Chapter 39 "You just... don't want me to post the photos you took of me?"
The two of them walked one in front and one behind, and finally finished the most slippery and steep section of the ridge and stepped onto the relatively flat and solid dirt road.
As soon as he found his footing, Chu Yi almost immediately released his hand. The burning sensation on his fingertips seemed to still linger, making him extremely uncomfortable.
He turned slightly to avoid Zhou Ai's gaze, and his voice returned to its usual calmness, even with a hint of deliberate distance: "My camera."
Zhou Ai looked at his suddenly empty palm, and his fingertips curled up unconsciously, as if he was savoring the touch just now.
But there was no expression on his face. He just said "hmm" lazily, took off the camera hanging around his neck with quick movements, and handed it back to Chu Yi.
Chu Yi took the camera, carefully avoiding touching Zhou Ai's hand with his fingertips again.
"Photos," Chu Yi paused, looking at the camera in his hand, and continued, "I'll export them and send them to you later."
"Okay." Zhou Ai answered readily, with a smile on his lips, but his eyes were always on Chu Yi's slightly red earlobe.
At this time, the photographer who had been "driven away" by Zhou Ai came up breathlessly, with a nervous look on his face, glancing back and forth between Zhou Ai and Chu Yi, not knowing whether to take the picture or not.
Chu Yi didn't say anything else. Holding the camera, he turned and walked towards the stilt house.
The photographer looked at Zhou Ai hesitantly, asking for instructions with his eyes.
Zhou Ai raised his chin at him in a good mood, motioning him to follow.
The photographer who had obtained permission felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly picked up his camera and trotted after Chu Yi.
After all, Zhou Ai's own photographer most likely failed to keep up with this gentleman's elusive whereabouts, and most of the later materials would probably have to be "supplemented" from Chu Yi's footage.
Zhou Ai stood there, looking at Chu Yi's somewhat hurried back and the photographer who was panting behind him. He chuckled softly and then slowly walked to catch up.
——
Chu Yi returned to his room and closed the door immediately, as if he had completely isolated himself from the outside world that was full of ambient air and interference.
He leaned against the door panel and breathed a sigh of relief, then he felt his heartbeat slowly calm down.
He walked to the desk, turned on the computer, connected the camera, and exported the photos he took this morning.
When Zhou Ai's photos appeared on the screen one by one, Chu Yi's breathing unconsciously became lighter again.
The sun, rice paddies, and distant mountains all serve as the perfect backdrop. Zhou Ai, at the center of the camera, can be lazy, uninhibited, or focused. Every expression and movement seems meticulously calculated, yet exudes a natural charm.
The camera clearly captured the luster on his silver hair, the shadows cast by his eyelashes, and the elusive emotions in his peach-shaped eyes.
Chu Yi looked at Zhou Ai's enlarged face on the screen, his fingertips unconsciously resting on the touchpad.
He really forgot how long it had been since he had looked at Zhou Ai directly and carefully through the camera.
The last time was probably in a corner of a crowded and noisy airport, where I vaguely captured a distant figure through countless heads and held-up mobile phones.
This is the first time that I have been photographed up close without any cover, openly, and even under the guise of some kind of "work".
The Zhou Ai in the photo is more real and more impactful than the person in my memory.
Chu Yi watched and sighed softly, feeling a mixture of emotions. He skillfully exported the selected original image and dragged it into the chat window.
His fingertips paused on the send button for a few seconds.
Finally, he clicked send.
Seeing the "Sent Successfully" prompt appear, Chu Yi felt like he had completed an important task, or unloaded a burden. He quickly exited the chat interface, turned off the phone screen, and turned it upside down on the desktop.
It seems that this can isolate everything that might happen next.
On the other side, Zhou Ai, who was slowly walking back to the stilt house, felt the phone in his pocket vibrate.
He took out his phone and the screen lit up, showing a new message from [Meteorite].
It's a few photos.
Zhou Ai clicked on the large picture and looked at the close-ups of himself from various angles on the screen. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then turned into a deeper smile.
Chu Yi's photography skills are indeed as amazing as Zhou Jiashu praised.
Not only is the composition and lighting excellent, but more importantly... he has an indescribable vividness in the camera that cannot be captured even when shot by professional teams.
All the photographer's attention was focused on him without reservation.
Zhou Ai saved the picture and tapped on the screen with his fingertips.
Z.AI: [Excellent technique, Doctor Chu.]
