Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On Wednesday, he came over for a shoot, not for long, just two hours. Today is Friday, and Tonio asked him to come again, saying it would only be two hours. This is the last major photoshoot for the autumn collection. Next, they will be preparing for the winter collection. Usually, companies like Eternity hire professional models. Nowadays, many young people want to break into the entertainment industry, and they are churned out in large numbers. A type like Jiang Chen, without experience, is rarely used because they are paid by the hour, and newcomers require guidance, which is a waste of time.

But luckily, his appearance is exceptional. Even without deliberate pose training, just standing there is enough to elevate a garment worth seventy or eighty points to one hundred and twenty.

Tonio is also very good at livening up the atmosphere. He’s a professional photographer with excellent guidance skills. He didn’t make Jiang Chen deliberately strike poses but instead drew actions from the sports he was familiar with. The resulting photos were natural and stylish, simply impeccable. The photos taken on the camera could be directly transferred to the computer. The assistant, sitting in front of the computer, looked at the images and felt they could be published without any editing, constantly praising them, harmonizing with Tonio like a duet.

“Great, Xiao Chen, great, walk back, right, don’t look at me, just walk as you normally would.”

“Wow, Tonio-ge, these few are so cool. This outfit suits him too well.”

“Wow, this expression is perfect, look at me, take a glance at me, wow, I’m falling for it.”

“This outfit will definitely be a bestseller.”

“Alright, take a break, prepare for the next set.”

Jiang Chen sat down on a resting chair. A makeup artist came over to touch up his makeup. Though she said it was a touch-up, she didn’t really do much. His features are very defined, and under the bright lights, his contours remained distinct. Moreover, one of the things he was taught from a young age was to pay attention to his appearance. It didn’t need to be fashionable, but it had to be clean and tidy. So, before coming, he would always shave and consider whether his hair needed a trim. Especially when coming to Eternity, the thought of possibly running into Ling Sheng made him pay attention to whether his clothes were well-coordinated.

So, before the shoot, the makeup artist would at most trim his eyebrows. Because he had been playing sports a lot recently, he had gotten some sun, and his skin tone was slightly tanned, so she would add some highlighter. Occasionally, she would also apply some lipstick, which he wasn’t really used to, but Tonio thought it would give him a better complexion.

However, hearing Tonio say that, he wanted even less to wear it, but out of respect for the other person’s profession, he endured it.

But most importantly, other than the trial shoot on Monday, he hadn’t seen Ling Sheng since then. But he had no reason to rashly go looking for him.

The next outfit was a denim set, paired with a white tank top inside and straight-leg jeans below. He wore the denim jacket on the outside. When he came out after changing, Tonio’s eyes widened.

The tank top revealed his perfect shoulders and arm lines. Even when relaxed, the muscle lines were still firm and defined. The clothes were form-fitting, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His chest and abdominal muscles were faintly visible. The jeans were a little small, causing the fabric to hug his body, making his legs appear straight. Because they were a bit tight, when he stood sideways, even his butt looked more pert.

“Wow~” Tonio was holding his phone, sending a message, but now he stopped and directly raised his phone to take a picture of him.

The pants were small, and he felt uncomfortable, so he said, “The pants seem to be a size too small. Do you have a bigger size?”

Tonio finished sending the message and walked over, circling around him, his eyes lingering on his lower body, making Jiang Chen feel a little embarrassed. He picked up the denim jacket on the side, which conveniently hung down to cover his front.

The assistant, hearing his words and seeing Tonio’s drooling appearance, couldn’t help but laugh. He was a straight man, but seeing such a physique made him unable to even feel competitive. He said he would go find the pants and went out.

The pants were probably a size too small, a little tight. Standing was fine, but sitting would definitely be uncomfortable, so he could only stand there. Tonio tried to reach out to him several times, but he blocked him, making Tonio eager, but he had enough sense of propriety not to touch him again.

Before long, the assistant came in with the pants, but following behind him was Ling Sheng, whom he hadn’t seen for several days.

He was still in the same attire, holding a cup of coffee in his hand as he walked in. He nodded to the people who greeted him, then his gaze fell on Jiang Chen, but the light was too bright, and his glasses reflected the light, making it impossible to see the emotion in his eyes.

Tonio saw Ling Sheng and greeted him, boastfully saying, “Did you see the photos I sent? Aren’t they super tempting?”

“Tempting” isn’t exactly a derogatory term, but coming from Tonio’s mouth and reaching Jiang Chen’s ears, it couldn’t be considered complimentary.

Jiang Chen didn’t have time to look at Ling Sheng’s expression. He called out “Director Ling,” took the pants, and went to the fitting room to change clothes first, wanting to change out of this awkward appearance.

When he came out again, Tonio was chatting with Ling Sheng. Seeing him come out and noticing he had already put on the jacket, he was a little disappointed: “Actually, autumn in Jiang City is quite hot. I feel like you don’t need to wear a jacket.”

Ling Sheng saw Jiang Chen’s discomfort and stopped Tonio: “Please be more professional when working.”

“Okay.” Tonio picked up the camera: “The backer has arrived, and I’m not even allowed to indulge my cravings.”

Hearing “backer,” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but look at Ling Sheng. Ling Sheng stood there, drinking coffee, and smiled at him.

