Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 9 The Unlucky Old Man

After muttering to himself, Du Anrao secretly peeked out from behind Du Hexuan and curiously sized up Pei Yiyuan several times.

[Top celebrities have incredibly busy schedules, right? To be able to seamlessly juggle multiple relationships without being noticed—truly a master of time management! But how come they don't have dark circles under their eyes after all this? Does that mean young people are just naturally healthy?]

Du Hexuan's eyelids twitched, and he thought to himself: No, it could also be that the makeup is too thick.

"I know, I know. I'm a big fan of Senior Du. I've seen all of Senior Du's works. I even brought several of his DVDs with me this time. Could you please sign one for me later?"

Unaware that his secret had been completely exposed the moment they met, Pei Yiyuan smiled shyly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Du Hexuan, as if he were a little fanboy meeting his idol.

Even Du Hexuan, who prides himself on being used to the backstabbing and scheming in the industry, has to admit that if it weren't for Du Anrao's reminder, he probably would have made the same mistake as the director today.

Who would have thought that such a clean-cut young man, who looks like the boy next door, is actually a human teddy bear who has such a wild side!
[She's so adept at asking for autographs and trying to get on his good side right off the bat. She's probably said that to a lot of people, hasn't she? No wonder she's in the world of fame and fortune; her acting is far better than that innocent Bai Xiuqing. It's a pity she's not using it for good; she'll inevitably crash and burn sooner or later.]

Du Hexuan: ...

Of course! It's fortunate that the other party didn't use it for good, otherwise he, the old wave, would have been swept away by the new wave and died on the shore.

"No need to be so polite. We'll be working together in the same production crew from now on, so let's look after each other."

Du Hexuan spoke politely, but did not respond to the other party's request for an autograph, his politeness revealing a sense of distance.

Pei Yiyuan naturally noticed this as well, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it and changed the subject to Du Anrao.

"Is this young lady also a new actress in our crew? I don't think I've seen her before."

Why did they suddenly come at me? Could they be targeting me?

Du Anrao's "targeting" refers to Pei Yiyuan's attempt to get closer to Du Hexuan by striking up a conversation with him. However, Du Hexuan clearly misunderstood, his face darkening instantly, and he pulled Du Anrao behind him.

"My sister is on vacation and has nothing to do, so she came over to be my assistant for a few days and also go on a trip."

"So you're Senior Du's sister. My apologies for my rudeness."

At this point, the overly oblivious director seemed to realize the subtle tension between the group and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, you two have a lot of scenes together coming up, so we'll have plenty of time to talk. Xiao Pei, go and prepare, your scene is next. He Xuan, you should also familiarize yourself with the script."

No sooner had the director and Pei Yiyuan left than a kind-looking middle-aged man, carrying an enamel mug, leisurely walked up to Du Hexuan and his sister and greeted them familiarly, "You've arrived."

Du Hexuan was clearly familiar with the other party, and his expression softened slightly: "Brother Yang."

"These days, young people have a lot of ulterior motives, and their methods for climbing the ladder aren't always honorable. Don't worry about it; you're only going to be on this set for a few days anyway, so there's no need to offend the powerful figures behind them over such trivial matters."

Du Hexuan's eyes flickered slightly. As they say, experience is the best teacher. He only saw the other party's true colors because his sister cheated. The person in front of him could probably guess eight or nine out of ten things just by looking at him.

Seeing that Du Hexuan had taken it to heart, Yang Jiantao didn't ramble on and changed the subject with a smile: "Is this your little sister whom you've been hiding from everyone? She's so cute, no wonder you've been so vigilant. Is she still in school? How old is she this year?"

"I'll be eighteen in a little over a month. An'an, this is Brother Yang Jiantao, a senior colleague from the same company. My first project was with him, and he's always taken good care of me." Yes, my first project was the one Du Anrao remembers vividly—the one where Yang Jiantao played the fool's father.

Du Hexuan's reminder brought Du Anrao back to his senses.

"Hello, Brother Yang. I've seen your movies, and you acted exceptionally well. Thank you for taking care of my brother all these years."

Upon hearing that Du Anrao was still a minor, Yang Jiantao's expression became even more amiable: "You're about the same age as my daughter, so it's not appropriate for you to call me brother. You should probably call me uncle."

Du Anrao smiled sweetly: "My brother calls you brother, so if I call you uncle, wouldn't that be a generational difference? Besides, you look like you're only in your early thirties, how could you tell you have a daughter about my age? If I call you uncle, wouldn't that make you sound old?"

Yang Jiantao held up his cup and laughed loudly. After laughing, he teased, "He Xuan, your sister is much sweeter than you."

Du Hexuan and Du Anrao also laughed, but Du Anrao's smile suddenly froze halfway through, as if he had thought of something.

Wait, Yang Jiantao? That Yang Jiantao?

Du Hexuan was slightly taken aback, and a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in his heart.

Sure enough, the next second, Du Anrao's exclamation suddenly rose in his ears.

[That unlucky old man, Yang Jiantao, was betrayed by his wife and brother-in-law, who swindled him out of all his savings and left him with a mountain of debt, almost leaving him and his daughter homeless!]

Du Hexuan: !

"What's wrong? You look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?" Yang Jiantao noticed Du Hexuan's unusual behavior and asked with concern.

"No...it's nothing. I caught a bit of a chill this morning and have a slight headache." Du Hexuan seemed to be talking to Yang Jiantao, but his mind was actually on Du Anrao.

Related to Yang Jiantao is a Mary Sue novel set in the entertainment industry, in which he is merely a minor background character.

Because he had some interaction with the male lead, who had just entered the industry, while filming a drama together, they exchanged a few words. Unfortunately, before the drama was completed, Yang Jiantao disappeared from the industry due to a family incident, and no one could be found to be his name.

Yang Jiantao's wife is named Huang Zhaodi. They met when they were struggling in Beijing. They supported each other for several years before finally getting married and having a daughter. Unfortunately...

The purpose of giving a girl such a name is self-evident.

Indeed, Huang Zhaodi was born into an extremely patriarchal family. She suffered all sorts of unfair treatment from a young age and was brainwashed by her parents into becoming her younger brother's ATM.

Before getting married, she worked tirelessly to help her younger brother earn money. After getting married, she went even further, bringing her husband along to subsidize her brother.

This situation worsened after she gave birth to her daughter. Yang Jiantao did try to stop it, but it wasn't something he could simply stop.

[Brother Yang just said I'm about the same age as his daughter, so his brother-in-law has probably already started gambling. Soon his wife will steal his ID to vouch for her brother, and then they'll run off with all the family money.]

[Tsk tsk tsk, have women who are obsessed with their brothers become this terrifying these days? She'd abandon her husband and children for her brother. Her brother is her own brother, but aren't her husband and daughter also her own? This brother must have been her father in a past life!]

(End of this chapter)