Chapter 55

Upon returning to Beijing, Su Yi’s days didn’t get any less busy. After spending so long filming at the set, now that she was back, everything was all put together.

Today she was filming Pasion’s new season’s products. Winter around the corner, so their new items were almost all boots. Su Yi found them fetching, and as she tried out, took some photos to send to Chu Ying.

[Goddess Su Yi: {Photo} {Photo} {Photo} which pair looks nicer?]

Chu Ying was having coffee with a partner. When the phone beeped, he side-eyed the message.

“Then the plans are settled. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.” The middle-aged guy sitting opposite him pushed the original documents to Chu Ying with both hands, retaining the photocopied documents. When he glanced up, however, he saw that there was a rare smile on the other’s lips. “Director Chu?”

“Yeah, leave it.”

“All right, Director Chu, I’ll send you back to the company on the way?”

“There’s no need,” Chu Ying said, “You can go first.”

“How-how can that be… I’ll-I’ll sit here with you for a while.”

He’d only just managed to get this opportunity to work with the Chu Corporation, he daren’t do anything wrong.

Chu Ying looked at the stuttering person and sighed mentally. Businessmen were more particular than the respectable families.

He got up and said, “Then I’ll go first.”

The middle-aged guy stood up, nodding and bowing. “I’ll send you out.”

“There’s no need, see you.”

Chu Ying’s strides were long, and it didn’t take him a few steps to be very far away.

The moment he exited the restaurant, he stopped and replied to the messages before getting into the car.

In the changing room.

“Pasion’s shoes are getting too much,” Wu Xue said with disgust. “If they continue like this, they’ll lose a whole bunch of female customers.”

Su Yi had just tried a pair of white long boots that just reached her knees, causing her legs to look extra shapely. Wu Xue really liked it, and tried it too.

It covered her entire thigh.

Su Yi held back her laughter. “Who asked you to try out my size?”

“They didn’t bring any other sizes.”

Right then, the phone buzzed and Su Yi took a look.

[Chu Ying: They all look nice.]

[Chu Ying: Buy them all.]

Su Yi hid the curve on the corner of her lips and used the other hand to reply.

[Goddess Su Yi: It’s a brand I’m advertising for. Any new products that I like they’ll mail them to me directly, aren’t I really easy on your wallet {light a cigarette.jpg}]

[Chu Ying: Mhmm, yeah.]

“Stop playing on your phone.” Wu Xue hurried her. “The set is all ready, don’t make the crew wait for too long.”

“Coming.” Su Yi hurriedly replied with an emoji and said that she was working before stashing her phone away and jogging out of the changing room.

The guy in charge of Pasion here in China was an Englishman named Allen. He really loved this country. In the few years he’d spent here, he hadn’t just made a lot of Chinese friends, he spoke Chinese really well too. There’s just a very strong western accent to it, making it really funny to listen to.

Allen was outside discussing something with the photographer. When he saw Su Yi, he said with surprise, “Oh, Yi, you really look too good.”

Wu Xue had once said, the only reason Pasion chose her as their representative was because of Allen’s choice, so Su Yi had always been grateful to this guy.

She went up to hug him once with a smile. “It’s been a while – your Chinese has improved again.”

“You too,” Allen said with a smile. “You’ve become prettier.”

“Thanks.” Su Yi left the embrace with a smile, turning her head to look at the photographer. “Can we start?”

Although she was wearing only thin jeans, she had on also a white down jacket. The hat that came with the jacket was all furry, surrounding her neck– in the indoors, it really was quite warm.

“Yeah,” the photographer said. “I heard that you sprained your ankle last time you did a photoshoot?”

Being able to sprain her ankle while during a photoshoot really sounded quite ridiculous. “Is your circle so small – no good deeds leave the area, but every the illhappening is spread to one and all?” Su Yi jested.

“Haha, relax, this time before the shoot we’ve checked all the props for the set.”

After the friendly banter, things officially began.

Winter was nearing and Su Yi hadn’t the time to get this done earlier on, so the individual items that had accumulated were quite a many. On top of that, the brand itself had a high requirement for the standards of the resulting photos, so the photoshoot ran all the way till six in the evening.

After taking off the last pair of shoes, she sprawled over Wu Xue. “I want to go home barefoot, can I?”

“Stop joking,” Wu Xue scolded laughingly. “Hurry and get up, there’s a new French restaurant near my place, I’ll take you to try it.”

Since An Xuan left, Wu Xue’s standards for an assistant had turned extremely high. Up until now there was no suitable choice, so Wu Xue took up the position for the time being.

“Didn’t you say that when we’re back in Beijing, you’ll choose someone new to take care of? Why are you still following me around all the time?” Su Yi said while changing.

Wu Xue helped her zip up the back. “What’s the problem? Finding me annoying?”

“No,” Su Yi said. “Aren’t I just afraid that you’re going to get bored, Superwoman.”

Wu Xue sneered. “I’m helping you clean up your mess all the time, how’d I get bored!”

Su Yi wasn’t willing to give in. “Look at what you’re saying – I’ve been so obedient recently.”

“You’ve more work now, it is about time you became more obedient.” It’s hard to say what she thought of, but Wu Xue’s lips curved. “I’m not sure if it’s because everything was so turbulent the past few months, the calm this recent half a month is making me feel a bit nervous.”

Su Yi finished changing and knocked her on the head. “Don’t curse me. Come on, let’s go eat.”

Because it wasn’t some job to be done outside, Wu Xue didn’t contact the nanny car. Instead she drove here herself.

They had just reached the parking lot when they met Allen waiting by the lift.

