Chapter 251
“For promotional photos, we have to be more formal, so we deliberately chose two sets of formal wear.”
Xie Mi wore a bright red gauze dress, with a huge festive red peony on her head.
Beside her, Shen Moqing wore a green suit, crowned with a head wreath woven from leaves.
One red, one green—standing together like a couple of chess pieces.
Director Niu’s vision darkened; the visual impact nearly knocked him out.
[Just asking… are they about to shoot Country Love?]
[Be grateful, Old Xie didn’t choose that tight leopard print dress—that was already her biggest compromise.]
[Fashion relies on the face. Can’t believe I think this looks good.]
[These two are literally carried by their faces.]
Since this concerned the later publicity campaign, Director Niu naturally couldn’t let them fool around.
Even though the guests could pick the style they liked, the final say still rested with the program team.
So the final lineup was decided:
Xu Shuangrong & Yu Jinzhe: school uniforms, youthful campus style.
Xiao Jingxi & Lai Bingxuan: ancient costumes, ethereal traditional style.
Qiu Chengye & Liu Woxing: French clothing, pastoral oil painting style.
Xie Mi & Shen Moqing: beach formal wear, romantic seaside style.
With styles confirmed, each group began their intense preparations.
To save time, they even ate lunch in the styling room—boxed meals prepared by the crew. For certain “vagabonds,” it was a rare chance to eat their fill.
Normally on shows, the guests wore only light, everyday makeup.
But this time, for promotional photos, the makeup was far more refined. Combined with clothing and hairstyles, the full transformation showed audiences a completely different side of them.
The Rong x Yu group’s school style was completed first.
Xu Shuangrong wore a neat white shirt and black skirt, hair tied up in a high ponytail. Yu Jinzhe wore a white shirt with black trousers, carrying a black backpack.
A fresh, youthful pair—a handsome boy and pretty girl who looked like childhood sweethearts walking home after school.
[Not gonna lie, they actually match quite well.]
[Jinzhe looks too good in a school uniform, so obedient.]
[White shirts really are yyds (forever god-tier).]
Next finished were Xiao Jingxi and Lai Bingxuan.
Xiao Jingxi wore a crescent-white brocade robe, with a long-hair wig tied lazily at the back with a white jade pin—radiating immortal elegance.
Lai Bingxuan wore a golden silk butterfly cloud brocade gown—dignified yet graceful.
Together, they looked like characters straight out of a fantasy drama, with flawless harmony in styling.
[Sister Lai is gorgeous. As for the guy, is he just the side dish?]
[LMAO savage above]
[Ever since Xiao Jingxi’s scandal, I can’t enjoy his looks anymore. Proof that sometimes values matter more than features.]
Then came Liu Woxing and Qiu Chengye.
Thanks to Liu Woxing’s firm refusal to compromise, the two settled on pastoral French style.
Usually elegant and poised, Liu Woxing wore a linen dress for the first time, hair casually tied, with a lovely knitted headscarf.
Her eyes shimmered faintly, like a butterfly flitting through a garden.
Qiu Chengye… also wore clothes.
[What’s Kitty Bro wearing? A nouveau riche landlord?]
[Xingxing’s look is stunning! Truly a versatile star!]
[I love Sister Liu more and more, ahhhh!]
The three groups who finished first departed to start shooting.
The Xie x Shen group was almost ready too.
Shen Moqing’s look was already complete: a tailored black patterned suit, fabric smooth as flowing water, fitting perfectly to his frame.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs crossed lazily, radiating an innate noble aura.
The styling room staff couldn’t help but glance his way again and again.
Too breathtakingly handsome.
[Hhhh old Shen casually drops a nuclear bomb—why isn’t this face in showbiz??]
[(Pulls over)(presses Rolls Royce horn softly)(lowers window)(bites rose)(poses)(about to speak)(traffic police complain about illegal parking)(ignores them)(puts on sunglasses)(plays Phoenix Legend)(thin lips part) Hello hubby, let’s get married.]
[I can’t stop laughing at how well Old Xie’s eating (benefiting).]
[Who can wear formalwear and still radiate this much desire?? Turns out it’s Old Shen [heart].]
[Since he’s dressed like this, I suggest adding a kneeling-in-suit pose.]
[Bro my underwear just flew across the room.]
Shen Moqing lounged lazily on the sofa outside the changing room, flipping through the couple photo booklet while waiting.
Then—swish—the curtain pulled open.
He looked up, and his gaze froze.
Xie Mi walked out in a pure white off-shoulder gown, the fishtail skirt blooming across the floor. Her inky hair fell over her chest, setting off her snow-like skin. She was breathtaking.
Someone let out a soft gasp, and all eyes were locked on her.
[Holy sh*t!!]
[Every time she acts crazy, we forget how beautiful she really is. This is too much.]
[I was just plowing the fields, but after seeing her I kicked the ox away and tilled 20 acres myself!!]
[I was in chemistry lab, couldn’t finish the experiment. You ask why? I cried out: No aluminum!! No aluminum ahh!!]
[These netizens are too good at praising, what am I supposed to add now??]
[Can’t handle it—one super handsome, one super beautiful. How are they this perfect together?! Someone kill me to add to their atmosphere!!]
But the fishtail dress and high heels combo made Xie Mi unsteady. After just two steps, her ankle twisted.
The man on the sofa reacted instantly, rising and reaching her in three strides, steadying her by the waist.
“Ow, ow!”
Barely standing, Xie Mi’s mouth started running: “Should I just wear flip-flops? The skirt’s long enough to cover them anyway. What do you think?”
But there was no response. She looked up in confusion, only to see Shen Moqing glance away, coughing softly with his fist at his lips. The slight red at his ears betrayed his state of mind.
“All fine.”
