[It’s raining in C City today]

[Is it raining? The weather has turned cooler recently. Remember to stay warm and avoid catching a cold.]

Qin Yu was mostly accustomed to this friend’s suddenly bringing up random topics. At the moment, he was still working as a part-time model at the studio. During his break, he took out his phone and saw this message from the guy.

[Too late, I’ve already caught a cold.]

This friend was like a delicate shark, probably a frail fellow in real life.

That’s what Qin Yu thought.

But out of professional courtesy, he still replied against his better judgment.

[!?]

[Have you seen a doctor?]

The other person, either confused from illness or something else, kept showing as “typing” in the chat window.

Qin Yu wasn’t considerate enough to constantly hover over his phone checking in. He didn’t indulge the other person. He locked his phone, tossed it in his pocket, and got up to prepare for the next shoot.

“Oh, Qin-ge, are you in love recently? I saw your lips curl up into a smile just now from way over here.” The girl calling him “Qin-ge” was none other than his assistant at this studio.

To be honest, when Qin Yu first started part-time modeling at this studio, he attracted quite a few young ladies there.

After all, he was tall with a good figure, above-average looks, and seemed to have a cool, aloof demeanor. How could he not fascinate a whole bunch of them?

But then, well, that was the end of it. Once they learned from Qin Yu’s own mouth that he was gay, the clear-headed sisters immediately lost interest.

Later, they interacted more during photo shoots. Oh boy, this guy may look cool on the outside, but he turned out to be quite the tsundere type¹闷骚 (mēn sāo) – (coll.) outwardly cold or retiring but deep and passionate inside– actually quite gentle and easy to get along with in daily life.

“I’m busy with work and single. Where would I find time for dating?” The money-focused Qin Yu’s statement was incredibly clearheaded.

“Well, in all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen someone so happy about work.”

Qin Yu: …

Teasing aside, there was still some tacit understanding between adults. If someone didn’t want to talk about something, they’d just gloss over it and move on.

After chatting for a while, the two of them walked into the photo studio together. A long-haired man helping adjust the camera lens noticed them approaching. He pushed his thick glasses frames back up his nose bridge and, after recognizing who had arrived, immediately waved Qin Yu over.

No choice, after all, he was the owner of this studio.

“Ah, Qin Yu, we might need to trouble you to dress a bit cooler later.”

“Mm. You mentioned that earlier.” Qin Yu nodded twice in cooperation. When they first recruited models, they had signed contracts, and the studio staff had already explained most of the shooting content to him.

“But the client has requested to increase the model’s clothing exposure a bit more than originally planned. You should be able to accept that, right?” The long-haired man scrutinized Qin Yu’s facial expression. Seeing that he was hesitating, he added another sentence.

“The client said they can add some more funds on top of the original amount. Once this shoot is finished…”

“That’s fine.” While the boss was still worried and trying to prepare him mentally, Qin Yu agreed very promptly before he could even finish speaking.

“I like your straightforwardness. Go change clothes first. I’ll clear some people out; I’m worried too many people might put some pressure on you.” The long-haired man thoughtfully instructed.

In less than half an hour, as the guy outside handed him the garments one by one through the changing room curtain, Qin Yu was already regretting his decision to his core.

It certainly was quite cool indeed. With the chilly wind howling outside, he walked out of the changing room practically wearing just a piece of cloth.

What kind of clothes were these, how did they keep getting skimpier?

When he went in, he was fully dressed, but by the time he came out, his upper body was basically the same as being naked, with no difference. At least his lower body was covered by a piece of cloth, which had become his last stand of stubbornness.

“Oh, very good, very good. Do you work out regularly? Nice physique, those muscles are quite solid.” When the long-haired man saw Qin Yu come out of the changing room, his eyes lit up at first glance. He couldn’t resist reaching out to squeeze Qin Yu’s arm muscles.

“I pay attention to that kind of training.” Qin Yu felt a strange sense of being naked at the moment, unable to convince himself to get used to it no matter how he tried.

“Eh? Qin Yu, you’re wearing this waist chain wrong. It’s not meant to go around your neck.” The long-haired man finally noticed something amiss and pointed out the oddity in Qin Yu’s outfit.

Qin Yu looked down in the direction he was pointing. The waist chain and pendant were both hanging around his neck.

Qin Yu had just been wondering why putting on today’s studio outfit went so smoothly. See, as expected, the studio maintained its previous style of being special, focusing on novelty.

Qin Yu raised his arm and unfastened the waist chain from behind his neck. He held it in his hand, hesitating for a second – just one second. A second later, Qin Yu obediently fastened the waist chain around his waist.

This waist chain was handcrafted from pure metal. The studio had put some thought into having it custom-made specially. It looked uniquely exquisite.

Today’s biggest problem might just be this waist chain.

Qin Yu secretly grumbled in his heart.

The waist chain pressed against the skin of his waist. Qin Yu didn’t mind the coolness of the metal.

The problem arose from the dangling chain pendant of this waist chain. It happened to follow Qin Yu’s tailbone downward, conveniently stopping just below the end of his tailbone, right above the cleft of his buttocks. It was a whole new kind of strange feeling, one he had never experienced so awkwardly before.

During the shoot, Qin Yu deliberately avoided making too large movements, lest the waist chain come loose and slide down further…

Really, this experience was something else.

Qin Yu took out his phone, swiped his thumb upward to quickly open the camera, and couldn’t resist taking a few photos of himself in the mirror of the changing room.

It wasn’t until the afternoon shoot ended, nearing the end of the workday, that Qin Yu walked into the changing room and changed back into his regular clothes. After finishing tasks like removing his makeup, Qin Yu finally had time to reopen WeChat, only to find that the other person had replied four hours ago.

TL Notes

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  闷骚 (mēn sāo) – (coll.) outwardly cold or retiring but deep and passionate inside