Chapter 48

This fashion show was actually the final round of a fashion competition, focusing on the clothing and designers. No celebrities or influencers were invited to fill the seats, and the photographers’ cameras were trained entirely on the stage, allowing Mu Chi and Song Wenzhou to whisper to each other without worry.

More and more people took their seats in the venue. The central part of the “U” shaped stage was filled with judges and renowned designers, and there were almost no empty seats on the outer edges.

In the atmosphere charged with anticipation, Mr. Wang slowly walked to the front of the stage, and everyone stopped talking and looked up at him.

He thanked everyone for coming, then briefly introduced the event’s process before returning to his seat.

The lights brightened, and music played. Song Wenzhou raised his eyes toward the entrance.

This was his first time attending such a grand event, especially the critical final round. He felt nervous, empathizing with the pressure of the moment.

To the beat of the music, a model in a shimmering long dress stepped onto the stage. The light reflected off her from different angles, giving off a silver-gray sheen. The fishtail skirt, adorned with fine tassels from the waist down, swayed gracefully as the model moved, sparkling and shimmering.

Just as the previous outfit was finished and the audience was still savoring it, another model appeared, wearing a deep V-neck dress in an alluring purple. The skirt, splitting from the thigh down to the ankle, revealed her legs, which looked like smooth jade under the purple hue.

The first set of outfits featured tassel elements, either decorating the hem of skirts or the edges of jackets…

Song Wenzhou couldn’t evaluate these outfits from an artistic or competitive perspective, he just thought they were beautiful. The clothes were beautiful, the models were beautiful, and the combination of the two gave him a visual feast.

This experience was completely different from watching edited videos in the past. What he saw on-site might not have been as comprehensive as the video, but the extreme visual impact was enough to leave him stunned. For the first time, he truly felt that the designers were geniuses.

After the first group’s performance, all the models returned to the stage to showcase the outfits again. The judges provided professional feedback on the highlights of each design.

Song Wenzhou listened intently, nodding inwardly. The judges’ comments were exactly what he couldn’t express.

Mu Chi turned his head to look at him and found his engrossed expression amusing, so he leaned in and mischievously asked, “Do you like it? Want to buy an outfit?”

“Do the competition outfits also get sold to the public?” Song Wenzhou asked innocently.

Mu Chi suppressed a laugh. “No, but I have a way to buy them. They’re very expensive, so if you buy one, it shouldn’t go to waste—you’ll have to wear it for me.”

Song Wenzhou suddenly remembered those random clothes Mu Chi had bought once, the ones that couldn’t even be worn out…

Realizing he’d been teased, Song Wenzhou rolled his eyes at Mu Chi and turned away, ignoring him.

After the first group, there was a brief break before the next set of outfits was showcased.

This set featured embroidered designs with intricate patterns, fine stitching, and clever pairings that displayed a unique Chinese style.

—

The third set was the team that Xu Chu was responsible for.

The first model to appear was from “Musong Media.” She wore a strapless long dress, with a circle of soft, pure white feathers wrapped around her chest. Her delicate collarbones and slender neck were highlighted by the feathers, making her look flawless and white, as if she were a proud swan gracefully walking the stage.

Clearly, the design element of this group was feathers.

The second model who appeared made Song Wenzhou gasp in awe, and the hall buzzed with excitement.

She was wearing a long, floor-length gown with large waves, adorned with raven-black feathers. The upper part of her body, including her arms, was wrapped in tight black velvet fabric, accentuating her perfect figure and smooth lines.

She exuded mystery and elegance, with lace gloves on her hands, which were crossed and resting in front of her stomach. On her head, she wore a hat decorated with long peacock-green feathers, with a veil draping down to cover the upper half of her face. Only her crimson lips, delicate chin, and snow-white neck were exposed.

It was dangerously beautiful.

Especially since she appeared right behind the fluffy “white swan,” the contrast added a suffocating aura, making her seem like the exclusive witch of the previous model, or perhaps a hidden protector who followed her.

“So beautiful,” Song Wenzhou unconsciously murmured, then added quickly when Mu Chi turned to look at him, “But I won’t buy it.”

Mu Chi chuckled softly for a while.

The show’s closing outfit was an extravagant cape made entirely of colorful feathers, extremely flamboyant.

The model had only applied the same flamboyant makeup to one eyelid, and Song Wenzhou recognized her as the same model Xu Chu had done makeup for backstage when he and Mu Chi visited.

Despite not wearing any jewelry or any gems on her outfit, just relying on the makeup and the interwoven colorful feathers, Song Wenzhou found this outfit especially stunning.

—

The fashion competition ended in the evening, and Mr. Wang took the stage again to offer a brief summary, using the opportunity to invite everyone to a hotel for a dinner party.

After asking Xu Chu, Song Wenzhou learned that Xu Chu would be going with the other staff, so he and Mu Chi went ahead to the parking lot and drove to the hotel.

