As a former model who had graced the cover of Vogue, Jiang Lexuan didn’t speak out loud, but she secretly looked down on the poses commonly used by models on platforms like Taobao.

True, the poses for product catalogs and magazine editorials were different, and they conveyed different feelings, but from her personal aesthetic viewpoint, after experiencing top-tier, artistic, hard-hitting photoshoots, who would still care about product catalog poses?

Shang Xinglu’s acting experience seemed impressive at first glance, but upon further reflection, she had barely been in the industry for long enough to really count as an experienced person—she was still a pure newcomer.

When faced with a newcomer, Jiang Lexuan naturally didn’t have harsh expectations.

She thought Shang Xinglu would strike typical Taobao model poses. Jiang Lexuan had already prepared herself mentally, planning to analyze and explain to Shang Xinglu why these Taobao poses wouldn’t work.

But to her surprise, Shang Xinglu didn’t even reach that level…

She just grinned and made a V-hand gesture.

You think you’re going on a school trip or something?

Jiang Lexuan was so taken aback, she almost choked.

Shang Xinglu, oblivious, came over and patted her on the back, saying, “You should’ve had some food before drinking that black coffee. You’re not eating anything to line your stomach, right? Now your stomach hurts, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Lexuan shot her a glare. “I’m angry because of you!!!”

Shang Xinglu innocently tilted her head.

Jiang Lexuan: “The V-hand gesture? Are you serious? Are you really serious???!!”

Shang Xinglu blinked. “Didn’t you tell me to just pose however I like…?”

Jiang Lexuan: “…”

Great! Now she’s making it my fault!

Jiang Lexuan had already lost the will to argue with Shang Xinglu.

She was half a head taller than Shang Xinglu, so she grabbed the collar of her shirt and shook her violently, saying, “I’ll teach you from the basics! You’re not going home today! You’re going to practice, and you’ll practice until you drop!”

Shang Xinglu clenched her fist. “Don’t pity me just because I’m a delicate flower! Oh oh oh! Bring it on!”

Lisa, who had brought in tea, froze. “…!”

What happened here?!

While Shang Xinglu was busy training overnight, over on the other side, Lin Heng, who had been sulking due to some messages, called Shang Xinglu, but she didn’t pick up.

It wasn’t that Shang Xinglu didn’t want to pick up, but she had put her phone on silent and left it in the other room.

Shang Xinglu actually wanted to check her phone and slack off, but the strict Jiang Master wouldn’t allow it.

“Lift your hips, suck in your stomach, make your posture more natural! Don’t shy away from the camera! Don’t just smile with your mouth, your eyes—your eyes need to smile too!”

“That smiley eyes~~~” Shang Xinglu sang.

Jiang Lexuan glared at her.

Jiang Lexuan was so fierce… Shang Xinglu immediately shut up.

Shang Xinglu miserably continued her training, completely unable to focus on her phone.

Over on the other side, Lin Heng, after taking a moment to calm down, called Marilyn.

By the time he called Marilyn, it was already getting late.

By the time he called Marilyn, it was even later.

Marilyn, receiving a call from the boss who actually paid the bills, naturally had no secrets to hide and said everything.

Marilyn said, “Miss Shang told me around 5:00 that she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.”

Lin Heng: “…”

Marilyn, sensing something in the silence from her boss, hurriedly added, “But Miss Shang seems to have gone to meet a female friend. I don’t think she’s upset about yesterday’s matter.”

Marilyn bringing up yesterday’s events was probably not a good idea. As soon as she mentioned it, Lin Heng was like, “…………”

A long string of dots.

This was clearly—his own fault.

And after seeing what had happened with someone else before, Lin Heng felt that even a female friend could be a potential risk.

Lin Heng sighed quietly.

He got divorced because of his own mistakes, so now chasing after his wife… was this his own grave?

At that moment, Assistant Yuan felt the need to add fuel to the fire.

“Mr. Lin, it’s perfectly normal for Miss Shang to have someone pursuing her. And you… if I may be blunt, Miss Shang knows she earned money to buy you gifts and even tried to cook for you… though it didn’t work out well, the intention was there. You see, you really should make time to have meals with her and spend time with her. Otherwise, that’s not called pursuing.”

Lin Heng looked at him.

Assistant Yuan said, “That’s called ‘come when called, leave when dismissed.’”

Lin Heng: “…”

His voice tightened. He couldn’t help but ask, “…Then what does pursuing actually mean?”

Assistant Yuan, with a servile grin, eagerly offered his advice, “So, are you two going to that restaurant I booked?”

It always came back to food, didn’t it?!

---

Under Jiang Lexuan’s intense training, despite having dark circles under her eyes, Shang Xinglu’s progress was noticeable.

She wasn’t quite at supermodel level yet, but she was starting to get the hang of it.

Though lacking experience in front of the camera, under the guidance of her expert teacher, she began to understand the importance of posing in front of the lens—how to angle her body to highlight her waist, elongate her limbs, and attract the right kind of light.

There were plenty of tricks to learn, and it was clear that this wasn’t something that could be mastered overnight.

Jiang Lexuan only guided her on the basics.

After a night of training, Shang Xinglu managed to grab a quick two-hour nap. She gulped down some coffee in the morning, as she still had to go to work.

