TRYMBPIETM 39: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (2)

The stylist adjusted Chi Qingzhou’s cuffs, took the watch box, and left the makeup room with him.

As they were leaving, she casually asked, “Teacher Chi, isn’t your agent coming with you?”

Chi Qingzhou replied, “He went to find Secretary Li.”

Secretary Li was the secretary of the Pearl Watches CEO.

The stylist was surprised and more convinced that her decision was the right one.

She decided to personally hand the watch over to Guan Xihua later and remind him as well.

Chi Qingzhou smiled and said, “You’re very professional.”

The stylist laughed a couple of times, her tense nerves relaxing.

Director Sun, who was in charge of filming the advertisement, was squatting by the set with a lollipop in his mouth, chewing on it absentmindedly.

He had a craving for a cigarette, but it was inconvenient to smoke inside the company, so he could only settle for chewing on the lollipop to relieve it.

When he saw Chi Qingzhou walking out of the makeup room, he stood up and looked him up and down, frowning.

What should he say?

Chi Qingzhou’s outfit was indeed good, and he was handsome, but his aura…

It seemed a bit too innocent and harmless.

Director Sun clicked his tongue, and his chewing slowed down.

Three days ago, when the CEO introduced Chi Qingzhou to him, he had felt that Chi Qingzhou’s aura didn’t quite fit the Frost Blade series.

However, he had heard from friends that Chi Qingzhou was a good actor, so he hadn’t opposed it at the time.

Later, he watched Chi Qingzhou’s live broadcasts and music video and found that his acting was indeed impressive, especially when he was in action—his aura was particularly strong.

That feeling was like everything was under his control, and no matter what happened, seeing him made one feel at ease.

But this kind of aura was more calm and steady, still not quite fitting the Frost Blade series.

“Teacher Chi…” Director Sun said vaguely, “Your current aura is a bit too obedient. What I’m looking for is more of that…”

He thought for a moment, unable to quite describe it. He waved his hand and asked the stylist to bring the Frost Blade series watch for Chi Qingzhou to wear.

“Have you looked into the design concept of this series, Teacher Chi?”

“I’ve read the materials.”

Chi Qingzhou nodded. He was quite professional when it came to work and had reviewed everything he needed to know.

The reason why this new series of watches from Pearl was named “Frost Blade” was to capture the essence of a sharp blade.

All the watches in this series had simple, neat shapes with sharp, flowing lines—elegant yet dynamic.

The designer hoped to convey a sense of youthful success and vigor through this design, and Pearl naturally wanted the advertisement to reflect that.

Upon hearing this, Director Sun was still satisfied with Chi Qingzhou’s attitude. “Put the watch on first and get a feel for it.”

Chi Qingzhou took the starry black watch, put it on, and adjusted his cuffs.

“No, no, no, wait! Don’t button the cuff!” Director Sun immediately spat out his lollipop and instructed the stylist to roll up Chi Qingzhou’s cuffs. “Roll them up naturally, exposing his wrist and part of his forearm. Make it look casual, understand?”

The stylist followed his instructions, quickly achieving the look Director Sun wanted.

Director Sun was satisfied and put the lollipop back in his mouth. “Very good.”

He looked up again and saw Chi Qingzhou’s obedient expression, and his gums ached.

“Ah, Teacher Chi, it’s not right. What I want is that feeling, that feeling, do you understand?”

He suddenly waved his right hand dramatically, pointing at the ceiling, his expression passionate, with saliva flying.

“Later, you’ll be filming the part where you close the laptop, grab the car keys from the desk, stride to the office door, and open it.”

“You can’t be this obedient. You need to imagine yourself as a young swordsman who’s just had a drink. You throw the wine jug onto the table at the tavern, grab your long sword, and march out of the tavern.”

“You can’t be obedient! You need to be the type who steps out with a smile, the kind of wild wind that sweeps a thousand miles of falling flowers!”^[1]

Director Sun, who had always lost points in reading comprehension since childhood, was completely unaware of his misuse of the verse. He gestured wildly and rambled on about the scene for quite a while before finally stopping.

He chewed his lollipop and asked Chi Qingzhou, “I might not have explained it very clearly, Teacher Chi. Is it a bit hard to understand?”

Chi Qingzhou blinked and smiled, “I understand.”

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled quietly in his shadow and asked, “What exactly is he trying to say?”

Chi Qingzhou replied, “It’s just that when shooting this ad, you need to be a little exaggerated, to feel like you’re the best in the world, above everything else.”

Xing Shuangzhan laughed loudly.

