Chapter 124: Catch Me If You Can

This answer caused Luo Mingxin’s teeth to pulse with pain, which travelled to his legs too. Even though he had been recovering for days and could stand and walk for a limited time, maintaining the same pose for an extended period could still put pressure on his broken leg. Luo Mingxin had taken a taxi to the bookstore, so that was fine, but he ran a bit too fast due to the shock earlier.

His legs that were only pricking with pain previously were now starting to ache. He glanced at Ye Shuang’s table and saw the books that he was looking for. To make things easier on himself, Luo Mingxin took the seat beside Ye Shuang and flashed a smile, trying to hide the pain that he was experiencing and naturally picked up a book from the stack beside Ye Shuang. Instead of flipping through it, he turned to continue to study Ye Shuang. “I still have no idea who you are… but cranial comparison‽”

Luo Mingxin touched his own face, and his expression shifted. “…Who would have thought that I would one day be treated like a fugitive?”

Cranial comparison was a type of modern technique used for identification using cranial reconstruction and imagery superimposition. However, this was mostly done on the computer. Conducted with the naked eye‽ Needless to say, Luo Mingxin did not believe her one bit.

Ye Shuang thought about it and explained through this self-introduction, “I’m the partner for your beloved big brother.”

“My big brother‽” Luo Mingxin was baffled. “I’m a single child, what beloved big brother you’re talking about… Wait, I think I understand now.”

Luo Mingxin sighed and face-palmed. He finally understood why the girl acted so friendly with him. If she was the partner of the Ye Shuang from his crew, then this was not that surprising. After all, that Ye Shuang was shameless enough to ask him to be a driver for a friend after having only met twice. Since they were partners, their way of thinking was probably the same.

Luo Mingxin could imagine that Ye Shuang telling her partner, “Right, I saw that Luo Mingxin at the set today.”

And in the same tone, Brother Ye would say, “Right, I saw a large cabbage being sold at the market this morning.”

Therefore, it was not hard to understand why the girl acted so naturally around him, like he was some kind of commoner. Luo Mingxin was caught in his thought, and Ye Shuang put her book down to continue his thread of conversation. “Do you really think that your identity is that much better than a fugitive?”

“…”

“Either way, both identities need to run and hide… but at least, the fugitives are just running from the police, but you? If I scream right this moment, “Celebrity Luo is right here”, do you not think the crowd would come in to swarm you‽ Their hands would be all over your body before you were saved, and you could do nothing because it is not illegal for them to do so…”

Luo Mingxin could not help but ask, “Are you really my fan‽”

“Of course!” Ye Shuang said confidently.

F*ck, as if I would believe that!

Perhaps afraid that Ye Shuang would really scream his name or perhaps he considered Ye Shuang an acquaintance already, after a few more exchanges, Luo Mingxin decided to stay beside Ye Shuang to read the books. It was rare for him to find a beautiful lady who he could chat with without pressure, and on top that, she was reading the books he was interested in. In that case, why would he switch places to torment himself‽

Luo Mingxin had enough insight to discern whether someone was being phony or hypocritical. They were both beautiful people and shared the same interest. It was common for them to exchange ideas since they were reading the same type of book.

Luo Mingxin was a high-achiever in psychology and before he entered the entertainment business, he studied quite deep into this field. With the desire to teach and impress, he could not help himself from sharing a few tricks with Ye Shuang.

After some back and forth, the relationship turned from acquaintances into friends with a similar interest. After realizing the girl was not just reading these books for fun, Luo Mingxin excitedly dragged the girl to play the game of people-watching with her.

“You won’t be able to learn anything from just reading—you have to experiment more. Look at these people that walk into the bookstore. Can you guess their occupation from their dressing and mannerism?” Luo Mingxin was as excited as a puppy.

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“…I’m just here to study the relationship between expression and emotional management, did you misunderstand me somewhere‽” Ye Shuang sighed helplessly. Shouldn’t this Luo Mingxin act more like a celebrity? Is okay for him to put his guard down like this‽

“A person’s unconsciousness habit is similar to expressions, and you can make use of them to determine one’s identity,” Luo Mingxin stated. “Facial expressions can only give you their emotions while body language and habits can provide you with more information… like the book about looking through lies that you’re reading.”

