Lin Jianqing was nearly driven to break character by her. The makeup process was longer than he had imagined.
When the eyeshadow was pressed on, he could only close his eyes, his ears filled with the soft sounds of Shen Huaixue rummaging through her cosmetics.
Her movements were steady, even skilled. The brush sweeping across the corner of his eye tickled a little. Lin Jianqing tried to dodge several times, but she gently pressed him back down each time.
“Don’t move.”
“You’re tickling me.”
“Bear with it.”
“Why should I bear with this?”
“Because you agreed.”
“I really regret this.”
“It’s not too late to regret it now.” Shen Huaixue’s voice was light. “You can choose not to shoot, and that photo set stays up. If your teacher asks again tomorrow, I won’t know how to explain it for you either.”
Lin Jianqing closed his eyes, grinding his teeth.
“Can you not threaten me while doing my makeup?”
“I’m reminding you to hold on.” Shen Huaixue said. “And you’ve already made it this far, Lin Jianqing. If you give up now, don’t you think everything you suffered before would be wasted?”
Lin Jianqing fell silent. Shen Huaixue really knew how to get into his head.
It was true that he’d already gotten this far. The clothes were changed, the makeup was half done. If he called it off now, all that humiliation would have been for nothing.
Shen Huaixue finally dabbed the light blue pattern onto his forehead, then tidied up the ends of his hair. By the time the small silver-blue hair ornament was tucked into his hair, Lin Jianqing had completely lost the will to resist.
When she handed him the mirror, Lin Jianqing initially didn’t want to look, but his hand still reached out to take it.
The person in the mirror had features made colder by the blue eyeshadow, lips colored blue as well. It wasn’t an abrupt shade of blue, but one with a darker tint. Combined with the forehead pattern and the silver-blue hair ornament, his face had a kind of unreal beauty.
Like a fairy dragged into the darkness. Of course, that was only the appearance.
In terms of expression, the Lin Jianqing in the mirror had fire pressed down in his eyes, not a trace of about him.
Lin Jianqing stared at himself in the mirror for a long time.
All he felt now was anger. The kind of anger that made him want to throw every single piece of Shen Huaixue’s cosmetics out the window.
Shen Huaixue stood behind him, watching him through the mirror, and finally couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
Lin Jianqing immediately turned his head. “What are you laughing at?”
Shen Huaixue quickly composed herself, but the laughter in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“Nothing. I just think the effect turned out really well.”
“If the effect is good, why were you laughing?”
“Because you seem even angrier. Is it that ugly?”
“Obviously.” Lin Jianqing put the mirror back on the table. “You put me through all this, and you expect me to calmly compliment your skills?”
Shen Huaixue thought for a moment, then nodded with complete seriousness.
“That works too. I think it was quite successful.”
Lin Jianqing: “Dream on.”
The shooting room was right next to the living room. When Lin Jianqing followed Shen Huaixue inside, he discovered she had even prepared the backdrop.
A blue-black gauze curtain, a few small lights, a chair with silver patterns, and a camera already set up on a tripod.
Lin Jianqing stood at the door, silent for a full five seconds.
“Shen Huaixue, you call this taking a few impromptu photos?”
Shen Huaixue adjusted the camera parameters, her tone flat.
“Since we’re shooting, there’s no point wasting time. Being fully prepared makes things more efficient. Besides, I doubt you’d want to put this outfit on a second time.”
“You’re right, but does this level of preparation look impromptu? You even set up the backdrop and the lights. Were you just waiting for this?”
“Not exactly waiting.” Shen Huaixue looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips. “I just thought it would come in handy eventually.”
Lin Jianqing took a deep breath.
‘Bear with it.’
But right now, he really wanted to bite someone. Looking at Shen Huaixue’s smiling face, Lin Jianqing unconsciously ground his teeth.
“Alright, be ready. From now on, I’ll tell you what to do, and you do exactly that. No refusing. Don’t worry, there won’t be any strange poses.”