Chi Qingzhou lightly kicked the shadow and looked at the director as if nothing had happened.

Director Sun was starting to feel a bit of a toothache.

He had understood, so why did Chi Qingzhou still have that obedient expression?

He chewed on the lollipop harder and asked the departments to prepare, planning to do a run-through of the scene first.

He set a standard in his mind.

Ten takes. If after ten takes, Chi Qingzhou still couldn’t find the feeling, no matter what feedback came from above, he would definitely ask for a replacement!

He waved his hand, asking the stylist to step aside for a moment. When Chi Qingzhou sat at the desk, he picked up the megaphone and shouted, “Action!”

All eyes focused on Chi Qingzhou, who immediately slipped into character.

It was as if he was really working—he opened his office software and seriously typed two lines of a catalog of types of friends that no one could understand, adding a “+1” comment at the end, and instinctively showed a satisfied expression.

Then he selected all the text, deleted it, casually closed the laptop, adjusted his sleeves, naturally highlighting the watch on his left wrist, picked up the car keys, pushed the chair aside, and strode toward the door.

Holding the car keys in his right hand, his left hand on the door handle, when he reached that moment, he seemed to remember something, raised an eyebrow, and a smile spread across his lips, looking both happy and carefree.

This smile removed the misty feeling from his peach blossom eyes, and his whole face became lively, exuding an open and carefree aura.

He pulled open the fake door and stepped out.

Director Sun, who had been chewing his lollipop, stopped mid-chew, his face frozen in a dazed expression.

After about ten seconds, a wolf-like gleam appeared in his eyes, and he jumped up, yelling in excitement. He didn’t even notice his lollipop fell to the ground.

“Cut! Good, very good!”

He quickly checked the footage, almost overcome with joy.

This was the feeling he had wanted!

Chi Qingzhou’s positioning was precise, without any flashy, exaggerated movements, yet he achieved the effect Director Sun wanted.

Most importantly, Chi Qingzhou never forgot to highlight the watch, performing flawlessly without overshadowing the watch.

That was exactly what a model should do.

Director Sun was thrilled.

He had completely forgotten about his previous worries and shouted to get a few camera operators ready.

“Let’s take another shot, cameras 3 and 5, prepare for close-ups!”

After shooting that take, Director Sun had Chi Qingzhou do two more close-ups, and they were done.

The next scene was set outside the building, where a speeding sports car pulls up, and Chi Qingzhou steps out, takes off his coat, and walks toward the luxurious building.

Director Sun once again went on about the young hero riding a horse and climbing up with his sword, concluding with the line, “The young men of Wuling in the East of Jin, riding on silver saddles, galloping through the spring breeze.”^[2]

Chi Qingzhou nodded. It was all about being exaggerated, to be the best even when eating a meal.

That scene also went smoothly.

Director Sun looked at the final footage, patting his stomach and smiling contentedly for a while. He then touched his mouth and realized his lollipop was gone.

He clicked his tongue but didn’t mind much.

Such good footage! Should he really wait until tomorrow to have an editor work on it?

Unable to resist, Director Sun gleefully praised Chi Qingzhou, asked for contact details from both Guan Xihua and Chi Qingzhou, and then rushed off to call his regular editor.

As for his cigarette craving?

He was too busy editing the ad to care about that!

….

After Director Sun left, the stylist personally handed the box containing the watch to Guan Xihua and, avoiding Chi Qingzhou, explained the situation to him.

Guan Xihua’s eyes darkened, but he immediately smiled and thanked the stylist.

The stylist quickly waved her hand. “I didn’t make it clear to Mr. Chi. I noticed he seems to care a lot about this gift, but it would be best not to wear it any longer.”

Guan Xihua hastily said, “We’ll be careful. In any case, thank you for taking care of this for us. I wonder if I could have your contact information? I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

The stylist naturally didn’t refuse. After exchanging contact information, Guan Xihua went back to find chi Qingzhou.

From a distance, he saw Secretary Li standing in front of Chi Qingzhou, speaking to him about something.

At this moment, Chi Qingzhou had already changed back into his own clothes and looked very happy.

He took the gift box that Secretary Li handed him and politely said goodbye to him.

As Secretary Li turned to leave, he saw Guan Xihua and smiled while nodding, then left.

Guan Xihua hurried over. “What did Secretary Li give you?”

Qi Qingzhou opened the box, revealing seven watches from the Pearl Frost Blade series, including limited editions.

He asked, “I remember that once you endorse a brand, you can’t use competing products, right?”

Guan Xihua nodded, somewhat confused.

