After leaving the hospital, Xie An’yu said to Yu Feng, “Brother, if you have something to do, go ahead. I’ll take the subway back.”
Yu Feng glanced at his leg and said, “Your leg is injured. Taking the subway won’t be convenient.”
Xie An’yu walked a few steps freely. “It’s not injured, and the bone isn’t hurt either. You should go ahead, don’t let it delay your plans.”
Yu Feng hummed in agreement. “Then I’ll drive you to the subway entrance.”
Before parting, Yu Feng told Xie An’yu to rest at home in the afternoon. They had been up too late last night, and he needed to recuperate properly.
Xie An’yu planned to go to the studio in the afternoon to carve wood and had no intention of lying around at home to recover.
Yu Feng was impressed by Xie An’yu’s stamina and energy. He chuckled helplessly and said, “Good thing we only got up at noon today. If we had gotten up in the morning, would you have gone for a morning run?”
Xie An’yu rubbed his nose and said, “We were up so late last night, I wouldn’t have been able to get up in the morning anyway.”
Based on Xie An’yu’s stamina and energy, Yu Feng concluded, “It seems we can stay up even later next time.”
Xie An’yu’s ears burned with heat. He had been feeling quite calm, but now he couldn’t help reminiscing about the events of the previous night. The more he thought about it, the more restless he felt.
Xie An’yu put on his mask and said to Yu Feng, “I’m leaving, Brother.”
Yu Feng touched Xie An’yu’s face through the mask. “Mm.”
Two young girls passing by couldn’t help but glance at them. In an instant, Xie An’yu’s face began to burn with heat as well.
***
Today was the release day for the latest issue of 《Charm》. Yue Lai, who worked at a bookstore, saw the latest magazine cover as soon as it came out and even took a photo to send to Xie An’yu.
Yue Lai: 【[Image]】
Yue Lai: 【Is the person on this cover you?】
Xie An’yu opened the photo and took a look. The cover was enough to make his vision go dark.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t good-looking—it was just that at first glance, it was a bit embarrassing. Back then, he and Tang Shu had taken many poses together, changing several outfits with varying degrees of boldness. The one selected for the cover was the photo where Yu Feng had asked Tang Shu to grip Xie An’yu’s neck. Compared to the later shots, this one was relatively tame, but at a glance, it still carried a seductive and sensual tension.
This was the first time Xie An’yu had directly witnessed Yu Feng’s professional skill in the field of fashion photography.
Whether it was candid shots or posed photos, Yu Feng could capture that unique, ethereal quality.
A photographer shouldn’t confine themselves to a single style. Yu Feng had once told Xie An’yu that he was merely a recorder, not a creator. If a photographer’s desire for self-expression overshadows the subject itself, the work will appear contrived. This was also why he initially disliked portrait photography.
Because he still adhered to this philosophy, Yu Feng’s works weren’t strongly marked by his personal style, and his approach was highly versatile.
The photo on the cover had already been retouched, but the edits were applied to the overall composition. The models’ faces weren’t heavily altered, especially since Tang Shu and Xie An’yu’s faces hardly needed major adjustments—they were photogenic from every angle. The Xie An’yu on the cover was completely different from his usual self, but anyone who knew him could recognize that face immediately.
Xie An’yu replied to Yue Lai: 【Yes】
Yue Lai: 【It really is you!】
Yue Lai: 【You became a model?】
Xie An’yu: 【Mm】
Yue Lai: 【You look so handsome!】
Yue Lai: 【I stared at it several times and still couldn’t believe it was you】
Yue Lai: 【It made me blush, haha】
Xie An’yu had just started to calm down, but Yue Lai’s words made him flush with embarrassment all over again.
There should be other photos from that day’s shoot inside the magazine. These photos were all taken by Yu Feng, so they held a different significance.
Xie An’yu got off the subway two stops early. He wanted to buy the latest issue of 《Charm》 at the bookstore. He had visited the bookstore where Yue Lai worked many times and remembered the address and route well.
Xie An’yu bought two boxes of desserts from a nearby sweets shop. Though he was wearing a mask, Yue Lai recognized him the moment he entered the bookstore.
Xie An’yu waved at him and placed the desserts on the counter by the window. He had always left things he brought for Yue Lai there every time he came to the bookstore. Yue Lai was busy, so Xie An’yu set the desserts down and browsed around the store.
《Charm》 had just been released that day, and being a bestselling magazine, it was prominently displayed right by the entrance. A group of young girls had gathered around it, making Xie An’yu too shy to step forward.
Xie An’yu pulled his mask up a little, walked over, and circled around to avoid the crowd of girls. He picked up a copy from the table. A few girls glanced back at him, but Xie An’yu kept his gaze lowered, avoiding eye contact and took the magazine to the checkout counter.
Yue Lai smiled when he saw the magazine on the counter and quickly typed on his phone: 【You should’ve told me earlier. I would have just brought a copy for you.】
【It’s been a while since I visited, so I thought I’d come see you. I left the desserts I bought on the counter—don’t forget to take them.】
Yue Lai grinned, his eyes curving into crescents, and signed ‘thank you’ in sign language.
***
With the release of the new issue of 《Charm》, Yu Feng’s WeChat had been buzzing all day. Everyone in the industry knew he had shot the cover for this issue. Sales exploded on the first day of release, and Xie An’yu—previously unknown in the modeling world—suddenly entered the public eye. Numerous agents and modeling agencies reached out to Yu Feng to inquire about him.
With Tang Shu’s involvement, the magazine’s sales were guaranteed, but no one had expected them to far exceed projections on the very first day.
