I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 20

20

Upon hearing Tan Suran’s icy, indifferent remark—one that seemed laden with hidden meaning—Zhu Jingxiang’s eyes flickered with an inscrutable shift.

After two seconds of silence, she finally spoke: “I didn’t realize President Tan enjoyed joking.”

“Joking?” The slender fingers holding the menthol cigarette let the smoke dissipate into the winter night, the faint orange glow slowly creeping upward.

“Isn’t it?” Zhu Jingxiang countered.

Tan Suran took a drag from her cigarette, casually stubbed it out on a nearby trash can, and glanced sideways at Zhu Jingxiang before walking away without another word.

The night wind was quiet, the trees bare, and the pale, gloomy path stretched long under the solitary, slender shadow.

Of course, Yu Lili had no idea that after she left, the two had engaged in such a battle of veiled daggers.

She stayed up late editing the photos she had taken that day and sent them to her editor. Suppressing the urge to collapse into a three-day slumber if given a pillow, she checked her work schedule for the next day, set her alarm, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next day: the Charity Fashion Night.

Before heading out, Yu Lili double-checked her equipment—her camera and lenses.

Today marked her official entry into the world of fashion photography, attending the biggest event she’d ever been part of.

Hundreds of celebrities gathered under one roof, outnumbering the total subjects she had photographed before.

She arrived at the venue around noon with Li Mi and Guan Xi, entering with their media credentials to scout the periphery.

If luck was on their side, they might even snag an early-arriving celebrity for a quick interview.

If not…

“At least we can mooch a meal off the organizers,” said Guan Xi, the seasoned veteran.

Guan Xi was another photographer from Frontier, a seven-year industry veteran and a friend Olivia had known since their overseas days. In a way, she was Yu Lili’s superior, but Guan Xi didn’t stand on ceremony.

The backstage had a dedicated lounge with snack-laden tables draped in white tasseled velvet cloths.

At this hour, the place was nearly empty, so the trio chatted idly. Guan Xi peeled an orange, sharing it with Yu Lili and Li Mi: “Lili, you used to be Sela’s assistant?”

Yu Lili nodded.

“She’s a nightmare, right?” Guan Xi raised an eyebrow. “I worked with her before—couldn’t stand her tyrannical ways.”

Yu Lili smiled. “Is Sela coming today?”

Guan Xi shook her head. “At her level? Doubt she’d bother.”

“Huh? But the person behind you looks just like Sela.”

Guan Xi stiffened, as if caught gossiping, and frowned as she turned around—only to find no one there.

When she turned back, the mischievous girl grinned. “Just kidding.”

Clever, Guan Xi thought.

As photographers, they naturally didn’t enjoy the same treatment as celebrities, who had dedicated dressing rooms. They could only wait in the common lounge for a while.

The three of them walked into the lounge one after another. Yu Lili found a corner to curl up and rest for a bit.

She felt a pair of eyes staring blatantly at her.

Too tired to keep them open, she lifted her eyelids slightly. People were moving about in the room, but she couldn’t pinpoint whose gaze it was.

Security checks to enter the main venue were even stricter, requiring all unrelated items to be checked in.

Before entering the main venue, Yu Lili made a trip to the restroom.

As she came out, someone stopped her.

“Ma’am, the work badges for the afternoon session need to be replaced because we discovered someone using a forged badge to enter this morning,” an unfamiliar girl said, her tone awkward and somewhat nervous.

Yu Lili took a closer look. The girl was holding a stack of work badges in each hand, as if she had already replaced many.

Just as Yu Lili was about to hand over her badge, she paused and smiled. “Can I take a look at the photos on the other badges?”

As she spoke, she flipped over one of the badges in the girl’s left hand.

It turned out to be Su Mianxin’s.

However, the company name below wasn’t Yehuo Studio anymore—it had changed to Yu Mu Studio.

What’s going on?

Did Su Mianxin leave Yehuo?

And join Yu Mu’s studio?

After flipping the badge, Yu Lili noticed the girl in front of her seemed a little nervous. Realizing her own actions might have been too bold, she handed the badge back and said, “I’ll just take a quick look—I won’t tell anyone.”

The girl smiled, took back Yu Lili’s badge, and hurried off.

Yu Lili wasn’t being overly cautious, but it was her first time encountering an on-the-spot badge swap like this. Paying a little extra attention couldn’t hurt.

She didn’t think anyone would go out of their way to mess with her like this.

Afternoon.

Standing at the staff entrance to the backstage area, she was stopped by a security officer: “Ma’am, this work pass of yours isn’t the official one issued by us. I can’t let you in.”

Yu Lili glanced sideways at the people entering beside her—they were still using the very first version of the work pass.

Her fingers clenched tightly, a wave of panic rising. She considered calling Li Mi to come and escort her in.

But just then, at the next security checkpoint, two girls were being turned away. The staff member said sternly, “Sorry, we only recognize official work passes here. No exceptions.”

Damn it.

Yu Lili gripped the fake pass in her hand.

Her palms were sweating.

A name surfaced in her mind almost instinctively.

If it were Tan Suran.

If it were Tan Suran.

How would she handle a situation like this?

Though she would probably never make such a mistake in the first place.

But just suppose.

If it were Tan Suran.

She definitely wouldn’t panic the way she was now.

