Chapter 33
If there were no other way, Li Rui would rather die than tell his embarrassing old stories.
But if he tries to hide it now that he's asking Chi Jun for help, he might just have to watch helplessly as his damned cousin sends his embarrassing videos to all his ex-girlfriends with a single click...
Thinking of the scene of being utterly disgraced, Li Rui sighed heavily and covered his face.
"That's how it is—"
He looked at Chi Jun, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and recounted everything from the past in one breath.
It turned out that Li Rui's cousin saw his short video online and spotted Chi Jun's face flash by in the video, thus making an impression on him.
Later, when Li Rui celebrated his birthday and took a group photo, his cousin immediately spotted Chi Jun, who looked familiar, and Xu Qingzhou, who was standing next to him. He begged and pleaded with Li Rui to contact the two of them and ask them to take promotional photos for his wedding dress shop.
Li Rui knew that Chi Jun refused to show his face. Back then, he had been begging Chi Jun for a week to participate in short videos with a storyline, so how could he possibly agree to take wedding photos?
But who knew that after he refused, his heartless cousin pulled out his trump card: "send the video of Li Rui making a fool of himself to his ex-girlfriends."
In order not to leave too much of an impression on the two of them, Li Rui spoke very quickly about the cause and effect, and even vaguely glossed over the key points without taking a breath.
Unexpectedly, Chi Jun had incredibly sharp ears; even so, he still managed to pinpoint the crucial information—
"So...you really farted and pooped in the toilet?"
"..."
During the few seconds of silent eye contact, Li Rui's face turned bright red at a visible speed.
"I told you, it's the peanut sauce at the hot pot restaurant that's the problem! That peanut sauce is too thick, with too high an oil content, and when it's too oily, it's too lubricating to the intestines!"
Chi Jun laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking. He raised his hand to stop Li Rui's excitement and nodded.
"Okay, okay, I understand."
Li Rui was taken aback, then grabbed Chi Jun's arm:
"Does this mean... you've agreed?"
Chi Jun stood up, supporting himself on his knees, looking completely innocent.
"I didn't say I agreed."
Li Rui was in despair. He gripped Chi Jun's hand tightly, desperately pulling him down while roaring:
"No! You already know my dirty secrets, so you have to help me!"
He pointed to the wall behind him:
"Otherwise...otherwise I'll smash my head against this wall and die, my ghost guarding this place day and night. Whenever you drive by with your sister, I'll shout at you: Xu Jun~~~ You owe me a life~~~"
He stretched his neck and rolled his eyes, imitating the pose quite vividly.
Chi Jun was amused by his shamelessness.
"It's no use just me agreeing, doesn't your cousin need two people?"
Upon hearing this, Li Rui immediately looked at Xu Qingzhou with longing eyes again.
Just then, the little girl timidly raised her hand. Seeing that both of them were looking at her, she gently pursed her lips and lowered her head to write something on the paper.
Seeing her embarrassed and troubled expression, Li Rui recalled how the girl had blushed with shyness even when eating with everyone before, and felt his temples throbbing, with a very ominous premonition.
So much so that when Xu Qingzhou finally handed him the card, he clutched his heart, almost fainting from nervousness. He finally mustered the courage to half-open one eye and quickly glance at it—
?
On the paper was a line of neat handwriting:
Is there any compensation?
Chi Jun: "..."
It can be said that Xu Qingzhou's words were completely unexpected by Chi Jun.
After all, in his impression, Xu Qingzhou was introverted and shy. He would feel uneasy even when eating with people he didn't know well, so how could he pose for photos and make different expressions according to instructions when facing strangers?
He raised his eyebrows and looked at Xu Qingzhou with considerable surprise.
Xu Qingzhou met his gaze, couldn't help but clench the pen in her hand, lowered her head, and blushed slightly.
Li Rui was Chi Jun's friend, and she felt that it was inappropriate to ask for a price when helping out.
But... being a wedding dress model all day is very time-consuming and energy-draining. If there's no pay, she might actually... prefer to spend that time studying or finding part-time work...
Yes! Of course!
Li Rui's voice trembled with excitement when he saw that there was a chance.
However, thinking about the price his damned cousin had quoted, he found it hard to say. After struggling for a while, he finally forced out a number:
"1...1200...is that okay?"
This price is far too low for Li Rui.
After all, they work themselves to the bone as models all day, and they have such good looks. How can they be paid so little? Are they even human?
But if they're threatening him with black videos, then my cousin is definitely not a human being!
Li Rui was about to add that he could go and renegotiate the price with that jerk of a cousin, and even thought that if all else failed, he could secretly add some money to the fee as a way of buying out his dark history.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Xu Qingzhou's eyes light up, her face full of smiles, and she nodded vigorously at him.
?
Li Rui was stunned for a moment, and two seconds later, tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
"No," he stepped forward and grabbed Xu Qingzhou's hand, tears streaming down his face, "Little sister, you really agreed? You're my sister, you're my own sister!"
The physical contact made Xu Qingzhou a little uncomfortable.
She maintained a smile and subtly withdrew her hand. How could someone as perceptive as Li Rui not notice? He repeatedly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," and even pretended to slap himself twice.
