CH 46

Charlie spoke quietly with Gu Qinghi.

His face was a little pale. In contrast to his strong and capable wife, he had a bit of a weak personality. When it came to competitions, he naturally had a bit of fear and dread. Being in such an environment made him feel short of breath. 

“My god, I’ve seen at least half of those people in magazines before. They’re all really famous—”

Gu Qingchi’s eyes quietly followed in the direction that Charlie was pointing towards. He looked over without a hint of shyness.

The group of people over there had originally been subtly glancing at Gu Qingchi. However, now that Gu Qingchi had turned his attention towards them, they all started looking away, placing their eyes elsewhere.

Gu Qingchi looked exactly like how a military officer would look when facing his commanding officer. He had his hands behind his back and leaned forward slightly, listening as Charlie spoke. 

At this moment, he retracted his gaze and spoke.

“I’m somewhat famous as well. You can keep your eyes on me.”

“Hm?”

Charlie subconsciously looked at Gu Qingchi.

Gu Qingchi still looked as cold and indifferent as before.

He spoke.

“How did you find out about me?”

Gu Qingchi’s voice was steady and impossible to reject. However, it wasn’t aggressive. Charlie unconsciously followed along with him. 

“Online. There was this photo. As soon as I saw it, I was like, ‘Damn, this must be god’s favorite.'”

“And then?”

This was clearly a very ordinary inquiry. His voice was calm and steady, cold and indifferent, just like he always was. However, for some reason, there was a bit of a commanding tone to his voice. There was an undeniable strength behind it.

Charlie ended up getting caught up in his pace and slowly started calming down. 

“Then, afterwards, I was just thinking of all sorts of ways to get you to model for me. To be honest, I didn’t think it’d work, but things have turned out alright.”

Gu Qingchi nodded softly.

“In that case, please keep focusing on me. I’m kind of famous after all.”

“Oh, of course, of course, of course I will. You’ve been perfect so far.” 

Charlie was a lot better now. He started to place his focus on Gu Qingchi and the clothes.

Although, he still looked rather nervous.

“Actually, it’s alright if we don’t make it. After all, we still have a restaurant. We hired a manager to look after it for now. It’s actually quite profitable.”

As he spoke, Charlie checked Gu Qingchi from top to bottom to see if there was anything that needed fixing. 

“Ah, there’s a loose thread by the collar. I’ll fix it right away.”

Gu Qingchi and Charlie had arrived about half an hour earlier.

The same piece of music was playing over and over on the runway. Some of it could be heard from backstage.

Pa kjr lcragewfcaji werlm. Ktf afwqb kjrc’a abb ojra cbg abb ribk. Lbkfnfg, atfgf kjr j ragbcu rfcrf bo gtsatw. Xe Hlcumtl ilrafcfv ab la rfnfgji alwfr jcv wfwbglhfv ktfgf fjmt jcv fnfgs yfja ofii. 

Qtfcfnfg Xe Hlcumtl kjixfv, tlr ybvs kbeiv cjaegjiis rkjs jibcu klat tlr wbnfwfcar. Dbat tlr rajcvlcu qbraegf jcv tlr kjixlcu qbraegf kfgf nfgs rajcvjgv, rb la kjr olcf obg tlw ab xffq la jr la lr.

Moreover, he wasn’t a professional runway model, and he hadn’t undergone any rigorous training. He wouldn’t be able to fix everything right away, so he could only do what he could.

Besides, he was a male model. The requirements for male models on the runway weren’t as harsh as they were for female models.

Male models walked with their hips. Whenever they walked, their shoulders would move rock back and forth to a small degree. The movements were small, so it was easy to hide any imperfections. 

Female models walked with their waist. It required a lot from the entire body. Whenever they walked, any imperfections would be glaringly obvious.

So, the most important thing for Gu Qingchi was to learn how to walk according to different types of music.

Over the past couple of days, Gu Qingchi had mainly focused on how to find the tempo and how to adjust his rhythm accordingly.

