AITAMITB Chapter 48

In this month, for Zhao Xiaokui, the most difficult thing is not the training, but Shen Zhifei’s absence.

The mermaid’s estrus made her suffer a lot.

After being tormented by the mixed emotions of gains and losses for a whole month, when she saw Shen Zhifei again, she leaned her head against Shen Zhifei’s neck, greedily breathing in her scent, not wanting to leave for a moment.

Shen Zhifei reached out to stroke her hair.

She was no better than Zhao Xiaokui.

Although she didn’t have an estrus, there were things that, once changed, were difficult to return to the way they were.

The month without Zhao Xiaokui was simply her least productive month at work.

She even overheard her secretary team secretly discussing whether the boss had lost her mind. Three times she entered the office, and twice she was just staring at the computer.

This was something that would never have happened to her in the past.

Shen Zhifei had never thought it would be like this either.

But things indeed happened this way.

Feeling Zhao Xiaokui’s steady breath so close, Shen Zhifei felt that her heart, like her breath, slowly settled.

Sitting in the smoothly moving car, she suddenly thought of a saying—”I could endure the darkness if I had never seen the light.”

She could also endure loneliness if she had never met Zhao Xiaokui.

The preparations for the shoot had already begun before Zhao Xiaokui arrived at the V House.

The person in charge was busy directing the staff to move things around. Designers pulled out several clothing racks, each filled with the latest styles of V for this season.

Therese adjusted the camera and tripod positions, turned to see Bai Jingru standing aside, walked over, and crossed her arms, saying, “I flew all the way from Europe just to give you face. I hope the girl you mentioned won’t disappoint me.”

“No, she won’t,” Bai Jingru dismissed her provocation indifferently, saying, “I just hope that in the face of her beauty, you can maintain enough composure.”

Therese raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical of Bai Jingru’s words.

She was an internationally renowned female photographer, and the price for a single photoshoot was not low. If it weren’t for Bai Jingru personally inviting her and claiming to have a beauty that could truly move her, she would never have taken a more than ten-hour flight directly from Europe.

However, she didn’t have high expectations for the beauty. After all, she couldn’t recall which female star in Huaxia could be stunning enough to amaze her.

Her willingness to come was more to repay some favors owed to Bai Jingru from earlier years.

“You seem to have changed a lot,” Therese rushed over as soon as she got off the plane, not having said much to Bai Jingru yet. Now standing here, she finally had the opportunity to size up the old acquaintance who seemed like a different person, “If it weren’t for your beautiful face, I almost wouldn’t recognize you.”

“People change,” Bai Jingru replied calmly, without offering much explanation.

Therese shrugged and didn’t inquire further, respecting others’ privacy.

At this moment, the hushed whispers of people nearby caught her attention.

She wasn’t particularly fond of eavesdropping, but in the conversations of a few people, she caught the name Zhao Xiaokui.

And Zhao Xiaokui was the main character she was going to shoot today, the female lead in whom Bai Jingru had great confidence in terms of beauty.

She heard the petite makeup assistant say with excitement, “Ah, it’s Xiaokui! Our Xiaokui is finally in action, and it’s still a contract with V. I almost cried when I knew it was Xiaokui; I couldn’t believe it.”

“I feel the same, I feel the same. Xiaokui hasn’t updated her Weibo for a long time, and there’s no news about her online. If she hadn’t explicitly announced she’s not leaving the entertainment circle, I would have thought she was quitting, crying, crying.”

Seems like the fans of the female lead.

Thinking this, Therese heard a gasp of surprise.

So she turned her head—

Bai Jingru quickly supported her with a swift hand.

Seeing everyone looking over, Zhao Xiaokui discreetly moved behind Shen Zhifei without leaving a trace.

She whispered in her girlfriend’s ear, “Why do I feel like they want to eat me?”

Shen Zhifei: “…”

For some reason, she suddenly felt sorry for the little boy Grandma Zhao told her about—the one who gave a love letter but ended up being beaten as if it were a challenge.

Her little mermaid’s emotional intelligence…

No one.

But on second thought, she felt it was quite good. If Zhao Xiaokui was the kind of person who was good at handling situations, she would be the one to worry about.

After all, no one understood the allure of a mermaid better than her.

Back then, when Zhao Xiaokui was just lying in the bathtub, unconsciously releasing her charm, she was almost bewitched, nearly drowned in the water.

As long as Zhao Xiaokui was willing, who wouldn’t fall in love with her?

However, the reactions of these people are indeed a bit exaggerated…

Shen Zhifei knew that, except for that one time, usually, when others saw Zhao Xiaokui, they would marvel at her appearance, but it wouldn’t be this extravagant.

Her mental senses keenly detected some fluctuations of extraordinary power and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong, feeling uncomfortable?”

Zhao Xiaokui: “I’m a bit nervous. I’ve never done a photoshoot before. What if I mess it up…”

She regretted not taking an extra day off. “I should have practiced at home before coming…”

Shen Zhifei guessed the reason for the reactions of the people on the scene.

She sighed, softly telling Zhao Xiaokui, “Don’t be nervous. Haven’t you seen them all bowing down under your pomegranate skirt?”

Zhao Xiaokui looked down at the training outfit she received from Nightwalker and said, “Ah, I’m not wearing a skirt today.”

