CH 6.1

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Translated by: Peri  

"Today’s filming is finally done! Brother Qi, what would you like to drink? I'll buy it!"

A slender figure jumped up from the swimming pool. Jiang Qi’s whole body was soaked in the cold water. The assistant Qiu Mi, who was watching not far away, quickly went to him and wrapped him with a large towel.

Qiu Mi helped Jiang Qi wipe his hair and discerningly handed him a glass of warm water. The young man took it and pursed his lips. He lowered his eyes but did not answer. The little assistant seemed to be used to his silence but still asked him, "Brother, it’s too bad today’s shoot will be underwater and you have to go down several times for a while. Should I buy some ginger tea to ward off the cold?” 

After a long while, Jiang Qi spoke in a low voice: "Milk tea, red bean flavored."

"Oh, okay, I'll go right now." Qiu Mi responded, but the word red bean milk tea was a bit familiar in his mind, however, he couldn’t grasp where he had read it recently. After a while, he still couldn’t remember after he bought the milk tea and handed it to Jiang Qi.

The young man didn't need a straw. He just tore off the lid of the cup and drank it. His adam's apple rolled up and down as he drank until the cup was empty. At this time, the photographer in charge of taking pictures sent an assistant over to urge people.

Jiang Qi frowned when he took off the big wet towel from his body. He got up and went down to the pool again. His dark locks of hair stuck to his pale face and his slender knuckles held the edge of the pool. His body was submerged in the clear water and his whole person was like a mermaid.

Just like a male mermaid from the dark who looks dangerous and sinister.

A few hours later, the photographer’s excited roar, "Ok!" ended the long hour of ups and downs in the pool. Jiang Qi’s lips looked bloodless, but his glazed eyes were still sober.

"It was really good." The photographer Ji Ting came over and praised him generously, "After the editing is completed, this will be the most amazing cover of this year."

Ji Ting is the leader of Calle Weekly. This time, he went to shoot for the recently famous Micro-Star. It only took one afternoon of shooting to realize that some people's flexibility in sensing the camera was indeed innate. The cold and arrogant young man in front of him had never done any magazine covers, but his performance in front of the camera was even more natural than those seniors who had been in the industry for more than ten years and could only scratch their heads.

It has been a long time since he had a hearty feeling of enjoyment. Looking at Jiang Qi's sharp and delicate facial lines, Ji Ting deeply realized what the phrase Heavenly Gifted is.

This is called talent.

Maybe God is unfair. It is no wonder despite playing the challenging role of a pervert for his first movie role, he was still able to gain fame and fortune. Not only that but it hit the box office and made a big noise. At the same time, the existence of being rated as a Micro-Star by the industry is neither humbling nor overbearing.

What Ji Ting is interested in is the attitude of the young teenager in front of him that doesn't seem to care about all this. Facing his admiration, Jiang Qi just nodded slightly and asked softly, "Can I smoke?"

No smoking for just a few hours.

.

Seeing the young man's glazed pupils filled with seriousness, Ji Ting couldn't help laughing. "Go." He patted his thin right-angled shoulders, "Change clothes first."

Jiang Qi changed into a set of dry clothes in the lounge. He recalled Qiu Mi's earnest exhortations such as, 'Don't be photographed', 'Brother, there will be shooting tomorrow, you must stay in front of the camera and not eat supper', etc. It made him quite impatient.

Since he was hired by Shen Lei to act in his movie, he felt that his whole person seemed to be restrained. Every move seemed like someone was watching. Jiang Qi frowned and deliberately avoided Qiu Mi as he slipped out wearing a mask.  On the other hand, he is still a teenager in his early twenties. Even if he is cold-hearted, he occasionally wants to escape. After all, the most annoying thing is being stared at.

The studio was in the suburbs and there were open spaces in each direction. When they went out, they could only see a row of nanny vans. Jiang Qi knew that Qiu Mi would have to call him and urge him to go back soon, so he simply went to the supermarket.

No more smoking.

When Jiang Qi entered the door, he saw the boss who was sitting cross-legged and playing games at the door. He lowered his voice and said, "Xuanhemen." (TN: A famous cigarette brand in China)

The boss didn't raise his head nor open his eyes, "Sixteen or twenty."

Jiang Qi responded, "Sixteen."

(TN: this exchange made me confused. I thought the seller was asking for his age but the following paragraph showed it’s about the price.)

Jiang Qi has never had the habit of spending money lavishly. It was probably due to his childhood. When buying things for himself, he usually always chooses the mid-to-low prices, even if he could be considered... a little rich.

When the boss stretched out his hand to get him a cigarette, the doorbell chimed. A man wearing a mask and hat and fully armed came in. It may be because the supermarket is located next to several offices and the mafia boss is usually coming in and out of his house every day that people are used to it.

The man walked to the shelf next to the front desk and skillfully took the box of condoms, then placed them on the table. The voice behind the mask was guileless and frank, "Settlement."

It was the latest retro condom, packaged with dark green lines. The pattern on the box is a woman's foot under a rose-red skirt, painted with black nail polish, and mixed with the colors red, black, and green. The three conflicting colors were ambiguous and confusing people’s reveries.

The boss, who was still concentrating on playing games just now, saw the box of condoms and raised his head. He ridiculed the man, "Looking at this packaging? This one is very popular recently." They say that there is a hidden desire in the heart of men and the packaging makes it popular.

Jiang Qi took the cigarette handed over by the boss. He restrained his gaze that had just stopped on the box and turned to leave. His eyes were calm, but in fact, Jiang Qi was drawn by that foot. He is actually a foot controller (aka foot fetish)1, but unlike other people, he only has feelings for Zhi Qi's feet. The exquisite jade feet on the package and the toes are somewhat like Zhiqi.

Oh, how crazy that sounds.

Jiang Qi sneered and tore open the cigarette case. He took out a cigarette and bit it between his lips, but when he thought of the name Zhiqi, he couldn't help the emotional waves in him.  If someone was to approach him at that moment, his instincts would detect it as a danger.

The temperament in his body is not chilling but it was overflowing and forcibly suppressed by dominant... possessiveness.

After a cigarette burned out, Jiang Qi returned to his usual indifference and isolation. He then snuffed out the cigarette butt, threw it in the trash can, and walked out of the dark.

——He returned to a place that seemed to be bright, but was covered in haze.

TN:

1.(足控) foot control or foot fetish, refers to people who have a strong affection for the area below the root of the thigh of a woman.  

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I don’t like looking at feet no matter how pretty it looks. Thus, I find foot fetish weird. But then I’ve read smuts with weirder fetishes, so I guess it’s pretty mild compared to others ><  What do you think? 

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Anyway, I have a bit of time to translate more this week. As much as I don’t want to split the chapters when translating this, but I have no choice to do so because it takes me twice longer to understand the context and structure compared to TFSCRWB. I try to stick with 2x to 3x updates each week for this one.