“I just saw Bai Jingru a moment ago. She looks pretty good.”
Zhao Xiaokui noticed Bai Jingru at the first moment, but seeing that Bai Jingru had no intention of greeting, she pretended not to know.
“She has already started taking over the Bai family’s business. It should be within these two years that the Bai family will completely transfer from Old Bai’s hands to hers,” Shen Zhifei said.
Zhao Xiaokui: “Wow, another domineering female president!”
Shen Zhifei raised an eyebrow, “Do you really like domineering female presidents?”
The will to survive made her shake her head faster than a tambourine. She grabbed Shen Zhifei’s hand, kissed the corner of her mouth, and said earnestly, “Who I like, don’t you already know?”
Shen Zhifei surrendered.
She looked helpless as if she couldn’t do anything about her, but there was a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
Having successfully resolved a conflict, Zhao Xiaokui, like a little dog, nudged Shen Zhifei’s shoulder with her head. The latter had to hold her head down and said, “Be a bit more restrained in public.”
“Click—” The almost imperceptible shutter sound rang out. The girl taking the photo didn’t expect to forget to turn off the sound, and she was startled all over.
The sound wasn’t loud, and in the noisy studio, it should have been hard to hear. She looked towards Zhao Xiaokui and Shen Zhifei with a hopeful mindset, only to see both of them turning their gazes at the same time.
She looked so distressed that she was almost crying.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll delete it, I’m sorry…”
Zhao Xiaokui recognized her; she was the little flower just now who was praising herself with rainbow farts.
She took the phone from the girl, scrolled through the recent photos, and saw the one where she was lying in Shen Zhifei’s arms. With a radiant smile on her face, Shen Zhifei’s expression was disdainful, but you could still see indulgence. The light shone from the side, perfectly illuminating the expressions of the two.
“Wow, you took it so well! Are you the photographer’s assistant?”
The young girl nodded somewhat fearfully, “Y-yes.”
“Shen Zhifei, where’s your phone? Hurry, connect it to Bluetooth. I want to save this photo!” She looked at the photo on the phone with great satisfaction, exclaiming, “I look really good.”
This development seems completely different from what the girl had in mind.
Zhao Xiaokui didn’t seem angry at all, and Shen Zhifei also didn’t seem too upset. The girl absentmindedly opened the Bluetooth and connected it to Shen Zhifei’s phone, sending the picture over.
The phone displayed a successful send, and only then did she come back to her senses. With a somewhat awkward and uneasy tone, she said, “X-xiaokui, I didn’t mean to take a sneak shot. I won’t post this photo online. C-can I keep it?”
Zhao Xiaokui’s good temper gave her a bit more hope.
“It’s okay,” Zhao Xiaokui said nonchalantly, “You took it beautifully. Keep it up! You’ll definitely become a great photographer in the future!”
No amount of praise from others could compare to the light, casual words from an idol. The young girl looked at Zhao Xiaokui’s smiling eyes and felt her bones turn to jelly.
“R-really?”
Zhao Xiaokui raised her fist, “Keep it up!”
The fangirl bent down in a bow, “Thank you, Xiaokui.”
Zhao Xiaokui took a step back in surprise.
“Best wishes to you both!” The young girl looked up at them, her face filled with excitement. “Xiaokui, you must be happy and blessed!”
After saying that, without looking back, she ran back in the direction she came from, the sound of her footsteps echoing away.
Zhao Xiaokui gazed at her with a high ponytail swaying, sighing, “Youth is truly wonderful…”
Shen Zhifei: “…”
She reminded, “You’re only twenty-two.”
Zhao Xiaokui covered her chest, “But I feel like my heart is old.”
Shen Zhifei: “…”
The woman four years her senior felt like an arrow had pierced her chest.
As if guessing what she was thinking, Zhao Xiaokui, with her arms around her waist, coquettishly said, “But I still like you the most, Shen Zhifei.”
Shen Zhifei: “…Rein it in a bit.”
If her lips weren’t slightly curled, this statement might have been more convincing.
The staff from V Studio pretended to be blind, not seeing the interaction between the two.
Therese, while looking at the just-taken photos, lifted her head to gaze at Shen Zhifei and Zhao Xiaokui not far away, her eyes filled with infatuation and a hint of madness.
Shen Zhifei, with keen senses, glanced over, meeting her gaze. Therese calmly lowered her head, as if nothing had happened.
Shen Zhifei furrowed her eyebrows slightly.
She whispered in Zhao Xiaokui’s ear, “That photographer seems a bit strange.”
Zhao Xiaokui shrugged, “She has the scent of vampires and werewolves on her. It’s probably related to the Dark Council.”
For Zhao Xiaokui, the scent of vampires smelled like rotten mud, and the scent of werewolves was musky. Mixing these two scents, one could imagine the feeling.
When she caught a whiff, she almost got overwhelmed and thrown out directly.
However, occasionally, she would reflect on the fact that the scents of these supernatural beings seemed quite potent. They say living in a fish market makes one immune to the smell, so does her mermaid form come with a hint of fishy odor?
Thinking about this, Zhao Xiaokui wasn’t feeling great at all. She was increasingly grateful that she transformed into someone odorless and, moreover, a fragrant ordinary person.