Z.AI: [Image]
Z.AI: [This one is particularly nice. I saved it. Thanks.]
He specifically picked out a photo of himself squatting on the edge of a field, holding a dogtail grass in his mouth, and looking straight at the camera and sent it back.
After sending the photo, as Zhou Ai expected, he did not receive a reply from Chu Yi, but he still seemed in a good mood.
Zhou Ai sat down on the railing on the second floor of the stilt house, with one of his long legs bent casually and the other leg hanging down and swinging gently. He looked blankly at the layered terraces and misty mountains in the distance, and no one knew what was going on in his mind.
The sun had already dispersed the morning mist, revealing the silhouettes of distant hilltops. Golden rice fields swayed left and right, following the wind's direction, and the air was filled with the fragrance of rice.
Zhou Ai's thoughts were completely immersed in his own world. His gaze fell on the distance, but what was replaying in his mind repeatedly was—
It was the panic in Chu Yi's eyes when he covered his face.
“Fuck! So… cute.”
Zhou Ai rubbed her hair, bit her lower lip, and warned herself not to think about it anymore.
Just as I came to my senses, I heard Zhou Jiashu's cheers in the room behind me.
"Wow! This is so beautiful!!!"
Zhou Ai frowned at the noisy noise. Before he could stand up, Zhou Jiashu rushed out of the room like a cannonball, holding up his cell phone, his face filled with excitement and disbelief.
"Brother Zhou! Brother Zhou! Look quickly!!" Zhou Jiashu almost put the phone screen directly in front of Zhou Ai's eyes.
"The photo Teacher Chu sent me! It's retouched! Oh my god! The composition! The color palette! The atmosphere! Absolutely amazing! It's on par with the photos taken by the top fan club members! No! It's even better than some of the photos taken by some fan club members!"
Zhou Jiashu was so excited that he was incoherent. On the screen was a photo of himself in a golden rice field. The sunshine, the young man, and the distant mountains were processed by Chu Yi in a way that made them both natural and full of stories. It was indeed a blockbuster.
Zhou Ai's gaze lazily fell on the screen and glanced at it.
It was indeed well shot and edited with great care.
but……
Zhou Ai's brows furrowed even tighter, almost imperceptibly.
He thought of the cold, unedited original pictures he had received.
So, what was given to Zhou Jiashu was a carefully edited "blockbuster"?
What he was given was the naked, unprocessed "original film"?
Not even a single extra word?
A feeling of sourness and anger at being treated differently suddenly came to my mind, instantly drowning out the slight joy I had just felt from receiving the photos.
Zhou Ai gritted his teeth, his expression darkening visibly as he squeaked out a sentence from between his teeth: "So, this is differential treatment?"
"Ah? What do you mean by different treatment?" Zhou Jiashu was still immersed in the joy of the photo and didn't react at all. He looked at Zhou Ai's face which suddenly turned dark in confusion.
But Zhou Ai ignored him and jumped down from the railing neatly. Before Zhou Jiashu could react, he put his hands on the railing and jumped down from the second floor with clean and neat movements and a bit of anger!
"Oh my god - Brother Zhou! Be careful!!!" Zhou Jiashu was frightened out of his wits by his sudden and dangerous action, and he grabbed the railing and shouted down in horror.
Chu Yi, who was in the room downstairs, had just saved the photo editing project files when he heard Zhou Jiashu's terrified scream from upstairs, followed by the muffled sound of something heavy falling to the ground.
His heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and before he had time to think about it, there was a "knock knock knock" sound on the door, and the force seemed to be quite strong.
Chu Yi stood up puzzled and walked over to open the door.
Outside the door, Zhou Ai was standing there, his face a little dark, the air pressure around him was very low, his peach blossom eyes seemed to be condensed with ice and burning with fire, he looked in an extremely bad mood, staring at him straight.
Chu Yi was stunned by his "raising an army to hold someone accountable" attitude and frowned subconsciously.
Didn’t he just send messages saying “good skills”, “especially beautiful”, “saved it, thanks”?
How come this expression appeared in the blink of an eye?
Is there something wrong with the photo? Does he not like it? Does he think it's not a good photo?
"What's wrong?" Chu Yi suppressed the doubts in his heart and asked calmly, trying his best to ignore the strong unfriendly aura from the other person.