Seeing them, he said with a smile, “Hi ladies, you’re finally here.”

Su Yi asked, “What’s it, do you have something?”

Allen was in a suit, a hand folded across his abdomen – he really resembled a gentleman. “Yi, I would like to invite you to have a meal together.”

Wu Xue said with a smile, “I’m sorry, she has been booked by me.”

“It’s okay.” Allen’s smile widened. “Being able to invite two beautiful ladies together is my pleasure.”

Seeing that Su Yi didn’t speak, he continued and said, “There’s some work-related matters.”

In the end they both got onto Allen’s car and went to the French restaurant Wu Xue spoke of. It was a very classy place, playing some elegant piano pieces. There weren’t that many seats, and everyone spoke softly. The atmosphere was great.

After ordering, Allen asked with a smile, “Yi, I heard that you are dating a boy?”

For some reason, when hearing Allen call Chu Ying a ‘boy’, Su Yi wanted to laugh.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“What a pity.” Allen pretended to sigh in disappointment. “If I had known that you planned to date, I should have gotten to this earlier. What’s the ancient saying here in China? It’s… good to go first?”

Wu Xue laughed too. “It’s better to go first.”

Allen nodded. “Yes, that’s how it goes.”

“What do you mean by ‘plan to date’?” Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not an advocate for staying single, Allen.”

“Heavens, I’ve always thought you were!” Allen said, “After all, you’re so pretty and never dated a guy before.”

Wu Xue felt that she was being brainwashed by the word ‘pretty’.

Foreigners had a completely different metric for what they considered pretty – the Asians those Westerners liked were basically tiny eyed with thick lips, whereas the Chinese loved a wide-eyed beauty. While Su Yi was an exception, there was a foreign website that ranked ‘Asian Pretty Faces’, and she topped the list. Around the time, the comments from China were also surprisingly good, with the Chinese being very willing to acknowledge it. Such a trend was unheard of when it came to other female celebrities before.

Su Yi thanked him politely, sipped some lemon water and asked, “You said there’s some work to discuss, what’s it?”

Allen got straight to the point. “You know, our contract is ending next year. These few years Pasion and I were both very satisfied with you. I wish to continue the contract and I’ve already informed the main offices of my opinions, so… do you have any thoughts?”

Pasion had signed Su Yi before she became famous, bringing her a huge number of opportunities and increasing the public’s awareness of her. If she said no now, it’d appear that she was too ungrateful. Besides, it was a rather good brand too, especially in the recent years; it was clearly going uphill in the country.

Before she could speak, Wu Xue spoke up.

“Allen, you should know, our company had been bought. The management team has changed and the decisions that can be made aren’t in our hands. I’ll have to discuss with the company before being able to give you a reply.”

Since she put it very officially, Allen didn’t understand everything, but he did catch the important part.

“Of course, I’ll wait for your reply.” After saying that, he looked at Su Yi gently again. “Yi, you really won’t consider me?”

Su Yi’s hands stilled and she didn’t react in time. “Hmm?”

“I mean, dump that little boy and be with me.” Allen winked at her. “I can be a very good boyfriend.”

Although she had heard that foreigners were very open about relationships, Su Yi didn’t expect him to be so straightforward.

She smiled, getting ready to reject him.

“I’m really good.” Allen didn’t want to give up. “In all the ways, I’m better than a Chinese boy.”

Even Wu Xue was shocked. This was him trying to dig up the cornerstone in broad daylight?

Su Yi smiled faintly, cleanly saying, “Allen, I really love my boyfriend.”

“Oh, what a pity!” Although he said so, his expression remained unchanged. “Nevermind, I’m willing to wait. If someday you guys break up, come find me anytime.”

Su Yi frowned lightly. “Allen, we’re just friends.”

Seeing her expression a little off, Allen raised both hands. “Ok, ok, I’m just giving you another option. Yi, you can try before deciding.”

“— No need.”

The food was carried over. Su Yi ate quickly, wanting to leave as soon as she finished.

Mid-way, Allen got up and said, “I’m going to the washroom.”

He had just left Wu Xue tsked. “Usually this isn’t as obvious – why is Allen so showy and always praising himself, please, Director Chu leaves him behind miles.”

Su Yi didn’t say anything, and just nodded to indicate her agreement.

Wu Xue asked, “What say you, do you want to continue with Pasion?”

To be honest, after all this, Su Yi really didn’t want to continue. Allen was Pasion’s person-in-charge in China. If she continued, she couldn’t avoid running into him while working in the future.

She shook her head. “I’ve no idea, let’s hear what the company has to say.”

Allen was gone for too long. When he returned, he was holding his cheeks, his expression as ugly as it could get. Looking carefully, it’s possible to see that both sides of his face had swollen.

Wu Xue said with slight surprise, “Allen, this –“

“Chinese guys are all barbarians.” Allen was so angry he repeated the word he’d just learnt, not caring if the meaning was right. “There was a guy just now who hit me without saying a word.”

Su Yi was also taken aback. The corner of Allen’s mouth was bleeding slightly, so she handed him the napkin by her hand. “Do you need us to call the police for you?”

“There’s no need.” Allen gritted his teeth. The guy hadn’t just hit him, he’d given him a calling card too. The name of the company on the card was very familiar. He knew that he couldn’t afford to go against the other and could only keep quiet. “Take it that I got unlucky.”

Su Yi was about to ask something when she felt a pair of big hands on her face. Then the guy’s familiar voice sounded from above.

“If you continue harassing her, it’s not as simple as getting beaten up anymore.”

Su Yi’s heart skipped, and with a “Xiu–” she retrieved the napkin she was in the midst of passing over.