"Qu Yue, the young actress playing Yan Ruirui can’t make it, and just by chance, my sister and her classmate brought Dongdong over to see me, so we had to make a last-minute change. We’re tight on time, so please bear with it." Luo Feng informed Qu Yue of the cast change as soon as he saw him.
"Luo Feng, thank you." Qu Yue said while glancing at Dongdong in the mirror and unnaturally shifting his gaze when he met Luo Ye’s eyes.
"You’re welcome. It’s my responsibility to handle these matters when you’re not here. Oh, let me introduce you: the lady doing the makeup is my sister, Luo Ye, this is Yan Xingnong, and this is Shangguan Yingnuo." Luo Feng then pointed at Qu Yue: "This gentleman here is the student council president Qu Yue, also the most popular handsome guy on campus."
"Luo Feng, you’re really teasing me." Qu Yue was embarrassed by Luo Feng’s compliments.
Xing Nong scrutinized Qu Yue, "Qu the handsome, if you go out with Brother Luo Feng, people would definitely mistake you two as brothers."
"They do look somewhat alike," Ying Nuo agreed.
Luo Ye carefully observed Qu Yue through the mirror: roughly 178 cm tall, straight posture, tidy short hair, sharp eyebrows, striking starry eyes, a well-defined nose, clearly-outlined lips, and healthy wheatish skin tone; he nodded quietly to himself, thinking Qu Yue did resemble her older brother a bit.
Seeing Luo Ye also sizing him up, Qu Yue’s eyes curved into a lovely smile: "Luo Ye, do you also think I look a bit like Luo Feng?"
Luo Ye nodded, "A little, yeah."
"Luo Ye, who do you think is more handsome, your brother or Qu Yue?" Who knew the serious Li Liang could also be mischievous sometimes.
"Dongdong’s makeup is done. Where are the wig and clothes?" Luo Ye completely ignored Li Liang’s question. Only a fool would answer that.
Li Liang quickly handed over a big bag they had prepared earlier, with Dongdong blushing as he looked at Luo Ye: "Can Brother Luo Feng go with me to change clothes?" Xing Nong chuckled and pinched him, "As if you’re picky, I’ll go with you!"
"No!" The little guy quickly stepped back, his face turning bright red.
In a rush, Luo Ye pulled Xing Nong back, "Brother, you take Dongdong to change clothes. If anything doesn’t fit, just shout to me. I’ll wait outside the curtain."
When they saw Dongdong again, everyone gasped. This clever and delicate little girl, where was there a trace of a boy left? Li Liang gave a thumbs up: "Little Luo, impressive!"
Qu Yue visibly sighed in relief, "Luo Ye, thank you so much. Luo Feng, I’ll take Dongdong to rehearsal, everything else I’ll leave to you."
Luo Feng waved his hand, "Go ahead, I’ll contact you if there’s anything."
"Sister Ye’er..." Dongdong twitched his hand that Qu Yue was holding and looked pitifully at Luo Ye, his eyes brimming with panic. And who could blame him? From birth till now, when had he ever been in such a situation? Not just experienced—it was something he hadn’t even witnessed.
Luo Ye quickly held his hand, "We’ll be with you, let’s not be nervous. During the performance, I’ll take photos for you to show your mom, make her happy, okay?"
"Okay, Sister Ye’er, don’t worry, I... I will try my best to act well," Dongdong said, his voice trembling with nerves.
At times , giving advice was useless. Accompanying him to slowly find confidence and get accustomed was the right thing. As for still being nervous when going onstage, that couldn’t be helped; it’s rare for someone not to be nervous their first time.
Fortunately, Dongdong was smart, and the role simple. Half an hour later, he was already in sync with the performance team. While finalizing positions, a girl hurried over, dragging a girl about ten years old, "Senior Qu, I fetched my aunt’s daughter, Luoluo, just in case we needed to cut lines—" she stopped abruptly upon seeing the clever and delicate Dongdong.
Qu Yue frowned, "Lin Lin, we’ve already found our Yan Ruirui. Why so careless, not even a phone call ahead of time?"
"I was just anxious. Couldn’t persuade grandpa, so I immediately went to my aunt’s house, thinking it’d be a quick trip. Who knew..." Lin Lin’s eyes welled up with aggrieved tears, and the little girl’s face fell, looking at Dongdong with evident jealousy.
"Didn’t you think, with only two more hours till the performance, we’d just stand around waiting? Did you really think without Butcher Zhu we’d end up with unbutchered pigs?"
"I..." Lin Lin choked up, a few girls quickly went over to comfort her: "The senior was just too anxious, don’t take it to heart."
"That’s right, the school is taking this seriously, so of course, the senior is anxious, it’s not personal."
Offstage, Dongdong quietly moved next to Luo Ye: "Sister Ye’er, that little girl is our schoolmate; she’s from the local class and often participates in school’s cultural performances."