"Mr. Zhou, this is normal. Everyone struggles to act naturally in front of the camera at first. You’ll get used to it."
"Yeah, Mr. Zhou, you wouldn’t believe it, but Suisui was so nervous during her first shoot, she couldn’t even walk straight..."
Lin Ran and Shi Yi didn’t think much of it, both chimed in with laughter.
"Okay, I’ll adjust myself."
Zhou Wang nodded.
The current shoot was for Zhou Wang’s personal account, which was about to release its first video. This was just the first part; the latter part would transition to the Wuyou Night event.
Zhou Wang wasn’t sure what the final result would be, but the script was something Lin Ran had painstakingly written.
The company did have a dedicated short video director, but Lin Ran didn’t seem to trust them much and decided to step in herself.
Since there weren’t many scenes to shoot, Zhou Wang initially thought it wouldn’t take much time. Who knew it would take the entire afternoon?
It wasn’t just because Zhou Wang lacked experience. Lin Ran and Shi Yi were both aiming for the best result, so many scenes were shot over and over.
It wasn’t until the sun was about to set that the shoot finally ended. Watching the two women looking exhausted, Zhou Wang suggested, "How about I treat you two to dinner?"
"I’d love to take you up on that, but unfortunately, there’s a live concert by Xiaoxiao we can’t miss tonight. It’s her debut show after collaborating with Meow Music, and Shi Yi and I have to be there..."
Lin Ran shook her head helplessly.
Hearing this, Zhou Wang didn’t insist. Instead, he took out his phone and transferred a thousand yuan each to both of them.
"Don’t feel awkward about it, just take it. A thousand yuan is not much for me. Consider it as having treated you to dinner."
"..."
Listening to Zhou Wang’s sincere yet somewhat vexing words, Lin Ran and Shi Yi had no choice but to silently accept the money, taking it as playing along with Zhou Wang’s "showing off."
After Lin Ran and Shi Yi packed up and left, Zhou Wang glanced at the time. It was already close to six in the evening, so he didn’t return to the office. Instead, he texted Jiang Qingkui to come downstairs and also asked Miao Ying to bring the car to the company entrance to wait for him.
"Xixi, hurry up, you said you wanted to shower, didn’t you? The showers will be crowded soon..."
Zhou Wang, who was using his phone, suddenly heard a voice nearby. He instinctively looked up and was momentarily stunned.
From the rooftop terrace, a group of girls walked by. Zhou Wang didn’t know the others, but he recognized the one trailing behind. Dressed in a white tie-waist shirt, black JK skirt, knee-high white socks, exposing a bit of her fair thigh, it was none other than Ji Xiaoxi, whom Zhou Wang hadn’t seen in four or five days.
"Coming, coming!"
When Zhou Wang looked over, Ji Xiaoxi, who was previously focused on her phone, smiled and lifted her head, ready to catch up with her friends. At the same time, she saw Zhou Wang.
Ji Xiaoxi paused, and a mix of surprise, embarrassment, annoyance, and helplessness flashed across her face.
"Mr. Zhou!"
"Hello, Mr. Zhou..."
A few others, unsure if they were managers or someone else, also noticed Zhou Wang and hurriedly greeted him.
Only Ji Xiaoxi, frozen in place, instinctively stepped back as if wanting to turn around and flee.
Zhou Wang glanced at her but said nothing more. He nodded at the others and walked away.
"Mr. Zhou’s presence is so strong. I thought people said he’s really easygoing..."
"Shh, keep it down. He’s not far yet!"
Listening to the chatter of her companions, Ji Xiaoxi gradually regained her composure. Seeing Zhou Wang didn’t make an effort to talk to her, she felt a quiet sense of relief but also an inexplicable sense of loss...
...
In the elevator, Zhou Wang shook his head to himself.
Did Ji Xiaoxi think of him as something to avoid at all costs?
Speaking of which, that night, she was clearly more absorbed than he was. If Zhou Wang hadn’t hesitated for a moment, she might have been gone by the time Chen He knocked on the door...
However, girls’ thoughts were always complex. Even though Zhou Wang was now considered "experienced," he still often felt he couldn’t grasp them.
Even the ones he thought he knew best, Jiang Mo and Su Yajing, he couldn’t say with 100% certainty he always knew what they were thinking.
Despite being very curious about the "rainbow-colored exclamation mark" above Ji Xiaoxi’s head, given he was leaving Hang City tomorrow, he could only leave it to fate.
As for last time, as a form of compensation, Zhou Wang had already helped upgrade Endme’s contract. So he didn’t feel too awkward about it, taking it as evened out.
Ding!
As the elevator reached the first floor, Zhou Wang was just about to head to the entrance when he was suddenly greeted by a pleasantly surprised voice:
"Mr. Zhou?"
Zhou Wang, surprised, turned his head to see a figure from the guest area of the lobby stand up and walk quickly towards him.
"Oh, are you here to see Ji Xiaoxi?"
Seeing Chen He, Zhou Wang wasn’t surprised, only nodded.
Chen He, who had already extended his hands, found it awkward for a moment as Zhou Wang had no intention of shaking hands. But he quickly covered it with a smile.
"Yes, she hasn’t been feeling well the past few days and has been resting at home. Today was her first day at the company to sign the contract, so I thought I’d pick her up, and we could celebrate over dinner..."
"Yes, you should celebrate. Congratulations... I’ll be heading out."
Zhou Wang smiled and nodded, about to turn and leave.
"Mr. Zhou, did you forget to accept my friend request... I thought maybe you didn’t see it and clicked it three times just in case."