But Su Shanshan quickly noticed her own loss of composure and, terrified, let go of the arm she was holding.
She hurriedly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, I really didn’t mean to do that, I just got a bit too excited when I heard you say you wanted to help me take pictures… Sorry…”
Pei Xingyan shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, I know you didn’t mean it.”
Su Shanshan nodded vigorously, but her hands kept rubbing together in front of her stomach. Even though she was apologizing, she looked so excited she could hardly contain herself.
Or maybe it was more like she was seriously repressed; her breathing was so rapid, it was as if she was about to devour the boy in front of her.
Isn’t this a bit too much…
Pei Xingyan had already wondered about this several times, but he still couldn’t figure it out. Why would such a beautiful, wealthy, and extremely talented girl spend money to find a boyfriend, and then fall for him at first sight so easily?
And she was being almost ridiculously nice to him.
Something just felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Shall we get started?” Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided to push it to the back of his mind. He stood up and invited Su Shanshan.
“Mm, mm, okay~ This is my camera.”
She pulled out a whole pile of things from her backpack and handed them all to Pei Xingyan.
But there were too many cables, all tangled together, and in her carelessness, the most expensive camera slipped out.
It was a rather large DSLR; just by looking at its size, you could tell it was expensive. She cried out in panic, reaching to catch it, but it was already too late.
A hand reached out, right on target, catching the camera firmly—it was Pei Xingyan’s hand. From the moment he saw Su Shanshan pull out that tangle of cables, he had a bad feeling and got ready in advance.
“Oooh~” Su Shanshan squealed with excitement, but she didn’t even bother to check if her camera was okay—the first thing she did was circle around Pei Xingyan, looking him up and down.
“You’re so wonderful~” She clutched her hands to her chest like a fangirl. “How can there be such a perfect man in the world?”
For a moment, Pei Xingyan could totally relate to Lin Xiaoyu. He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.
Being praised like this really did feel great. Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and chuckled a couple of times.
But after all, he wasn’t the one with psychological issues, so he quickly composed himself. He cleared his throat stiffly and pretended to be serious. “Let’s get started. If it gets too late, the lighting won’t be good.”
“Okay~” Su Shanshan’s eyes sparkled like stars as she nodded obediently, then pulled out a thick notebook.
There were some settings written on it, which looked like the content for her current project.
Pei Xingyan glanced at it briefly, then secretly checked out her outfit—it matched almost exactly. Only then was he sure that this girl really was dressed like this for work.
That took a load off his mind. As long as she wasn’t the type to get all melodramatic at the drop of a hat, she was a good girl.
“How do you want to shoot?” he asked gently.
“Um, just… let’s take a few random shots to start with. I usually get inspiration on the spot…”
“How about you hear my idea? I’ve got a thought.”
“Okay, okay~”
So Pei Xingyan picked up the camera and began moving around the empty classroom, searching for the best composition.
He had never received any formal art training. After all, art wasn’t like music or dance—there was no way to show off instantly in front of others, so his parents never arranged special lessons for him. But the essence of art was all connected; if you understood one, the others wouldn’t be too far off.
At least, his sense of aesthetics wouldn’t be bad.
Besides, he was a long-time otaku. He’d been soaking in this stuff for years—maybe he couldn’t draw, but he could definitely appreciate. He knew exactly what kind of vibe a two-dimensional character needed.
He directed Su Shanshan to change positions and try all sorts of poses. The beautiful girl obediently followed—sometimes covering her face with her hands, sometimes sticking out her tongue and making a peace sign at the camera.
They shot for nearly two hours, both of them exhausted, squeezing together to look at their results.
The girl in the camera looked fragile and shattered, her eyes filled with “quick to anger, quick to explode,” and a sense of world-weariness almost poured out of the frame.
In comparison, the real Su Shanshan, even with a bit of smoky makeup, still looked like a bright, energetic, and positive girl.
“How are you so good at photography?” She cradled the camera, reluctant to let go, still showering Pei Xingyan with praise. “I’ve never managed to get results like this before. Drawing and photography are totally different. Sometimes I feel like having this extra step is a bit redundant. You’re amazing!”
“It’s nothing special.”
“Don’t be so modest, you’re really amazing—no, not just amazing, you’re absolutely perfect!” She didn’t hold back on compliments at all, her eyes sparkling like a fangirl, and as she spoke, tears even started to well up. “I’m so lucky to have met you. I thought I’d never meet someone this perfect in my whole life.”
“That’s a bit much…” Even Pei Xingyan felt it was getting a little over the top. He didn’t even know he was this perfect.
“It’s true!” she insisted passionately.
“Heh…” Pei Xingyan could only smile helplessly.
The classroom door rattled as someone knocked urgently.
Pei Xingyan got up to open the door and saw a short girl.
“Hello?” he asked.
“Eh? Why is it a guy…” the girl muttered, then shook her head and explained, “Um… I’m here to pick something up, ah! That—that easel.”
She pointed to the easel in the corner.
Pei Xingyan nodded and helped her carry it over.
“Thank you!” the girl said cheerfully.
“No problem~” Pei Xingyan waved back with a smile.
It was just a minor interruption. He watched the girl leave, then closed the door and returned to his spot.
But the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. The earlier sweetness was gone, and Su Shanshan, who had been gazing at him so sweetly, now had a faint but unmistakable murderous aura about her.
“How could you do that?!” Her eyes were red, and she looked utterly wronged.
“Do what?” Pei Xingyan thought to himself, I didn’t do anything, so why did she suddenly change like this?
“You, you, you! How could you smile at her?!” She pointed at Pei Xingyan, her chest heaving with anger, so upset she couldn’t even get the words out.
Pei Xingyan felt like drums were beating in his heart. He really had no idea what he’d done wrong.
Smile?
All he did was hand that girl an easel…
Could she really be this furious over something like that?
But Su Shanshan was indeed furious. She practically screamed, “I never want to see you again!!!”
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and ran out without looking back.
But her shoes had such thick soles that it was hard to keep her balance—she fell heavily twice in the hallway, but still kept her head down and ran out.
It happened so quickly that Pei Xingyan didn’t even have time to react. He sat there, dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
But at a moment like this, he actually felt a faint sense of relief.
At least this proved that his emotional comfort services were genuinely needed.
Otherwise, if the money was too easy to earn, he just couldn’t feel at ease.