Chapter 39
The winter sun was mild and not harsh. It penetrated through the thick glass of the greenhouse and shone on the blooming flowers. The gorgeous red, elegant white, fresh yellow and elegant purple decorated the greenhouse in a sea of flowers.
In such a beautiful and magnificent sea, a gentle and handsome young man was slightly bent over and smelling a delicate white lily. He had a handsome and noble temperament, attracting the eyes of everyone who saw him.
Even if it wasn't Xi Ze, there was no one who wouldn't appreciate such a beautiful picture.
There was a flash of light through Xi Ze's mind that gave him a fantastic feeling.
Ming Yu had long discovered Xi Ze's arrival. He was somewhat astonished about why the other person would show up again today, but he didn't show it. Instead, he slowly put down the lily in his hand and asked, "Didn't you come this morning?"
At this point, Xi Ze had already restored his expression. His thin lips curved slightly as he moved forward. "But I haven't come this afternoon."
Ming Yu had already experienced his man's overbearing and willful nature during the past three days. He wasn't angry. Rather, he was faintly happy. This showed that the other person really thought of him as a friend, and no longer treated him politely.
Ming Yu took out a carnation from a vase and asked, "Do you like flowers?"
There was a moment of silence and Xi Ze gently nodded. "Yes."
After this sentence, Ming Yu raised some flowers for Xi Ze to smell, using his opinions as a reference.
The two people had a tacit understanding while holding the flowers, like they were old friends who didn't need words.
By the time they walked towards the end of the greenhouse, Ming Yu was already holding a large bouquet of flowers in his hand. Red, yellow, purple and white decorated the hands of the young man. Ming Yu placed them in a vase and prepared to leave the greenhouse.
"I am going to prepare for the spring and summer high-end fashion shows early next year." The man's low and magnetic voice rang out in the quiet greenhouse. He paused and continued, "I am afraid I will be very busy in the upcoming months. Do you want tickets for the show?"
Ming Yu held the heavy vase and thought for a moment before asking, "Are you giving me an invitation as a friend?"
Xi Ze raised an eyebrow. "You can have two tickets if you want."
Ming Yu naturally know the significance of Xi Ze's promise.
'Ji and Ya' held fashion shows four times a year. It represented the world's top aesthetic standards and often led the fashion trends for this year and the next few years. Many people dreamt of receiving these invitations. However, it wasn't easy to get even if a person had money.
Now, Ji and Ya's chief designer and creative director promised to definitely give him two invitations. There were no traces of exaggeration in these words, but Ming Yu felt like they were too heavy and went beyond the boundaries of friends.
Thus, he shook his head and said. "If it isn't convenient, I will be very grateful for one."
The two people spoke while walking towards the door. They had just arrived at the door when Xi Ze gently sneezed, causing Ming Yu to look over with surprise. "Do you have a cold?"
He looked closely at the handsome man's face. He didn't know when, but a small red dot had appeared at the corner of the left eye. Xi Ze coughed twice, then shook his head. "It isn't a cold. It is probably a little pollen allergy."
Ming Yu heard these words and suddenly stopped, looking at the man with amazement.
Xi Ze noticed the youth's sudden stop and did the same, turning to look at him.
There was a long silence before Ming Yu slowly sighed and said softly, "Since you have a pollen allergy, you should've told me when I asked you to help me select flowers. You didn't need to help me."
Ming Yu was very confident in Xi Ze's aesthetic level and discerning eyesight, so he let Xi Ze help with choosing flowers. But he never would've done it if he knew that this man had a pollen allergy.
In Ming Yu's mind, Xi Ze wasn't someone who would hurt himself to help others.
The man's deep and dark eyes gazed at him before Xi Ze gently nodded and explained. "It isn't a very serious allergy. This much contact isn't a problem, so I didn't think much of it."
Ming Yu replied with some remorse, "It is my fault so tonight I will invite you to dinner as an apology. I also want to thank you for helping me pick flowers."
Xi Ze naturally didn't refuse this invitation.
That evening, the two people had a meal in a random French restaurant. Then Xi Ze took the initiative to send Ming Yu home. It was like any ordinary friends, with Xi Ze not crossing any lines with his behaviour.
Ming Yu got out of the car, the two people said 'goodbye' and Xi Ze drove away.
The delicate and cheerful youth stood in the cold moonlight in front of the tranquil apartments, watching the black Aston Martin depart. Ming Yu didn't look away when the car completely disappeared around the corner, still staring solemnly at where it disappeared.
