While Cheng Fangqiu was observing them, they were also sizing her up.
The woman lazily leaned against the counter, her tall and slender figure accentuated by a red-and-white checkered fitted dress that highlighted her slim waist and long legs. Her long hair was casually tied up at the back, with a few loose strands falling down. What caught everyone’s attention the most were her peach-blossom eyes, which seemed to hook people in with every glance and smile, exuding a charm that made it hard to look away.
“Is this the beautiful photographer Qiangzi mentioned? That guy actually wasn’t lying to us.”
“This trip wasn’t in vain.”
They were all students who had just graduated from middle school. Since they were in the same class, they were quite close. A couple of days ago, when they were hanging out together, Li Qiang boasted about meeting a gentle and beautiful female photographer at a photo studio, saying he had been captivated by her ever since and couldn’t even sleep well.
Everyone thought he was exaggerating. After all, they had all been to photo studios before, and the photographers were always middle-aged men. They had never encountered a female photographer, let alone a beautiful one.
But Li Qiang stubbornly insisted he wasn’t lying.
So, they made a bet—whoever lost would treat the others to soda.
Coincidentally, Yuan Zheng needed to take photos today, so they used the excuse of accompanying him to check things out. To their surprise, Li Qiang hadn’t been lying after all.
Even though they lost the bet, the boys didn’t regret it at all. Instead, they stood at the entrance, pushing and shoving each other, their faces red with embarrassment, none of them daring to step forward first.
Finally, Yuan Zheng, the leader of the group, couldn’t stand it anymore and took the initiative. He strode toward the counter and politely said, “Hello, I’m here to take photos.”
With a customer arriving, the three of them instinctively stopped their casual chatter. Sun Hongyan put on a smile, took out a registration form, and said, “Please fill in your information here. After payment, you can go in for the photo session.”
“Okay, thank you.” Yuan Zheng picked up the pen and wrote his name on the paper.
Yuan Zheng was exceptionally good-looking, and Sun Hongyan couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times. Just as she looked away, she caught Cheng Fangqiu’s gaze. The two of them smiled at each other knowingly—it seemed everyone was the same; no one could resist looking at attractive people.
Cheng Fangqiu straightened up, patted Li Zhiliang on the shoulder, and signaled with her eyes that they could head to the shooting area. Then she said to Sun Hongyan, “We’ll go ahead then.”
“Sure.”
Once Cheng Fangqiu left, the others finally dared to approach. One bold boy leaned on the counter and asked, “Is she going to be the one taking the photos later? Can we go in and watch?”
Sun Hongyan was used to this kind of situation. She smiled slightly and said, “Yes, but the shooting area can’t accommodate too many people at once. If you’re not taking photos, you can sit over there and wait. Our photo sessions are quick, so once your friend is done, you can leave.”
The group hesitated. They hadn’t planned on taking photos today—after all, a single photo wasn’t cheap, and they had already spent most of their pocket money for the month. But if they didn’t take photos, they might never see her again.
Thinking this, one of them quickly spoke up, “I want to take a photo!”
“Me too!”
Once one person took the lead, the others followed suit.
Seeing this, Sun Hongyan’s smile deepened. She handed each of them a registration form, but there were only a few pens, so they had to take turns.
Yuan Zheng was the first to finish filling out the form. Sun Hongyan told him to head straight to the shooting area, so he followed the direction Cheng Fangqiu had gone. As he walked past the antique shelf and entered, he saw a graceful figure standing in front of the camera, slightly bent over as she adjusted the equipment.
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a soft glow around her.
Hearing the noise, Cheng Fangqiu turned to look at Yuan Zheng. “Comrade, hello. Just stand over there.”
Yuan Zheng stood in front of the backdrop, feeling uneasy. His fingers gripped the seams of his pants tightly, trying to ease his nervousness, but his body still stiffened involuntarily.
“Tilt your head a little to the right, yes, just a bit. You’re doing great.”
“Smile, let your eyes smile too. You look really nice when you smile.”
“Raise your shoulders a little, no, not that much.”
Unconsciously, the stiffness in his body gradually eased under the soothing tone of her voice. Just as he began to relax, he saw her walking toward him with quick steps. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, adjusting his posture.
A faint scent of jasmine lingered around him. Yuan Zheng clenched his palms, and the tips of his ears instantly turned bright red.
“Just like this, don’t move. It’ll be done soon.” Cheng Fangqiu didn’t even glance at Yuan Zheng. She hurried back to her spot and quickly pressed the shutter. “Done. Next.”
Yuan Zheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran out of the shooting area. He instinctively called for the next person to go in and then sat on a chair, lost in thought. He sniffed the air, feeling as if the scent of jasmine still lingered.
—
Finally, it was time to get off work. Cheng Fangqiu, preoccupied with something, said a quick goodbye to Li Taoyuan and left early. When she got home, dinner was almost ready, prepared by Zhou Yingchen and Cheng Baokuan together.
Seeing that there was more food than the family could finish, Cheng Fangqiu asked Zhou Yingchen to make a couple more dishes so they could have a gathering.
After giving instructions, she rode her bicycle to the Xu family to invite Xu Qiqi and her husband. Coincidentally, Chang Yan’an had just gotten off work and hadn’t started cooking yet.
