Cinderella in suit
Ling looked around confused. Five minutes ago no one wanted to notice him, and now a lot of people were looking at him. He was embarrassed.
A group of people was unceremoniously examining his face and body, making remarks, nodding their heads approvingly, and laughing.
"This guy is definitely what we need, let's not waste any time!"
The men gently nudged Ling into the open doors and immediately closed them.
"We'll have to hurry, the photographer can only spare one hour," someone reported as Ling was led deeper into the large room.
Shi Ling was, to put it mildly, in a stupor. In his heart, he knew he had been mistaken for someone else and wanted to object, but he just didn't have time because six incredibly nimble assistants were flailing around him.
Someone pulled off his jacket, another took off his shirt, and there he stood, shivering with cold, while an eccentric man with pink hair kept his gaze on him. His tenacious eyes didn't miss a single detail.
The young man looked 100% beautiful. His light skin seemed very delicate, his narrow waist striking. He looked noble and fragile, like a work of art.
Shi Ling did not exercise on purpose, but he was naturally slender and flexible. The man with the pink head looked with the professional eyes of a fashion magazine editor. In his mind, he was already trying on different kinds of clothes. But Shi Ling was unaware of this and was nervous.
The man clucked his tongue and gave an order:
"First tidy his hair and then try on the suit I approved."
Shi Ling still didn't understand what was going on and wanted to ask the man if he was mistaken. But at that moment, a flamboyantly dressed young man with slanted bangs and a tattoo on his neck walked through the door.
"I'm late, it's ok?" He grinned cockily.
Everyone stared at the new man, but the chief waved and everyone got busy. The new arrival was escorted to another corner and subjected to the same procedure as Lin.
"Two is even better for our idea," the chief muttered, glancing at the others.
Then he clapped his hands and voiced:
"Twenty-minute standby!" And everyone scattered, dragging Shi Ling and the other guy along with them.
Sitting side by side in chairs, they watched each other surreptitiously. Masters were working hard on them, getting their hairstyles right.
"Honey, would you mind using the color lenses? You have beautiful eyes, but they could use a little brightness," one of the assistants came up to Shi Lin.
"Ah, no..." Shi Ling wanted to say a lot more, but after saying a few words, he suddenly felt that his voice did not obey.
"Alright then," the assistant chanted merrily and began to pick up his colored lenses.
Meanwhile, the master finished with his hair and left. Shi Ling saw with the lenses just as he did with his glasses, which had a small diopter and were worn solely for the sake of self-confidence. Finally,y he dared to look at himself in the mirror and immediately made a clumsy jerk back, causing his chair to fly off to the side.
"Are you ill?" his neighbor stretched out lazily, "Why do you throw yourself about like that? You used to look like a scarecrow, and now I don't even mind looking at you. Are you new? What agency are you from?"
"Fenghuang*," Shi Ling mumbled the first thing that came into his head.
[*Phoenix]
His neighbor frowned and, trying to remember the agency with that name, fell silent for a while.
Suddenly there was an indignant shout:
"Why are you still here? Why do you have so much free time? Hurry up and change, where are the clothes? Who's in charge of costumes?"
He kept yelling until everyone else did as he wanted.
The young men were taken back to the fitting room and began to dress. If things had gone wrong up to this point, now Shi Ling was finally backed to the original plan. He was wearing a flawless navy blue wool evening suit.
The material was nice and fit perfectly. Shi Ling was so worried about his boss waiting for him at the banquet that he was ready to run away in that suit right this minute. But he was pushed to the set and blocked from getting out.
The room was semi-dark, lit by a garland of lamps with a soft warm light. Shi Ling saw the photographer and all the equipment. It took his breath away for a moment.
He hadn't liked being photographed since his early childhood, and now this. Mechanically his body turned and rushed away from the room, but was confidently brought back.
"So, boy... and boy," the bird of paradise chuckled, "here we go. Here's the idea, boss and bully. Honestly, I am excited by a new idea and two diverse contestants!"
The man clapped his hands theatrically.
Everyone around nodded approvingly and it was obvious that the main role of the entourage was to praise the boss.
Shi Ling was seated in an armchair and given a magazine in his hands.
Someone told him to put his leg up and make a cold expression on his face. The young man was embarrassed because he had never been in such a role and instinctively slouched.
An assistant immediately ran up to him, forcibly and roughly straightening his shoulders. For better effect, he tapped him lightly between the shoulder blades, so that his back straightened.
"Okay, good, now look at me," He heard a few camera clicks, and then the photographer and the pink hairs stared at the computer screen, discussing something.
Finally, the bird of paradise shouted:
"Boy, you are the boss, you have thousands of subordinates and a private penthouse. There should be more arrogance in your eyes, come on, and show me that you are an indifferent bastard who will easily run over an old lady in the street!!!"
Shi Ling swallowed nervously and then did as he was told. Suddenly, the image of the predatory rich man came easily to him. It was because he had observed such a person every day for a year.
The photographer liked it and his eyes lit up and he ran around the young man as if a man possessed. Shi Ling changed his pose and props as he was shown and, after ten minutes, it was his turn for a steamy shoot.
The young man had his shirt slightly unbuttoned and was asked to act interested in his partner. Strangely enough, not only did he not get out of character, but he successfully went on. The bully his partner portrayed allowed himself some not-so-decent poses and facial expressions, but Shi Ling was immersed in himself and thinking about the time.
The boss was waiting for him at a quarter to nine, and he hadn't been released yet...
Finally, it was over. The team huddled around the computer, looking at the pictures. Everyone was excited and enthusiastically commented on the result.
Shi Ling retreated to the door and asked before escaping:
"I'll bring the clothes back tomorrow, okay?"
The editor waved his hand without a word, without taking his eyes off the monitor, and then quickly told his entourage:
"These pictures are being published immediately. I know our competitors want to use a similar idea and get ahead of us, but we'll do it a day early."
Everyone nodded approvingly, and the hum of voices drowned out the creaking door. Shi Ling left the store under the admiring glances of the two female workers. This time the driver noticed the young man and even turned around and stared at him intently for a few seconds from under lowered eyelids.
"We must go back and get Mr. Jiang," Shi Ling said tiredly but firmly.
As the car turned around and drove back, the young man buttoned up and looked respectable. To an outsider looking at him now, it might have seemed as if he were a pampered young offspring of a noble family who had just arrived from abroad.
His pale skin and strikingly blue eyes made a noble, even unearthly impression. But the look was aloof because at this very moment he was contemplating how he would get his boss out of the party.
****
Jiang Wei made a spectacular appearance at the reception. His personality attracted the attention of hundreds of eyes. He mentally scolded himself because he did not share their love for such big receptions.
He generally liked his privacy, and crowds got on his nerves, forcing him to expend his energies on maintaining hypocritical and useless conversations. In truth, however, he wanted to make the most of one man today.
Determining his location, he took a straight course and only smiled slightly at the guests who approached him with a greeting.
About the center of the room stood a young girl in red. She had deliberately chosen that color to be noticed. She was nervous, so her table was littered with empty glasses. Watching from under her long lashes as Jiang Wei walked past her she took another sip from her glass.
An attentive observer would have realized at once that the girl was not of high society. Rather, she looked more like a dressed-up doll with an empty head.
She was anxious, didn't talk to anyone, and checked the time frequently. She seemed to be waiting for someone or something.
A message appeared on her phone and she flinched:
[Come up in ten minutes, the object is in place.]