The person in charge started calling out numbers, one by one. The number of models started decreasing, one by one. Some people started getting nervous. 

Gu Qingchi was still the same as when he first arrived. He held his back straight and kept his head down, a few strands of hair hanging by his ears.

“Number 31.”

Gu Qingchi looked up. The primary selection was relatively simple and crude. The models all had their numbers pinned onto them. The badge hanging upon Gu Qingchi’s waist had the number thirty-one.

The staff member who called out his number led him to the runway. 

By the time Gu Qingchi got on stage, the model before him was already heading back. She just so happened to reach the middle of the catwalk.

It was a female model. She was incredibly imposing. Her body swayed along with the movements of her waist. Her skirt was rather short, but there was a long tulle train trailing behind her. The heels upon her feet were a little taller than average.

Gu Qingchi was on the right, and the female model was on the left. As the two of them walked past each other, the female model’s heels ended up getting wrapped in the tulle train.

Since her heels were so tall, it was difficult for her to recover her center of gravity. She stumbled uncontrollably and teetered towards Gu Qingchi. 

Gu Qingchi subconsciously stretched out his left arm and gave her a hand. He turned around and moved in a circle.

The female model was moved along with him, the train of her skirt flew up, and the two of them ended up switching spots. The female model responded very quickly as well. As the two of them spun around, she quickly sorted out the train of her skirt. She and Gu Qingchi gave each other a look. Then, they both continued on their way.

Gu Qingchi’s expression remained unchanged. He even remembered to catch each beat of the music.

He eventually reached the end of the runway. Once he reached the judges, he used his gloved hand to slightly lift his hat up, keeping his eyes on the camera the entire time. 

This was a different Gu Qingchi from before.

At this moment, the look in his eyes was dangerous. He felt like a beautiful beast, aggressive, with smooth fur and sharp teeth.

His bodyline was flowing, gorgeous, and full of vigor. He was like a taut bow, ready to strike.

The camera captured his attitude at this moment. 

The preliminary selection wasn’t over yet. It had two parts. This was the first part, the part where the designers display their portfolio. About half of the people here would be eliminated.

After the runway show was over, the results would be released immediately. There was no doubt that Charlie passed the first half of the preliminary selection.

The remaining ten or so designers would immediately start the second half.

The second half divided the designers into several groups. The designers would be sharing a studio, and they needed to use the materials in the studio to create an outfit on the spot. The time allotted to them was three hours. They would not be limited to autumn and winter styles. 

There were two long tables placed within the studio. The judging panel would be assessing their entire work process.

The models were all wearing form-fitting underwear. This would make it more convenient for the designers to fix pieces of fabric directly on the model, the first step to making a piece of clothing.

In order to prevent anything from affecting the designers’ performance, they tried to minimize the amount of fabric on the models’ bodies.

The models in the studio were very accustomed to this kind of thing. 

Charlie had also warned Gu Qingchi beforehand, so he went ahead and took off his clothes just like everyone else.

He was dressed pretty much the same as all the other male models.

No matter what he ate, Gu Qingchi’s body had never really changed much. His body had always been just right. He wasn’t so skinny that his bones were protruding, but he didn’t exactly have bulging muscles either.

He had a perfect six-pack. The muscles weren’t too exaggerated nor too faint. The lines of his body were smooth, the ideal image of a perfect man. His mermaid line extended down and disappeared into his clothes. 

His proportions were also incredibly attractive. He was tall and had long legs. Even if all he did was stand there, he would still attract attention.

Originally, Gu Qingchi and his designer were standing in an inconspicuous corner. However, that corner now seemed to be lit up by a spotlight. Everyone else’s eyes couldn’t help but drift over and take a peek.

Whenever they looked over at him, their hearts started pounding. The models were pretty much dressed the exact same way, yet, for some reason, he was particularly breathtaking.

Charlie, on the other hand, was very focused on his work. Sometimes, it wasn’t a bad thing to be nervous. 

