On the second floor of the Coffee Shop, Qi sat quietly on the balcony waiting for someone.
She watched the crowd passing by on the street below, a faint trace of unease lingering between her brows.
The second floor was not as noisy as the floor below.
Soft, elegant music played at a comfortable volume.
Drinking coffee here required an additional fee.
It was certainly more convenient for discussing work than downstairs.
Meeting here had been Qi’s request, and the other party had not refused.
As for why she chose this place, it was naturally because of that fellow who claimed to be a God.
‘If something happens here, she won’t just sit by and do nothing, right?’
Qi let out a long sigh.
Her current body amplified the anxiety in her heart.
If she had received this job offer in the past, she would not have been so cautious and worried, even if she suspected something was wrong.
In her memory, jobs where one could earn money just by changing clothes and taking a few photos were reserved for world-famous stars, idols, and the like.
‘If I weren’t so short on money…’
A black sedan driving into her field of vision interrupted her thoughts.
The car stopped across the street, and a woman with long hair stepped out.
Because she was wearing sunglasses, it was difficult to see her face clearly from a distance.
However, her outfit alone made her stand out among the pedestrians, giving off the impression that she was very beautiful.
‘That should be her,’ Qi thought.
Across the street, the woman also cast her gaze toward the second-floor balcony.
She lowered her sunglasses with her fingertip, flashed a slight smile at the black-haired girl, and walked toward the Coffee Shop.
When they met again, the woman had already come upstairs and walked straight to the seat opposite Qi.
“Hello, Miss Qiqi. I hope I remembered your name correctly?”
Qi couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but the woman’s tone seemed a bit urgent.
“How did you recognize me?”
“You were introduced by my friend. Just hearing your voice before, I thought you would be cute, but meeting you in person is… beyond expectations!”
Her words carried a hint of excitement.
“Even if I had identified the wrong person, I definitely wouldn’t let you go! This is simply…”
Seemingly noticing that her attitude was making the little cutie in front of her reflexively lean back, the woman coughed twice.
“Don’t be so guarded, dear. Beauty is a gift from heaven. My point is that you are extremely suitable for this job. Only by being cute and beautiful enough can the posters attract more eyes.”
“But I’m just an ordinary person. Can I really do this job?”
Qi asked softly.
“I understand your concerns. In fact, we only seek out stars for posters of certain luxury brands. If all our posters were shot by them, the expenses alone wouldn’t be worth it. For most clothes, our only requirement is someone who can fully showcase the features of the garments to the customers.”
The woman leaned forward slightly.
“And you are my treasure! The moment I saw you, I could already imagine how dazzling you would look in those clothes!”
The other party’s irrepressible enthusiasm made Qi a bit uncomfortable, but it also put her at ease.
Taking advantage of the moment, the woman took a Modeling Contract out of her bag and handed it to her.
“This is the contract. It contains all the requirements and rewards for this photo shoot, as well as the company’s name and my own. You can look it over carefully, and we can discuss any objections you might have.”
A contract.
This was the first time Qi had encountered such a formal job.
She slowly opened it.
Just as the woman had said, there were detailed explanations for every detail of the work.
It was also then that she learned the woman’s name: Lin Yue.
Qi also recognized the name of the company.
It was a clothing company that was quite famous in Lizhou; one of her former girlfriends had bought clothes from them before.
To avoid any risks hidden within the contract, Qi read through it page by page with great care.
She gained a general understanding of the requirements for this job.
It was very simple.
There were seven outfits in total, requiring seven separate photo sessions.
The compensation was also very high.
Upon signing the contract, she would be paid a 5,000 yuan Signing Fee.
After completing each set of photos, she would receive another 5,000 yuan.
Once all the filming was finished, there would be a final payment of 10,000 yuan.
This meant a total salary of 50,000 yuan for the seven sets.
Qi was somewhat tempted and almost agreed to the job immediately, but she maintained her patience and continued reading.
However, the next clause didn’t seem quite right.
“This part here, ‘If the shoot is refused during the work process, a payment of three times the Liquidated Damages is required’—what does that mean?”
“That? You don’t need to worry. Our clothing consists of perfectly normal outfits; you can check them on our official online store,” Lin Yue said calmly.
“Because these seven sets of photos are meant to appear simultaneously in our next magazine issue, we can only use them once the entire shoot is finished. We can’t be missing even one set. Someone took advantage of this before to raise their prices on the spot, causing two weeks of our work to go to waste. That’s why we added this clause.”
Listening to her explanation, Qi took out her phone to check the clothing store website provided in the contract.
There were too many clothes, so she could only search for keywords to take a look.
There really were no inappropriate clothes.
“Among these seven sets of clothes, there shouldn’t be any lingerie, right?”
To be safe, the black-haired girl made a final confirmation.
“There won’t be. If there were lingerie involved, we would ask about your willingness to shoot beforehand.”
After receiving a positive response, Qi skipped over that clause and continued reading.
The rest of the content was fine.
She flipped to the last page, where there was a space for her signature.
Lin Yue smiled and handed her a fountain pen.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally wrote her name.
“It’s a pleasure working with you, dear!”
Afterward, Lin Yue ordered two cups of coffee and chatted with Qi for a while.
Once the black-haired girl’s phone chimed with a notification that the payment had arrived, the woman stood up and left.
Looking at the extra 5,000 yuan in her mobile banking app, Qi couldn’t help but feel that signing this contract was a bit hasty.
But when she thought about how many chocolates she could buy with 5,000 yuan, the cluttered thoughts in her mind seemed to diminish significantly.
‘Forget it, I won’t overthink it.’
The sky outside was nearing dusk, and she was exhausted from a day of running around looking for work.
After finishing the last sip of her coffee, Qi also stood up, left the cafe, and walked toward the School.
***
Returning to the dormitory, Qi went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When she came out, Su Xiaoqie was still playing games.
“How is it that every time I come back to the dorm, you’re playing games?”
The black-haired girl asked gloomily.
“Are games really that fun?”
“Listen to you. I’m a standard shut-in! I’m not like a normie like you who runs outside every day.”
Despite her words, the roommate exited her game and turned toward Qi.
“Do you need me to help dry your hair?”
“Yes, please.”
The black-haired girl moved a chair and sat with her back to her.
Her long hair was so long that the ends could even touch her thighs.
Usually, after a shower, she really didn’t know where to start when trying to dry it.
Her roommate had noticed her predicament and would proactively offer to help blow-dry her hair.
“How was your job hunt today?”
Su Xiaoqie asked curiously while holding the hair dryer.
“It wasn’t exactly smooth, but I found one anyway.”
“What’s the salary?”
“50,000.”
“50,000?” Her roommate was somewhat surprised. “50,000 a month?”
“50,000 for the whole thing.”
“For the whole thing…”
Her expression became a bit strange.
“Is this a legitimate job?”
Hearing her question, the black-haired girl turned her head slightly, the corners of her mouth curling up into a faint smile.
“Why don’t you come with me tomorrow and find out for yourself?”