Oops, the words slipped out, and Zhao Xiaokui realized she made a joke.

Her face slightly reddened, and she gave Shen Zhifei an embarrassed look. But she wasn’t as nervous anymore.

As her emotions eased, the atmosphere on the scene also thawed, as if time had unfrozen. The first to recover was the person in charge who came forward.

She extended her hand, “Hello, Miss Zhao. I am the person in charge of V. You can call me Vivian.”

Her smile was official, showing no trace of the momentary loss of composure.

Facing a real person, Zhao Xiaokui wasn’t as nervous. She gracefully shook hands with Vivian and inquired about when the shoot would begin.

Vivian said, “Everything is ready. You just need to change into the outfits in the dressing room, and our shoot can start.”

The designer pushed a clothing rack towards Zhao Xiaokui and said, “These are the outfits you’ll be shooting in today.”

Looking at row after row of clothes, Zhao Xiaokui finally awakened the hidden feminine nature in her heart, feeling a slight excitement.

She glanced at Shen Zhifei, and Shen Zhifei naturally didn’t miss the joy in Zhao Xiaokui’s eyes. She nodded towards Zhao Xiaokui, who happily took the clothes given by the designer into the dressing room.

Posing in front of the camera was not as difficult as Zhao Xiaokui had imagined.

Her body seemed to retain memories, and when she stood in front of the camera, the appropriate expressions naturally surfaced.

Behind the camera, Therese was overwhelmed by the beauty.

She had seen beautiful people before.

Alluring, innocent, full of vitality…

But none of them were like Zhao Xiaokui.

The girl’s features were delicate.

It was as if she were the most carefully crafted creation of God, with the three-dimensional contours of a Westerner and the gentleness of an Easterner.

Her skin was so fair and delicate, seemingly fragile, and under the high-definition lens, no flaws could be found, which was unbelievable.

Even more eye-catching were her amber-colored eyes.

At first glance, Therese thought she saw a sparkling lake under the morning sun, dazzling and brilliant.

Upon closer inspection, it was as if she saw eternal ice hidden beneath the amber-colored lake, unchanged for thousands of years.

She was so pure, like an innocent child.

Yet, she was so dangerous, like a demon emerging from the abyss.

Two opposite temperaments coexisted in her.

She was like a brilliant and delicate rose, yet also like a fierce and cold snowstorm.

Therese felt like she had encountered a deity.

A single glance of admiration, and she found herself irresistibly falling into the river of love.

Shen Zhifei naturally noticed the photographer’s gaze.

No one was more familiar with the meaning of that kind of look than her.

Her eyes slightly darkened.

But Zhao Xiaokui remained oblivious.

It was only after the photoshoot ended that she realized the speed at which her soul fused with her body seemed to have accelerated.

During the training with the Nightwalker, there was one instance when the speed increased. Zhao Xiaokui attributed it to Lin Bai’s training having an effect, accelerating her transformation. However, the changes happening now clearly had a different cause.

But why?

Zhao Xiaokui couldn’t quite figure it out.

She didn’t think she had done anything to expedite her physical growth.

At this moment, her sensitive ears picked up two voices engaged in a hushed conversation. After listening for a while, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

It turned out to be two of her little fans.

“What are you thinking?” Shen Zhifei noticed the smile on her face and asked.

Zhao Xiaokui subtly pointed at the two girls standing together, like a child showing off her prizes, “My fans!”

“They are praising me for being good-looking, you know?” she said, pretending not to understand.

Shen Zhifei feigned innocence, “Is it considered praise if they’re telling the truth?”

Zhao Xiaokui: “…”

Zhao Xiaokui blushed.

Shen Zhifei naturally reached out, tidying up Zhao Xiaokui’s clothes. When Zhao Xiaokui wasn’t paying attention, she subtly turned her head, coincidentally meeting the gaze of Therese from another direction.

The woman’s black eyes were cold, like a wild beast in the forest. The intense possessiveness within them made Therese instinctively take a step back.

Therese, realizing she had startled herself, felt regretful. She didn’t dare disturb her inner goddess and could only complain to Bai Jingru, “Who is that woman? Is she Zhao’s manager? She definitely has ulterior motives towards Zhao, I guarantee!”

Bai Jingru, concealed in the darkness, glanced in the direction of the two and calmly said, “They are a couple.”

Though the number of people aware of this news was not many, for Bai Jingru, it was hardly a secret.

Therese exclaimed in frustration, “No, this is defilement, defilement of Zhao! Aren’t you angry?”

“I’m not angry.” Bai Jingru, observing the two who were behaving intimately, said, “As long as she likes it, I’m not angry.”

Therese sensed something and asked in surprise, “You don’t happen to like Zhao too, do you? After all, I was specially brought here from Europe by you.”

Like?

Someone as dirty as her has no right to say the word “like.”

She only hopes that the little sunflower, who pulled her out of the darkness, can live a little happier, even happier.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaokui, waiting for the crew to change the scene, was talking to Shen Zhifei.

She could tell that Shen Zhifei’s eyes were filled with a tender light as she looked at her.

She was happy.

That was enough.

Having confirmed this, Bai Jingru didn’t respond to Therese’s question. Instead, she lowered her hat, turned, and left through another door.

Therese: “Hey—”

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