After Chu Qingning finished her business in the bathroom, she flushed the toilet and stood in front of the mirror, tidying and combing her long hair.
Since she was wearing a set of Hanfu, which made her look very graceful and ladylike, most of her long hair was tied into a bundle with a ribbon at the back, leaving two strands of hair in front of her chest, which gave off an elegant yet lazy vibe.
A perfect blend of purity and desire, radiating the aura of a mature woman.
Beep beep beep—
Qiao Meina: [I looked at the photos, and that guy named Lin Can is quite skilled at taking pictures.]
[He's really good (covers mouth and smiles).]
While chatting with her best friend, Chu Qingning came out of the bathroom to find that Lin Can was not in the room.
What was he doing?
Chu Qingning was left wondering.
Curious, she walked out of the private room and saw Lin Can taking pictures of two other girls.
"Wow, little brother, you're so good at taking photos! You made my legs look so long."
"You're amazing, little brother."
He was taking photos of other girls!
Beep beep beep—
Qiao Meina: [You guys have a private photographer just for your group in the Western region? Really enviable.]
Chu Qingning: [So jealous, why don't you come here? (angry face)]
Qiao Meina: [Hey, why are you being so fierce for no reason?]
Chu Qingning didn't reply, locked her phone screen, and sat down on a folding stool in the hallway, cracking sunflower seeds and watching Lin Can, who was among the flowers.
She had to admit, handsome guys had an undeniable charm. Add photography skills, and they easily attracted the attention of girls.
However, as Chu Qingning looked at the two girls, she could see their eyes glinting with 'killing intent.' They were typical high-end hunters 'appearing in front of Lin Can in the form of prey,' as if they wanted to devour this young man.
Brother, you need to be more careful.
Chu Qingning, with a big sister expression, chuckled and sighed inwardly, "He's such an inexperienced young man."
Snap—
At this moment, the flash on the right flashed briefly.
A man in a Versace T-shirt with a large logo approached, using his expensive camera to take a beautiful photo of a Hanfu girl sitting in the corridor.
The man walked over, took a seat on the folding stool, and deliberately handed over his camera with his right hand adorned with a Vacheron Constantin watch, subtly showcasing his wealth.
"Beautiful lady, I took a picture of you. How does it look?"
Chu Qingning put down the sunflower seeds, clapped her hands, took the camera, and said faintly, "It's very well taken. But don't take sneaky shots next time." After saying that, she deleted her photo and handed the camera back to him.
She didn't even look at him, nor did she care about his Vacheron Constantin watch. What did it matter to her if it was real or fake?
A beauty like Chu Qingning, who had remained single and pure until the age of 19, didn't lack attention from the top second-generation rich men of Shanghai.
But she didn't like them. She wasn't interested. Despite their persistent pursuit, her heart remained as calm as still water.
There are many beautiful women who remain single, and the more beautiful they are, the more they remain single, simply because their standards are high, and ordinary people just don't catch their eye.
"The photo you just took didn't capture your charm well. How about this? Let me take a few more for you."
"No need," Chu Qingning replied coldly.
"It's fine. I won't charge you," the man said with a smile.
"…"
Chu Qingning didn't respond and just sat there cracking sunflower seeds, watching Lin Can take pictures of the other girls.
There's an old saying: If a girl is constantly approached by guys, it's not because she's so outstanding, but because she always responds.
Chu Qingning ignored him. That was the best way to handle it.
The man, seeing that the Hanfu beauty completely ignored him with an attitude of keeping people at a distance, wasn't discouraged. After all, such a top-tier beauty couldn't possibly be easy to approach, unlike the powdery women in the young man's camera lens.
For such a beautiful woman, being cold was the right approach.
Another saying goes, "Beautiful women fear decayed husbands."
To win a woman's heart, you have to be thick-skinned and relentlessly pursue her.
So, this man started his relentless flirting mode...
"Beautiful lady, I also quite like Hanfu culture. Where did you buy this outfit? Do you have a link? Can you add me on WeChat so you can send me the link?"
"No link. I made it myself."