A couple of days earlier, 《Charm》’s official Weibo account had posted a preview of the latest issue, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Tang Shu and Xie An’yu. The clips were mostly shot from a distance, and Xie An’yu’s face was never fully shown. Tang Shu, as a famous model, was recognizable even without her face visible. Before the release, netizens had mocked the magazine in the comments, saying 《Charm》 was out of line for having an international supermodel to boost a newcomer. However, as soon as the magazine hit the shelves, public opinion shifted entirely.
In this day and age, facts and talent speak for themselves. Xie An’yu’s looks, physique, and camera presence were undeniable, netizens couldn’t ridicule him even if they wanted to.
During the intermission of the fashion show, Yu Feng sat in his seat scrolling through his phone. Jiang Xiaotian brought him a bottle of mineral water.
Yu Feng took the water and said, “Thanks.”
“Such a major fashion show, and they can’t even provide water? How cheap is that?”
Yu Feng took a sip and replied, “It’s to prevent someone from splashing water on the models.”
Jiang Xiaotian chuckled, “Seriously?”
Yu Feng kept a straight face. “What if there really are people like that?”
Yu Feng wasn’t entirely joking—prohibiting attendees from carrying anything other than photography equipment was a precaution against unpredictable human incidents.
As Yu Feng looked down at his phone, Jiang Xiaotian accidentally caught a glimpse of 《Charm》’s official Weibo page.
“You’re browsing our magazine’s official account?” he asked.
Yu Feng hummed in acknowledgment. He didn’t usually use Weibo and didn’t even have an account, but today he had registered a burner account just to check out the latest preview and promotional material for the latest issue of 《Charm》.
Jiang Xiaotian was well aware that Yu Feng and Xie An’yu had an unusual relationship. He could guess why Yu Feng, who never surfed the internet, had suddenly started browsing Weibo.
Yu Feng skimmed through the comments section.
-It’s been so long since the last duo cover, and it’s this intense? So spicy hahahahahaha.
-The preview was so cryptic, turns out they were waiting for this! Well played, I’m totally hooked 🙂
-Damn… the chemistry is just unreal.
-It’s been five minutes, how is there still no info on this handsome brother? What’s wrong with this generation of netizens?!
-Tang Shu really can cp with everyone, I can’t even.
-Does this handsome brother have a Weibo account I can follow? Does he? Does he? This is really important to me [crying]
-The photography is amazing. I’ve always heard from industry friends that 《Charm》’s chief photographer is a total hottie. When can we drag him out for a peek?
-A hot chief photographer? Where did that rumor come from? Some new marketing tactic?
-Industry insider here, he really is a total hottie~
-Really? I don’t believe it. Unless you give me his Weibo [scoff]
-Wait, who is the male model on this cover? Why can’t I find any info on him?
Jiang Xiaotian was also scrolling through the official Weibo post and couldn’t help but laugh at one of the comments.
Yu Feng glanced up at him.
Jiang Xiaotian chuckled, “Brother, the netizens want you to be ‘dragged out for a peek’.”
Yu Feng was well-known within the industry and had considerable recognition outside it too, having won numerous major awards. However, he rarely made public appearances and had no accounts on any social media platforms, keeping a low profile and naturally attracting less public attention.
His only recent public appearance was at a charity photography awards ceremony, though the event wasn’t widely known, and the live stream had very few viewers at the time.
Jiang Xiaotian sighed while looking at his phone, “Xie An’yu is really famous now. You’re just too good at this, Brother. Only you could capture this vibe.”
He was indeed famous. In just half an hour, another modeling agency representative had reached out to inquire about Xie An’yu.
***
Xie An’yu was sitting on the subway, flipping through the magazine. The more he looked, the redder his ears became. Seeing his own photos was always a bit embarrassing, let alone such ‘bold’ ones.
In an inconspicuous corner of the magazine’s inner pages was the photographer’s name. Xie An’yu gently traced the characters ‘Yu Feng’ with his finger.
Yu Feng sent a message: 【Do you usually use Weibo?】
Xie An’yu: 【No】
Yu Feng: 【Good】
Xie An’yu: 【What’s wrong?】
Yu Feng: 【Too many netizens are coveting you. Stay away from the internet】
Xie An’yu: 【*.*】
Yu Feng: 【Give me a kiss】
Xie An’yu: 【*3*】
The author has something to say:
Going out for my birthday tomorrow, so don’t wait up in the evening. Sleep early~
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 77″]
心浮氣躁 (xīn fú qì zào): flighty and impetuous; restless and fretful; describe a person who is restless and lacks composure. Its core meaning is that the person is impetuous and does not do things steadily.欲蓋彌彰 (yù gài mí zhāng): to attempt to cover up the truth but the truth becomes more apparent or further exposed; trying to hide it makes it more conspicuous (idiom); A cover up only makes matters worse; the harder one tries to cover up/conceal a wrongdoing, the more conspicuous it becomes; the more one tries to cover up a misdeed, the more naked it becomes; the more one tries to cover up, the better-known it will become; an idiom derived from historical stories. In winter, Heihong of Zou state defected to the Lu state together with his Lan county (near present-day Tengzhou). Although he was lowly, his name was recorded (in the historical records) becuase lands are important (for a country). The Gentleman (i.e. the author) said, “As for fame, one cannot be incautious like this. If one has this kind of fame, this would not be as good as without fame. [For a person] defected with his land, the name of the land must be recorded, so as the name of the defector. He will eventually be regarded as immoral and this will be never be blot out. Therefore, when a gentleman acts, he thinks of etiquettes and righteousness, and he never betrays (his conscience) for benefits or regrets for doing unrighteous things. Some people seek for fame but failed. Some people wanted to conceal but their names were eventually spread. This was to punish those immoral ones.”
[/dropdown]Check out my completed & current project at my carrd. If you like my translation, you can buy me coffee at Ko-fi~ Thank you.
