“It’s so far,” Qi murmured while staring at the map navigation the next morning.
Even though the beach wasn’t outside the city, a taxi would take about two hours.
Instead of taking a cab, she chose the bus.
Changing lines multiple times was a hassle and took much longer.
She wasn’t worried about being late.
The scheduled shoot was at 2:00 PM, but arriving early meant they could start early.
This job was finally coming to an end, and Qi wanted to finish the last part quickly, so she set off early in the morning.
She finally reached her destination around 11:00 AM.
The beach was quite large, and the surrounding service facilities were well-developed.
It was considered one of the popular tourist attractions in Lizhou.
“Miss Qiqi, you’re here early.”
As the black-haired girl looked around, a familiar voice reached her ears.
Turning her head, she saw the staff member who had helped measure her body before.
“Sister Lin Yue is waiting for you over there. I’ll take you to see her.”
“Is the shooting starting now?”
Qi asked, following behind her.
“I’ll explain the shooting requirements first. We’ll officially begin after lunch,” the staff member explained patiently.
Qi nodded.
Her gaze swept over the crowds on the beach.
Even though it wasn’t a holiday, there were many tourists.
This was her first time doing a clothing shoot in a place with so much foot traffic.
Pressure inevitably rose in her heart.
At the seaside, the shoot would definitely take place outdoors.
She arrived at the area Sister Lin Yue had leased.
Her team had cordoned off a space near the water.
Although no one else was allowed inside, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered around the perimeter.
“You’re here, dear.”
Standing by the camera, Sister Lin Yue gave Qi a warm smile.
“How is it? The view from this angle is nice, right? It’s perfect as a background for the shoot.”
Qi didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at the tourists who were constantly sizing her up.
This kind of scrutiny made her very uncomfortable.
“There are… so many people here,” Qi said softly.
“It can’t be helped.”
Sister Lin Yue shrugged helplessly.
“After all, we only leased this small area. As long as the other tourists don’t cross the line, we can’t really say anything. Can you handle it?”
“I’ll… try my best…”
Qi spoke reluctantly.
She only hoped that today’s clothes wouldn’t be too much.
Ideally, it would be a summer-style floral dress; she could accept that even with a crowd watching.
“That’s great! We set up a temporary dressing room nearby. Come with me. I’ll show you the clothes for this shoot.”
“Okay.”
Qi hoped that Sister Lin Yue wasn’t the type to take advantage of the Modeling Contract being almost finished to make things difficult for her with inappropriate clothing.
However, when Qi entered the dressing room and saw the outfit, her expression quickly darkened.
It really was a swimsuit…
“Miss Lin, I thought that at the end of our contract, we could have a bit more trust in each other.”
Tightening her grip on the fabric, the black-haired girl spoke coldly.
“I’ve always trusted you, dear! This swimsuit will definitely look eye-catching on you. We’ll surely get some great shots!”
The other woman seemed completely oblivious to Qi’s mood, continuing to talk to herself.
‘Is she playing dumb?’ Qi grew even angrier.
If it were just an ordinary swimsuit, it wouldn’t have mattered.
But this pink and white one-piece not only had cutouts on both sides of the waist, but the abdomen area was also made of semi-transparent lace.
It was more revealing than all six of her previous outfits combined.
This kind of clothing was simply shameless!
She would never allow herself to wear such a swimsuit.
The only reason she could restrain her emotions right now was out of respect for the Modeling Contract she had already signed.
“I won’t wear it!” the black-haired girl refused flatly.
“Come on, why are you still so shy after all this time?”
Sister Lin Yue tried to soothe her just as she had before.
“Some clothes need someone willing to display their beauty so more people can accept them. This isn’t a bad thing.”
“You promised me before that if there were any requirements for lingerie shoots, you would ask for my opinion first. I don’t want to do this kind of shoot!”
“A swimsuit isn’t lingerie,” Sister Lin Yue said patiently.
