me Siyue. Sister Yang makes me seem old. We know each other now." Yang Siyue raised one eyebrow and wrapped her hand around He Xinyan's arm.
"Um. . ." A sudden thought popped up in He Xinyan's brain, and it made her nervous. She was beginning to question Yang Siyue's sexuality. . . Was her idol maybe, perhaps. . . attracted to females?!
If that was true, over half of the men in the nation would probably be heartbroken.
Although He Xinyan was suspicious, it was awkward to ask, so she held her curiosity in.
"Thank you, sister. . . Siyue. I have to go get ready, so I'm going to leave now. I'll see you later." He Xinyan tried to leave, but Yang Siyue refused to let go.
"You can come to my private changing room. It's bigger than Gu Yebei's room. Come, come!"
He Xinyan looked back at Gu Yebei and used her eyes to ask for help, hoping that he would understand. To her relief, he did.
"Yang Siyue! Wait!" Gu Yebei stood up from the chair and carefully lifted his robe up this time to walk over.
"You're scaring our little Yanyan." Gu Yebei turned to look at He Xinyan, "Don't worry, little Yanyan. Yang Siyue is perfectly normal. . . She's just a little. . . Well, she is a face-judger. She likes people that look good."
"Oh, sister. . . Siyue is a face dog*!" He Xinyan relaxed after hearing that her idol didn't like girls. Or else she would be in danger. . . What if Gu Yechen got jealous and refused for her to interact with her idol anymore? That would be bad. . .
Yang Siyue nodded her head, "Xinyan, your looks perfectly match my taste. We can be friends."
He Xinyan laughed a little awkwardly and nodded her head, "It would be my honor. Siyue, my assistant is still waiting for me, so I have to go. I will find you later."
Yang Siyue seemed a little upset as she hesitantly let He Xinyan go, "Okay. . . Come and find me later. Oh, let's exchange phone numbers."
He Xinyan gave her phone number to Yang Siyue before she quickly ran away. After He Xinyan was gone, Yang Siyue glared at Gu Yebei for a few more seconds before she also left.
Gu Yebei was left alone inside his private changing room, and he dramatically wiped away a fake tear, "I'm also good looking. . . Why doesn't Yang Siyue also treat me like she treats Yanyan."
---
He Xinyan quickly entered a tent and found an open spot to get her makeup done. She didn't tell Wu Minger what happened because they were in a shortage of time, and filming was going to start soon.
She finished her makeup and got her costume on just in time. When she walked out of the tent, she saw that filming for the first scene had started.
*Face dog is a direct translation of a Chinese term yangou, which basically means someone who thinks that "appearance is power" and is more attracted to people who look better.