Chapter 80: Good Thing You Didn’t Cry

Jiang Shi grabbed a nearby orange and threw it at Cheng Ye. “Can you please shut up!” When he got back, he was going to delete that stupid novel.

But then again, Jiang Shi asked him, “Don’t you think that novel is strange?”

Cheng Ye peeled another shrimp for him. “What’s strange about it? I thought it was pretty well-written.”

“What’s good about it? The names of the main characters and the plot…” Jiang Shi mulled it over. “Could it have been written by someone who knows us?”

Cheng Ye didn’t deny his suspicion, only asking him, “Then who do you think it could be?”

That novel was full of explicit content, nothing but sex from beginning to end. Jiang Shi really couldn’t think of such a talented person among his acquaintances. Moreover, the story was set in high school, and the novel was published two years ago, around the same time he returned to Lin City, which made it even more troublesome to trace.

He kicked Cheng Ye under the table. “It must be that you offended someone, and they wrote this kind of novel to get revenge on you.”

Cheng Ye felt wronged. “It has two protagonists. How is it that I’m the one who offended someone?”

Jiang Shi said, “My personality is so good, how could I possibly offend anyone?”

Cheng Ye: “…”

Cheng Ye took the blame and wiped his hands with a napkin. “Don’t overthink it. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? It might just be a coincidence. There are many people with these names.”

The novel had long since stopped updating, and even the author was nowhere to be found. There was no way to pursue it, so Jiang Shi could only comfort himself with this thought.

After eating, it was about time for him to return to school.

As winter approached, Cheng Ye packed several winter outfits for him and bought some of his favorite snacks.

The rented house wasn’t very far from the school, only a ten-minute stroll away.

A light drizzle was falling, and Jiang Shi could see white puffs of air when he exhaled, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

He said to Cheng Ye, “Sun Tianyu contacted me again. But this time it’s not for his magazine, but for a friend of his. He thought I was suitable, so he recommended me.”

“What about the contract?”

“He sent it to me. I’ll forward it to you later.” Anyway, Cheng Ye knew more than he did. Jiang Shi would only go if Cheng Ye thought it was okay.

The contract was fine; after all this time, Sun Tianyu wouldn’t try to scam him. But Cheng Ye had a meeting on the day of the shoot, so Jiang Shi had to go by himself.

A cold front had hit Jiangcheng recently, and the temperature dropped overnight. It wasn’t even December, but Jiang Shi had already wrapped himself up like a ball.

The job Sun Tianyu had introduced was for a print model. Clothing stores of this caliber usually had regular models, but the original model had an accident and couldn’t make it. They were in a hurry to find someone, and Sun Tianyu thought of Jiang Shi.

This kind of work was simple—just stand there and display the clothes. It required no technical skill, so the pay wasn’t very high. But Jiang Shi wasn’t greedy.

A middle-aged woman in her thirties, the manager of the clothing store, greeted him. Knowing that Jiang Shi was recommended by Sun Tianyu, she received him very politely.

Jiang Shi sat on the sofa in the air-conditioned room. The sudden change from cold to warm made his face flush. He rubbed his slightly stiff hands and asked the manager, “When do we start shooting?”

The manager poured him a cup of tea. “Could you please wait a little longer? Our boss is here for an inspection today. We can start after she leaves.”

So Jiang Shi waited quietly, holding the tea.

Before coming, he had looked up information about the store. It was a popular online shop owned by a girl. The quality of the clothes was one thing, but the designs and styles were quite good. It had always been very popular and mostly hired handsome male models, which was why Sun Tianyu had thought of Jiang Shi.

While he was waiting, he heard a series of voices from outside. One of the girls’ voices was sweet and whiny, the end of her words trailing off like a little hook. “Baby, look how much I spend on these models and designers every day. So many people are crammed into this tiny room, with only a few windows. It’s so stuffy it gives me a headache all day.”

Then came a man’s voice. “I thought it was something serious. I’ll have someone buy the place next door later and have a big floor-to-ceiling window installed for you.”

Several people surrounded the pair as they walked down the corridor from a distance. Seeing them heading towards the rest area, Jiang Shi and the woman stood up.

At the front were a man and a woman. The woman was very pretty, with big eyes, a melon-seed-shaped face, and long, seaweed-like hair draped over her back. The man next to her looked a bit familiar to Jiang Shi, but he couldn’t recall who it was at the moment.

He didn’t recognize the man, but the man was clearly stunned when he saw him.

“Song Shi?”

Jiang Shi looked at him.

Several years had passed, and the people and things around him had changed dramatically. Jiang Shi had forgotten most of the people from before, but hearing him call out that name, he finally remembered who this person was.

Huo Ji’s friend, Jiang Kai Le.

Their relationship before hadn’t been great. He was one of the people who had looked down on Jiang Shi, but he had never shown it openly out of respect for Huo Ji.

Meeting again after several years, it would be a lie to say it wasn’t awkward, but Jiang Shi didn’t show it on his face. He stood up and greeted him. “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Kai Le chuckled, tightening his arm around the girl next to him. “My girlfriend owns the shop, so of course, I’m here with her for an inspection. But you, I haven’t seen you in years, but you haven’t changed much. What are you doing here?”