When Shen Zhifei mentioned Therese, Zhao Xiaokui also expressed some curiosity about her. Despite Therese having a blend of these two scents, she was, in reality, an ordinary person.
She took Shen Zhifei’s phone and entered Therese’s name in the search interface.
Soon, information related to Therese on Baidu Encyclopedia and a series of her photography works popped up.
Therese, who was invited from afar by Bai Jingru, naturally had some skills. In her works, Zhao Xiaokui recognized many internationally renowned superstars.
At this moment, she completely forgot that she was also a well-known figure, exclaiming in surprise, “Wow, she actually took pictures of this person! Wow, I’ve seen his movies, and wow, he looks so handsome…”
Shen Zhifei: “…”
Suddenly, Zhao Xiaokui’s fingers stopped on a particular picture.
Shen Zhifei: “What’s wrong?”
“Tsk tsk, are vampires this dedicated these days?” Zhao Xiaokui enlarged a still of a vampire, gesturing for Shen Zhifei to look at the actor’s sharp fangs. “These fangs are not fake; he grew them naturally.”
Perhaps because everyone had sharp fangs, they didn’t look particularly special in Shen Zhifei’s eyes. To her, all the fangs looked the same, but Zhao Xiaokui could easily distinguish between genuine and fake.
She took out her phone, focused on her task, and said, “I’ll send a message to Lin Bai and ask if the Night Walkers know about this news.”
Shen Zhifei noticed that, unconsciously, she had already embraced her identity as a Night Walker.
Zhao Xiaokui thought Lin Bai and the others would be aware, but unexpectedly, they replied with a shocked exclamation.
“This intelligence is crucial!”
“Credit for you!”
Zhao Xiaokui grinned, and seeing her happy, Shen Zhifei inquired about the situation. She proudly said, “Haha, once my official credentials are ready, I’ll have three instances of meritorious service.”
Shen Zhifei: “Impressive.”
If she had a tail, Zhao Xiaokui would definitely have it raised high right now. “Just look at who I am.”
Once the staff set up the scene, Zhao Xiaokui’s shooting continued.
The originally planned one-day task was completed by 2:00 PM, thanks to Zhao Xiaokui and the photographer’s exceptional performance. Zhao Xiaokui successfully earned herself half a day of rest.
As soon as the shoot was over, she grabbed Shen Zhifei and wanted to go home. “Let’s go, let’s go, back home!”
Therese, who was looking at the photos, hurriedly approached and stopped her. “Zhao, dear Zhao…”
Her Chinese was quite proficient, but perhaps facing Zhao Xiaokui made her a bit tongue-tied, resulting in somewhat scattered and broken words.
However, Zhao Xiaokui accurately caught the meaning she wanted to convey.
“Exchange contact information? Sure.”
Zhao Xiaokui openly exchanged numbers with her and added her as a WeChat friend.
Therese left with the goddess’s contact information, never casting a glance at Shen Zhifei standing on the side.
Shen Zhifei looked at Zhao Xiaokui, “Mission?”
Zhao Xiaokui shook her phone with Therese’s profile picture, saying, “Mission.”
Unlike other extraordinary forces, the Dark Council, dominated by supernatural beings, mostly relied on blood relations as a connection between members. Infiltrating them was very difficult. Although Huaxia and the Dark Council had established a cooperative relationship and reached agreements, knowing the general structure of the Dark Council, the actual identities of its members were completely unclear.
Now, following the clues provided by Zhao Xiaokui, they could investigate a group of people.
Even Yu Youmin couldn’t help but exclaim, “We’ve really hit the jackpot…”
The news about Zhao Xiaokui becoming the spokesperson for V House was not a secret in the entertainment industry.
However, there weren’t many people optimistic about this, simply because, as an established aristocratic brand, V House’s products were mostly targeted at mature women around thirty. Zhao Xiaokui, being considerably younger, raised doubts.
But when the promotional photos were released, all skepticism fell silent.
“These look too good…”
Luo Wanwan couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at the photos V House released.
She was a loyal fan of V House and initially had a lukewarm impression of Zhao Xiaokui. However, after seeing the promotional photos, she genuinely felt that V House had made the right choice in selecting Zhao Xiaokui as their spokesperson.
Naturally, Zhao Xiaokui’s fans were overjoyed. Holding the freshly released photos, they enthusiastically promoted them everywhere. They had thought Zhao Xiaokui had retired from the industry, so seeing their idol come back to business made them happier than ever.
There was a lively atmosphere in the comments under Zhao Xiaokui’s Weibo.
“Wuwuwu, my Xiaokui, you’re finally back in business. Mom thought you had disappeared.”
“Xiaokui, I will always support you…”
The fangirl who had taken the photo of Zhao Xiaokui and Shen Zhifei at V House, looking at the lively comments section once again, was holding her phone in a conflicted mood. She wanted to show off the photo she took, proving that her favorite CP was indeed real, but at the same time, she didn’t want Zhao Xiaokui to face attacks because of her personal life.
After all, not everyone can accept same-sex relationships.
She could only post a somewhat ambiguous message in the comments, “Wish you happiness!”
This message quickly got buried under the overwhelming flood of rainbow-colored compliments.
At the same time, someone, holding the freshly released promotional photos of Zhao Xiaokui, asked, “Is this the person we saw in the information sent over from the Night Walkers before?”