They had been a great help during the hospital incident, and Cheng Fangqiu had always wanted to treat them to a meal but hadn’t found the right opportunity. Now seemed like a good time. Thinking of this, she went to Zhou Yinghuai’s department to ask him to invite Zhao Zhigao as well. If it hadn’t been for Zhao Zhigao quickly bringing the logistics department supervisor over, the matter wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.
This was Cheng Fangqiu’s first time visiting the technical department, and she couldn’t help but take a good look around. The building had been renovated just the year before, and the white paint on the walls still looked bright and impressive.
Cheng Fangqiu parked her bike and checked her watch. Seeing that it was almost time, she walked toward the entrance.
When the workday ended, there was no sign of anyone leaving the technical department. Cheng Fangqiu waited for a while but eventually couldn’t resist peeking inside. Everyone was buried in their work, and no one noticed the movement at the door.
Cheng Fangqiu scanned the room but didn’t see Zhou Yinghuai. She decided to approach the male colleague sitting closest to the door. He was frowning, flipping through documents, occasionally circling or annotating something, looking quite troubled.
“Comrade, comrade.”
Cheng Fangqiu called out softly twice before he finally looked up at her.
“Y-you, hello, can I help you?” The male colleague stuttered slightly when he suddenly met Cheng Fangqiu’s smiling face. Their department was mostly men, and with the constant overtime, they rarely had the chance to interact with women. Seeing such a beautiful woman suddenly appear made his heart skip a beat.
But the next moment, any romantic thoughts vanished.
“Hello, I’m Zhou Yinghuai’s wife. It’s off-work hours now, right? I need to talk to him. Could you call him out for me?” Cheng Fangqiu’s peach-blossom eyes curved gently as she spoke softly.
Hearing this, his pupils widened, and he immediately stood up. “Of course.”
This was Technician Zhou’s wife? It was his first time seeing her! And he had just been thinking…
At this thought, he closed his eyes in frustration, then quickly turned and jogged toward Zhou Yinghuai’s office. Soon, Zhou Yinghuai walked out. Almost as soon as he appeared, everyone who had been buried in their work looked up, finally noticing Cheng Fangqiu at the door.
Those who had worked with her in Ping Le Village recognized her and curiously peeked over to get a better look.
“Qiuqiu.” Zhou Yinghuai strode over to Cheng Fangqiu, his eyes filled with obvious joy. “There was a sudden issue with the factory machinery, but it’s almost fixed.”
Following Zhou Yinghuai came a series of gazes. Cheng Fangqiu felt a bit uncomfortable and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then got straight to the point about why she had come.
Hearing this, Zhou Yinghuai nodded in agreement.
“Then hurry up and finish so you can come back for dinner. I’ll head back first—Qiqi and the others are still at our place.”
“Okay.”
The two parted at the door. As Zhou Yinghuai turned around, he was met with dozens of pairs of eyes that hadn’t had time to look away. He raised an eyebrow, glanced at his watch, and said in a deep voice, “Still not off work?”
“Almost, almost.” No one dared to say something like, “How can we leave if you’re still working?” Instead, they quickly chimed in and asked, “Is Sister-in-law here to remind you to go home for dinner?”
“Mhm.” Zhou Yinghuai responded lightly, but the corners of his lips curled upward, clearly in a good mood.
“…..” They regretted asking—now they were just feeding themselves dog food for no reason.
Zhou Yinghuai walked forward, passing by Zhao Zhigao’s desk. He relayed what Cheng Fangqiu had asked him to say. Zhao Zhigao’s eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed.
After Zhou Yinghuai finished his work, the two left work together.
“Brother Huai, maybe you should go ahead. I’ll catch up later.” After the initial excitement, Zhao Zhigao felt things were a bit rushed. He hadn’t had time to prepare a gift, and since this was his first time eating at Brother Huai’s place, showing up empty-handed didn’t feel right.
Zhou Yinghuai understood his concern and waved his hand. “My wife specifically said not to bring anything. Just come over, eat well, and enjoy yourself.”
“But…” Zhao Zhigao was still hesitant, but seeing Zhou Yinghuai’s firm expression, he stopped arguing, silently deciding to make it up next time.
When they arrived home, Cheng Fangqiu opened the door and warmly welcomed them inside. She introduced everyone before they all sat down.
At first, everyone was a bit reserved, but as time passed, they gradually loosened up. Especially with Xu Qiqi and Zhao Zhigao around, the atmosphere never cooled down.
Good food, of course, needed to be paired with good wine.
Because everyone was in high spirits, they drank quite a bit. Even Zhou Yinghuai, who usually had a good tolerance for alcohol, was slightly tipsy, his handsome face flushed.
Seeing that he had drunk a bit too much, Cheng Fangqiu secretly kicked him under the table, intending to remind him. To her surprise, he took the opportunity to grab her calf. Even though her dress separated them, she could still feel the heat of his palm against her skin.
Cheng Fangqiu’s pupils slightly dilated, and she instinctively glanced around the table to see if anyone had noticed. Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed, so she relaxed and quietly tried to pry his hand away, whispering sternly, “Let go.”
Zhou Yinghuai lowered his eyes, his dark pupils shimmering with a watery glow, exuding an indescribable charm.
She thought he would let go immediately, but instead, he became even more audacious.