“You’d better keep your word.”
The initial poses were indeed relatively normal. Standing, turning to the side, lowering his head, looking at the camera, resting his hand on the edge of the waist cincher, or lightly lifting the hem of his clothes.
Although Lin Jianqing’s expression was unpleasant the entire time, he could still endure it.
After all, as long as these photos weren’t published, they would only exist on Shen Huaixue’s device.
Actually, no. Existing on Shen Huaixue’s device was also pretty terrible.
But it was still slightly better than being pushed to everyone in Linzhou City by the same-city account. Lin Jianqing tried hard to convince himself.
After taking a few shots, Shen Huaixue walked over to adjust his clothes for him. When her fingertips touched the edge of the waist cincher, Lin Jianqing’s entire body tensed up.
“Where are you putting your hands?”
“Fixing your clothes.” Shen Huaixue’s tone was perfectly natural. “Don’t dodge. This outfit is designed precisely like this. The more you dodge, the weirder it looks.”
“Wearing this already looks weird enough.”
“Then don’t make it weirder.” Shen Huaixue circled around behind him and brushed a strand of hair to the side of his shoulder.
“Don’t keep your shoulders so tense, and don’t keep looking at me like you’re about to report me. Reporting me won’t work, and don’t wear that victim expression either.”
Lin Jianqing nearly exploded.
“So you know I look like a victim? Shen Huaixue, have you thought about reflecting on why I look like one?”
“Because you’re too tense.” Shen Huaixue gently smoothed the gauze on his shoulder, her voice close to his ear.
“What you need to think about now is the character, not yourself. For example, she was originally pristine and proud. After being dragged into the darkness, she still refuses to bow her head.”
“But later… she . You must have seen that kind of NTR comic before, right? What comes next might be a little strange, but you need to continue following my instructions.”
Lin Jianqing’s head was spinning from her explanation.
“Can you not explain the setting? I just want to get this over with. I don’t want to understand what this fairy of yours went through in your head. And… what the hell is an NTR comic? Do you have weird hobbies like that too, Shen Huaixue?”
“But you’ll take better photos once you understand.”
“I don’t need better.”
“I do.”
Shen Huaixue looked at him, her tone suddenly turning serious. “Because you’re very good-looking. Shooting casually would be a waste.”
Lin Jianqing was momentarily taken aback by her gaze. If anyone else had said that, it might actually have been a little flattering.
But coming from Shen Huaixue’s mouth, Lin Jianqing only sensed danger. Every time she seriously complimented him, it felt like she was paving the way for the next trap.
The poses that followed were indeed more and more troublesome.
Shen Huaixue had him sit on the chair with his hands resting on the armrests, head tilted slightly, eyes not avoiding the camera.
Then she had him half-recline, letting the hem of his clothes spread open, fingers raised close to his lips. Not actually touching, just hinting at the idea of touching.
Hearing this, Lin Jianqing’s expression changed on the spot.
“You call this a normal pose?”
Shen Huaixue held the camera, her tone indifferent.
“This is normal.”
“How is this normal?”
“Mood photos are all like this.”
“Don’t try to fool me with mood photos. This is borderline content.”
Shen Huaixue looked at the image on the camera and let out a soft chuckle.
“You actually know about this kind of thing?”
Lin Jianqing: “…”
“No, I mean… normal photos aren’t taken like this.”
“Normal photos wouldn’t have you in this outfit either. And since this is a fairy shoot, we have to follow the order. It’s about time for the part.”
“Shen Huaixue!” Lin Jianqing shuddered the instant he heard her say that.
He’d had a feeling something like this was coming, but he hadn’t expected her to be this direct.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Shen Huaixue looked up at him. “Don’t put your hands down. The angle is great from here.”
Lin Jianqing was so angry he wanted to rip the hair ornament off and throw it at her. As the shoot continued, Shen Huaixue made an even more outrageous demand.
“Put up a peace sign with both hands.”