He had already shot three sets, so he was quite familiar with it. However, with Ling Sheng standing there watching, Jiang Chen suddenly felt uncomfortable all over. Every movement felt forced, so much so that after shooting for ten minutes, he was still stiff. Seeing Tonio frown, Jiang Chen glanced at Ling Sheng standing there and started to get anxious.

Would he think I’m not taking this seriously, that I’m being perfunctory?

“Alright, I shouldn’t tease you. Let’s take a three-minute break to find your rhythm.” Tonio walked to the computer and looked through the photos, finding them all unsatisfactory.

Jiang Chen secretly exhaled, trying to calm himself down. Although this job wasn’t something he wanted, since he had taken it, he would definitely do it well. This was one of his life’s creeds.

“Have some water.”

A cup of water was handed to him. Jiang Chen looked up and saw Ling Sheng’s smiling eyes.

His eyes were very beautiful. Those peach blossom eyes on such a handsome face didn’t look feminine at all. When he wasn’t smiling, his coldness carried the dominance and control of a mature man, but as soon as he smiled, his eyes would curve slightly, instantly softening, and tenderness would well up in his eyes, like the March wind blowing through peach petals, causing people’s hearts to flutter like petals.

Jiang Chen took the paper cup from his hand. It contained warm water.

Because they were shooting autumn clothes and there were too many lights in the studio, the air conditioning was set lower than outside. Jiang Chen took a sip of water and heard Ling Sheng casually ask him, “Not used to it?”

Jiang Chen thought for a moment, unable to think of a better reason. He couldn’t very well say that it was because he was watching that he couldn’t shoot well, so he could only say, “A little, I’ve never done this before.”

“I saw the photos Tonio took of you the day before yesterday, they were pretty good, just relax.” Ling Sheng placed a hand on his shoulder: “Have confidence in your own charm.”

He was sitting, and Ling Sheng was leaning against the makeup table. When his hand touched him, it brought a faint scent of coffee.

Jiang Chen didn’t know what kind of coffee he was drinking, but he felt that the taste was special, better than any other coffee he had ever tasted.

At this moment, Tonio came over to join the conversation: “Director Ling, what brings you here today?”

Ling Sheng took his hand back and slightly turned his body towards Tonio. Jiang Chen suddenly felt a little lost.

“Waiting for Coco, going out for a bit.”

“I really envy you, openly skipping work.”

The two’s conversation reached his ears, and Jiang Chen couldn’t interject for a moment, yet he couldn’t help but pay attention, so he couldn’t help but raise his eyes to look at them from time to time.

From this angle, he could only see a bit of Ling Sheng’s profile. The upward gaze allowed him to see the chin most clearly.

He couldn’t help but lean back, his back against the chair, and then he saw Ling Sheng smile, and the light in his eyes seemed to flicker slightly.

Jiang Chen clearly heard his heartbeat quicken.

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Coco walked in on high heels. Seeing them, she raised her hand in greeting before saying, “You’re really here.”

Ling Sheng raised his coffee cup to her as a greeting. Seeing her arrive, Tonio picked up his camera: “Alright, the workhorses are starting to work, bosses.”

He called Jiang Chen to start working.

Jiang Chen finished the water in the paper cup in one gulp and immediately stood up. At this moment, Ling Sheng’s gaze paused on his face and suddenly said, “Wait.”

Jiang Chen immediately stopped there.

Ling Sheng also stood up. He glanced at the table and saw the used tissue that had just been emptied. He helplessly reached out and touched his lips.

Jiang Chen’s gaze followed his fingertip and saw a clean, rounded fingertip gently pressing a dent into that thin, red lip, quickly moving away.

He stared blankly for a moment, and for some reason, a thirst surged in his throat, making him feel like that cup of water was for naught.

“Xiao Chen.”

Tonio called him over there. Jiang Chen instantly snapped back to reality. Thinking about the thoughts in his head just now, he felt ashamed and didn’t delve into his meaning, quickly turning around to go over.

A finger suddenly reached out and quickly wiped his lip.

“A bit of lipstick smeared, go ahead.”

Jiang Chen forgot how he walked over there. It wasn’t until the sound of the door closing rang out, and Ling Sheng and Coco’s figures disappeared that he felt his limbs gradually being controlled by him again.

“Alright, much better now, the feeling is here, let’s do that action again.”

The subsequent shooting was much smoother. After the shoot, Ling Sheng changed back into his clothes. When he went to the restroom to remove his makeup, there wasn’t much lipstick on his lips, because the shade used for him was naturally toned, and he had drunk water and shot photos all day, so it had almost worn off.

But the feeling of being touched on the corner of his mouth seemed to linger there.

Actually, when the makeup artist was applying makeup to him, she would definitely touch his face with her hands. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done this action when applying lipstick.

But Ling Sheng’s action was replayed by him a thousand times. Just this one-second action. He wished he could combine the before and after time points and break down every second into hundreds of images to analyze his motivation behind it one by one.

Why did he touch him, could this action be considered… ambiguous?

There was still a little bit of lipstick on the paper cup he had drunk from, which should have been left when drinking water. The tissues on the makeup table had just been used up, so was that look of his looking for tissues? He also pointed at his own lips, was he reminding him that the lipstick had smeared?

So the final conclusion he came to was only:

He just saw that there were no tissues, and since he hadn’t noticed, he casually wiped it for him.

Jiang Chen slammed the surface of the sink in frustration, not knowing what exactly he was disappointed about in his heart.