Chapter 25: Tool
The photo shoot for the product photos of the store Keep Coming was progressing in an orderly manner.
“Yes, sit on the table and tilt your head back. Yes, yes, perfect!” Snap, snap!
“Yes, cross your legs and lean against the side of the sofa. Perfect!” Snap, snap!
“Let’s get a shot from the back. Put a pillow under your hips. Your curve isn’t quite right. Sit back a little more to accentuate the arch. Yes, that’s it. Hold it!” Snap, snap!
After about half an hour of shooting, Cheng Zhu, holding the camera he had borrowed from Jiang Wanzhou, said, “This set is done. Go change into another outfit.”
He didn’t forget to add, “Hurry up. Don’t dawdle. Every time you change, it takes ten minutes. Are you getting paid to admire yourself in the bathroom?”
Yezi was exasperated and rolled her eyes at him flirtatiously.
This young man, despite his youth, had a talent for stirring up emotions. One moment, a single line could make you happy, and the next, another line could leave you slightly annoyed.
—He was very good at flirting.
To be honest, Yezi’s lingering in the bathroom was for mental preparation. Taking on this job left her feeling a little awkward and uncertain if any ‘accidents’ might happen next.
However, after half an hour of shooting, she saw that Cheng Zhu was genuinely absorbed in his work, showing no signs of distraction at all, which inexplicably left her feeling a bit displeased.
She had a fair amount of confidence in herself, especially when it came to her figure.
This damn desire to win had actually been triggered.
At first, she was somewhat reserved during the shoot. She struggled with posing and couldn’t relax.
But as time went on, she pulled out all the stops.
No way. He just graduated from high school. There’s no way!
I don’t believe it!
I’m going to eat this little wolf pup today!
I’m going to be sexy enough to kill you!
But instead of the reaction she anticipated, what she got in return was: “Are you fucking admiring yourself in the bathroom mirror? I’m not paying you to waste time. No slacking off!”
The ugly face of capitalism was clearly revealed.
“Which set now?” Yezi asked through gritted teeth.
“The one with the tail,” Cheng Zhu said, his expression entirely serious.
* * *
Being a Taobao model was actually very tiring.
At first, Yezi still had many thoughts in her mind.
Between shots, she would observe Cheng Zhu’s micro-expressions and even act like a crotch-watching cat, keeping an eye on his reactions.
I asked you to model in the cat outfit, but you actually turned into a cat, and you want a cat stick to play with?
But as the shoot continued, after working for more than two hours, her body gradually started to numb.
She was so tired, so incredibly tired.
Some of the poses required her to emphasize certain curves, and the longer she held them, the more her back and waist ached. Even her muscles started to cramp.
Three hours later, Yezi was beginning to feel dizzy. Why did I take this job? It’s even more exhausting than when I was a fashion model!
Even though Cheng Zhu hadn’t done anything except take photos from a distance, it felt as if he had cast some sort of spell on her. She was almost dazed, her eyes unfocused.
“Let’s take a break,” Cheng Zhu said. “I’m going out for a smoke.”
He left the room and went to the living room of the suite. He plopped down on the sofa and checked his phone while smoking. Huh? So many unread messages. Let me see which girl is looking for me.
He opened WeChat and saw it flooded with messages by Wang Anquan.
He wasn’t at the shoot, but his mind clearly was.
This guy was extremely invested in the progress and the details of the shoot.
What was even more ridiculous was that the more Cheng Zhu didn’t reply to his messages, the more his imagination ran wild.
What’s he so busy with? Can’t he spare a hand to reply? Hold on, it’s been three hours already! Wang Anquan thought.
He now understood why their brand was called Keep Coming.
He had just grasped the deeper meaning behind this name.
That’s really keeping at it! How many times has he come? Wang Anquan was dumbfounded.
Cheng Zhu replied with a cigarette in his mouth, “Stop bothering me. We’re only two-thirds through.”
“Brother Zhu, send a few pictures first.” Wang Anquan was extremely eager for a glimpse.
“You’re crazy. Unedited product photos can’t be leaked. That’s disrespectful to the model.” Cheng Zhu was too lazy to send them to him and gave a reasonable reason.
Typically, product photos were heavily edited, making the person in the picture look quite different from the real-life model. As long as the aesthetic appeal was maintained, the less the person in the photo resembled reality, the better.
This was a request many models would make.
Once Cheng Zhu finished editing all the photos, he would send them to Yezi for approval. This was her request.
Since the job had come through casual chats rather than regular channels, and the pay was significantly lower than what professional lingerie models would earn, Cheng Zhu made an effort to accommodate as much as he could.
As long as there was no additional money, everything was negotiable.
Yezi had her own assets to work with. In fact, even ordinary lingerie models probably couldn’t compare to her. He could try to develop her into a long-term partner for his store.
After chatting with Wang Anquan for a while, Cheng Zhu moved on to replying to other messages.
First, his mother, Xu Yun, asked him if he was coming home for dinner. He couldn’t make it in time and planned to grab something by himself after finishing his work, so he said he wouldn’t be back for dinner.
Next, Shen Minglang tagged everyone in their five-member group chat.
This WeChat group had a very silly name, Me and My Younger Brothers and Sisters. It was obviously named by Shen Minglang, who thought it was funny but really lacked creativity.
The reason he tagged everyone was to announce that his birthday was coming up, and he was inviting everyone to dinner tomorrow, followed by karaoke.
In fact, he had a third activity planned, which was going to a nightclub for some dancing. But he wasn’t planning on bringing his sister along, as he didn’t want her to cramp his style, so he didn’t mention it in the group chat.
Since they parted last time, Cheng Zhu had not met Shen Qingning and Lin Lu, these two campus goddesses.
Currently, he didn’t have the qualifications and conditions to organize a gathering unless an opportunity presented itself.
He had been waiting for Shen Minglang, the king of gatherings, to play his role.
Unexpectedly, this tool had a short cooldown. Just a few days later, he was already organizing another gathering.
Cousin Shen is really useful. Cheng Zhu sighed. After seeing Lin Lu say she would attend, he left a message in the group, promising to be there tomorrow.
After putting out his cigarette, he entered the room and saw Yezi massaging her thighs and waist.
He raised an eyebrow. “Need a male masseuse?”
“Sure. I’m so sore,” replied Yezi, wearing a stepmother dress. (TL note: 后妈裙, an elegant, form-fitting, sexy dress that gets its name from the stereotype of the evil stepmother character in dramas who is portrayed as glamorous, seductive, and confident. For an idea of what Yezi is wearing, you can google 后妈裙 内衣. Not safe for work obviously.)
“That’s extra, you know. I’ll deduct it from your pay.” Boss Cheng did not let go of any opportunity to suck blood.
Yezi looked at him speechlessly. “Boss, you really don’t know how to treat a lady. You’re tormenting your employee.”
“Who was it that told me they had a bit of an M side to them?” Cheng Zhu looked at her with a smirk. “I don’t know how to pamper a lady. But if I’m tormenting you, won’t that make you feel good?”
“I said that to you because I’m working at night every day. I’m exhausted every day and don’t want to do it anymore, but I still go back the next day! You’re taking things out of context and scoring low on reading comprehension!” Yezi began to argue. “It’s self-deprecating humor!”
Cheng Zhu smiled and said playfully, “Tsk, that’s a shame. I actually kind of like the whole M thing.”
“Oh!” Yezi replied stiffly, but her eyes flickered subtly, and her fingers tightened slightly.
—She believed him.