“Boss lady, we’re back.”
Upon entering, they saw Zhang Yu lying on a lounge chair outside.
“Huh?”
“You guys know each other?”
Opening her eyes, Zhang Yu was a bit surprised to see six people returning, chatting and laughing.
“We met this morning when we went out,” Qiu Xi explained. “We just didn’t expect we’d be staying at the same guesthouse.”
“You really do have a connection.”
“Are you ready for lunch? It’s all prepared, and it’s still warm~”
At this hour, it should be time for lunch.
“Yes!”
“Thank you, boss lady. We’ll head over now.”
Zhang Yu smiled. “No problem, go ahead.”
...
After the meal -
“Qin jie, we’ll head back to rest. See you this afternoon~”
Patting her slightly rounded belly, Song Daiyao felt she might have eaten a bit too much.
Xi Qinqin suppressed a smile that threatened to spread across her lips and nodded. “You go ahead. I need to go back and take a nap too.”
With that, the two groups parted ways and returned to their respective guesthouse rooms.
...
Good food, beautiful scenery, beautiful people.
The holiday was quickly drawing to a close.
On the last day, no one went out. They were just lounging around in the guesthouse courtyard.
“Qinqin, they’re being too much!”
A group of people looking at photos were all drawn by Chen Shuo’s exclamation.
Xi Qinqin, as usual, was unconcerned. “They’re always like this.”
“When we’re ready, we’ll stay far away from them. Then we’ll just watch them fight amongst themselves. It’ll be interesting.”
Chen Shuo was still a bit agitated. “But… that was clearly your credit, Qinqin…”
These people really had no shame in how they operated!
“Qin jie, what’s going on?”
Although it felt a bit awkward to ask, they had heard everything. Remaining silent would only make it more embarrassing.
“Don’t mind them, it’s just some trivial matters at the studio,” Xi Qinqin waved her hand dismissively, sounding very relaxed.
“Oh, I see…” Song Daiyao nodded, indicating she understood.
Having only just met, it wasn’t appropriate to suddenly offer help.
However, as soon as their conversation ended, Chen Shuo became even more upset.
“They’re just not human!”
“Let me tell you…”
“This studio was initially set up solely through Qinqin’s efforts. Back then, no one else besides Qinqin had such good photography skills.”
“Now that the studio is booming, they’re not only misrepresenting themselves, but they’re also constantly using Qinqin’s reputation to take on jobs. When problems arise, they’re blamed on Qinqin!”
“I say, they deserve to not make any money!”
With such people and such character, it was no wonder they weren’t making money!
Even if they did, it wouldn’t last long!
“Ashuo! That’s enough.” Seeing Chen Shuo about to continue his rant, Xi Qinqin spoke and gently pulled him back.
Then she looked at Qiu Xi and the others. “I’m sorry to have let you see this.”
Even though she was the victim in this situation, it was indeed not a good look.
Her career, which was going so well, had taken an unexpected turn due to her poor judgment of people…
“It’s okay…”
“This whole situation, Qin jie, aren’t you planning to do anything?”
After listening, not only Song Daiyao but the other three were quite surprised.
After all this, they still weren’t leaving?
Upon hearing this, Xi Qinqin smiled. “You know I wasn’t planning on leaving~”
She had been planning to leave for a while, but there were some lingering matters to sort out.
Also, once she left, she might be poor for a while…
“Qinqin had already prepared, but she might be short on money after leaving, so she’s currently stalling to minimize losses…”
Xi Qinqin was speechless. “…”
Thank you for saying that so openly…
For a moment, Xi Qinqin could only offer an awkward smile.
“You guys can just listen…”
“Let’s continue looking at photos.”
As long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others!
With that said, Xi Qinqin took her laptop and started showing them photos.
As she looked, she casually retouched some areas that needed minor adjustments.
As for the final processed images, they would take some more time.
Qiu Xi and the others watched, and in the end, they didn’t say much. Instead, they looked at the photos together.
...
Time passed quickly. It was around 3 PM.
“Qin jie, we’ll be heading back then. We’re looking forward to your final photos~”
Yes, the four of them were flying back to school that afternoon.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be beautiful~” Xi Qinqin said goodbye to them.
“If you have time, let’s hang out together in Chongxi City~”
“Okay~”
As they were leaving, Liang Yunfei handed Xi Qinqin an envelope separately, saying it was a token of thanks for the photography sessions over the past few days.
Then the four of them got into the car the guesthouse had called for them and headed to the airport.
...
Evening, at the guesthouse.
Chen Shuo opened the envelope that Xi Qinqin had casually handed him.
“Qinqin, there seems to be a small note inside.” Chen Shuo was a bit surprised when he saw the note.
He had been curious when he received it. What kind of payment required submission in person now? It turned out this payment was not what he expected.
“What note? Isn’t it cash?”
She was familiar with giving and receiving money, which was why she had accepted it so naturally that afternoon.
Now that Chen Shuo mentioned it, she found it strange.
Chen Shuo shook his head. “No…”
“Here, you can look at it yourself.” He then handed the note over.
“Alright, let me see.”
After a while, they both sat on the stools, stunned and speechless.