It felt as if they had just heard something utterly absurd.
Everyone present looked at each other, exchanging glances, unable to speak for a moment.
Had they heard that right?
The second young master of the Duan family wanted to shoot for a magazine?
Wasn’t he someone who wouldn’t even accept interviews from financial magazines?
How could he possibly be interested in an entertainment magazine?
“Second Young Master?” Even the photographer doubted his own ears, speaking cautiously. “We’re working here, not fooling around.”
“Who’s fooling around with you?” As Duan Zhuo spoke, he had already walked under the spotlight. “Don’t you want your magazine to sell out? Isn’t my popularity higher than some girl’s?”
A magazine capable of inviting Duan Xingning to shoot a cover already had strong connections and reputation. Its sales were guaranteed to be good.
But if Duan Zhuo were added to the mix—
Sales would only increase.
Even though he wasn’t part of the entertainment industry, he still had a massive number of admirers and fans.
If the two brothers appeared together in a magazine, two stunningly handsome men—even if they wore sacks, people would still buy it.
Just imagining the future sales made all the staff present grin widely.
Once they confirmed it wasn’t a dream, the photographer had no reason to refuse. He immediately cast An Li aside and focused entirely on photographing the two brothers.
Duan Zhuo had always disliked his older brother, Duan Xingning. At home, he ignored him; outside, he was sarcastic. But at this moment, he had no choice but to show a bit of brotherly harmony and smile at the camera.
The photographer originally wanted them to pose with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
But when he saw Duan Zhuo raise his middle finger at Duan Xingning—
He immediately knew that was impossible.
A rivalry between heirs.
They would probably start fighting the moment they touched each other.
So most of their shots ended up being shoulder to shoulder, each looking at a different camera, minding their own business.
After finishing one set, Duan Zhuo didn’t want to stay a second longer. He walked straight toward An Li.
She was lowering her head, organizing the documents in her hands, her focused expression quiet and serious.
When she noticed the light being blocked, she looked up and met Duan Zhuo’s lazy, tired eyes. “Finished already?”
“Mm. I got injured.”
“Injured? Where?” She was surprised. She had followed the shoot the entire time and hadn’t seen him get hurt.
“A work injury. Had to take photos with someone I hate.”
An Li was taken aback. “You dislike your brother that much?”
“Yeah. Serious work injury after the shoot.” He leaned closer. “I need my girlfriend to kiss me to recover.”
Although the scene was a bit chaotic, there were too many people and too many eyes watching.
The moment he leaned in, An Li reflexively raised an A4 sheet to block him.
Duan Zhuo hadn’t actually intended to kiss her, but he hadn’t expected her to resist so strongly.
He pulled away the paper, folded it into a paper airplane, and casually tossed it aside. “With that move, your boyfriend now has not only a work injury but also a heartbreak.”
An Li lowered her head. “…Stop messing around. There are so many people here. What if someone sees?”
“So what you’re saying is, we should find somewhere private to kiss?” Duan Zhuo smiled faintly. “My heart is seriously wounded. It’ll take a few hundred kisses to heal.”
“You… you…”
Utter nonsense.
Pushing his luck.
At that moment, Duan Xingning’s voice came from not far away. “An Li.”
An Li immediately stood up. “Ah… I’m here.”
Duan Xingning hadn’t come to find her for anything else. Although today’s shoot had barely been completed, An Li’s mistake this time was a major work error, and he couldn’t ignore the reason behind it.
He was a singer with a packed schedule. If he was late, it would affect all his other work.
An Li naturally understood this and lowered her head apologetically. “I’m sorry, Brother Xingning. I thought today’s arrangements had been handed over to Miss Wen.”
“Handed over to her?”
“Miss Wen said she wanted to spend more time with you, so she told me to take a day off and that she would act as your assistant and handle your schedule.”
“Is that so? She didn’t tell me anything.”
Duan Xingning’s gaze held suspicion, but An Li didn’t seem to be lying.
Those who knew her well understood she wasn’t good at lying either.
So what had actually caused this situation?
An Li couldn’t figure it out either. “Maybe Miss Wen forgot about today’s schedule since it’s her first time being an assistant. Should I go ask her?”
But she didn’t even have Wen Shuyi’s contact information. If she had known, she would have added her on WeChat last time instead of just handing over the documents.
That afternoon, An Li and Duan Xingning returned to Star Sound Studio. Duan Zhuo followed along, claiming he was there to inspect the workplace.
After all, he was the boss. An Li couldn’t exactly chase him away.
And Duan Zhuo did appear to seriously look through the financial reports—
Though his attention wasn’t really on them.
It was on An Li.
She had thought that once they returned to the studio, they could clear things up with Wen Shuyi.
But when faced with Duan Xingning’s questioning, Wen Shuyi looked completely confused. “What work? I don’t know anything about that.”
“Miss Wen, don’t you remember? Yesterday, you said I could take a day off and that you would be Brother Xingning’s assistant and arrange his schedule…” An Li patiently explained.
“Did I?” Wen Shuyi maintained a polite smile. “I don’t recall that at all.”
“But… you did. I even gave you the schedule…”
“I’m sorry, I really don’t remember anything like that.” Wen Shuyi waved her hands repeatedly.
“But…” An Li grew anxious. “I really did give it to you. I even wanted to add you on WeChat…”
“Is there any chat record as proof?” Duan Xingning asked.
An Li froze and shook her head.
Wen Shuyi had said there was no need to add her—just print it out and give it to her directly.
That meant there were no chat records to prove anything.
And when the handover happened, there had been no one else around.
Which meant that as long as Wen Shuyi denied it, An Li had no way to defend herself.
Because on the surface, this was indeed her work mistake.
“An Li.” Duan Xingning rubbed his temples. “Let’s end this matter here. Don’t let this kind of mistake happen again.”
He still didn’t scold her, but the meaning was clear.
He didn’t believe her.
“I… I…” An Li twisted the corner of her clothes with her fingers, her lips trembling, her throat feeling stuffed with cotton, unable to explain. “I…”
The other band members waved it off.
“Alright, stop lying. It’s not a big deal.”
“Let’s just let this pass. An Li, just be more careful next time.”
“Yeah, be more careful. Don’t waste everyone’s time again.”
“Exactly. We almost made a wasted trip today.”
The seemingly joking accusations came one after another.
An Li’s mind buzzed.
It wasn’t like this.
She clearly remembered Wen Shuyi taking over the work and personally telling her to take the day off.
“This matter isn’t entirely An Li’s fault. I share some responsibility too.”
Suddenly, Wen Shuyi softly interjected.
She explained, “It’s because I didn’t hear clearly when An Li and I discussed the handover that this misunderstanding happened. If you want to blame someone, blame me.”
If that were the case, then the responsibility didn’t fall entirely on An Li.
But Wen Shuyi was Duan Xingning’s fiancée.
No one in the band would blame her.
With Wen Shuyi smoothing things over like this, Duan Xingning couldn’t say much either. “You just joined the studio and don’t understand things yet. How could I blame you?”
“But I still feel responsible.” Wen Shuyi lightly bit her lip, her voice soft. “It’s all my fault. If you’re angry, you can scold me.”
She was new here. Even if it truly was her fault, so what?
She was Duan Xingning’s fiancée.
No matter how big the mistake, she would be forgiven.
And Duan Xingning would never truly blame her.
At that moment, a sharp, abrupt male voice cut through the air—
“Wow. That’s some strong green tea energy.”
Everyone turned in unison.
Leaning against the wall, Duan Zhuo held a teacup in his long fingers, leisurely tilting the lid as he spoke, “I’m just drinking tea. Why are you all looking at me?”