Approximately three minutes later, as the cold winter wind blew, the youth turned and walked into his apartment building.
Ming Yu always believed that this man, like himself, was full of self-confidence and seemingly gentle, but he was actually difficult to get close to.
In his last life, he had lived at the top of the fashion industry like today's Xi Ze. Each of their decisions led to many variables, and many crooked people wanted to use them as shortcuts to climb up.
In this life, Ming Yu had only Zhao Rui and Luo Ru in the ranks of his own people, counting them as friends. The former was really good to him, while the latter was clever and did everything for him.
But XI Ze, he wasn't considered under Ming Yu's category of his 'own people.'
Ming Yu used to think that this person was very similar to him. The two people should get along, so he agreed to be the other person's friend. But as he got to know the other person, he found that he couldn't always take everything calmly and even became childish at times.
It seemed that this person was his nemesis.
Originally, Ming Yu intended to keep a distance from Xi Ze when he discovered that this person wasn't like him. However, this afternoon, when he saw the man who had a red dot on his face because of allergies and even sneezing, he felt the deepest part of his heart softening and he could no longer refuse this person.
Only he knew how low the possibility was for people like them to harm themselves for the sake of others. Now, Xi Ze did it for him, so Ming Yu couldn't help being moved.
Due to this empathy, it was absolutely impossible for Ming Yu to harm Xi Ze.
"Xi Ze… what type of person are you?"
The words of the youth were covered up by the thick darkness and no one heard it.
On the other hand, Ming Yu didn't know that the man who just left the apartment in his car received a call. His agent was urgently begging on his knees on the other end of the phone. "I'm begging you, I'm begging you! Master Xi, Lord Xi, my ancestor! Can't you come back quickly? This side is almost done and the fashion show is in two months, are you trying to court disaster?"
Xi Ze listened to Ding Bo's desperate voice on the phone and whispered, "I will go back tomorrow." He paused and added, "I won't leave for a long period of time until this spring and summer show is over.”
Ding Bo was surprised by the unexpected words and asked, "Don't you want to pursue your muse?"
Xi Ze turned the steering wheel and asked, "Haven't I been pursuing him for the past three days?"
Ding Bo, “…”
Of course, Ding Bo knew that Xi Ze was pursuing him.
Ding Bo knew Xi Ze for more than 10 years and had never seen him so devoted to somebody. Xi Ze choose to abandon his job for one person, spending three days to explore his job site.
It wasn't his style at all!
Xi Ze didn't hide his whereabouts, generously letting 'Xi Ze came to Ming Yu's job site every day' spread through the entire fashion industry and even the entertainment industry.
What type of behaviour was this? It was him saying—
『 Ming Yu is someone I am taking care of. Before moving against him, please think clearly. 』
Was he mistaken?
Ding Bo and Shen Xiang never received such good judgment! How lucky was it to be protected under Xi Ze's wings!
Not to mention Xi Ze telling Shen Xiang to promote Ming Yu to the highest level in Muse!
This meant that even if Ming Yu had the strength of a slag, he would be able to smoothly rise in the fashion industry!
Of course, this was just an example. If Ming Yu wasn't strong, it wouldn't be possible for Xi Ze to notice him.
This might be the case, but it still made Ding Bo feel depressed for a long time. The feeling similar to being 'killed on a beach' made him asked, "You have been pursuing him for three days. You haven't obtained the muse, so do you intend to give up?"
Xi Ze laughed as if he heard something funny on the phone. Ding Bo was confused for a while, until the man's low and magnetic voice passed through the phone.
"For three days, I have loosened his heart. From now on, he will always remember the name 'Xi Ze' and have placed myself on a different level from others. He didn't agree to my invitation, but he will be my model sooner or later. After these positive days, there needs to be a cold period. I can't be a stalker forever. Ding Bo, your cultural standards probably aren't high enough. Have you ever heard these words?"
Ding Bo's mouth twitched while feeling sorry for the small model in his heart. 'You actually provoked such a black-bellied scum.'
Ding Bo asked, "What words?"
Xi Ze paused for a moment before saying, "Warm water will boil a frog."
Ding Bo, "…Ah, I'm really sorry towards Ming Yu. Aren't you too bad? The other person sees you as a friend, but you are still being calculating. Xi Ze, you really are too heartless. Fortunately, I've known you for so many years…"
"Ding Bo." The man suddenly interrupted Ding Bo's words. "Who told you that I don't see him as a friend?"
Ding Bo was surprised for a moment as he listened to the other end of the phone. Xi Ze sighed and said, "I really do think of him as my friend."
