“Alright, let’s start with a group photo first. As for the positioning… hmm, I’ll make a few adjustments.”
Saying that, Xu Nuo took charge, carefully placing everyone with a serious look in his eyes.
The final arrangement looked like this—ahem—as shown in the picture:
Jiang Ling stood somewhat stiffly in the center, feeling the tension of being surrounded on all sides—front, back, left, right, even above and below—with people.
On her left, Mo Ran linked an arm through hers and playfully flashed a “peace” sign with the other hand; on her right, Fang Wannan held her hand, the other resting casually on her hip; behind her, Lin Xiaoyu and Bai Xue stood interspersed in the gaps, smiling gracefully.
…So why is she the one standing in the middle?
Jiang Ling swallowed hard.
This is bad! I’m surrounded by beautiful (and transformed) young girls!
“Wow, if you didn’t say it, who would have guessed this was an idol girl group’s official photo? It looks exactly like a gang’s lineup before a heist.”
A gleam of longing appeared in Xu Nuo’s eyes. “If only I were in it too…”
“Can you stop whispering all those crazy delusions behind people’s backs? I can hear every word clearly!”
Jiang Ling snapped, embarrassed and angry, shutting down Xu Nuo’s attempt to continue ranting.
“Sorry, I lost control.”
Xu Nuo immediately pushed up his glasses, instantly slipping back into work mode and pressed the shutter.
Click.
He carefully checked the photo, then smiled in satisfaction and beckoned them over. “Perfect. Come take a look.”
The group gathered around, all staring at the not-so-big camera screen, heads nearly touching, breaths mingling in the close heat. Yet no one moved away; instead, genuine and bright smiles bloomed on their faces.
The very first group photo.
It felt like some invisible bond tightly wrapped around them, tied into a beautiful butterfly knot.
“Ah, Little Lingdang’s face looks kind of stiff!”
Mo Ran laughed, pointing at Jiang Ling.
“Please don’t say that at such a good moment, my dear sister Mo Ran!”
Out of embarrassment, Jiang Ling covered her face, trying to escape, but Bai Xue yanked her back: “Next up should be the duo shots, right?”
“Eh~ so sly, I was clearly the one who wanted to take one with her.”
Mo Ran quickly jumped in, stepping forward to block the two.
“Since that’s the case, then take one with me.”
Lin Xiaoyu quietly walked over and intertwined her fingers with Jiang Ling’s.
“Huh? What a joke. At a time like this, an experienced person like me should be the one to lead this little chick.”
Fang Wannan then showed off her most notable advantage, proudly clasping Jiang Ling’s elbow.
Jiang Ling, caught between the two, was being pulled like a spinning top, her face full of question marks as she was tugged from one embrace to another, her head spinning so fast she felt like stars were about to burst out.
Xu Nuo looked up at the ceiling, tears of happiness streaming down.
Ah, what a beautiful sight!
The battle for Jiang Ling finally ended with Xu Nuo’s intervention. The conclusion was to… take turns posing!
After the shoot, Jiang Ling sat dazed in her chair, her head spinning.
She felt this was by far the most exhausting day she’d had in nearly a month!
Where was she tired from… body and soul utterly drained.
Wasn’t shooting supposed to be a serious affair? Why did everyone have to use such embarrassing poses?
There were whispers and embraces behind the back, fingers intertwined while gazing deeply, but the worst was Bai Xue—
“Um, even if you’re my sugar daddy, you can’t take shots like this…”
Xu Nuo stammered.
Inside the camera frame, Bai Xue held a collar attached to a leash, preparing to put it on Jiang Ling. Hearing this, she raised an eyebrow and asked coolly, “Really can’t?”
“Ahem… well, I can take some private photos for you to keep, but under no circumstances can these be uploaded to the official account. Would that be okay?”
Feeling Bai Xue’s imposing pressure, Xu Nuo decided to ignore Jiang Ling’s struggling and silently averted his gaze, silently telling himself there was no other choice as he tragically reached for the shutter button.
Lingling-chan! Perhaps this is the first lesson society has taught me: you can’t have both love and bread—wahhh!
“Fine.”
Bai Xue immediately smiled in good spirits. After all, she didn’t want others to see Jiang Ling in this state. This was the best solution.
She turned to meet Jiang Ling’s helpless, wavering eyes and licked her lips. “Just a little shoot.”
“Y-you don’t come any closer!!!”
…
“You’ve looked like a walking corpse for five minutes now.”
Lin Xiaoyu poked Jiang Ling’s cheek with interest, successfully pulling her out of her mortified daydream.
“…I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay again.”
Jiang Ling sounded fragile, like a broken robot.
How is this even possible!
“Then go to bed early? Things will probably be busy from now on.”
Lin Xiaoyu nudged her. “Xu Nuo’s arrangements will be done this week, and Bai Xue is already negotiating peripheral collaborations.”
“Most importantly, how’s your dance practice coming along?”
At that, Jiang Ling felt like she might shatter, her mind reflexively running through all the trickiest moves—solo talents, duets, and group dances.
“Should… be okay, I guess?”
Jiang Ling mumbled uncertainly. Lin Xiaoyu frowned slightly. Though dissatisfied, seeing how ‘tormented’ she was today, she let it go. “Then go wash up first. You’re exhausted.”
“Ah… I forgot I still have to shower. But I really don’t have the energy. If only there was a fully automated shower robot in this world—wahhh!”
Jiang Ling sighed, muttering a wish she’d dreamed of since childhood.
Hearing that, Lin Xiaoyu paused removing her jacket and asked curiously, “A fully automated shower robot?”
“Yeah! One that does everything for me, then I can just go straight to bed. Haven’t you ever thought about that?”
Getting excited, Jiang Ling tapped her fingers as if listing treasures. “By extension, a feeding robot, a housework robot, and so on. Ah, if possible, I really want to lie down and do nothing at all.”
She exhaled and smiled again. “But yeah, the shower robot’s what I want most right now. Washing long hair is such a hassle.”
After venting, Jiang Ling got up to head for the shower but caught Lin Xiaoyu staring at her thoughtfully. Then she strode over and blocked her way.
“What’s wrong? You want to shower first? Then I can just lie down a bit more—”
Jiang Ling thought she was in a hurry and quickly stepped aside.
But Lin Xiaoyu shook her head.
She straightened Jiang Ling’s face, forcing her to meet her gaze. As their distance closed, Lin Xiaoyu finally spoke:
“Do I look like a fully automated shower robot to you?”