Instead, she’d lean casually against the windowsill, her expression cool and composed, swiftly calculating every possible solution in the shortest time.

Yu Lili took a few deep breaths and forced herself to calm down. She contacted everyone she could think of.

The answer she got was clear: unless she could produce the original work pass, there was no way in.

Of course, she could also call one of her parents’ friends and pull some strings to get inside.

But…

“It’s fine, actually there isn’t that much work. Li Mi and I can handle it. You can just… never mind. I’ll talk to Olivia later and ask her what’s going on—why are there staff members coming to swap badges?”

Yu Lili, who had left work early, sat on the stone steps of the garden at the entrance of the venue, swinging her legs. She patted the heavy camera bag slung over her shoulder—so weighty it could probably smash the central statue if dropped—and sighed.

The square was filled with fans holding light signs, gathered in clusters. Since she was already here…

Yu Lili rubbed her cheeks, switched lenses, and got up to take photos.

If she couldn’t photograph the celebrities, she could always photograph the fans.

While snapping pictures, she ended up chatting with many of them.

Midway through, someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

It was a girl wearing a baseball cap: “Hey, excuse me, are you a photographer?”

When Yu Lili was led to the garden behind the scene, she was still a little dazed.

But when she saw the celebrity Yu Wei, dressed in a pale yellow voluminous ball gown, she was even more stunned.

The girl in a baseball cap next to her was Yu Wei’s assistant, who whispered, “Miss, we were wondering if we could trouble you to take a set of photos for our Yu Wei?”

Of course, Yu Lili knew Yu Wei—she was the female celebrity who had been dominating the hot search lists recently, locked in a fierce battle with her agency. Both sides had been throwing dirt at each other, with public opinion swinging back and forth. So far, the agency had gained the upper hand.

Netizens had jokingly nicknamed Yu Wei the “Mad Fish.”

At this moment, the “Mad Fish” looked gentle and serene, speaking softly, “You probably recognize me. If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. But if you’re willing, I’ll pay you the standard rate for a professional photographer.”

“I’ll post these photos on Weibo. Whether you want to be credited is up to you.”

“Why me?”

The assistant jumped in before Yu Wei could answer, “Because you just have this… masterful, artistic aura. The way you hold the camera looks so professional.”

Yu Lili couldn’t resist praise.

Especially such well-articulated flattery.

After shooting for a while against the chosen garden backdrop, Yu Lili reviewed the photos. The exaggerated voluminous skirt dominated the frame, and she felt something was off.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, lifting the layers of Yu Wei’s tulle skirt.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. Yu Lili pointed at the gown and asked, “Is this dress borrowed, or is it your own?”

Yu Wei: “It’s mine. Is there a problem?”

“I have a small suggestion—I’d like to make some adjustments.” Yu Lili tentatively shared her idea: she wanted to cut away some of the tulle.

Yu Wei nodded without hesitation. “That sounds amazing.”

“I’ll go find scissors.”

“No need.” The assistant reached into her bag and pulled out a pair. “I have some here.”

Yu Lili crouched down and began cutting along an irregular curve from the hem of the skirt upward, revealing Yu Wei’s long, pale legs, which had been hidden beneath the layers.

She also snipped off a half-finger-width strip of pale yellow tulle, rectangular in shape, to use as a prop—sometimes draped over Yu Wei’s eyes, sometimes wrapped around her wrist, and other times held playfully in front of her face.

Not far from the garden, there was a sand pile. Yu Lili made another bold suggestion: for Yu Wei to lie in the sand for some shots. Without hesitation, Yu Wei immediately lay down, her level of cooperation leaving Yu Lili astonished.

By sunset, they had finished shooting. Yu Lili planned to go back, edit the photos, and then send them to her.

But Yu Wei shook her head. “No need. Just send them to me directly—I’m posting them on Weibo right away.”

“Gotta capitalize on the timing, after all.”

Yu Wei swiftly transferred the photography fee to Yu Lili and then left.

Yu Lili wandered around the venue on her own. At the back entrance, a large crowd of fans had gathered, presumably waiting for their idols to emerge.

She avoided the crowd and took a small path, only to realize it actually led to a spot facing the back entrance. Though separated by a black iron fence, she had a clear view of everything inside.

At events like these, most celebrities didn’t stay until the very end.

One by one, the stars began leaving.

The crystal bead curtain at the entrance shimmered under the light, swaying gently as a group of glamorous figures emerged, their elegant silhouettes gliding forward.

Yu Lili tilted her head and noticed a tall, understated figure at the center of the entourage. Her gaze froze.

Tan Suran wore a simple black dress today, its exquisite fabric perfectly accentuating her grace and figure.

She walked alongside the acclaimed actress Duan Zhixi, surrounded by a flock of young celebrities offering ingratiating smiles—each one carefully vying for even a scrap of her attention.

Yu Lili blinked.

The black iron fence before her cleaved the space into two separate worlds.

Across that vast distance, Tan Suran seemed to glance in her direction, as if sensing something.

But it was only a fleeting illusion.

Where Yu Lili stood, there wasn’t a single light.

She was completely swallowed by the darkness.

Impossible to see.

When she reached the spot where the family driver was supposed to meet her, her long-dormant WeChat alt account suddenly lit up with a notification.

Tan Suran: [How’s the driving practice going?]