Luo Mingxin had been paying attention to Ye Shuang’s reading list. Other than studying expressions, the girl seemed to be studying certain aspects of psychology as well. “Take acting for example. To bring the character’s emotions to life until they influence the audience, those are called a-list actors, but to be able to bring out the presence of the character beyond their emotions, those are known as the best actors. Do you know why I’m one of the best actors? Because others are merely playing a character and they need the plot and supporting characters to indirectly build up their character, but that’s not so for me. As long as I’m standing there, I’m truly that character!”

“All this just to remind me that you’ve won the Best Actor award?” For some reason, Ye Shuang felt like the man was merely making use of this opportunity to gloat.

“Actually, I’m more curious why you could take my presence so naturally.” Luo Mingxin flashed a soul-sucking smile and did not feel shamed at the attempt to seduce a girl. Then he turned serious and said, “But my real purpose is not that, I…”

“Stop lying to me.”

To continue their conversation, Luo Mingxin ignored the not so friendly accusation and moved away from this sensitive topic. “From how I see it, there are two types of psychologists. Profiler and liar.

“A profiler can discern an individual’s personality and background from their expression, action, and habits. While a liar is the complete opposite. They look at sets of personalities and backgrounds to analyze the types of expressions, actions, and habits those people would have.”

“The best liar is also the best actor.” Ye Shuang sighed. She closed her book because her interest was piqued. “By the way, are you this chatty normally?”

“Mainly, it’s because I’m bored.” Luo Mingxin pointed at his broken leg. He flashed a lazy smile, and his gaze moved beyond Ye Shuang to look at the sky beyond her. “You know I’m injured, and since there’s no working arrangement, I’m bored.”

“Even if a star is temporarily stopped from shooting a movie, that does not mean they have lost their value. You should have plenty of invitations like making a scandal with less popular actors. Furthermore, your leg is broken, not your face. There have to be rich ladies who love your face and new actors who desire the newsworthiness that you possess.” Ye Shuang touched the cover of the book while saying leisurely, “But that doesn’t matter; after all, we won’t be having many interactions in the future…”

Luo Mingxin might have seemed approachable, and it was true that it was because Ye Shuang had no hidden motive that he was so friendly, but Ye Shuang had noticed one thing. They had been chatting for so long already, and it might have appeared that they enjoyed each other’s company, but until now, Luo Mingxin had not asked about her name.

It was clear what that meant. He was bored and just so happen to find a girl who he could spend time with. So, they were just chatting for fun. A normal person might have misunderstood Luo Mingxin and how friendly he was, thinking they could be considered friends already. However, Ye Shuang believed that the moment they left the bookstore, even if they ran into each other again, Luo Mingxin would revert to his state of a superstar and reintroduce himself without the slightest hesitation.

“Let’s not talk about those sad topics.” Luo Mingxin’s eyes narrowed and, with an easy smile, moved the topic away. “Let’s go back to acting, do you know who my idol is?”

“Marilyn Monroe?” Ye Shuang answered easily because she had seen the man’s online profile.

“Wrong!”

Damn liar even cheats on his online information! Ye Shuang thought before answering, “Ekman?”

“I respect the psychologist, but that doesn’t mean he’s my idol.” Luo Mingxin pouted and threw the Ekman he was still reading away. With his palm on his chin, he revealed the answer. “My greatest idol is the great artist, Frank Abagnale.”

Who‽ Ye Shuang took out her phone expressionlessly but could not find an actor by that name. “Are you toying with me?”

“Of course not,” Luo Mingxin said confidently. “Frank wasn’t an actor; he committed crimes in 26 countries. He was a named fugitive in many countries, and by the time he was 21, he had taken on the roles of pilot, pediatrician, lawyer—to name a few—and had never been exposed. His lies were even bought by professionals, making them believe that he was their colleague… Hey! What is the meaning of your gaze‽”

Ye Shuang raised the book to hide the lower half of her face. She only revealed a pair of eyes before leaning back to introduce some distance between them.

“I’m just surprised that Celebrity Luo’s taste is so different from normal… Go on, don’t mind me.”