In the car, Mu Chi sat in the driver’s seat of his car again after some time and said, “The dinner party isn’t that important. If you don’t want to go, we can just go home.”

Since Song Wenzhou couldn’t drink, he rarely attended banquets, but today he had enjoyed the show so much that he was quite interested in the dinner.

“It’s fine, I’ll just take a look,” Song Wenzhou said. Anyway, he didn’t know many people, so he figured no one would approach him to drink.

This was a well-known five-star hotel in the city, and Mr. Wang had booked an entire floor.

The banquet had been prepared in advance, and they started as soon as they arrived from the fashion show.

Although it was called a “dinner,” almost no one had come for the food. The buffet of fruits, snacks, and drinks was piled high, yet few people bothered to touch it. Everyone held a champagne glass, engaging in small talk in groups, either with a specific purpose or simply for enjoyment.

Song Wenzhou also took a highball glass, which Mu Chi had replaced with a non-alcoholic drink.

When someone came to talk to Mu Chi, he smiled and stayed by his side. When there was no one, the two of them found a corner to relax.

Mu Chi asked the waiter for a porcelain plate and placed a small piece of taro cake on the table, saying, “Let’s have a little something to eat. We’re here now, and we probably won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

Song Wenzhou obediently picked up a small fork and started eating the cake.

After a few bites, Mr. Wang walked over to them from afar, smiling and greeting them before explaining his purpose.

It turned out that the Executive President of Jinnuo Media had been attracted by the unique aura of a certain model during the fashion show and wanted to have her photographed for a magazine. After inquiring, he learned that she was a model under “Musong Media” and asked Mr. Wang to introduce them.

Jinnuo Media had been established for nearly twenty years and had several artists who were somewhat well-known in the entertainment industry.

Mu Chi had already planned to enter the film industry, so if he could establish a connection with Jinnuo Media, it would greatly benefit the future development of “Musong Media.”

Song Wenzhou put down his fork and was about to get up, but Mu Chi stopped him. “Zhouzhou, let me go by myself. You stay and eat.”

Everything before this could be considered just casual conversation, but when he spoke to the Executive President of Jinnuo Media later, it would involve collaboration matters, and they would have to drink a few glasses.

Song Wenzhou didn’t think much of it, nodded, and agreed.

Before leaving, Mu Chi bent down and whispered, “Just eat, and no matter who talks to you, don’t drink. Be good, okay?”

Mr. Wang smiled, watching their affectionate interaction, then nodded at Song Wenzhou before leaving with Mu Chi.

Song Wenzhou didn’t want to mingle with others. He sat quietly by a small table eating.

After finishing a piece of cake, Song Wenzhou still wanted more. He wandered over to the fruit section of the buffet and grabbed some more food. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone walking toward him and thought the person was also going for the same fruit. He stepped aside.

“Mr. Song,” the person called out to him.

“Hmm?” Song Wenzhou instinctively turned his head and responded.

The person was a young man wearing black-frame glasses, who seemed somewhat familiar. But after thinking for a moment, Song Wenzhou couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

“Hello, my name is Shi Mu.” Shi Mu extended his right hand.

Song Wenzhou shook his hand briefly and said, “Hello.”

The two of them, not very good at socializing, exchanged greetings and then awkwardly fell silent for a while.

“I’m the one…” Shi Mu stammered, “I work at ‘Musong Media.‘”

“Oh—” Song Wenzhou realized, “No wonder you look a bit familiar.”

In fact, Song Wenzhou hadn’t truly remembered why Shi Mu looked familiar, but he assumed it was because he had occasionally seen him when he picked Mu Chi up from work recently.

Seeing that Shi Mu still had some recollection of him, Shi Mu felt a bit more at ease and said, “I met you and your friend at a restaurant the day I signed with President Mu. At that time, I didn’t know you and President Mu were…”

From his words, Song Wenzhou also recalled the incident when they ran into Mu Chi while dining out the day Xu Chu returned to the country.

At that time, he had been sulking and hadn’t spoken much to Mu Chi or paid attention to who Mu Chi was eating with, but Mu Chi had insisted on switching out the dishes on his table. Shi Mu, just like Xu Chu, must have been confused.

Remembering this, Song Wenzhou smiled awkwardly, “Sorry about that.”

“No, no,” Shi Mu quickly said, “I’ve only been with the company for a short time, but I’ve already heard a lot about you.”

“Really?” Song Wenzhou became interested. “What did they say about me?”

Shi Mu laughed and said, “Some people said they saw President Mu standing outside the company early, waiting for you to pick him up after work. Others said that President Mu wouldn’t let the front desk deliver the takeout you ordered for him to his office, insisting on picking it up himself, and then walking around the office area before going back. And…”

Shi Mu paused for a moment before continuing, “The thing they talk about most is how President Mu was showing off his affection right in front of them.”