"Well," he said with a sigh of relief, his words tumbling out in a daze, "I'll head back now. I'll go back and finalize the filming date and location with that scumbag, and then I'll let you all know all at once."
As he turned to leave, his sleeve was suddenly tugged gently.
Li Rui turned around.
Seeing Xu Qingzhou's sincere yet slightly embarrassed expression, she handed him a card with her small hand.
[Brother Li Rui, have you eaten?]
Li Rui was a little stunned.
"……not yet."
Would you like to come over to our house for a while and have dinner before you leave?
Li Rui turned to look at Chi Jun, then at Xu Qingzhou, blinked her small eyes, and finally couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hands, letting out a soft sob.
"Little sister, you're simply an angel! An angel!"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou blushed again from the flattery.
That night, Li Rui, as the first guest in the small rented room, stayed for a simple dinner. Before leaving, he even acted like a drama queen, hugging Chi Jun and wiping his nose on him repeatedly.
"Brother, I know you've been wronged. You wouldn't go to any of those professional models who asked you to take pictures, but now you're being used as cheap labor for my lousy cousin because of me. Brother, I'm so sorry, sob sob..."
Chi Jun grabbed his neck with disgust and pulled him off him: "If you feel sorry, call me 'Dad' and let me hear it."
Li Rui: "Dad!"
"..."
That's quite decisive.
Ignoring Chi Jun's disdain, Li Rui hugged his arm and began to act coquettishly:
"Dad, now that you've come out of retirement, how about making a cameo appearance in one of my short story videos? I wrote a really great story this time, seriously! My son's video account, you only showed your face for a second last time, and your follower count skyrocketed! Why don't you—"
"Hey Dad, talk to me properly, don't resort to violence..."
"Father, why are you pushing people? If they fall, it will hurt you and pain you too."
"Father, I won't leave. I want to sleep with you tonight—"
The last, clearly uttered word, "Father," was cut off by a loud bang as the door slammed shut. At the same time, the cold, dismissive voice of "Father" echoed from inside.
"roll."
Through the door, Li Rui let out a few more fake sobs, then waved goodbye and left with a flourish.
Inside the door, Chi Jun turned his head and saw Xu Qingzhou sitting at a small desk, holding a pen in her hand, but not writing a test paper. Instead, her eyes were bright as she looked at them and smiled.
Their eyes met.
Chi Jun rested his head on one hand, and with the other hand, he absentmindedly tossed aside his chopsticks.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at her was meaningful.
"Xu Qingzhou, I didn't expect you to be such a money-grubber."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
She pretended not to hear and came over to clear the leftover dishes and chopsticks from the table.
Helpless, Xu Qingzhou couldn't avoid Chi Jun's gaze, which remained fixed on her. She had no choice but to write:
Money is a good thing; I don't think anyone dislikes it.
It was probably because they were in a relaxed and happy mood.
Chi Jun glanced at it, and without thinking, blurted out a sentence:
"Such a good thing, why didn't you want it when Zhang Pengfei offered it to you?"
After he finished speaking, Xu Qingzhou's movements as he cleared the dishes noticeably paused.
The name "Zhang Pengfei" is a taboo subject she doesn't want to mention.
It has nothing to do with the injuries I sustained that night.
Rather, it's because his name is inextricably linked to whether or not Chi Jun will leave.
At this moment, Chi Jun also realized what he had just said.
Naturally, the underlying reason came to mind.
He pressed the tip of his tongue against his cheek.
The atmosphere suddenly seemed to become somewhat strange.
After a few seconds of silence, Chi Jun was the first to look away, loosen his grip, put down his chopsticks, and stand up.
"I'm going to take a shower first."
Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyelids, nodded, and said nothing.
*
Whether it was because Li Rui's communication was too efficient or because his cousin was really anxious, he asked Chi Jun and Xu Qingzhou about this matter that night, and the next morning when they played ball, Li Rui had already brought Chi Jun a set of accurate schedules.
The date is set for the 28th, Sunday.
Besides the interior scenes, we'll be visiting three different locations that day: a church in the morning, a trendy cafe in the afternoon, and the Lianhu Lake next to the cafe in the evening to capture the sunset.
My cousin's wedding photography studio isn't too far away; it's about a half-hour bus ride with a few twists and turns.
Prior to this, through Li Rui's narration, Chi Jun and Xu Qingzhou unconsciously labeled this "cousin" in their minds with a series of human traits such as being cunning, ruthless, and unscrupulous.
But when they finally saw her that day, dressed in a black blazer, red skinny jeans, with bangs covering half her face, and sporting a delicate, feminine air, the "brother and sister" both thought—
Compared to the blatantly obvious large label, any other label seems to have no presence at all...
"Oh my, what a lovely couple! They're even prettier than they look in the photos."
Before the compliment could even register, my cousin swiftly turned and shouted into the house in a high-pitched voice, "Rose! Take the beauty to change into her wedding dress!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a girl with a round face, a short low ponytail, and slightly asymmetrical eyes walked out.
She was wearing a brown apron and clutching a dirty mop. Her voice was low and she sounded a little dazed.
"Okay, cousin."
My cousin frowned, displeased: "How many times have I told you to call me 'Boss'?"
As she spoke, she even raised her pinky finger and gestured twice.
"Okay, cousin."
"..."
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