"You made it yourself? You're truly talented! You can do handcrafts, and it looks beautiful. How about I take a few more pictures for you?"
"Thank you, but no need."
Chu Qingning was getting annoyed with this man. He was being too persistent.
The man continued to chat awkwardly, but when he realized the Hanfu beauty still wouldn't acknowledge him, he gave up. She was just too cold to be moved.
The man, feeling defeated, got up to leave.
Just then, there was a snap.
A shutter sound and a flash came from ahead.
It was the young man who had been taking pictures of the other two girls, now taking a picture of the cold beauty, and confidently walked up to her.
The man had also walked up confidently earlier, thinking he'd succeed, only to walk away in defeat.
As Lin Can reached the man's side, the man kindly reminded him, "Bro, let me give you some advice. Just give up. This girl is too cold. You can't win her over."
"Cold?"
Lin Can glanced at the "cold" Chu Qingning.
Chu Qingning, cracking sunflower seeds, gave him a 'complaining' look, as if saying, "Lin Can, you took another picture of me."
He couldn't understand Lin Can. Why did he like her so much?
The young man's perspective: A mature woman doesn't understand the XP of a boy.
"Thanks for the advice," Lin Can replied politely and then confidently walked towards the "cold" Hanfu beauty.
Whoa.
The man thought to himself, I'm a professional photographer, with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of equipment, taking beautiful photos, but this Hanfu beauty wouldn't even acknowledge me. Who gave you the courage to approach her in your Meisibo clothes?
He didn't leave and stayed where he was, wanting to see how long it would take for Lin Can to be rejected.
Lin Can walked up to Chu Qingning and handed her the camera, saying, "Beautiful lady, I took a picture of you. How do you like it?"
"I'll take a look."
The man heard this line and it sounded familiar. He thought, "If this goes like last time, she's going to say, 'It's very well taken. Don't take pictures next time.' Then she'll delete the photo and hand the camera back. Yup, that's how it went before."
Chu Qingning took the camera and looked at the photo. It was a candid shot of her turning her head, not a beautiful picture in Hanfu, but a picture of her squinting with a crooked mouth.
Ah!
A beauty can't tolerate an ugly photo.
"You're annoying."
Chu Qingning immediately lost her cool, lightly hitting Lin Can a few times with her fist and giving him an "hmpf" and a blaming look.
So angry.
He did it on purpose.
The man curiously walked over and glanced at the photo, shaking his head in surprise, "Bro, what did you take? This beautiful lady looks amazing, and you made her look like this? Can you even take photos? And now you've made her angry?"
The man looked at Lin Can with disdain, thinking, is this guy here to hit on girls or to get beat up?
Lin Can smiled and said, "It's true, the photo didn't turn out well. How about this, beautiful lady, let me take a few more for you?"
Chu Qingning threatened, "Okay, but if the next one's ugly, you'll be in trouble."
Lin Can pushed open the private room door: "Shall I take them inside?"
"Go ahead, go inside," Chu Qingning stood up and strode into the room.
Lin Can closed the door, glancing at the shocked man, then "creaked" the door closed.
"The guy took an ugly picture as bait, and the cold beauty actually fell for it? She's willing to go into the room to have him take more pictures? What's going on?"
The man outside was stunned.
"So all my years of photography training were wasted?"
"Is it true that beautiful girls like to play reverse psychology?"
…
Inside the room.
"Hehehe... Thank you, Lin Can, for saving me."
"The beautiful lady really isn't easy. Everywhere she goes, men try to hit on her."
"Pfft, you're the same! You just got on the bus, and you already took pictures of two girls."
Lin Can smiled but didn't explain.
He thought to himself, it's all good now.
…
Gurgle…
At that moment, Lin Can's stomach growled. He looked at the time.
"It's almost midnight. Let's go. I'll take you to the dining car."
Chu Qingning lay on the upper bunk. "I ate too much this morning, and I haven't exercised. I'm not hungry. You go eat."
"Okay."
Lin Can agreed and walked out of the room, heading to the restaurant.
…
Chu Qingning lay on the upper bunk chatting with her best friends.
