Director said that as soon as the shooting was over, Ye Shanshan quickly took the cigarette from between his teeth. Accidentally inhaling a bit, he coughed several times in succession.
Though he had tried smoking before, he still didn’t like it—too spicy and stinging, a dual assault on his nose and mouth.
His cough broke a kind of secretive atmosphere. Zheng Dong quickly passed him an ashtray, and Ye Shanshan carefully extinguished the cigarette.
Due to the coughing, there were tears of a physiological nature in his eyes, making his gaze appear somewhat pitiful. Taking the water handed by Zheng Dong, Ye Shanshan’s voice was still a bit hoarse.
“Thanks, Zheng ge. The director tricked me, this cigarette is too spicy!”
After saying this, seeing Balmon wave him over, Ye Shanshan returned the water to Zheng Dong. Just as he took a couple of steps, he felt a chill in his chest and abdomen. Raising his hand to touch it, he realized he hadn’t buttoned up his shirt after undoing the buttons, so he proceeded to button them up as he walked.
Watching Ye Shanshan approach closer and closer, Balmon held onto his camera without setting it down, taking several consecutive shots. Hearing the shutter sound, Ye Shanshan looked over somewhat dazed, and this moment’s expression was also recorded.
“Ye, from the moment you took the cigarette out of your mouth, it was as if within the same body, your soul had changed, as if there were infinite possibilities.” Balmon’s tone was very excited.
Every photographer can’t resist the invasion of beautiful things, and for Balmon, Ye Shanshan was like a million volts of electric shock.
His assistant had already connected his equipment to the computer, pulling up the photos taken earlier. The data displayed showed that in less than an hour, Balmon had already taken hundreds of photos.
Finding the photos of Ye Shanshan biting the cigarette and looking casually over, Balmon exclaimed with admiration, “Ye, under the lens, you’re like a poppy blooming at midnight, incredibly beautiful! Moreover, you blend so well with the ambient atmosphere, as if you were originally living within it, casually walking around, and I just happened to capture a wonderful moment.”
Ye Shanshan scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, and politely thanked him.
It wasn’t until just past seven in the evening that the shooting finally ended. Ye Shanshan stretched his limbs a bit. Judging by the shutter sounds he heard, he must have been photographed over four thousand times—feeling like he had taken photos for his entire life.
Glancing at Balmon standing behind the computer, Ye Shanshan suddenly became curious. After pressing the shutter so many times, wouldn’t his hand cramp?
After greeting Balmon, Ye Shanshan went to the dressing room to change back into his own clothes. However, while sitting in front of the mirror removing his makeup, he found that the teardrop-shaped cinnabar mole under his eye couldn’t be removed due to the special pigment.
The makeup artist was tidying up her toolbox nearby, holding a cotton swab dipped in makeup remover. She explained, “Ye, for the upcoming commercial shoot, we still need this cinnabar mole. If it’s not inconvenient for you, can we choose not to remove it?” She then pointed to the pen used to draw the teardrop mole. “The materials here are excellent; they can maintain without fading or darkening for about two weeks.”
Touching the cinnabar mole under his eye in the mirror, Ye Shanshan felt it looked pretty good. Considering the hassle of redoing it next time, he nodded in agreement.
Since Zheng Dong stayed behind to discuss shooting issues with Balmon, Lin Xiaotian drove over to pick him up. Ye Shanshan got into the back seat and was about to take out the lollipops he had saved up to eat in one go when he noticed Lin Xiaotian, who was driving, looking at him intently.
Waving his hand in front of Lin Xiaotian’s eyes, Ye Shanshan asked curiously, “What’s this… not seeing each other for a few days, making you miss me so much?”
Lin Xiaotian shook his head, covered his eyes briefly, and sighed, “I suddenly feel like the young master must have saved the Milky Way in his past life.”
Meanwhile, at the office, Gong Yue, who had saved the Milky Way, had already seen the photos Ye Shanshan had taken today.
They were all untouched raw files, but the person in front of the camera would instantly give the impression that this was a poppy—full of fatal allure. Despite knowing it was untouchable, one would still be drawn in.
“Sir, these photos—” Qin Xuan stood by, seeking Gong Yue’s opinion.
Running his fingertip over the teardrop mole under Ye Shanshan’s eye, Gong Yue asked, “What does Shanshan say?”
“Young Master Ye likes them very much.”
“Well, then proceed as usual.”
Looking at the flourishing figure in the photos, Gong Yue’s gaze softened.
His Shanshan should be free to follow his heart, free from any constraints, including his own, with no right to restrict him.
※※※
In the car, after finishing a lollipop, Ye Shanshan said, “Xiaotian, let’s not go home first. Let’s go directly to the Gong’s building.”
Lin Xiaotian agreed and casually asked, “Are we going to pick up the young master?”
“Yeah, sort of. Just accompanying my boyfriend who’s working overtime.”
Lin Xiaotian glanced at Ye Shanshan’s smiling face in the rearview mirror, feeling a mix of icy dog food and the cold wind outside slapping his face.
When Ye Shanshan stepped out of the elevator, he happened to see Qin Xuan carrying a glass of water towards Gong Yue’s office. He quickly spoke up, “Assistant Qin.”
“Young Master Ye?” Qin Xuan was momentarily surprised to see Ye Shanshan, quickly calming down and greeting him.
