“Taking body measurements, do I need to take off my clothes too?”
“We need precision down to the decimal point. It is more accurate without clothes.” Mu Nian blinked his clever, expressive eyes and smiled. “What is wrong? We are both guys. Are you shy?”
Bai Shijin let out a heavy sigh, and his long-fingered hand reached for his shirt buttons.
Mu Nian watched him unbutton his shirt from the corner of his eye, feeling a tingly, strange sensation wash over him.
He had taken measurements for so many people, but never like this, so nervous that his fingers curled slightly.
Could it be that Bai Shijin’s flushed earlobes were throwing him off?
Mu Nian quietly gazed at Bai Shijin unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, and after watching for a while, he finally understood where his own restlessness was coming from.
Bai Shijin’s hands were suggestive.
In a sensual way.
Mu Nian had actually already seen Bai Shijin’s upper body through a layer of soaked clothes, and even though he knew the young man had a great physique, he still could not help gasping when it was fully exposed.
Do kids these days really develop this well?
His shoulders, chest muscles, and waistline were just right. He was not even making any alluring movements, yet he was simply extremely sexy.
Mu Nian was suddenly struck with inspiration, while simultaneously feeling a sense of guilt.
He was a man with a boyfriend. How could he? He really should not be thinking like this.
Mu Nian forced himself to remain calm. With cool fingers gripping the soft tape measure, skilled and professional, he slid it from Bai Shijin’s left shoulder to his right and noted down the number.
When his fingertips brushed against his chest, Bai Shijin felt a wave of itchiness as Mu Nian’s fingernails left a faint scratch on his skin.
“Sorry.”
Seeing that subtle patch of pink, Mu Nian lowered his eyelashes in deep frustration. Right now, he could not even perform his most practiced skill properly and had almost hurt his model.
Bai Shijin did not feel any pain and gently replied that it was fine.
Anxious to finish and put an end to this torture, Mu Nian sped up his movements.
“Raise your arms.”
Moving downward, he circled Bai Shijin’s waist. As he reached to hook the tape measure, his ear brushed against Bai Shijin’s chest.
“Quiet.”
Mu Nian quickly pulled away, but he still caught the sound of Bai Shijin’s rapid heartbeat: thump, thump, thump.
It seemed faster than a normal heartbeat, though Mu Nian could not be entirely sure.
After finishing the waist measurement, Bai Shijin asked, “Do I need to take off my pants?”
“No.”
Mu Nian definitely did not want to bump into anything else he should not.
Hastily wrapping up the hip measurement, he turned his face away.
Something that usually took a minute to finish was dragged out into a full three minutes.
After putting his clothes back on, Bai Shijin stood to the side, watching Mu Nian write and sketch.
Mu Nian gave a cover-up cough and said, “We need to prepare three versions of outfits for this upcoming project. The first one is the set that Qin Fan wore during the audition. What do you think?”
“The clothes are nice.”
But the person who wore them was not.
“Would you like to try them on?” Mu Nian asked. “I have already asked Qin Fan to return them.”
Bai Shijin muttered quietly, “I am a bit of a germaphobe. I do not want to wear something Ye Qin Fan has worn.”
Mu Nian had not expected the usually easygoing Bai Shijin to refuse, but he understood and said, “Alright, I will make a brand-new version for you.”
Mu Nian pulled out a color swatch and held it next to Bai Shijin’s face to check if any colors did not suit his skin tone. After testing for a while, he could not find a single disastrous match.
Bai Shijin’s face seemed immune to bad colors.
Lifting his gaze, Mu Nian noticed the heavy dark circles under the young man’s eyes and asked casually, “Did you not sleep well last night?”
Bai Shijin had spent most of last night’s mind-wandering awake and barely slept at all.
“Yeah, Ye Qin Fan did not come back to the dorm last night, and I was a bit scared being alone, so I only fell asleep in the middle of the night.”
“What?” Mu Nian’s eyes were filled with surprise. “Qin Fan did not return to the dorm?”