“Not fine!!!”
Director Niu screeched, “Teacher Xie, just endure it! If you keep the heels on until the shoot ends, I’ll personally add a thousand yuan to your living allowance!”
What kind of top-tier beauty wears a red flip-flop under her gown, for god’s sake?!
Fortunately, Xie Mi knew when to stop. An extra thousand just for heels? Faster than doing two tasks!
“Deal! Let’s shoot!”
She agreed readily, pulling Shen Moqing along—but he didn’t budge. “What’s wrong?”
“…?”
He came back to himself, peach-blossom eyes softened with warmth.
“Just suddenly thought—”
“You look like you’re wearing a wedding dress.”
Wedding dress?
Xie Mi blinked, glancing at the full-length mirror.
A pure white fishtail gown, scattered with glittering gems like stars.
Her delicate yet clear makeup. At first glance, it really did look like bridal attire.
“Kind of does.”
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, while the live comments went insane.
[Wait wait, wedding dress?? Old Shen, you’re too bold!!!]
[If this isn’t a proposal, what is? What is it??]
[Old Shen left the second half unsaid: you look like a bride, and I look like the groom.]
[Don’t even joke—standing together, they do give off that vibe.]
[I bet the production team planned this sugar drop.]
[Key thing is, Shen brought it up himself—that’s the gold.]
[Just admit it, Old Shen, you’ve already fallen!!!]
“Let’s go.”
Shen Moqing extended his hand, eyes deep but soft, warmth spilling to their corners.
“I’ll help you.”
High heels made things inconvenient, so Xie Mi placed her hand in his naturally. She was about to thank him, but then froze—staring at him, unblinking.
Even Shen Moqing grew a little uneasy under her gaze, coughing lightly. “What is it?”
“Nothing. Just suddenly realized…”
Xie Mi leaned a little closer, blurting a heartfelt sigh. “You’re really handsome today.”
At heart, she was still a face-con.
To think her first time shooting couple portraits would be with such a super-hot guy—life felt complete.
“Come on! Let’s shoot!”
She pulled him toward the beach, not noticing his ears had gone scarlet.
In romance variety shows, couple shoots were supposed to be filled with sugar and CP fuel.
But reality didn’t match expectations.
“Alright, teachers, hold hands and run along the beach—we’ll get some dreamy running shots!”
On the sand, the photographer directed them with his camera ready.
Xie Mi and Shen Moqing cooperated well, joining hands and running.
But within two steps, it fell apart.
High heels + fishtail gown + beach sand = triple debuff. Every step Xie Mi took was crooked, like a zombie shuffle.
The photographer’s face grew heavy, staring at the lens image like an alien creature mid-mutation.
Surely… his skills hadn’t degraded?
“Um, maybe change shoes? High heels really aren’t practical on sand.”
In the end, Xie Mi switched to her beloved flip-flops.
Good news: mobility improved.
Bad news: too much mobility.
The two figures sprinted like a 100-meter dash, nearly running out of frame. Even the usually calm photographer yelped.
“Stop! Stop! It’s running, not a race!!”
“Or maybe just pose however you feel comfortable—wait, not jazz hands!!”
“Okay okay, hold still just like that—perfect… Teacher Xie, you closed your eyes again!!”
“Good, this time she didn’t… but Mr. Shen did!!”
“No worries, you’re just nervous. Deep breath, keep eyes open… ready, go—”
“Now you BOTH closed your eyes!!!”
[Hahahahaha I’m dying]
[See? They really are a couple—even blinking is synchronized]
[This CP is comedy gold and it’s mineee]
But truthfully, Xie Mi wasn’t trying to mess around.
She genuinely wanted to finish quickly and head to town for AC and milk tea, so she earnestly followed all the photographer’s instructions.
Unfortunately…
She was simply born the saint of bad photos.
Sumimasen, dear photographer.
He reviewed the shots. Despite the chaos, the results weren’t bad.
With the stunning sea view and their striking looks, even candid shots came out beautiful.
Still, it was rare for both looks and chemistry to fit his aesthetics so well—he wanted something more artistic.
“Teachers, let’s try again—”
But then thunder rumbled overhead.
The sky darkened suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
“No way, rain? So sudden!”
“Protect the equipment, quick!”
“Teachers, please take shelter over there!”
A sudden downpour threw everything into chaos—equipment packed up, crew scattering.
The other groups also had to halt their shoots, all scrambling for cover.
Xie Mi and Shen Moqing hid under a rocky alcove by the beach, listening to the rain as they watched the ocean and sand get washed.
“How about this.”
Xie Mi narrowed her eyes seriously. “If we just don’t blink, we’ll never get caught with closed eyes. We’ll stare like copper bells—guaranteed success.”
Shen Moqing chuckled, eyes soft. “Rare to see Teacher Xie this serious.”
At his words, her gaze drifted to the photographer in the rain.
Even with filming paused, wearing a raincoat, he was still diligently searching for the best angle.
Her poses were stiff, her timing always off, her expression management a mess.
She’d always known she wasn’t photogenic, and accepted it.
But…
If someone wanted to build a castle on ruins, then ruins should at least try.
“Old Shen! Let’s practice poses, I thought of a few good ones!”
“So sudden?”
He raised a brow, but stood up readily, cooperating with her clumsy directions.
A faint, gentle smile tugged his lips, light rippling in his eyes.
“Teacher Xie, are we really making a star shape? Don’t four hands fall short?”
“You’re right… then let’s do a square! No—parallelogram! More artistic!”
One tall, one shorter—their black suit and white gown silhouettes overlapped under the rocky alcove, blurred by summer rain.
Through his lens, the photographer still searched angles in the rain. Suddenly his view stopped.
His eyes widened with awe.
Yes. This was it.