She hurriedly did a light makeup job, all while muttering, “What am I supposed to do about these dark circles? What if they make me look ugly in the shoot?”

Jiang Lexuan, calmly leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, said, “Cosmetic treatments, or just makeup. Dark circles aren’t scary, it’s the awkward posture and bad expressions that are.”

“Oh right, if you’re sleep-deprived, you shouldn’t drive. You might harm innocent people on the road. I’ll have the driver take you,” Jiang Lexuan said coldly.

Shang Xinglu: “Ah, that’s too kind of you.”

Jiang Lexuan sneered, “Stop being delusional. The driver will take you there, and then he’ll have to bring you back tonight. You think you won’t need to train tonight?”

Shang Xinglu: “…………”

Dad! Help me! There’s a devil here!!!

Over the past few days, despite feeling like she was being worked to death, Shang Xinglu had made substantial progress in front of the camera.

She was finally ready for the photoshoot.

Two days before the shoot, Jiang Lexuan stopped teaching her, telling her to rest, take care of her skin, and undergo any beauty treatments to get her skin in top condition.

The day of the shoot arrived.

Shang Xinglu went to the studio early on her own, not even bringing her versatile assistant Marilyn.

She had heard that the final version of the ad was only 30 seconds long, and since each person’s portion would be even shorter, the shoot could be wrapped up in a day.

Marilyn was a jack-of-all-trades, but she didn’t need to be involved in such a small matter.

When Shang Xinglu arrived, she checked in with the staff, who were polite and took her to the designated rest area since they knew she was the sponsor of the shoot.

While a private rest area was arranged for her, Shang Xinglu was curious about how the other models were getting ready. So, she requested to go to the public makeup room.

There, she found herself doing what she did best—waiting.

Soon, another actress arrived—Li Xinyue, the newcomer who was also part of the advertisement.

She was accompanied by her manager, who greeted the staff before leaving to handle other matters, leaving Li Xinyue and her assistant behind.

Li Xinyue had her assistant go out to get drinks for everyone. Like Shang Xinglu, she was just waiting in the shared makeup room.

Shang Xinglu glanced at her and noticed that Li Xinyue had really great skin, perfect for skincare ads. She couldn’t help but smile at her.

However, Li Xinyue immediately frowned, clearly displeased.

Shang Xinglu felt awkward, realizing that maybe she had stared too long, making the younger girl uncomfortable.

She quickly apologized, “Sorry about that.”

Li Xinyue, still frowning, gave her a once-over. She immediately recognized something. “Who let you in here? Staring at people is annoying. Can you not just randomly talk to me?”

Shang Xinglu was taken aback. “…………”

Uh, is she this short-tempered?

She glanced at her outfit.

The T-shirt and jeans were from a light luxury brand—not too expensive, but still stylish. She’d even asked Marilyn to buy a more affordable bag to avoid looking too flashy.

She had made an effort to not seem too rich, okay?

But perhaps she’d tried too hard…

It seemed like people might think she was just an ordinary passerby, let into the backstage to look at the celebrities.

Shang Xinglu was on the verge of tears.

And all she did was smile and say one thing—apologizing. Was that really so much?

Li Xinyue’s temper was flaring, and Shang Xinglu couldn’t help but ask, “Then who’s allowed to talk to you?”

Li Xinyue thought Shang Xinglu was being argumentative. There were no cameras and no other people around, so she could say whatever she wanted. She rolled her eyes and said, “It’s definitely not you.”

Shang Xinglu: “…Oh.”

She decided not to say anything else.

Not wanting to upset the girl further, she quietly went back to her rest area.

Shang Xinglu then made a phone call.

An hour later, after the makeup was done, a new artist arrived. Unfortunately for Li Xinyue, it was her rival—Ai Wei.

The two of them had a history. Back at the film academy, they had fiercely competed for the title of campus beauty.

Li Xinyue couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing here?”

Ai Wei replied indifferently, “I don’t know either. My manager just told me to come, so here I am.”

Li Xinyue: “……”

She had a bad feeling and quickly called her manager.

A few minutes later, the shoot officially began. Shang Xinglu left her makeup room and greeted the directors.

Li Xinyue, who was standing by, noticed that the directors treated Shang Xinglu with a lot of respect. A bad feeling gripped her. She quietly asked He Jia, “Jia, who is this?”

“Ah? You arrived early. I thought you’d already met her. This is Miss Shang, the owner of Bichen, who’s also filming with us today.”

Shang Xinglu finished greeting everyone and then exchanged pleasantries with He Jia.

Since she was a junior to Jiang Lexuan, she had connected with He Jia through Jiang Lexuan and the two had built a friendly rapport. They engaged in some genuine business flattery.

Then, Shang Xinglu turned to look at Li Xinyue.

Li Xinyue awkwardly wiped her sweaty palms on her pants.

“Uh, Miss Shang… I’m really sorry…” she said, her voice trailing off.

Before she could finish, Shang Xinglu smiled and said, “It’s fine.”

Li Xinyue let out a sigh of relief.

Shang Xinglu continued to smile. “So, do I now have the right to talk to you?”

Li Xinyue: “…………”

Shang Xinglu smiled again, “Just kidding.”

Li Xinyue, drenched in sweat, wished she could go back in time, slap herself for her previous attitude, and be more careful with her words.