Jiang Shi said, “I’m here to work.”

“Work?” Jiang Kai Le raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman beside him.

The manager quickly explained, “Mr. Jiang, it’s like this. The original model had an accident, so he’s the new model we found.”

“Model…” Jiang Kai Le gave an unreadable smile and tilted his head to kiss the woman next to him. “Babe, how much does your studio have to spend to hire a model? I’m afraid our small temple is too small to accommodate such a great Buddha as Young Master Song.”

The woman’s eyes darted around. Seeing Jiang Kai Le’s expression, she seemed to understand something and giggled as she leaned against him. “It’s not that much. Our shop is small, so it’s only two or three hundred per shoot.”

“Manager Zhang, I don’t know about these things. Tell me, how much did we spend to hire him?”

The manager looked at Jiang Shi and forced an awkward smile. “Two hundred…”

“Two hundred? I thought it was two thousand.” Jiang Kai Le walked closer to Jiang Shi, sweeping his gaze over him with an almost arrogant look. “To think of how noble Young Master Song’s status was back then. Even Huo Ji couldn’t get a kind look from you. How have you fallen to being a model after just a few years?”

“Actually, strictly speaking, he can’t be considered a model, right? A person hired for two hundred yuan to shoot Taobao goods worth a few hundred. What kind of model is that?”

The face of the woman next to Jiang Kai Le turned a little ugly.

Jiang Shi, however, showed no expression. “Clothes worth thousands are clothes, and clothes worth tens are clothes. I don’t consider myself any kind of model either; it’s just a job. The pay is not for me to decide, and naturally, there’s no distinction between high and low.”

Unlike the explosive Xie Hong, Jiang Kai Le just laughed after hearing this.

“You’re as sharp-tongued as ever.”

“But, two hundred yuan isn’t even enough for one of my meals. It’s too much of a loss for our Young Master Song to work so hard all day for just this little. Since you’re Huo Ji’s friend, you’re naturally my friend too.”

He said, “How about this? I’ll add another fifty for you? Two hundred and fifty. If you think that’s too little, we can still negotiate.”

Jiang Shi picked up his jacket from the side. “It seems this store doesn’t really welcome me. I’m leaving.”

Jiang Kai Le blocked his way. “Song… oh no, Jiang Shi, it’s not me nagging, but you need to change that young master temper of yours. If you don’t have the fate of a young master, don’t throw a young master’s tantrum. For old times’ sake, I’m giving you a raise. Why are you still unhappy?”

“Fine…” Jiang Shi said. “Long time no see, you’re as annoying as ever. Why don’t I just give this two-fifty to you? This bit of money may not cover your meal, but you can buy some pig brains to supplement your own.”

“Jiang Shi, you…”

The woman beside Jiang Kai Le pulled him back and glared at Jiang Shi. “Where did this clueless thing come from? Do you even know who my darling is? Manager Zhang, look at you, what kind of people do you find? Just stuffing trash into my store. Hurry up and kick him out.”

“This…” Manager Zhang was caught in a dilemma.

Jiang Shi took his clothes and walked out of the store by himself.

Jiang Kai Le wanted to call him back, but the woman pulled him, cooing, “Darling, don’t be angry. It’s not worth getting wrinkles over a minor character.”

He甩 her away. When he turned back, Jiang Shi was long gone. His expression was not good. “You did that on purpose?”

“What on purpose?” The woman leaned against him as if she had no bones. “I just wanted to help you with your worries. Did I do something wrong?” As she spoke, she blinked her eyes, on the verge of tears. “Or should I go call him back now so you can properly vent your anger, brother?”

The moment the beauty cried, Jiang Kai Le instantly forgot everything. He put his arm around her shoulder. “Forget it…”

He looked at Manager Zhang. “How did you find him?”

Jiang Kai Le had invested all the money for the clothing store, so strictly speaking, he was the real boss. Manager Zhang could only answer honestly, “I know an editor-in-chief of a magazine, and he recommended him.”

“What magazine editor?”

“New Wave.”

Jiang Kai Le silently repeated these two words in his mind, falling into deep thought.

The rain grew heavier. Jiang Shi stood on the main road, stomping his feet. He waited for more than twenty minutes, but not a single taxi came.

The cold seeped into his body with the rain. He pulled up his hood, looked at the misty sky ahead, and was reminded of some unpleasant memories.

He exhaled a puff of cold air and turned to the small shop behind him to buy a pack of gum.

Jiang Shi walked forward, chewing gum. He didn’t see a taxi, but he got a call from Cheng Ye.

“Did you get there? The temperature is dropping tonight, remember to wear something thick. Send me a message when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up.”

Jiang Shi sniffed. “Cheng Ye, I got kicked out.”

“…”

Cheng Ye arrived quickly. Jiang Shi was squatting at the intersection, the gum still had a sweet taste when his car pulled up.

He was wearing a black windbreaker, his jaw sharp. He looked intimidating with a cold expression on his face.

Cheng Ye rushed to Jiang Shi’s side in a few steps. First, he looked him over from head to toe, then he raised a somewhat cold hand to brush against his red, frozen nose tip, his voice a little dry.

“Good thing you didn’t cry.”