In the advertising studio, the backdrop mimics a French winery. Daisy and Amy wear modified qipaos from the last beauty pageant—Daisy in a dark green satin dress with elbow-length white gloves, and Amy in a champagne gold lace version. Both have their beauty pageant number tags still attached to the back of their necks.
Photographer: (Flipping through the test shots, then suddenly puts down the camera)
"You two... are more than just work partners, aren't you?"
(The air freezes for two seconds)
"Don't worry, my client wants to sell 'temptation,' and the tension in your gazes..."
(Frames the camera on Amy's reddening earlobes)
"... is more intoxicating than any alcohol."
DAISY: (Suddenly pulls off her right glove)
"You’re right, we are..."
(Slides her silk-covered fingertips over the sweat bead on Amy’s collarbone)
"... each other's best worst enemies."
(Amy shudders, the studio air conditioning makes the feel of Daisy's glove feel like a mix of ice and fire.)
AMY: (Suddenly bites the fingertip of Daisy’s left glove)
"Are you sure you want to go this far?"
(Leaves a cherry-colored bite mark on the white satin with her lipstick)
"We haven’t even signed a management contract..."
DAISY: (Caresses her cheek with the gloved hand she’s being bitten)
"Then let’s call it... a private photo shoot."
(Speaks in a voice only Amy can hear)
"Remember our bet in the changing room? Whoever gets shy first has to pay for tonight’s mango sticky rice."
Photographer: (The shutter clicks like a downpour)
"Yes! This is the kind of forbidden feel—"
(Focuses the camera on Daisy’s glove caught in the crease of Amy's waist)
"Turn the qipao into armor, and the other into a forbidden fruit!"
(Amy suddenly flips over, pinning Daisy against an antique wine barrel, her nose grazing Daisy’s eyelids, still glued with fake lashes. They still taste the sweet, non-alcoholic grape juice used for the shoot on each other's lips.)
DAISY: (Winks at the photographer between breaths)
"These ‘boundary-crossing’ photos..."
(Takes off her gloves to wipe the sweat from Amy's neck)
"Feel free to delete them, or..."
(Throws the soaked white glove into a red wine prop cup)
"Sell them for a good price and remember to give us our cut."
Finale:
On the last subway ride, they check the test shots, the screen’s blue light reflecting off their makeup-free faces. Amy suddenly notices:
The photographer secretly kept the moment Daisy bit her pearl earring.
In every “overstepping” photo, Daisy’s left hand grips her talisman— the copper coin she got from her mother’s temple.
(Three days later, the client picks the most conservative set of photos. But the photographer privately sends one shot that slipped through the cracks: them removing their makeup during the break, with Daisy carefully using a cotton swab soaked in makeup remover to gently wipe away the beauty pageant score sticker left on Amy’s neck.)
This shoot became a metaphor for their career— the world only consumes safe beauty, while the truly precious moments always happen in the darkness after the flashbulbs go out.