A collective, sharp intake of breath was clearly audible in the photography studio.
As fans of Xie Xi, they certainly hadn't forgotten the edited fan video pairing him with her that had circulated not long ago.
All eyes shifted towards Professor Ye, curious to see her reaction.
"Mhm." Ye Qiusuo gave a nod. It wasn't exactly cold, a response somewhere between acknowledging an acquaintance and a familiar face.
Xie Xi walked towards the director with natural ease, greeting him before turning his gaze to Lu Mingzhe, a tone of familiarity in his voice: "Mingzhe, what are you doing here today?"
An onlooker might have thought they were on excellent terms.
"The sponsor asked us to come film the endorsement today," Lu Mingzhe replied, his smile not reaching his eyes.
"Is that so... You should hurry over then. Don't wander around; your teammates might be looking for you. And don't leave a bad impression with the sponsor," Xie Xi said, his tone a masterful imitation of a senior mentor offering advice, hitting the mark perfectly.
Lu Mingzhe felt like vomiting blood hearing this, but he couldn't make a scene in front of so many people. He forced a strained smile. "I'll head over now."
Xie Xi gave a dignified nod. "Be more careful next time."
Wan Yurou watched Lu Mingzhe leave, her hatred for Xie Xi growing by several degrees. Last time, after finishing recording at the TV station, she had specifically waited for Lu Mingzhe so they could go to a restaurant together.
It was Lu Mingzhe who had pulled strings with Li Kou to secure this endorsement for her.
After her failed audition last time, if she didn't get this endorsement, she would basically have no valuable work offers left. Lu Mingzhe had come today to lend her support. His presence alone had made the director significantly more enthusiastic.
But now, with Xie Xi's interference, Lu Mingzhe had left without a backward glance.
Were the Lu family afraid of Xie Xi too? Wasn't he just a singer?
"Please continue. I'm just here to ask Professor Ye a few questions," Xie Xi said to the director with a smile. "I hope the director doesn't mind?"
"Not at all, not at all." Sweat beaded on the director's forehead. As a mere commercial director, how would he dare offend Xie Xi?
Thank goodness he hadn't had time to give Ye Qiusuo a hard time earlier.
Only then did Xie Xi, satisfied, walk towards Ye Qiusuo, not sparing a single glance for Wan Yurou the entire time.
"Are you here to film an endorsement for the sponsor too?" Ye Qiusuo asked, having just finished with makeup as she stood up.
Initially, she had thought the plot from the book was correcting itself again. In the original story, Wan Yurou consistently took first place and was invited by Li Kou to be their endorser. During the first shoot, Lu Mingzhe, having wandered into the wrong studio by mistake, watched her performance under the lights and found himself somewhat mesmerized, marking a point where their feelings deepened.
But now, Xie Xi had suddenly appeared and, with a few words, made Lu Mingzhe leave.
The original plot had deviated once more.
"Nope." Xie Xi hooked a nearby chair with his foot, pulling it over and sitting on it backwards. He draped his arms over the chairback and rested his chin on them. "Professor, it's your first time filming an endorsement. I came to watch."
Those eavesdropping around them felt puzzled upon hearing the word 'Professor'.
"Didn't Xie Xi drop out in middle school? Why is he calling Professor Ye 'teacher'? What's going on?"
"No idea. I actually thought Professor Ye was Xie Xi's fan. Wasn't it said last time that in one of Wan Yurou's selfies, Xie Xi was signing an autograph for Professor Ye?"
Xie Xi not finishing middle school was a point brought up by gossip accounts every time they wanted to criticize him. Over the years, Xie Xi had never refuted it, so fans automatically assumed he hadn't pursued further education. But his songs were so good, and he was so good-looking—what more could you ask for?
Besides, the entertainment industry was full of celebrities with low educational backgrounds. A high degree was at most a bonus; strong professional skills were what mattered.
"Aren't you busy?" In Ye Qiusuo's impression, the more popular a celebrity was, the busier they were, reportedly flying around every day.
Could Xie Xi say that he had initially come purely out of a sense of curiosity, wondering what on earth Professor Ye was doing filming an endorsement?
But after arriving, that feeling had faded.
The photography studio was full of professional staff. Ye Qiusuo had come alone, knowing nothing. It was hard to say if it was the unshakeable confidence of a professor or something else.
"Not busy. The new album is already recorded." Xie Xi suddenly straightened up. "Professor, guess which number album this new release will be for me."
"Twenty." Ye Qiusuo answered without hesitation. She had memorized all the lyrics from the previous nineteen albums.
Xie Xi was satisfied.
"Our two endorsers can come over and get ready to shoot now," the director interrupted their conversation. All the equipment was in place.
Filming endorsements was a tedious and often painful process, especially for food and beverage ads. Sometimes, to get the perfect shot, the endorser had to keep eating. By the end, they often felt sick at the sight of the product.
The Li Kou beverage Ye Qiusuo was endorsing only required drinking, but the shoot involved the endorser consuming it.
"Professor Ye, you'll need to walk from here to the yellow marker over there. Then Yurou will come from the side, deliver her line to you, you'll share a smile, and then open the cap and take a big drink."
Listening to the director say "share a smile" from the sidelines, Xie Xi couldn't help but laugh. He simply couldn't imagine her "sharing a smile" with anyone.
"Damn, Xi Xi's smile just melted my heart."
"Wuwuwu, what do I do? Xi Xi seems to really like Professor Ye. It feels like there are stars in his eyes when he looks at her."
"Sis, don't get too carried away with the ship."
A few staff members who were fans huddled together, whispering.
