Chapter 18

The two were about to leave the studio when, not far away, the door of the dressing room was forcefully pulled open. Qi Boyan came out wearing sunglasses, his lips pursed in a straight line, with an aura telling people not to enter.

Ji Wang stopped, although even he didn't know why he did.

He saw Qi Boyan's face turn slightly towards Ji Wang's direction, but across the crowd, Ji Wang wasn’t sure whether Qi Boyan saw him. At this moment, a hand reached out from the dressing room and grabbed Qi Boyan's sleeve.

White clothes and white trousers - it was Fang Shengyun.

Qi Boyan turned back to talk to Fang Shengyun and the staff rushed forward. Soon Ji Wang could no longer see Qi Boyan's face. When he realized how worried Xiao Xu was looking at him, Ji Wang suddenly felt a little ridiculous.

How come in Xiao Xu's eyes, he’d become a pitiful person, foolishly in love with Qi Boyan.

Ji Wang shook his head, grabbed Xiao Xu's shoulders, and walked out.

At this time, the staff came over: "Ji-laoshi, two other guests happen to be here. Let's take a group photo together."

This was a sudden addition of work. Xiao Xu's face changed and he was about to argue with the other party when Ji Wang stopped him: "Okay, no problem, I haven't taken off my makeup anyway."

The staff breathed a sigh of relief, told Ji Wang to wait in the studio, and then walked away like a gust of wind, looking very busy.

Xiao Xu suppressed his voice and said, "Ge, they’re being discriminatory¹, they suddenly add work and don’t even discuss it with us first. Do you think he dares tell Qi Boyan to work overtime when he’s about to leave!”

Ji Wang disapprovingly rubbed Xiao Xu's hair: "Your brother doesn’t have any other obligations. If we need to work overtime, I’ll work overtime, it doesn’t impact me."

Xiao Xu was still very angry: “What do you mean it doesn’t impact you, your time is still time!"

After so many years, Xiao Xu was still so childish. But Ji Wang also knew that Xiao Xu's childishness was for his own benefit. He couldn’t lecture when the people around him were hurting on his behalf.

Ji Wang could only say, "When I'm popular in the future and you have the authority to speak, you can directly tell others, we don't do it! We’re very busy! No overtime!"

Xiao Xu didn't know whether to cry or laugh and soon followed Ji Wang's words: "When the time comes I’ll also wear big sunglasses. They must be super stylish!"

Ji Wang: "Okay, once we have money, I’ll send you a pair of brand-name sunglasses, the kind with gold chains."

The two chatted and laughed. The brothers arrived at the studio and waited for the shoot. The staff around them had suddenly become busier. Walking back and forth, there was a tense atmosphere in the air.

Ji Wang and Xiao Xu were like rare people, uninvolved and with nothing to do. They sat on the sidelines and watched the workers forcibly switch the set to a higher quality background.

At this time, the makeup artist who did Ji Wang’s makeup came and said, “Ji-laoshi, you need to change your outfit.”

Although Ji Wang was a little puzzled, he still cooperatively stood up and followed the makeup artist. As he walked, he realized that the makeup artist wasn’t bringing him back to the same dressing room as before.

He came to another hallway and the person standing in the door was Li Feng, who was smiling.

Ji Wang stopped and said, "We went the wrong way."

The makeup artist turned their head and said, "It’s right. Your clothes are provided by Qi-laoshi’s sponsor. Qi-laoshi believes that the cohesive style of the photo is very important. Our planning team also agrees with his comments."

So, they all agreed and no one came to ask him, the person involved, whether he agreed or not?

But, it was impossible for him to disagree with the makeup artist. Maybe the makeup artist would think he was untactful. Qi Boyan was willing to lend him clothes and in return he was shameless.

Li Feng came up, thanked the makeup artist, and said to Ji Wang, "Ji-laoshi, it's been really hard for you. But in order for the final product to have a good effect, let's continue to work hard together."

This was said politely, putting Ji Wang on a pedestal. If he didn’t cooperate, it meant he didn’t want the finished product to come out well, so Ji Wang couldn’t even open his mouth to refuse.

He looked closely at Li Feng, then looked at Xiao Xu standing behind him at a loss, and let out a heavy sigh.

Although he didn’t dislike Xiao Xu, sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder where other people’s assistants were dug out of, each one better than the next.

The dressing room was pushed open and Qi Boyan sat inside with his eyes closed to let people apply makeup. His long hair was tied up, leaving a few strands coiled around his cheeks.

Although Qi Boyan’s facial features were exquisite in recent years, they were a bit less androgynous than back in the day. He opened his eyes and saw Ji Wang at the door. He raised his hand and made a gesture. Two people came up next to him holding clothes and inviting Ji Wang to the changing room inside.

Ji Wang didn’t move and Qi Boyan pushed away the makeup artist’s hand which was applying lip gloss to his mouth, “Ji-laoshi, do you not know how to wear clothes? Do you need help?”

His words were sincere and his tone was humble, as if from a junior respectfully facing his senior.

Several other people in the dressing room quickly looked at each other, all showing some surprise.

Ji Wang wasn't in the mood to care what other people thought. He stubbornly threw down the phrase ‘no need’ and walked into the changing room.

The clothes Qi Boyan gave him were indeed a bit difficult to wear. The white suit with complicated belts made the whole style simple and gorgeous.

Those who didn’t know better would think it wasn’t a variety show promotional photo, but a MV.

When Ji Wang finally sorted the clothing, he emerged to find there was no one left in the dressing room. Qi Boyan sat on the cabinet of the vanity mirror playing with a box in his hand.

Open, close, then open again. He’d also changed into a new set of clothes, an all-black suit, simple and concise. Even his hair was simply tied up. Only the makeup emphasized his facial features, and a little bit of gloom passed through his beauty.

Qi Boyan said, "Gege, come here."

Ji Wang didn't move. He looked at the door and Qi Boyan said, "I told them to go out for now. Come over quickly and we’ll be done earlier. Otherwise, the longer we stay inside, the more they’ll suspect we’re doing something bad.”

Ji Wang indifferently said, "What can you and I do?"

Qi Boyan raised his eyebrows in surprise and buttoned the box in his hand. His black shirt was half-open, revealing his perfect neck.

He saw Qi Boyan reach out and softly tap his lip, then put it in his mouth. He gently sucked, then when he pulled out, he slide down his neck, all the way from his neckline to his collarbone, leaving a trace of wetness, “What else can we do? You mark me…or I mark you.”

Ji Wang forced himself to look away from Qi Boyan's neck: "Alphas can’t be marked."

Qi Boyan seemed to be disappointed by his words. He decided to stop trying to entice Ji Wang to come closer and instead chose to jump off the dressing table and stride in front of Ji Wang.

Ji Wang didn’t evade or back down. He stood up straight, his eyes calm and distant.

Qi Boyan opened the box again and took out a simple and elegant ring. He pulled Ji Wang’s hand and pushed it onto his ring finger.

His actions were casual and undisciplined, which was at odds with the serious act of putting a ring on someone’s ring finger. Because of this, Ji Wang didn’t immediately dodge. He just looked at the ring on his hand and then looked at Qi Boyan.

Qi Boyan smiled with satisfaction. He raised Ji Wang's hand to his face and rubbed Ji Wang's hand with his cheek: "It's really suitable. What I chose for you will always be the best.”

1. The phrase is “看人下菜” or “watch people serve dishes”, and refers to treating people differently in an opportunistic manner (i.e. you would serve important people better dishes than ordinary people) ↑