Chapter 8: Too Bad I’m Straight

“I’m not going! Can’t you just believe it’s a legitimate job?! Don’t make me leave the dorm!”

The next morning, a heart-wrenching wail echoed through the entire girls’ dormitory building.

Su Xiaoqie clung tightly to her chair like a drowning girl about to meet a tragic fate.

And the culprit responsible for all this was currently standing beside her, vigorously pushing at her arm.

“If you don’t go see for yourself, how would you know whether it’s legitimate or not!”

“I’m not curious anymore, okay?! I swear I won’t tell anyone about your job! I already promised my friends we’d grind Legend together today!”

“No way, you have to come… ugh, I can’t push you anymore. You’re so heavy.”

Qi gave up on the idea of dragging Su Xiaoqie out of the dorm.

“This is standard weight! It’s perfect even for a clothing model, okay?! You’re just too weak!”

“Come with me.”

The black-haired girl didn’t care about her roommate’s protests—her goal had been clear from the very beginning.

This stubborn attitude finally piqued Su Xiaoqie’s interest.

She spun her chair around, crossed her arms, and looked at Qi.

“What’s with you today? The old Qiqi was never this clingy. Don’t tell me after spending these past few days together, you can’t live without this young lady anymore? If you admit you can’t live without me, then I might—just might—”

“I can’t live without you.”

Hearing those words, Su Xiaoqie’s expression froze for a second before slowly morphing into sheer disbelief.

“Aren’t you supposed to look disgusted, retort, and mock me a little? How can you just say something so straightforward?!”

The roommate jumped up, grabbed Qi by the shoulders, and shook her back and forth.

“Give me back my cool, aloof, adorable roommate!”

“So… will you come with me?”

Qi, laser-focused on her objective, refused to let the conversation derail.

“Fine, fine, since you’re being this persistent.”

Su Xiaoqie pressed a hand to her forehead.

“But I have one condition—you have to play games with me afterward.”

The black-haired girl thought for a brief moment before nodding.

“Okay.”

***

“So what exactly is this job? Why do I absolutely have to come along?”

On the way, the roommate couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

“Clothing model.”

“Clothing model? Suddenly this trip doesn’t feel like a loss at all, hehe~”

Su Xiaoqie broke into a goofy grin.

“You look super creepy right now.”

“Can you blame me?! I used to be super elegant too!”

She defended herself with complete self-righteousness.

“It’s all because Qiqi is obviously so cute, yet you always wear these plain T-shirts and long pants. You don’t even wear the school skirt! Is it wrong for me to have a little expectation?!”

Qi stared at her roommate for a few seconds, then turned her gaze away.

“Definitely creepy.”

“Hey! Whatever—being a clothing model isn’t some shady job, so why do you need me to come along so badly?”

The black-haired girl turned her eyes back and looked straight into Su Xiaoqie’s.

She spoke seriously:

“This is my first time applying for a job. Having you with me makes me feel more at ease.”

Hearing that, Su Xiaoqie’s cheeks flushed slightly.

She scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed.

“So that’s really how you felt… hehe~ Being relied on by my cool, cute little roommate feels kinda like I could win her over. Too bad I’m straight…”

“Seriously creepy.”

“Okay, enough already!”

While they were chatting, the car arrived at their destination.

“Miss, we’re here.”

The driver turned around and spoke to the two of them.

“Mm-hmm, thanks Uncle Wang! You can head back now!”

Watching the sedan drive away, Qi felt a brief daze.

Only now did she truly realize—Su Xiaoqie really was a rich young lady.

At the very least, her family’s wealth was no less than that of her ex-girlfriend.

Well, of course.

Aside from her, who else in this school could possibly be ordinary?

“Let’s go in.”

Qi said to Su Xiaoqie.

“Oh, right.”

The roommate had still been staring outside, but at Qi’s voice she quickly nodded and followed her inside.

They took the elevator to the target floor.

When they stepped out and saw the completely different scene, Su Xiaoqie couldn’t help but exclaim.

“It didn’t look like much from outside, but the interior is renovated so nicely.”

The set was a fairly large apartment.

Every piece of furniture gave off a fresh, clean feeling, and the decorative placement had clearly been carefully designed.

As a shoot location for clothing, it was full of sincerity.

There were already quite a few staff members bustling around inside.

Su Xiaoqie wandered around looking at everything and eventually discovered an entire green-screen wall in one of the rooms.

“Little Qiqi, I’m really happy you came on time as promised.”

Lin Yue noticed the black-haired girl at the door and walked over with a smile.