He had been thinking about finding an opportunity to have Qi Qingzhou change his watch, but Pearl Watches had delivered the reason right to their door.

The key was that Chi Qingzhou had accepted it so smoothly.

Guan Xihua felt a bit happy and also a bit relieved.

The stylist probably hadn’t had the chance to report to the higher-ups yet, but the president of Pearl Watches seemed to have already grasped the situation, sending so many watches to his artist, which made him a bit shocked by how much attention they were paying.

Luckily, Chi Qingzhou had clarified the issue with the watch in time, or there might have been an unnecessary mess.

He silently took a deep breath and looked at Chi Qingzhou. “Are you planning to wear a Pearl watch?”

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head. “Isn’t that the right thing to do?”

It seemed like it was part of a star’s professional conduct?

Guan Xihua replied, “Ah, yes. Which one do you plan to wear?”

Qi Qingzhou lowered his head and chose the starry black one. “This one.”

It was more like the color of his shadow.

Xing Shuangzhan laughed again in his shadow.

Qi Qingzhou pretended not to hear and put on the watch.

Guan Xihua felt relieved and smiled, casually asking, “What about the one from Chi Qingning? I heard it was a birthday gift. Maybe you should put it away somewhere to avoid losing it?”

Qi Qingzhou smiled, and his peach blossom eyes suddenly carried a deep coldness, which was masked by the way he curved his eyes.

“In a little while, I’ll be shooting the second episode of Scenery Along the Way. It doesn’t seem safe to keep it at home. How about, Brother Guan, you help me keep it?”

Guan Xihua was pleased and immediately agreed.

He walked with Chi Qingzhou toward the Pearl company building, thinking to himself that Chi Qingning had already tricked his artist once so early on.

This matter definitely couldn’t be let go so easily!

….

According to Pearl Watches requirements, in the next few days, Chi Qingzhou shot promotional stills for different styles of watches.

The makeup artist and stylist were the same ones who worked on the advertisement, and the photographer was borrowed from the Song family headquarters.

This photographer seemed to have been paying attention to Chi Qingzhou for a while and was particularly enthusiastic when taking his photos. He was full of inspiration throughout the shoot.

Originally, Pearl Watches planned to shoot three sets of promotional photos, but this photographer insisted on adding two more sets and even complained that the company was stingy. He pushed a lot of contact information from his circle of friends onto Chi Qingzhou and Guan Xihua, practically begging them to have Chi Qingzhou appear in every fashion magazine immediately.

“You just don’t understand the beauty that transcends life and death!”

The photographer held his camera while admiring his work, and at the same time, he enthusiastically replied to the higher-ups from Pearl Watches who came to inquire about the situation.

“What young fame and vigor? Those requirements can’t even show one-tenth of Chi Qingzhou’s charm!”

“He should be the death god with a knife in the moonlight, the spring god with a whip standing in the forest, the endless cycle between life and death!”

“You shouldn’t have let him endorse Frost Blade; he should be endorsing Zongheng^[3]!!”

Several senior managers at Pearl wiped the sweat from their foreheads, speechless.

This kind of praise was too abstract; artists were truly hard to understand.

To be honest, if this photographer wasn’t a distant relative of the Song family and had a good relationship with the chairwoman, with his arrogant attitude, he probably would have been reprimanded long ago.

Chi Qingzhou, however, looked at him for a moment and, somewhat unexpectedly, said to Xing Shuangzhan, “With his level of inspiration, he’s still in the photography industry, and hasn’t gone mad by now?”

Xing Shuangzhan thought for a moment and replied, “He’s somewhat similar to Xu Xinxin; he’s probably the lucky type.”

Chi Qingzhou responded with a sound of acknowledgment and stopped paying attention to him.

After signing the stylist’s autograph, he followed Guan Xihua and left.

The stylist admired the signature for a moment.

It was really beautiful—not the kind of specially designed artistic calligraphy, but it gave a very carefree feeling.

Perhaps Chi Qingzhou had some calligraphy skills?

She happily took a photo and sent it to her small group to show her friends.

The girls were extremely envious, and the messages in the group were going off non-stop.

【I really think Chi Qingzhou’s temperament is so good.】

【Ugh, now I kinda believe what you said last time.】

【I’m convinced now. There’s a clear difference between being genuinely kind and pretending to be kind. Chi Qingning may seem kind and not involved in things, but compared to Chi Qingzhou, the difference is obvious.】

The girls discussed for a few moments, and when the stylist saw this, she quickly reminded them: 【Don’t spread this! I only told you a few of you, don’t tell anyone else.】

Everyone immediately swore: 【Don’t worry, don’t you trust us?】

It’s well-known that anything that starts or ends with “I’m only telling you this, don’t tell anyone else” is likely to be spread as an unspoken “secret” and might even have multiple versions floating around.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the group members, this matter spread within four days, evolving into five different versions.

