Lu Huainan wasn’t particularly interested in taking photos. What he liked was taking photos of Ji Zhaoxi. Whenever he photographed her, he felt as though he had completely entered her world instead of being shut out of it.
He also liked buying things for Ji Zhaoxi and for her Stinky Dog. Only then did he feel as though he were a little closer to her.
Inside the car, the glow of the dashboard mingled with the darkness outside. Every few seconds, a patch of warm light flashed past on the road.
“Woof… snore…”
Stinky Dog had tired itself out playing and was now sprawled on its back in the rear seat, snoring loudly.
Lu Huainan held the steering wheel and drove steadily, afraid that the slightest jolt might wake the person beside him.
She slept deeply against the seatback. Her profile appeared and disappeared beneath the streetlights, and as Lu Huainan watched her hair flutter slightly in the breeze, his heart filled with an incomparable sense of contentment.
He wanted to drive her forever, and keep taking photos of her forever…
He wanted to be her driver forever, her photographer forever, and even her classmate forever.
There were probably plenty of people eager to be her driver, but he drove steadily, knew how to drive all kinds of cars, and could even repair them. He was more experienced than the others.
Lu Huainan continued to let his imagination run wild. If he asked her, would she agree…?
But he never got the chance to ask. A dog’s head suddenly thrust between them.
Lu Huainan: …
“Whine… woof…” The golden retriever bit at Lu Huainan’s clothes.
It glanced at Ji Zhaoxi and prepared to sneak in a bite, but the next second, someone grabbed its muzzle.
“Don’t bite her.” Lu Huainan released its muzzle.
Stinky Dog was awful. If it were him, he definitely wouldn’t bite her. At least in that respect, he thought he did a better job than Stinky Dog.
The golden retriever huffed at him, then went back to playing with its toy in the rear.
They finally arrived outside Ji Zhaoxi’s home. Ji Zhaoxi was leaning against the window, her right cheek flushed from the pressure. She looked out the window, still not quite awake.
“W-We’re… here!” Lu Huainan stammered.
Should he bring up the photographer and driver thing? It should be okay to ask, right?
She had told him before that if there was something he wanted to say, he should just say it directly.
“Do you… need a photographer?” Lu Huainan was so nervous he could barely breathe.
He awkwardly unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Ji Zhaoxi.
Ji Zhaoxi took it and drank a sip. “A photographer?”
Didn’t the company provide photographers? They usually took things like her promotional photos.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at Lu Huainan inquisitively. “What’s up?”
Lu Huainan stared at the trees outside, his voice trembling slightly. “What do you think of me…?”
Before Ji Zhaoxi could answer, he raised his voice. “Forget it. I was just talking nonsense. We’re at your house. You should go inside. It’s so late—your family will worry about you.”
Ji Zhaoxi said nothing. She glanced at him, then took another sip of water.
Lu Huainan panicked. He tried to undo his seat belt, but couldn’t get it open. Ji Zhaoxi kindly helped him, but Lu Huainan instinctively dodged. His forehead slammed straight into something, leaving a large red mark.
He relaxed his expression and said, “I was just talking nonsense. Don’t take it seriously. You definitely don’t need a photographer. I know that. I was only joking.”
Ji Zhaoxi had just opened her mouth to speak when Lu Huainan abruptly leaned back against the seat. He covered his face with one hand, his voice hoarse and nearly cracking. He tried to fake a carefree laugh, but his smile looked even more awkward than a cry.
He fell silent, and Ji Zhaoxi fell silent too. The golden retriever furrowed its brow and tilted its head to look at Lu Huainan.
“Sorry. I still want to be your photographer…”
And her driver, too.
Lu Huainan was utterly mortified. Why had he embarrassed himself in front of her again over something as simple as asking a question? He really couldn’t compare with Stinky Dog.
The serious expression on Ji Zhaoxi’s face finally relaxed. She had thought Lu Huainan was about to say something major, and he had made her nervous too.
The golden retriever sensed the tension ease, and its tail began wagging as well.
“Sure. Then you can be my photographer.”
Remembering the way Lu Huainan had looked just now, Ji Zhaoxi tried to hold back her laughter, but failed. A sudden giggle escaped her.
