Chapter 180 Teasing

The shoot, which was expected to last all day, ended at 4:30 pm thanks to Li Zhu's involvement.

This excludes the period of strong sunlight at midday.

Most of the time was spent on makeup and styling, and the actual shooting time was not long.

After the team finished work, the winning and losing couple invited Li Zhu and his team members to dinner, but they politely declined.

"I haven't had time to edit the photos I took yesterday. I have to work overtime tonight and I have to go on a business trip tomorrow morning, so I won't have dinner yet. If I'm satisfied with the final photos, I'll come over for a free meal later."

Qin Shu and Song Ying exchanged a glance, and then they realized that Li Zhu's original plan for today was to retouch the previous photos.

Taking photos for them today was probably a last-minute job.

Thinking about it, Song Ying whispered a few words to Peng Wen, who then took the paper bag he had prepared earlier aside, unpacked it, repacked it, and then handed it back to Song Ying.

Li Zhu was talking to Qin Shu while waiting for the studio members to collect their equipment.

Once everyone had gathered, Song Ying stepped forward, took out a red envelope from the paper bag, and handed it to Li Zhu first.

Li Zhu was about to refuse, "Sister-in-law, we're family..."

"That's why we won't pay you for filming, precisely because we're family."

Song Ying interrupted him, smiling, "This is a 'donation' red envelope; it's not just for you, everyone gets one."

As he spoke, he gave a copy to each of the remaining staff members.

Li Zhu refused to accept money from his own family out of courtesy, but they couldn't really give him nothing at all.

We can't let people waste their time and energy, and then have to pay out of our own pockets to subsidize the staff.

Especially after learning that taking their picture was a last-minute addition to the queue, the red envelopes were naturally larger than before.

"What about mine? What about mine? I want some too!"

Fu Yuhua, who was standing nearby, promptly interjected with a joke.

Song Ying took out the last red envelope and slapped it into her hand, saying, "Don't worry, we won't forget our great designer!"

"That's more like it~" Fu Yuhua pinched the red envelope. "It's so thick, that's quite a lot! President Song is really generous!"

Li Zhu glanced at Fu Yuhua subconsciously.

He had always thought that the other party was just an ordinary stylist.

It wasn't until lunchtime, when Song Ying introduced her, that Li Zhu realized that this was a very famous Chinese wedding dress designer in the overseas fashion industry.

With Fu Yuhua readily accepting, Li Zhu no longer declined.

Seeing that he accepted the red envelope, the others in the studio breathed a sigh of relief and accepted it as well.

Song Ying is known for her generosity. Whenever she encounters fan support, she treats everyone to milk tea. This time, she gave out quite a lot of red envelopes. What's more, she even had Peng Wen add some more to them. Just touching them is enough to make people happy.

The studio members have worked with many celebrities, and Song Ying is a rare exception. She is easy to talk to, straightforward, and down-to-earth. Most importantly, she is generous.

Everyone left in a good mood.

Fu Yuhua was also in a good mood.

She successfully hitched a ride with Li Zhu by citing inconvenient transportation.

However, before getting on the bus, Song Ying stopped him and reminded him again.

"Although Li Zhu doesn't have a girlfriend, don't go overboard. To be honest, I think he has a pretty good personality. If you really want to work with him, you can just say so directly. There's no need to joke about feelings."

"Who said I was joking?"

Fu Yuhua had a "I'm very serious" look on her face. "I swear, I really do want his body."

As she spoke, Fu Yuhua held up her palm and whispered in Song Ying's ear, "You were posing when we were taking pictures, didn't you see? When he raised the camera, his arm lifted up and revealed his abs, tsk tsk!"

After clicking her tongue, Fu Yuhua gave a knowing look.

Song Ying, who was earnestly advising him, was speechless.

I don't understand.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand, we’re getting married anyway, just understand your husband~” Fu Yuhua said flirtatiously, but luckily she didn’t forget that Li Zhu was still waiting in the car. “I’ll leave my car here for now, and call a driver to come and take it away later.”

—That's right, Fu Yuhua drove herself here.

But if you have a handsome guy around, and you're driving all alone, wouldn't that be "inconvenient"?

Fu Yuhua climbed into the passenger seat of Li Zhu's car, fastened her seatbelt, rolled down the window, and waved to Song Ying.

Let's go!

Li Zhu glanced at Fu Yuhua, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

As the car slowly started moving and descended the mountain road, he kept his eyes straight ahead and asked, "Where is Miss Fu going?"

"We're going the same way."

"..."

After choking for a moment, Li Zhu continued, "Does Miss Fu know where I live?"

"I don't know. But I'll know once you take me there."

Li Zhu slammed on the brakes and looked at Fu Yuhua.

Fortunately, the car had just started and wasn't going fast. Although the inertia caused Fu Yuhua to lean forward slightly, it wasn't serious.