Although both of the people involved were heavily censored, someone was still able to piece together the truth from the clues.

In the end, this issue just didn’t make it to the fan circle.

Anyone involved in the fashion industry or who had a bit of a network heard the gossip in one form or another.

The only difference was which version they had heard and whether they could guess who the parties involved were.

Realizing this, Xue Jinshi, who had managed to get some details, turned dark in the face and slammed his pen down on the desk.

He growled angrily, “This Chi Qingzhou won’t let it go, huh?! Qingning has a good temper and doesn’t argue with him, but he’s spreading rumors now!”

The pen tip hit the table and instantly bent.

Ink splashed out, drenching Xue Jinshi, his agent, and assistant.

Countless blue-black droplets landed on their faces, glasses, and clothes, leaving their jackets a mess.

The agent instinctively jumped up and shouted angrily at Xue Jinshi, “What’s wrong with you now!!”

Xue Jinshi’s face darkened, his neck stiff, and he said nothing.

The agent was so angry his hands were trembling.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, like two fighting cocks, until the assistant quietly told them to change their clothes so she could wash them. Only then did they look away and, with a huff, change their jackets.

The assistant didn’t want to get caught between the two arguing, so she quickly grabbed the jackets and slipped away.

The agent scolded Xue Jinshi a few times, and when he saw that Xue Jinshi had no intention of acknowledging his mistake, he gave up on lecturing him and turned to leave the rest area.

Just as he put his hand on the door handle, Xue Jinshi suddenly called out to him and apologized.

“I shouldn’t have been so impulsive just now.”

The agent froze for a moment and then turned back, surprised, as if facing a great danger.

“Are you alright? Did you hit your head just now?”

His eyes were wide, as if the sun had risen from the west.

Xue Jinshi’s expression stiffened, and his face turned even darker.

He opened his lips, trying to tell himself to remain calm and not lose his temper, before forcing his anger down.

After apologizing again, he said in the agent’s confused gaze, “I’m going to the next episode of Scenery Along the Way. Has the production team not—”

“Ah?? What are you talking about?”

His agent was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly interrupted him.

“Xue Jinshi, are you crazy? What are you doing on Scenery Along the Way? Do you have something to promote? Why are you going on variety shows?!”

“Don’t you have a new album coming up, or what? Have you finished your songs? Have you written the lyrics? Do you even think about this stuff?!”

Xue Jinshi paused, remaining silent for a moment before lifting his head, his gaze unusually determined.

“I have to go. Brother Qian, help me find a way.”

He couldn’t just sit back and watch Chi Qingzhou continue to smear Qingning’s name; he had to figure out a way to expose Chi Qingzhou’s true face.

Grinding his teeth in secret, he clenched his fists in the agent’s angry gaze, swallowing his frustration and saying, “Brother Qian, as long as I can be on the next episode of Scenery Along the Way, I’ll start acting classes tomorrow! And when I come back, I’ll also attend etiquette classes.”

The agent slowly softened his expression, eyeing Xue Jinshi carefully. When he saw how serious Xue Jinshi was, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Alright, since you’ve said it like this, if I don’t help you, I’ll be too heartless. I hope you can fulfill your promise.”

Xue Jinshi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “Brother Qian, don’t worry, I’ll start acting classes tomorrow.”

…

At the same time that Xue Jinshi and his agent were confronting each other, Chi Qingzhou received an unexpected phone call at home.

“Zhou Zhou, has your injury gotten better?”

The voice on the other end of the phone was hoarse and dry, as if the throat had been smoked.

Chi Qingzhou said, “Ah Ting? Aren’t you busy with a few soul retrieval jobs recently? Why did you suddenly call me?”

The young man, called Ah Ting, chuckled and replied, “Because I’ve run into a problem that no one else can solve, I had to call you for help.”

Chi Qingzhou’s curiosity was piqued. “What problem could be so troublesome?”

“I lost a body.”

Ah Ting’s tone was strange, his voice becoming even raspier.

“It’s an ordinary person who died in an accident.”

“I did a ritual for him and placed some talismans, but when I was trying to retrieve his soul, he suddenly disappeared.”

“I’ve been looking for him for a long time, tried all methods, and still haven’t found anything.”