The dark and enchanting night in the capital. An Aston Martin moved through traffic towards the other side of the city. In the car, the man's slender fingers gently tapped the steering wheel. The dark red steering wheel and white fingers made a sharp contrast that was difficult to look away from.
Slowly opening up that young man's heart? Making the other person his own step by step?
Xi Ze deeply sighed as he recalled the scene from this afternoon, the young man sniffing a flower with closed eyes.
In fact, he also felt like it was really difficult to maintain this friendship.
Chapter 40
Ming Yu finished shooting the lemonade ads and got a seven day holiday.
However, on the first day of his short break, Ming Yu had finished washing up in the morning when he suddenly received a message from Luo Ru telling him there was a fan surge on his official website and Weibo.
Ming Yu was a little surprised when he heard about it. After he logged into his account to look at the information, he understood exactly what had happened.
Fei Sixin's fashion show finished four days ago. Like many big-name fashion shows, Fei Sixin arranged for four or five cameras to be placed at different positions to film this fashion show. The video clip was completed in four days and posted last night to her Weibo account.
In fact, the day after the fashion show ended, a reporter asked Fei Sixin in a television interview if it was true that she 'invited Ming Yu to be her chief model.'
At that time, Fe Sixin bluntly replied, "Yes, they guessed right. Ming Yu is a model with a very high aura! His momentum is great. His qualifications might not be that deep, but he is one of the best models I have ever seen!"
This superb evaluation ignited a heated discussion online. But at the time, Ming Yu was still filming and didn't notice. After the video and photos of the fashion show were released, a much bigger discussion occurred.
The emerging photographer Lu Yue was the first to forward Fei Seixin's microblog message, while also commenting: 【 Old Fei's photography has always been powerful. Whether is it control of the lens of grasping a shift in the light, it is worthy of learning! In particular, this Xiaoyu is simply too good! When I see him in the light blue coat, I can't help thinking about his beauty! Combined with Old Fei's superb photographer techniques, this beauty is simply not human!! 】
Fei Sixin published a total of eight photos and a video.
Ming Yu might be the chief model of the show, but Fei Sixin couldn't only post photos of him. So only the first of eight phots was Ming Yu, the other six were of models and the last… it was a narcissistic selfie of Fei Sixin （*￣？￣*）～
In Ming Yu's photo, the background was a dark blue sky. A tall and handsome teenager with bare feet gazed blankly at the camera. His gaze was empty, as if he didn't know what he was doing while walking with bare feet on white feathers.
There were a few light feathers in the air. They formed a silhouette around the centre of the photo, making the youth look more ethereal, a beauty that couldn't exist in this world.
The background and clothes were the same blue colour, but the former had a depressing maturity, while the latter was a naive innocence.
In this young man, an adult calm and childlike innocence gathered together, making people unable to look away.
【 How did Ming Xiaoyu become more and more beautiful. Ahhhhh!!!! Praise, praise, praise, praise!! Master Fei’s photography is awesome! 】
【 Ming XIaoyu's eyes are hollow and this blue coat is elegant. It makes it feel different from the make coats I have seen before. I always thought that only female coats could show this pure innocence, while a man's coat is basically mature and introverted. How is Ming Xiaoyu actually making me feel maternal ahhhhh! My Xiaoyu, come hug your mother, kiss kiss ～～】
【 Don't cry, don't cry. Ming Xiaoyu, don't cry. ～～～～ 】
In addition to these comments, many people on Weibo commented on the live video of the fashion show. Many well-known industry designers, fashion critics, magazine editors and photographers expressed their opinions—
【 Wang Zhenchen river: Fei Sixin's fashion show has a total of 81 works. They are roughly divided into three categories: a cape cloak, casual clothing and jackets. After all, this is a personal fashion show and Fei Sixin hasn't established an independent label yet. Therefore, there is no obvious seasonal aspect. But based on this fashion show, I don't think she will lose to any second-tier brand. In particular, I was impressed by the chief model Ming Yu. I especially liked his green one-shoulder cloak. The designer took inspiration from Greek mythology and showed an elf-like aspect. But the most amazing thing is that Ming Yu showed the noble indifference of an elf… 】
【Li Li luoluo: Today I won't evaluate the designer's work. I will simply evaluate this fashion show. I really appreciate the chief model Ming Yu. He shines in his three appearances and he has an unconventional aura. I am a loyal fan of a 'model is side by side with the clothes.' All I can say is that Ming Yu made me notice the diamond on the corner of the cape as well as the silver pattern on the edge of the light blue coat. It is probably vines? In one word, beautiful! 】……
Ming Yu went on his weibo and found that his fans had broken through 165W. (TL: I think it is 1.65 million? But not sure and went with what the author provided) It had been more than a month since he mentioned Xi Ze on Liu Chao's Super Show' which triggered a soaring popularity. Being able to get tens of thousands of fans in a month was rare for a newcomer.