“I’ll take it in.” Ye Shanshan eagerly took the tray with the brown wood grain and entered Gong Yue’s office.
Turning around to close the door behind him, Ye Shanshan stood straight behind the door, wearing a standard smile on his face. “Mr. Gong, here’s the water you needed.”
Gong Yue looked towards the door and saw Ye Shanshan looking at him earnestly, the teardrop mole under his eye particularly striking.
Closing the cap of his pen, Gong Yue’s tone remained unchanged. “Come here.”
Upon receiving the response, Ye Shanshan’s eyes instantly brightened, but he maintained his demeanor, walking calmly over and placing the cup on the desk. “Sir, do you have any other instructions?”
“No, thank you. You can leave.”
Upon hearing the answer, Ye Shanshan blinked, feeling a bit confused—this wasn’t quite what he had expected! In a last-ditch effort, he hesitated, “Sir, are you sure there’s nothing else?”
“Mm.”
“…”
Feeling like the script was just beginning at this point and not ready to end, Ye Shanshan glanced at the water in the cup and decided to take action. “Mr. Gong, you’ve worked hard all day and must be very tired. Let me help you drink some water.”
Without waiting for Gong Yue’s response, Ye Shanshan took a sip of water and then leaned forward, lightly placing one hand on Gong Yue’s chest and pressing his lips directly against Gong Yue’s, gradually passing the water into his mouth.
After feeding him the water, Ye Shanshan caught his breath, ready to continue, when suddenly Gong Yue sucked on his tongue, greedily taking the last remnants of water from his mouth.
Realizing a deeper kiss was imminent, Ye Shanshan’s heart soared. Feeling too tired to bend over, he boldly straddled Gong Yue’s thigh, pressing their bodies tightly together.
After kissing for a while, Gong Yue withdrew from his lips, then kissed the vivid cinnabar mole under his eye. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yes, I had fun. The photo shoot was interesting, and the photographer was good too. Did you see the photos I sent you? They turned out nice, right?” Seeing Gong Yue nod, Ye Shanshan smiled even brighter. “The later photos are also very good. When the final prints are ready, I’ll show you.”
“Good.” Gong Yue kissed his delicate eyelids, then gradually moved down, kissing his nose, lips, philtrum, and finally they tangled together again. Gong Yue’s hand cupped Ye Shanshan’s round and firm buttocks, gently kneading them, eliciting an unconscious sigh from Ye Shanshan.
As long as you’re happy.
※※※
The calendar flipped quickly, and by February 10th, Juno’s official website changed its background image right at midnight.
In stark contrast to Balmon’s usual extravagant and passionate style, this time the image was very monochromatic, entirely black and white, except for the vivid cinnabar mole, intensely red, the sole splash of color in the entire picture.
In the photo, the person was lighting the cigarette clenched in their teeth with a lighter, as if hearing someone call out to them. They looked over casually, their expression cold, impatient, and tired, a mix of various emotions raging in that glance like a storm.
The black and white initially gave a sense of restraint, but that bright red teardrop mole, like a spark, instantly ignited the entire composition.
Simultaneously, all of Juno’s counters displayed new “Poppy” series posters, with signs indicating that purchasing any “Poppy” series perfume would randomly include one of nine limited edition posters.
Within a day, Juno’s official website recorded millions of views, and the counters seemed to be swept up in a buying frenzy. Countless customers purchased multiple bottles of the “Poppy” series perfume at once just to obtain the limited edition posters. Multiple counters even reported running out of posters and needing to restock.
Ye shanshan also received the full range of Juno perfumes sent to him, all beautifully designed bottles. He placed Caesar on the desk and arranged the perfume bottles in an arc around the kitten, like stars surrounding the moon. After taking photos, he posted on Weibo,
“This is sparkling and shiny, meow~”
It took blood, sweat, and tears to show off his cat.
However, as usual, the comment section was unable to play happily with him, even within five minutes of the update, there were already tens of thousands of comments.
“—I am that cigarette! Yes, the one lit by my dazzling mouth! Even if it burns out, I can die without regrets after kissing my dazzling! Oh!”
“—Why is my nose itching a bit? Ah, my nosebleed is dripping down, I think I’m losing too much blood!!!”
“—Ahhh I can’t stop pressing the ‘A’ key anymore, I haven’t made a sound other than ‘ah’ since I saw this poster!”
“—Buy buy buy!! I ran to three counters in a row and bought nine bottles of perfume to finally complete the set of posters! I’m going to frame them, this will be my life achievement!”
“—Why does Shanshan, who looks like a poppy fairy, make me want to kneel? Even if repeatedly teased, I can’t muster any dirty thoughts, even screen-licking feels sacrilegious! Shanshan is truly poisonous!”
“—Envious of those with stories, unlike me, the master of monotony, Shanshan, whose entire life revolves around beauty!”
After patiently scrolling for a while, Shanshan finally found a different kind of comment,
“—Shanshan and sparkling, hahaha, that name is also a perfect match! Sparkling is really great, so dazzling!”
Instantly delighted, Shanshan eagerly went to check out the commenter — Xu Luoyang.
“…”
The wings of the Vermilion Bird touched above their heads, forming a heart shape that also meant ‘love you all!’ [Four Holy Beasts 4/4, Shanshan’s Grand Summoning Technique! Feeling confident, can this succeed?]
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