Hearing her laughter, Lu Huainan’s face turned bright red. He was completely at a loss and could only say stiffly, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome!”
Hearing the unmistakable amusement in Ji Zhaoxi’s voice, he pressed his lips together. A soft place seemed to cave in inside his heart.
Ji Zhaoxi got out of the car, and Lu Huainan followed. Stinky Dog kept tugging at the leg of Lu Huainan’s trousers.
“We’re going home now. You should get back in the car, and be careful on the way.” Ji Zhaoxi looked at him, her eyes curving into a smile.
Looking into her bright eyes, Lu Huainan’s throat tightened. He gave a low hum of acknowledgment.
When Ji Zhaoxi saw that he still wasn’t getting back into the car, she tentatively asked, “Then I’ll go inside first?”
Lu Huainan stared at her blankly and nodded.
Why had today gone by so quickly? It was over before they had even done anything.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at Stinky Dog, which was still bullying Lu Huainan, then suddenly smacked it on the rear and immediately ran off.
Stinky Dog stopped what it was doing and stared blankly at Lu Huainan.
Who had just smacked it?
It fixed its eyes on Lu Huainan, then pretended to bite him again.
Lu Huainan couldn’t help laughing.
The golden retriever finally realized that its owner—the most important person of all—was getting away.
“Woof… woof woof woof!”
“Woof woof!”
It took off toward the house, its tail wagging nonstop.
“Woof woof woof!”
Laughter rang out from the garden, followed by a rough, booming voice.
“Wow, you fat dog, bullying my daughter again! Don’t run—I’m coming to teach you a lesson right now!”
“Woof! Woof woof woof!”
“All right, you’re not young anymore. Stop running around after the dog and working up a sweat! Xixi, go take a shower.”
“Got it—”
Ji Zhaoxi posted the photos she had taken that day on Weibo. She didn’t stop at a nine-grid post—she uploaded every photo that looked good, and the comments were filled with praise.
But the fans in her fan group noticed that something was off.
[Why isn’t this the usual socialite-style template? Could those photos really have been taken by that lousy agency?]
[Who cares who took them? Let me drool over them all. ［Drooling］]
[Qinqin: I’ll go ask.]
[Don’t tell me she’s secretly dating someone…]
[Impossible. With her intelligence, if she were dating someone, she wouldn’t be this subtle. I guarantee she’s definitely single!]
[Qinqin, did you ask yet? Why is it taking so long?]
[Qinqin: Ahem, I asked. She said the photos were taken by her high school classmate, who’s also her graduate-school classmate. It took so long because this girl was acting all cute with me just now. Apparently, when she heard I hadn’t eaten dinner, she even wanted to order food for me and everything…]
[Uh… where did this clingy little baby come from? Why does she love acting cute so much?! I’m going to confront her about it!]
[Cindy: She still owes me a song, so it’ll make a perfect lullaby. ［Happy］]
[The person above has such a wonderfully bizarre taste…］
[Count me in for bizarre +1.]
[Cindy: ［Happy］]
At that moment, Ji Zhaoxi had already finished showering and was sitting in the living room eating. When she saw the message from Big Sis, she was in an excellent mood.
So there really were people who liked listening to her sing.
She took a sip of water to moisten her throat, then sprawled across the sofa and began to sing.
A dog’s head suddenly appeared upstairs. The golden retriever shot her a resentful look before trotting into the master bedroom.
Ji Zhaoxi’s mother was doing her skincare. She glanced at it and asked, “What’s wrong?”
The golden retriever tugged at Mrs. Ji’s trouser leg, signaling for her to follow.
Rubbing in hand cream, Mrs. Ji left the room. The moment she stepped outside, she heard someone singing beautifully.
She raised an eyebrow and murmured, “Just bear with it.”
At least she couldn’t hear it from inside the room.
The door closed. The golden retriever curled up beside it and fell asleep, while Mr. Ji lay on the bed and muttered, “I told you, we should’ve signed her up for singing lessons back then.”
Who knows? Their family might have produced a great singer.
That would’ve been much better than this caterwauling!