After the director explained it once, Ye Qiusuo memorized all the markers, how the camera would move, and how she should face the lens.
One thing had to be said: geniuses picked up any task faster than ordinary people.
When filming began, Ye Qiusuo performed surprisingly well. She remembered all her marks and showed no discomfort in front of the camera.
Then Wan Yurou walked over from the other side, handing Ye Qiusuo a bottle of Li Kou. The two were supposed to share a smile.
On camera, both of their smiles looked painfully forced. The final scene of drinking the beverage was a complete disaster.
"Cut, cut, cut! Professor Ye, a smile," the director said, somewhat helpless. He demonstrated by baring eight teeth in a grin that, combined with his round face, looked slightly terrifying. "And Yurou, don't let Professor Ye affect you. You must maintain a good smile."
They shot the scene several times, always getting stuck at Ye Qiusuo's smile. She really couldn't act, not even managing a convincing fake smile.
Earning one hundred and fifty thousand a day really wasn't that easy after all.
Maybe she should just focus on securing research grants to make money next time.
Professor Ye was tasting the flavor of defeat.
"Director, if they're just drinking a beverage, why do they need to share a smile before drinking?" Xie Xi asked from his seat.
"It's... for the advertising effect."
"That kind of detail should be optional, right? Isn't the focus supposed to be on drinking the beverage?" Xie Xi stood up, took a bottle from a nearby case, and held it in one hand, shaking it in front of the camera lens. "Wouldn't a close-up like this look better?"
His knuckles were distinct, his fingers long and slender. Holding the orange-red drink, he made the liquid look exceptionally beautiful.
If only Li Kou could get him to endorse their product...
That was the director's first thought.
"Ahem, let's try one more time. Yurou, just hand over the drink directly, then open it and drink." Adopting Xie Xi's suggestion was also because the director had other versions to shoot later and couldn't afford to waste time.
They went through the motions again, and this time it felt much more natural.
"Cut! Wan Yurou, could you drink a bit more? That last action wasn't very noticeable."
Wan Yurou gripped the drink bottle, instinctively frowning. The drink was full of sugar, and despite being careful, she had already sipped her way through nearly half a bottle.
But... Wan Yurou glanced at Ye Qiusuo beside her. She couldn't let herself be outshone by an ordinary person.
"Sorry, director. Let's do another take." Wan Yurou swapped for a fresh bottle.
After the final version was shot, the crew immediately and swiftly replaced the surrounding props and brought in a group of stylishly dressed young people.
"This version is set to a summer dance track. Wan Yurou will hold a guitar and sing. Professor Ye, you'll skateboard over and hand her the drink," the director explained, pointing to the skate ramp behind them. "Later, you just need to jump a few times; we'll add the special effects in post-production."
The young people standing at the back, each holding a skateboard, were already warming up, flipping and jumping—clearly a group of professionals.
Ye Qiusuo imagined herself pretending to jump around and felt she absolutely couldn't pull it off.
"Can I actually skate?"
Director: "What?"
Seeing the director's confusion, Ye Qiusuo took a step back, borrowed a skateboard from one of the young people, stepped onto it, and shot straight up the ramp. As she came down, she executed a perfect ollie, jumping with the board and landing steadily before continuing to the next platform. She went semi-airborne, spinning the board 360 degrees.
As her feet landed back on the board, she sped toward a white foam box, deftly scooping out a drink from the ice water. For a moment, water droplets sprayed up and fell back down.
She pressed down with her back foot, coming to a smooth stop right in front of a stunned Wan Yurou, offering her the drink. Her gaze met the director's. "Like this."
The group of skateboarders behind her immediately erupted in cheers and applause.
Everyone in the studio: "???"
The professional expertise and consistently steady, dignified demeanor Professor Ye displayed on the program had led everyone to subconsciously overlook her age, forgetting that she, too, was a young person.
This kind of thing completely didn't match the image of Professor Ye.
Even Xie Xi, standing nearby, was astonished.
His teacher seemed like such a rigid person; who would have thought she could do this?
The director stood rooted to the spot, unable to process what he'd just seen. He thought he'd hired a Bronze, but it turned out to be a Wangzhe (literally "king" — a top-ranked pro/champion).
"Director, take a look at the footage," the cameraman suddenly whispered, leaning over. "I kept the camera rolling just now."
Finally snapping out of it, the director turned to review the recorded scene.
Watching it again was still shocking. Because the ad's backdrop was summer, Ye Qiusuo was wearing a black overall shorts. Whether flipping in the air or crouching to grab the drink, every move was perfect. The occasional, unintentional glance she shot toward the camera was brimming with overwhelming coolness.
The only flaw was Wan Yurou standing there dumbfounded, which was a bit of an eyesore.
"Professor Ye, that works! That works perfectly. We'll go with the real skating," the director said excitedly. "Remember to get close-up shots."
...
"Brother Xi, Professor Ye is seriously amazing," Zhang Dong, who had been quietly keeping to himself, said in awe. Was there anything in this world she couldn't do?
Although surprised, Xie Xi quickly reined in his emotions. His gaze fell on Ye Qiusuo's reddened fingers. He turned to his assistant. "Go buy something to warm her hands."
Zhang Dong: "Brother Xi, are you cold?"
That shouldn't be the case. Even though it was November and the weather was turning cool, the indoor heating was on, and his Brother Xi was still wearing a jacket.
Xie Xi glanced at Zhang Dong. "Go buy it."
"Oh, I'll be right back."
Over at the director's side, filming was now in full swing. If people had been stealing glances at Xie Xi before, now everyone's attention was completely fixed on Ye Qiusuo.
Even Xie Xi himself watched, unable to look away.