Song Wenzhou turned red with embarrassment, not knowing how to react. He could only awkwardly laugh a few times and quickly changed the topic, inwardly cursing Mu Chi.

The two of them gradually became less awkward and chatted casually, using the opportunity to find a dining companion at the banquet, which helped avoid awkward small talk with strangers and prevented Song Wenzhou from seeming out of place by sitting alone.

Mu Chi returned about an hour later, and to Song Wenzhou’s surprise, he came back with Xu Chu, looking quite harmonious.

These two aren’t supposed to get along, so how did they end up together?

Before Song Wenzhou could voice his confusion, Xu Chu threw him a flirtatious glance and quickly disappeared into the crowd, chatting cheerfully.

Song Wenzhou had no choice but to turn his attention to Mu Chi. However, Mu Chi didn’t engage with him either, casually taking the juice from his hand and drinking it all in one go. “Are you full? If you’re tired of being here, we can head home.”

Song Wenzhou thought Mu Chi’s business must be settled. Plus, they were originally just here to join the crowd. There was no need to stay any longer, so he nodded and said, “Let’s go home.”

At an apartment in a certain neighborhood, in the kitchen.

Song Wenzhou stared blankly at the small bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot, unable to process how, in just a short span of minutes, he had ended up standing by a pot of boiling water, waiting to cook noodles.

After leaving the banquet hall, out of politeness, Song Wenzhou asked if Shi Mu needed a ride. After Shi Mu politely declined, he left with Mu Chi, who had already climbed into the passenger seat.

On the way, Mu Chi used his tried-and-true tactic—pretending to be “drunk,” complaining that he didn’t want to go back to an empty house and wanted to sit at Song Wenzhou’s apartment.

Since the apartment wasn’t far away, and Song Wenzhou had always been accommodating toward Mu Chi recently, he didn’t hesitate, turned the car around, and drove smoothly into the neighborhood, parking behind his Lexus.

Mu Chi got out of the car first, acting as though he were at his own home, moving swiftly without a hint of drunkenness.

Okay, if he wanted to sit, Song Wenzhou accompanied him on the couch for twenty minutes, during which he refilled three glasses of water.

Both had already had quite a bit of juice and alcohol at the banquet, and after a few glasses of water, they both had to visit the restroom twice.

After such an ordeal, Mu Chi, seeing that Song Wenzhou was showing no signs of being interested in him, helplessly covered his stomach and collapsed onto the couch.

Song Wenzhou immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Do you not feel well?”

Mu Chi nodded weakly, “I was so focused on drinking earlier that I didn’t eat anything. My stomach hurts a bit.”

“Ah.” Song Wenzhou responded, wondering why he was clutching his stomach for stomach pain.

But he didn’t want to point it out. Instead, he asked, “Should I get you some stomach medicine?”

He had suffered from severe stomach problems in his younger years, but under Mu Chi’s attentive care, his stomach hadn’t acted up again. However, he always kept some medicine on hand just in case.

“No need,” Mu Chi’s voice became even quieter. “I think some food should help.”

And so, Song Wenzhou found himself in the kitchen, preparing to cook noodles for Mu Chi.

The bubbles in the pot grew more frequent, and Song Wenzhou pulled out some egg noodles from the cabinet above. Behind him, he heard footsteps.

Just as the cabinet door closed, the man who had been lying on the couch earlier, pretending to be sick, approached him.

Mu Chi had originally planned to play the “^[1]“old couple rekindling their romance” game refers to a playful dynamic where two people, who have a long or deep history together, act like an old married couple trying to bring back the … Continue readingold couple rekindling their romance” game until Song Wenzhou called a halt, but lately, he’d been enjoying the feeling of being constantly on Song Wenzhou’s mind. But now, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Having entered Song Wenzhou’s private space, his head filled with Song Wenzhou’s scent as he lay pretending to have stomach pain, Mu Chi couldn’t resist and rose to find Song Wenzhou, who was preparing noodles.

Just as he reached the kitchen doorway, he saw Song Wenzhou reaching into the cabinet above his head for the noodles. The hem of his shirt lifted as he moved, exposing a small patch of his lower back, pale and blinding.

Mu Chi instantly felt the alcohol hit him, and unable to stop himself, he moved closer to Song Wenzhou’s slim body, his hands instinctively circling around his waist.

The two hadn’t been this close in so long that the intimacy of their chests touching their backs made them both sigh from the heart.

The familiar scent, familiar warmth, and the perfect fit of their bodies felt almost terrifying, as though these sensations had been etched into their minds and bodies.

Mu Chi started to kiss Song Wenzhou’s hair, one kiss after another.

Song Wenzhou didn’t push him away in a dramatic manner. In fact, the moment Mu Chi pressed close, he even closed his eyes in indulgence, his fingertips trembling slightly, his knuckles turning white as they pressed against the counter.

He allowed Mu Chi’s next move.