“Really.”
Bai Shijin frowned. “You did not know? Wasn’t he with you last night? I even saw him post on WeChat Moments.”
“Seeing that it was getting late, I dropped him off at the school and watched him walk inside before I left. He really did not go back to his dorm?”
Bai Shijin paused.
Which meant the two of them had not stayed together last night?
The fog in his heart cleared, and Bai Shijin’s voice rose excitedly, “No, and he even skipped morning class.”
“This kid is really something, never letting people catch a break.” Mu Nian turned around to grab his phone from his coat pocket. “Let me call and ask, just in case something happened.”
Just as Mu Nian pulled out his phone, the door to the cutting room was pushed open.
Both of them looked over simultaneously.
Jiang Qiong was wearing a pair of sunglasses indoors. Striding in forcefully, he slowly took them off and swept his eyes up and down over Bai Shijin with a malicious gaze. Seeing that Bai Shijin was taller, better-looking, and had a better figure than him, his imposing aura instantly shrunk by half.
Mu Nian’s eyes darkened. “Jiang Qiong, what are you doing here?”
Shifting his gaze from Bai Shijin to Mu Nian, Jiang Qiong said slowly, “I heard from people in the company that no model was willing to participate in President Mu’s project, and that President Mu was driven to desperate straits, so he found a college student. Is this him?”
Mu Nian asked, “Got a problem with that?”
Jiang Qiong gave a flippant look. “He is passable. President Mu has decent taste. Well, I wish your project success.”
“Thanks,” Mu Nian said, his voice neither warm nor cold, devoid of emotion. “Now that you have given your blessing, please head out. This is not a place for you.”
Feigning ignorance of Mu Nian’s words, Jiang Qiong continued, “President Qin told me that President Mu will not be using me for any future projects. I came to confirm if that is true.”
“It is true,” Mu Nian said. “I despise people who play tricks behind my back the most. We agreed on a photoshoot for this afternoon, but my team waited in the studio for half an hour without receiving a single message from you. When we sent someone to check, we found out you were not coming because Qin Quan borrowed you. Did you think I was some kind of idiot who could not tell that you and Qin Quan had planned this all along?”
“Since that is the case, I feel our ties are completely severed, and I do not want to see you ever again. Do you have any objections?”
“Not a single one.” Acting completely unbothered, Jiang Qiong clapped his hands.
The photographers, lighting crew, and wardrobe staff waiting outside rushed in all at once, taking up half of the cutting room.
Mu Nian glanced at them and asked, “What are you trying to do?”
Lazily playing with his fingernails, Jiang Qiong replied, “President Mu, I am here today for two reasons. First, to let you know that it is not that President Mu is not using me, but that I refuse to participate in your project. And second, the lighting in this cutting room is quite nice. This afternoon, I will be doing my shoot right here.”
“So I must ask President Mu to take your things and your people, and get out of here.”
Bai Shijin clenched his fists. Just as he was about to speak, Mu Nian stopped him and said, “There are so many photography studios in the company. Do you really have to shoot in the cutting room?”
“Yes. President Mu, hurry up and leave. Do not waste my time.”
A flash of icy chill crossed Mu Nian’s eyes, and he let out a cold scoff, “What if I refuse to leave?”
“I actually anticipated that,” Jiang Qiong said with a sinister smile. “President Mu is proud and haughty, looking down on everyone. So before coming here, I specifically consulted President Qin. President Qin said our team has a partnership with the Duan family, and as long as President Mu has not secured a more powerful project and stubbornly refuses to cooperate, it constitutes a breach of contract.”
“Agreed.”
From the moment Jiang Qiong started speaking, Mu Nian’s body had been trembling slightly. Now, finding it hard to stand, he pressed his hand against Bai Shijin’s arm for support.
“Brother Mu!”
Bai Shijin turned his head to see beads of sweat on Mu Nian’s temples and his face turned unusually, deathly pale.