Gu Qingchi spread his arms open, allowing Charlie to measure his body with the tape measure.

Elsewhere.

A woman in a suit and sunglasses arrived with her assistant.

She looked highly capable. She was also swift and decisive in her actions. 

“How’s it going? How far have they gotten? See anything special?”

“The second half just started, Ms. Vano.”

“Ah, it looks like I arrived right on time.”

Vano. Thirty-five years old. The editor-in-chief of well-known fashion magazine, TL. At the age of twenty-seven, she managed to bring TL to the top of the fashion industry, thus beginning her eight year rule over the fashion world. 

She was a pioneer and leader of the fashion industry. She was also the tyrant of the fashion industry.

She was harsh on others, and she was even harsher on herself. She unflinchingly demanded the best from herself, whether it was her figure or anything else.

It seemed as though a fashion show would only be complete after receiving her approval. She was a frequent visitor to all the major fashion weeks around the world. She was the individual in which all the big names were trying to please. She was the weathervane of the fashion industry.

A queen had arrived, so the person in charge of the preliminary selection immediately rushed out to greet her. 

“Oh, ma’am, what can I do for you?”

“Don’t be nervous. I’m just here to take a quick look. The work here is crude and primitive, but there is the occasional surprise.”

Back in China, it was currently half past five in the morning.

Xie Luyu put a leash around the cat’s neck. Then, he put on his mask and everything and led the cat out the door. He looked like he was walking a dog. 

The cat was practically jumping as it walked. All it was missing was a wagging tail.

There were dark circles under Xie Luyu’s eyes.

As they were walking, he continued to scold it.

“All you know how to do is toss me around. Didn’t I let you sleep on my bed? I’ve already given up so much for you, so can’t we just get along? Can’t we improve our parent-child relationship?” 

In the distance, Xie Luyu could vaguely make out the figure of someone walking their dog. So, he held the leash in one hand. Then, he picked the cat up with his other hand and tucked it into his arms.

Xie Luyu was wearing a big fluffy coat. When the cat was tucked in his arms like this, all that could be seen of it was its tiny head.

The cat let him hold it, obediently curling up into a ball.

“Oh, you’re finally behaving now that you’re outside, is that it? Are you even a cat? How is a cat even naughtier than a husky?” 

Xie Luyu ended up laughing at himself.

“Heh, lucky for you, the one you’re dealing with is me. If it was your dad, he probably would’ve just ignored you.”

Xie Luyu yawned.

“Let’s go. It’s way too early for this. Let’s go back and pick out something nice for your dad.” 

He had just started heading back when someone stepped forward to stop him. The other person tried to grab Xie Luyu’s arm.

“Hello, Mr. Xie.”

Xie Luyu shook him off and took two steps back.

“Hey, what are you playing at? Don’t get physical with me. How did you sneak in here? Hurry up and leave. If you don’t leave, I’ll call security.” 

Xie Luyu had dealt with sasaengs and paparazzi countless times before. He had almost gotten used to dealing with this kind of thing.

The man was a little frightened by this warning. He plastered a smile onto his face and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I apologize. I don’t have any ill intentions.”

He was about to take another step forward, but Xie Luyu stopped him. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Stand back. What are you getting so close for? Huh? You think you’re some kind of spy? Listen, I don’t take personal requests. If you have some kind of scoop that you want to publish, go ahead and publish it. If you have a film contract, contact my agent. If you want an autograph, I’ll give it to you. I can’t take pictures right now. Try catching me at a better time.”

The man seemed to have been stunned and stopped moving forward.

“No, it’s not that. Someone else asked me to pass on a message.”

“Well, I’m not interested. I’ve been doing perfectly fine. I’m busy walking my cat, so could you please stop wasting my time?” 

As soon as Xie Luyu finished speaking, he started to leave. He was rather tall, so it was rather intimidating.

The man started getting anxious.

“You might be fine since you’re a big star, but what about that lover of yours? Don’t you care about him?”