Qiao Meina: [Still the hero saving the beauty, hehe... That Lin Can seems pretty good. How does he look?]
Chu Qingning: [He's tall, handsome, and clean. He has this bright smile that's really comforting. The best part is his skin is great, but he's just a little too popular with girls.]
Qiao Meina: [Handsome guys are always popular with girls (covers mouth and smiles).]
Miao Youxi: [When you mention handsome guys, I'm not sleepy anymore. Where's the handsome guy?]
Ai Re: [Send me the photo, I'll judge if he's as handsome as you said.]
[I don't have a photo of him.]
Actually, Chu Qingning did have a photo of Lin Can, it was from earlier when he was sitting on the couch, gazing out the window, looking handsome from the side.
He looked very affectionate and sunny.
But she didn't want to send it to her best friends without permission.
So, she said she didn't have it.
Ai Re: [If you don't have it, take one! When he comes back after dinner, we'll video chat and you can show us the handsome guy.]
Miao Youxi: [Ah, @Ai Re, have you never seen a handsome guy? Why so eager?]
Ai Re: [I've seen plenty of handsome guys. I'm just curious, if the handsome guys at school can't catch Chu Qingning's eye, what kind of handsome guy does she think is worthy?]
Chu Qingning: [Shallow woman, I'm not a颜狗.]
The group of girls was very close and had endless topics to chat about. They had no secrets between them.
And the group message that constantly updated with "Who's getting a boyfriend? They're all dogs" had 99+ notifications.
Knock knock knock—
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Chu Qingning got down from the upper bunk, put on her slippers, opened the door, and saw two girls standing outside. They were the same ones Lin Can had taken pictures of earlier.
One was wearing a super short body-con mini skirt.
The other wore a low-cut dress, and there were tattoos?
Is this what respectable women wear?
"Excuse me, is Lin Can here?"
"What do you want with him?"
"We just want him to take some photos."
"…"
Dressed like that, you're looking for Lin Can to take photos?
Oh…
Chu Qingning was really displeased.
The boy had just graduated from high school, and he was still a kid. And yet, they dressed like this to harass him?
No way!
Chu Qingning felt she had to protect this flower of the nation from corruption.
She politely and kindly replied, "Sorry, ladies. Lin Can received a call just now and had to get off at the previous station. He won't be going to the Western region."
"Ah, he got off?"
"Yes, he got off. You can try asking him on WeChat?"
"We haven't added him on WeChat."
"Then I'm afraid I can't help you."
Chu Qingning shrugged and showed her regret.
"Sigh... Let's go."
The two girls in revealing outfits turned and walked away.
Chu Qingning felt proud for protecting this national treasure.
If Lin Can knew, he would be so angry. You've blocked my fortune!
"Little boat quietly goes back and forth on the shores of Matisse."
Chu Qingning was in a great mood, humming a song as the hem of her skirt swayed, spinning around like an umbrella. She was about to return to the private room.
"Feeling so good?"
She saw Lin Can, who had finished eating, smiling as he walked down the corridor.
"Secret."
Chu Qingning happily returned to the room, took out her tablet, sat on the sofa, and started composing music. As a music student, her usual homework was writing songs and composing.
Lin Can glanced at the sheet music, not understanding it, and didn't disturb her. He lay down on the lower bunk, playing on his phone while waiting for those two girls.
The afternoon sun gently illuminated the Hanfu girl through the window, and the cool air from the AC gently blew the long hair tied behind her with a ribbon. A few strands of hair floated in the breeze.
Time passed slowly.
Lin Can occasionally got up, checked the time, or went out to look down the hallway.
Chu Qingning occasionally smiled, occasionally felt pleased, and at times she would hold it in, putting on a serious expression.
Lin Can scratched his head and returned, laying down, muttering to himself, "We agreed to take photos, but why haven't they come yet?"
Chu Qingning lightly tucked her loose hair behind her ear, took a sip of tea, and gently tapped the tablet while softly humming a tune...
"I didn't lie, so why would I lie? You know I never pretend with you."