Hearing the familiar voice, Su Xiaoqie poked her head out from one of the rooms.

When she saw the woman talking to Qi, her eyes lit up.

“Big Sis Lin Yue! I didn’t expect it to be you!”

“Hm? So you already know Qiqi? What a coincidence.”

Lin Yue pretended to be surprised.

“Not really a coincidence—pretty much everyone in our circle knows each other at least a little~”

The roommate gave a cheeky laugh.

“Big Sis Lin Yue, can I stay here with Qiqi? I’ll just watch quietly~”

“As long as you don’t make a racket. And Qiqi, go get ready. They’ll take your body measurements in a bit, then we’ll start shooting.”

Lin Yue didn’t refuse.

After giving Qi a few instructions, she went back to work.

At that moment, Su Xiaoqie felt someone poke her waist a few times.

She looked down and met Qi’s quiet, faintly accusing gaze.

“Explain.”

“What’s there to explain? In Lizhou, pretty much any businessman with even a little fame has some kind of commercial connection. My dad works with Big Sis Lin Yue and her people too.”

She patted Qi on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Big Sis Lin Yue is a really good person. She won’t have any bad intentions!”

After hearing her roommate’s explanation, Qi nodded and waited quietly in place.

Not long after, a female staff member came over and led Qi to the changing room.

“Do I really have to take my clothes off? Can’t I just get measured with them on?”

“No, sorry—the data won’t be accurate enough unless you take them off. We need precise measurements to custom-make the outfits later. You only need to remove your outer layer, though.”

The staff member patiently explained.

Having worked in this industry for so many years, she completely understood how shy first-time girls like Qi felt during body measurements.

“But…”

The black-haired girl clutched the hem of her shirt, still hesitating.

“Don’t be shy, Qiqi! It’s just a body measurement—every girl has to go through it!”

Su Xiaoqie said from the side, hands on her hips.

“Then why are you in the changing room?”

Facing the black-haired girl’s quiet stare, she suddenly shouted in agitation:

“What’s wrong with me being here?! We’ve been roommates for so long—don’t tell me you’re guarding against even me! I already ditched my game to come with you, so just let me watch—Big Sis Lin Yue! Wait! Wait—”

Lin Yue, who had just walked into the changing room, pushed Su Xiaoqie back outside.

She rubbed her forehead helplessly.

“Okay, the troublesome one has been dealt with. I’ll go keep an eye on her in a moment. Can we measure your body now?”

But Qi still didn’t move.

From her ear tips to her cheeks, a faint, uncontrollable blush had spread.

Seeing how she was still squirming, a ridiculous possibility suddenly occurred to Lin Yue.

She carefully looked the black-haired girl up and down, then asked uncertainly:

“You… don’t tell me you’re not wearing a bra?”

After a long silence, Qi gave the tiniest nod possible.

“What?! You’ve been going without a bra this whole time?!”

Su Xiaoqie’s shocked face poked in from outside the changing room again, only to be immediately pushed back out by Lin Yue.

The commotion from her roommate made the black-haired girl even more embarrassed and angry.

She had completely forgotten about the measurement—otherwise she definitely would have worn the bra that came as a starter item in the dorm.

“You… Little Qiqi, you’re already a sophomore, right? They should have taught you in physiology class about the downsides of not wearing a bra. Even if we ignore all that… are you worried about flashing people?”

Lin Yue’s tone was very helpless; she hardly knew what to say anymore.

For a moment she even wondered if she had misread the age on the other girl’s ID.

Meanwhile, Qi kept her head down and didn’t say a word.

For the first time in her life, she felt this level of shame—she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a cabinet and hide.

She had actually considered the flashing issue, which was why… underneath her mid-length sleeve T-shirt, she was wearing an even smaller, tighter T-shirt.

But the situation was already embarrassing enough, so Qi didn’t dare mention it.

“Never mind. I have a few sets of underwear here. I’ll grab you something that fits. Though I suggest we measure you first—whatever I pick might not fit perfectly.”

“It’s fine! Just—just give me any one, it doesn’t matter!”

The black-haired girl looked up at Lin Yue; her eyes were already starting to spin.

Seeing she was close to her limit, Lin Yue could only sigh helplessly, give a soft laugh, and leave the changing room.

When she came back, she was carrying a clothing bag.

“There’s a full set of underwear inside. I suggest you change into the whole thing. Just put your own clothes in this bag.”

After Qi took the bag, they left the changing room, leaving her alone inside.

She opened the bag.

Looking at the light pink camisole and panties inside, the black-haired girl let out a long sigh.

For the first time, she was starting to regret taking this job.