Chapter 25: Chapter 24: A Gift for You

    At the entrance to the neighborhood, Cheng Zhu and Wang Anquan, who lived in the same community, said goodbye to each other.

    After returning home, Cheng Zhu immediately hid the "local specialties" he had brought back from Guan Yun.

    If his family found out about these things, it would be hard to explain.

    Yes, Cheng Zhu wasn''t planning to tell his parents just yet that he was going to start an e-commerce business and sell QQ merchandise.

    It would save him a few beatings.

    "I was raised by Cheng with much toil, how could I not understand him?" Cheng Zhu thought to himself.

    As night fell, after Yunlai Restaurant closed, Cheng and Xu Yun brought Little Youzi home.

    Having not seen her brother for a few days, Cheng Youu became even clingier.

    Today, she didn''t sport her usual pigtails; her hair was down, casually draped.

    Cheng Zhu gave it a few rubs with his large hand, messing it up, and the little girl immediately fixed her hair, already a bit vain.

    "It''s time to brush your teeth and wash your face," said Cheng Zhu, checking the time.

    "Brother, can you tell me a bedtime story tonight?" Cheng Youu looked up with her round, big eyes fixed on Cheng Zhu, reminiscent of a little pet begging for treats, her gaze filled with "pretty please."

    "It''s hard to say no," thought Cheng Zhu and then said, "Okay."

    "Yay!" Little You cheered, jumping up and raising her hands over her head in celebration, then she prepared to run to the bathroom.

    "Wear your slippers," Cheng Zhu said.

    "Oh!" She obediently turned back, slipped her little feet into her cartoon slippers, and quickly pitter-pattered to the bathroom.

    "Be thorough with brushing your teeth!" Cheng Zhu couldn''t help but call out loudly.

    After washing up, Little You jumped onto the small bed in her room, dimmed the bedside lamp to its faintest glow, tucked herself in with the comforter, and then lay down obediently, looking at Cheng Zhu with eyes full of anticipation, ready for the bedtime story.

    "A six-year-old still wanting bedtime stories," Cheng Zhu pinched her little face and then began the story.

    The story he told was a revised version of a satire.

    "A king wanted to choose a princess for the prince, but he had a strange requirement: the princess had to weigh exactly 100 pounds.

    Then, a princess came, but when she weighed herself, she was just a little off.

    On her way home, she met a little fairy. The fairy gave her an idea, saying it could hide in her ear and cast a spell, so she would weigh exactly 100 pounds.

    One for work purposes, to hustle for performance, flaunting shamelessly in Moments for customers to spend.

    The other for personal life, displaying a beautiful and refined lifestyle, selling the concept of peaceful times.

    Cheng Zhu understood this well. He just smiled and said, "Can we get a discount on the model fee then?"

    Ye Zi ignored him, opened her own bag, and took out various lipsticks, makeup powders, contour kits, highlighters, and even hair curling tools.

    "Wow, you sure are professional, not bad for a former model," Cheng Zhu complimented.

    Then he saw some other things in her bag and couldn''t help saying, "Why did you also bring makeup remover and facial cleanser, skincare products, wow, and even chargers? What are you implying here?"

    All these were typical overnight essentials.

    Ye Zi, hearing his teasing, wasn''t embarrassed but hit back, "You, too, are no slouch as a former model—the attention to detail, how much you know. Boss, what do you think I mean?"

    After saying that, she ramped up the pressure, "Hey handsome, help a sister out with a drink, not the mineral water, but a cold beverage from the mini-fridge."

    She even deliberately winked when she mentioned the cold drink.

    Equipped for an overnight stay, and her body can handle cold drinks—she came prepared.

    Unfortunately for her, Cheng Zhu''s reaction was a letdown. She didn''t see any blush of a young man on his face; instead, he urged her, "Let''s hurry, we agreed on an hourly rate, but chit-chatting doesn''t count."

    Ye Zi put on an exasperated expression, picked up one of the samples Cheng Zhu brought, and asked, "Which one should we start with?"

    "Secretary," Cheng Zhu stated the style.

    It was best to start with the items with more material and gradually work up from there.

    Ye Zi nodded her head, just as she was about to stand up to change in the bathroom, her fingers lightly lifted one of the products.

    To call it a piece of clothing was a stretch—it was more like several strings.

    "No way, we didn''t agree on this beforehand. I won''t shoot this type," Ye Zi said.

    Sitting on the couch with a cigarette lit, Cheng Zhu replied, lounging back with his legs crossed, "I''m a man of my word; we''re not shooting this style."

    "Then why bring it?" Ye Zi thought he was being disingenuous.

    He leaned back on the couch with his legs crossed, and with a grin, said, "It''s a gift for our first collaboration, consider it a welcoming present."

    "A small token, not much to mention," Cheng Zhu purposely brought it to test Ye Zi''s limits for the shoot. Then he added,

    Holding it between her fingers, Ye Zi quickly placed it down gently and snorted, muttering to herself, "Pretty thin, isn''t it?"