“This outfit is meant to be worn outside.”
“I quite like you as a partner. If this shoot is completed successfully, we’ll have more opportunities to cooperate in the future. I can help you officially enter this industry. With your talent, becoming a famous model won’t be a problem. By then, the price for a single shoot will be much higher than this.”
As she spoke, she tried to reach out and pat the little girl’s head.
“So, be good. Let’s go have lunch, and then we’ll finish the last clothing shoot.”
However, her hand was slapped away.
Her words didn’t move the black-haired girl at all.
Qi continued to glare at her coldly.
Seeing things reach this point, the smile on Sister Lin Yue’s face faded.
“Since you don’t want to listen to me, you still remember the contract, right? If the last piece isn’t finished, none of the previous photos can be used. Do you really want to shoulder a 150,000 Breach of Contract Fee just for a swimsuit…”
Before she could finish, Qi threw the fabric hard into Sister Lin Yue’s face.
“Wear it yourself!”
With that, a heavy thud of a door closing followed.
Qi left without looking back.
Taking the fabric off her face, Sister Lin Yue’s expression carried a hint of helplessness.
“The Boss… this job is really too much for me.”
She opened the dressing room door and looked in the direction the black-haired girl had gone.
Truthfully, she actually quite liked the girl.
***
In the afternoon, after the last exam of the day ended, Su Xiaoqie picked up her phone and called Qi.
“Hello, hello~ Qiqi, are you back yet? Do you want me to pick you up?”
“I sent you the address. Come get me.”
The voice on the other end didn’t have much emotional fluctuation, but the roommate could tell that the other girl was in a bad mood.
“Um… okay. Wait for me, I’ll be there right away!”
Su Xiaoqie didn’t ask further over the phone.
She clicked on the address shared with her.
‘Whoa, it’s so far! Why did she go to the seaside?’
While complaining, she started dialing Uncle Wang’s number.
By the time she arrived, it was already evening.
Qi was sitting on a wooden bench, staring blankly at the sunset about to sink into the sea.
“What’s wrong? You seem to be in a very bad mood.”
Su Xiaoqie wasn’t in a hurry to leave and sat down beside her.
The black-haired girl gave her a complicated look and told her what had happened at noon.
“Oh, this…”
Su Xiaoqie blinked blankly.
“I can’t believe Sister Lin Yue would do such a thing. She’s clearly not that kind of person…”
“Who knows? Going through all that trouble just to squeeze 150,000 out of me.”
Qi stretched.
She had been sitting there for quite a long time.
“Well, Qiqi… I’ll help you pay the Breach of Contract Fee…”
The roommate poked her fingers together apologetically.
“?”
Qi tilted her head in confusion.
“It has nothing to do with you. Why would you help me pay?”
“Mainly because I told you that Sister Lin Yue could be trusted, and then she did something like this… You don’t have to worry about me. 150,000 isn’t a lot of money to me. I can afford it!”
“I never thought the words coming out of a dummy’s mouth were credible, and the contract was signed long before that anyway.”
The black-haired girl crossed her arms.
“Since you’re so rich, just buy me dinner. I haven’t eaten anything since noon.”
“All right then.”
The roommate didn’t push.
“I happen to know a place with great food nearby! I’ll take you there!”
Qi looked at her with a faint smile.
Although she had been very angry at first, after half a day, her mood had already calmed down.
What happened, happened.
There was no point in overthinking it.
After finishing dinner, they returned to the school dorm together.
Qi had spent the whole day outside and was covered in sweat, so she went to the bathroom to shower immediately.
After drying her hair, she lay on the bed, entering her daily pre-sleep ritual of staring blankly at the ceiling.
Just then, her phone rang.
Qi picked it up and saw it was a call from Sister Lin Yue.
The black-haired girl frowned slightly but still tapped to answer.
“Miss Qiqi, the Boss… she wants to meet you tomorrow.”