Then after Luo Ru reminded him again, Ming Yu entered his Muse official website forum.
Once he entered, Ming Yu was stunned!
The header at the top of the forum, the design was a bridge-like picture. There were photos of him from his debut to the present day, large and small, arranged in an orderly curve towards the end, where there was a light. Ming Yu didn't know what this light meant, but he couldn't help shivering.
Since his rebirth, Ming Yu had been thinking of how to better develop in this industry, how to seize opportunities and climb up. He always put himself in a busy schedule, not giving him much time to talk to his fans on the forum.
This effort made him more dazzling so that more people knew him, but it also made him very busy and not able to communicate with fans.
There definitely had to be a mixture of both. In fact, Ming Yu didn't know about it, but there were some fans in the beginning who complained that Ming Yu, unlike other models, didn't come to the forum to interact with fans.
But the next second, there are countless fans replying. LX: 【 Ming Xiaoyu is working hard to move forward, we will support him from behind! Ming Xiaoyu is busy. We have to encourage him and cheer for him, not drag on his hind legs! 】
Later, this LZ kept replying to fans, telling everyone to wish Ming Xiaoyu well and to really like him.
However, Ming Yu didn't know about this for a while.
He gazed at the distinctive header for a long time before scrolling down the phone, looking at the forum.
The forum managed by Luo Ru was very good. There was a red box at the top specifically for Ming Yu to post and leave a message for fans. But Ming Yu had only made a total of three posts.
He looked down further and saw that fans were excitedly discussing Fei Sixin's fashion show. There were 30 pages of replies. Ming Yu read for 5 minutes and turned to the next page, only for there to be another discussion page.
Ming Yu couldn't help looking.
【 LZ：Hey hey hey, there is a new resource! Children, move!!! 】
Ming Yu: …Children? Was this a city or Mount Huaguo?
【1L: 233333 New resources are really great～ I have Ming Xiaoyu's magazine photos, fashion show video as well as 'Liu Chao's Super Show. I can chew on Pei Feng's fashion show over a 100 times～～～～ New rations will make me more violent!! 】
【 2L：Ming Xiaoyu is the chief model! Really great! 】……
【35L：I have a new resource to add to the Ming Xiaoyu album! 】 【 36L: I'm asking for it! 】
【37L：360°: I will beg on my knees for it】……
Ming Yu: …What was the Ming Xiaoyu album?
Eh, this was wrong! It took him so long for him to notice. Who is Ming Xiaoyu!!!
Don't blame Ming Xiaoyu for being slow. He had been so busy that he rarely looked at his microblog and forum. He just quickly swept through the information, not seeing the words.
Moreover, even if Ming Xiaoyu looked carefully, he wouldn't discover that he was called 'Ming Xiaoyu!' Chinese had great charm. For example, studies showed that if the order of the Chinese characters wasn't all read the same. For example, when reading this sentence out loud, the words could become messy （╯＿╰）.
Anyway, Ming Yu moved through a dozen pages and finally found out what the 'Ming Xiaoyu' album was.
It was a series of videos produced and released by fans that put together his short video clips and TV appearances into a wonderful video story.
Ming Xiaoyu hurriedly had a look and found it interesting. Seeing several of his photos side by side, it unexpectedly had a feel of acting!
Was he actually improving in his acting?
…Wake up Ming Xiaoyu. This was just the great editing technology that people used.
After watching the video, Ming Yu went to the top post and posted a message.
【 New Year is coming. Ming Xiaoyu wishes you a Happy New Year～ Recently, the weather is cold so wear more clothes! ^＿^ 】
Afterwards, Ming Yu found a coat to wear, put on a pair of lambskin boots and left, not causing about the sensation that his post caused. He went downstairs and entered Zhao Rui's car, heading towards the Muse building.
It was seven days without work, so Ming Yu decided to go to the company to properly train in his acting ability. It was unlikely that he would take on too many movies or TV shows in the future, but he had to hone his acting skills to shoot advertisements or the occasional cameo.
Moreover, the present Ming Xiaoyu was really confident!
Look at that video just now. He could also act!