“Miss Fu?” Li Zhu asked.

"That should be fine, right?" Fu Yuhua said frankly, though with some doubt. "I really don't know where you live. I'll only know where you live if you take me there. How would I know if you don't take me there?"

Li Zhu frowned.

That's true, but it still feels a bit strange.

Something seems off.

"Hurry up and go, aren't you supposed to go back to work overtime? If you don't leave now, it'll be too late."

As the car restarted, Li Zhu finally realized that something was wrong.

The problem lies in the phrase "on the way." How could it be on the way when you don't even know where he lives?

Although Li Zhu is not old, he is mature beyond his years. As a member of the Li family, he is now a sought-after photographer in the fashion industry. In addition, with his outstanding appearance, he has never been short of people who have tried to chat him up over the years.

Fu Yuhua's words were clearly meant to seduce him.

But when Li Zhu looked over, Fu Yuhua looked completely calm, as if what she had just said was really just the literal meaning of the words.

The mountain road was winding, and the thoughts he had just had were only fleetingly swirling in Li Zhu's mind. He looked ahead and drove carefully, keeping an eye on the road.

They asked the same question again.

"Where is Miss Fu going?"

"No. 34 Jingfu Road, thanks to photographer Li."

"Just call me by my name." Li Zhu wasn't used to being called "Photographer Li."

After saying that, and preparing for voice-activated navigation, Fu Yuhua spoke first.

"Okay, Li Zhu, you focus on driving, I'll enter the navigation address."

Li Zhu could only shut up.

As she typed, Fu Yuhua said, "Then you don't need to call me Miss Fu anymore. Just call me by my name, Fu Yuhua, or Yuhua—do you like fish?"

The topic suddenly changed, and Li Zhu couldn't quite keep up with Fu Yuhua's train of thought, so she could only answer whatever was asked, "It's alright."

“That’s true. Your Li family is in the East China Sea. There’s a lot of seafood in Haicheng. You probably don’t like the fish in the capital, right? I ate at a restaurant a few days ago and the meat was very loose. It wasn’t as good as the fish in Haicheng.”

Li Zhu relaxed when he mentioned the food in his hometown.

"There's a fish soup place in Century Square that makes pretty authentic fish soup, and they always use fish from Haicheng."

"This looks familiar, do you eat here often?"

"Mainly for convenience."

The fish soup was quick to prepare, had a taste of home, and was close to where he lived, so Li Zhu was a regular customer.

"Let's go eat together then, as a way of thanking you for giving me a ride down the mountain." As she spoke, Fu Yuhua tapped a few times on the navigation, changing the destination to Century Square, but her mouth didn't stop talking, "Thanks should be expressed in time, and it just so happens that you're going to have dinner tonight, and their place is convenient."

But then she suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Zhu, "Or is it actually inconvenient?"

Just as Li Zhu was about to speak, the robotic female voice in the navigation system began to speak.

[A route to Century Square has been planned for you]

The girl's eyes were amber, clear and bright, filled with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, as if she were realizing her rashness and wanting to back down.

Li Zhu knew he should refuse, but it was his own suggestion that it be convenient, the other party's reasons were frank enough, and what he said was true—after thanking them today, there was no need for further contact.

From both a moral and logical standpoint, and considering both the immediate and long-term implications, Li Zhu could find no reason to refuse.

"Now that we've located it, let's go to Century Square."

"Okay, then I'll book a hotel over there."

Upon hearing the word "hotel," Li Zhu almost slammed on the brakes again.

However, having learned from the previous experience, this time the car continued to drive smoothly, and the noise level was kept as steady as possible.

"Miss Fu is not..."

“Fu Yuhua, or Yuhua, fish balls are fine too,” Fu Yuhua corrected.

"..." Li Zhu bypassed the formalities, "Aren't we going to Jingshan Road?"

"The hotel on Jingshan Road was the one I booked earlier. Since we're going out to eat, it would be more convenient to stay at Century Square instead. That way, it'll be easier to get home and we won't have to go through the hassle of traveling. Anyway, my assistant doesn't have anything to do right now."

So, that's what the hotel means?

That's true. He lives near Century Square. Having a meal together here is definitely more convenient than taking him directly to Jingshan Road. It's rush hour right now, and the roads in Beijing are not easy to navigate.

From this perspective, Fu Yuhua is genuinely kind-hearted.

Li Zhu suddenly felt that he had been judging others by his own petty standards.

He also looks a bit like the "ordinary guy" that people talk about online.

As Li Zhu drove, he deeply reflected on himself.

Fu Yuhua took in the subtle expressions beneath the baseball cap.

The girl sighed inwardly.

—Boys, you must take good care of yourselves when you're out and about!

See? You can be easily fooled with just a few words, and they even managed to find out where you live.

Ignoring netizens' advice will only lead to regret!