Zhou Ai stared at him without saying a word, but took a step forward, almost stepping into the room. His deep eyes seemed to want to suck Chu Yi in and dissect him.
The air seemed to freeze, filled with an oppressive feeling of impending storm.
———
Chu Yi didn't know how things turned out that Zhou Ai specially brought a wooden stool and sat next to him, watching him edit the photos one by one.
"Is this okay?" Chu Yi basically did not change Zhou Ai's character image, but just made slight adjustments to the clarity and saturation to highlight the morning mist and the sun. It was indeed a step up in the atmosphere compared to the original film.
The atmosphere in the room was somewhat stagnant, with only the gentle hum of the computer running and the sound of the mouse clicking.
Chu Yi was concentrating on adjusting the parameters on the screen, turning around from time to time to ask for the opinions of the parties involved.
Zhou Ai, the person involved, sat obediently on a small wooden stool next to Chu Yi, with one arm casually resting on the edge of the table, staring at the screen and Chu Yi's focused profile without blinking.
When Chu Yi finished adjusting the last photo, saved it, and then turned his head to ask Zhou Ai for his opinion, Zhou Ai did not immediately go to see the final result.
He shifted his gaze from the screen and locked onto Chu Yi's eyes. He finally asked the question that had been lingering in his mind since entering the room, his tone clearly filled with displeasure and a sense of accusation:
"Why did you fix it for him and not for me?"
Chu Yi was taken aback by this nonsensical yet pointed question, and subconsciously replied, "You didn't ask for anything."
Chu Yi's tone was innocent as if it was no big deal at all.
This answer obviously did not satisfy Zhou Ai, but instead seemed to ignite a fuse.
He leaned forward slightly, moving closer, practically gritting his teeth as he pressed forward, his tone tinged with a subtle hint of grievance and accusation, "Then why did you offer to repair it for him? Huh?"
Being repeatedly questioned, coupled with Zhou Ai's almost unreasonable and childish appearance, Chu Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He sighed helplessly and explained, "Jiashu just messaged me and said that he had picked out a few pictures to post on Weibo and asked if I could help edit them briefly, so I edited them."
In his opinion, this was normal mutual help between friends.
"I want to post on Weibo too." Zhou Ai immediately responded in a firm tone, with a kind of stubbornness that said, "If he can post, why can't I?"
"No." Chu Yi blurted out without thinking, rejecting it decisively.
"Why?" Zhou Ai's brows tightened instantly, his voice became deeper, and the unhappy atmosphere became stronger.
He stared at Chu Yi, determined to find out the reason.
Why?
Chu Yi was speechless after being asked.
He couldn't actually explain why exactly, it was just a strong subconscious intuition - he couldn't let Zhou Ai post these photos.
Especially...especially the ones he filmed.
He pursed his lips, avoiding Zhou Ai's scorching gaze, and tried to find a reasonable excuse. His tone became businesslike: "You are an artist. Photos posted on social media platforms need to be reviewed by your team and have strict image management. They won't approve of you posting photos like these that are not taken by professional photographers and have not been approved by your team."
This reason sounds impeccable and is entirely based on Zhou Ai's professional perspective.
After listening to this, Zhou Ai was silent for a few seconds. Just when Chu Yi thought he was finally going to calm down, Zhou Ai suddenly pulled the corner of his mouth and revealed an ambiguous smile.
He took out his cell phone, tapped the screen quickly a few times, and then turned the screen towards Chu Yi.
What was displayed on the screen was the WeChat chat interface between him and his agent Xu Yang.
The latest message was sent by Zhou Aigang:
[Brother Yang, I took some photos with Teacher Chu. They're really good. I want to post them on Weibo.]
Almost the next second, Xu Yang's reply popped up, incredibly fast:
[Post! Must post! Post quickly! Post more! Great photos! Teacher Chu has this kind of skill?! Remember to @ the production team and Teacher Chu! Thank them so much!]
It was followed by a few exaggerated [thumbs-up] [666] emoticons.
Chu Yi: “…………”
He was completely speechless as he looked at the agent's enthusiastic reply on the screen, which was as eager to be announced to the world as possible.
Zhou Ai slowly put his phone away and calmly looked at Chu Yi's frustrated and speechless expression. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked in a long voice:
"Now—Teacher Chu, do you have any 'professional' questions?"
“Or,” he leaned forward again, his gaze penetrating, as if to see into Chu Yi’s heart, “you just… don’t want me to share the photos you took of me?”
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