The atmosphere in the fitting room seemed to fall silent for a moment.

A flurry of images flashed through her mind.

For instance, how Simon had confidently assured her yesterday that Ye Lin definitely wouldn’t be here; how smug he was before they left, saying he’d never have to see his manager.

And now, in the fitting room, with her clothes still undone, she had run into the man so enthusiastically.

Yan Man stood there, maintaining her previous posture, pondering how to smooth things over. However, the man had already taken two steps forward and swiftly zipped up her dress.

By the time she turned around, he had already entered the changing room opposite.

Never mind, it wasn’t a big deal. Just consider it as him doing her a favor, and she just happened to use a top star as a tool.

Yan Man finished putting on the rest of her outfit, adjusted herself, and then walked out of the side door of the fitting room to the pool area.

Simon was sitting under a shaded pavilion where the camera couldn’t reach, looking extremely pleased, sipping on some juice.

Yan Man looked at him, revealing a meaningful smile.

Simon squinted his eyes, about to ask something when suddenly, Ye Lin also walked out from behind.

Simon: “...”

In the distance, Bi Tan’s furious roar could be heard: “Damn! My entire life has been ruined today!”

Simon: “..........”

The live stream had already started, capturing her standing by the poolside, warming up while smiling meaningfully at her manager.

After a string of affectionate comments like “darling kisses” rolled by, the barrage reflected: [This smile is very meaningful, I like it.]

The cameraman was quite adept, sensing the atmosphere was right, slowly moving the lens away, starting from Ye Lin’s trouser legs and inching upward.

The man was wearing the simplest white shirt and black pants. If there was anything different, it would be the lightweight fabric; when the wind blew, one could faintly see the contours of his muscles.

[White shirt underwater, translucent... help... forget about me, I’m going to die right now!!!]

[What’s this brand called again? Xiang Ling, right? Today you’re my dad, I’ll spend my money on you immediately.]

[Is there any collaboration? Is there any collaboration? Yan-Ye together underwater, I’ll buy two sets!]

[Kiss, I’ll wear this on the streets for a parade.]

[Do, I’ll run naked in the Sahara Desert.]

[@Xiang Ling, are you satisfied seeing me go crazy?]

[Stop posting, your barrage is too funny, I’m laughing so much I’m drooling.]

[Are you really drooling from laughter? Be honest!]

[Sorry, I’m craving it, I confess.]

The barrage had already gone wild. Yan Man stood aside, communicating with the photographer.

This photographer was a foreigner who spoke Chinese slowly, only able to express simple phrases.

Yan Man pointed her thumb toward Ye Lin and asked the photographer: “Why doesn’t he need to change into swimwear?”

Photographer: “Our brand focuses on women’s swimwear, so he doesn’t need to change today; he just needs to assist the female models.”

Really being used as a tool?

Wait—

Yan Man quickly realized something: “The female model is...?”

“Yan Man,” the photographer asked kindly, “who is Yan Man?”

“…Me.”

Yan Man had finished warming up, accepted this setup, and sat by the pool, letting her ankles slowly adjust to the water temperature.

Ye Lin had already gone down. The photographer was splashing water onto his shirt, and the barrage screamed: [Did you do this?! Let Yan Man handle it!]

When Yan Man went into the water, because the photographer was male and it was inconvenient, he entrusted the task of pouring water to Ye Lin.

The man scooped up some water and poured it down from her shoulder. The water droplets soaked through her outer gauze layer, penetrating downwards, creating light-colored water stains.

The pool water was a bit cold, and Yan Man couldn’t help but take a slight breath, her collarbone sinking deeper, her hair ends getting wet.

[Baidu returned, this photographer is Rosa·Ken, quick, say thank you to Rosa·Ken.]

[Sorry, I couldn’t even start shooting and I was already like that.]

[Like what? Explain more.]

Soon, the shooting began. Ken’s Chinese wasn’t good; after talking for a long time, he still hadn’t explained clearly what pose he wanted.

In his frustration, he even blurted out a few English phrases.

Yan Man understood, turned back to look at him, and then leaned onto Ye Lin’s shoulder, jumping up slightly.

Ye Lin supported her waist.

Yan Man confirmed: “He holds me, and I’m above, right?”

Ken: “Right, right! That’s exactly it!”

“Just wait a moment, I’ll adjust the camera.”

Ken’s shooting was meticulous, taking two minutes to adjust without finishing.

Yan Man’s elbows rested on the man’s shoulder, gradually getting tired, and said: “Maybe you should put me down first?”

Ye Lin was a qualified toolman, holding when necessary, and releasing when needed.

Before she even finished speaking, his hands had already let go.

But the pool depth had been increased, and as soon as she went down, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Yan Man silently climbed back up: “Let’s just stay holding.”

She feared drowning.

Fortunately, not long after, the shooting finally began, and she slid up slightly.

[Legs... legs wrapped around the waist?]

[Don’t do actions that I might like!]

[It’s normal, if you don’t wrap around the waist, you’ll fall off, standard operation.]

Ken requested nose-to-nose positioning, Yan Man complied;

Ken requested Yan Man to tousle his hair, Yan Man complied;

Ken requested her to pretend to smell the water droplets on the man’s chin, she complied too.

—However, this pose was a bit difficult. She sank down slightly, nearly dragging Ye Lin into the water.

But Ken still felt something was off.

Yan Man chatted with him in English for a long time. Finally, Ken took out a video and showed it to her.

It was a Chanel ad shot in Hollywood with a forty-million-dollar budget. The female protagonist escaped amidst traffic and shared a passionate kiss with the male lead on the rooftop.

Ken paused at the kissing scene.

Yan Man was silent for a few seconds, understanding: “You just want a kiss, right?”

Ken thought about it and said: “Otherwise, it won’t feel great.”

Alright, foreigners indeed liked this kind of scale.

Anyway, it wasn’t like they hadn’t kissed before.

Yan Man lowered her eyes, locking gazes with Ye Lin.

Obviously, the man’s English was also excellent; he had understood everything throughout.

Yan Man didn’t explain further and said: “Do you mind?”

Before he could reply, Yan Man added: “Never mind, you don’t have much choice to resist anyway.”

“...”

Not long after, music flowed again from the portable speaker, signaling the start of the shoot.

For such scenes, she needed to set a context for herself to perform better.

She told Ye Lin: “Step back two steps, I want to stand on that ladder.”

Her foot stepped onto the underwater stairs, exerting force downward with her waist, and both of them gradually submerged into the water.

The surface of the water rippled near their ears; above their noses was air, below was the underwater world.

Like a water nymph newly learning to hunt, she surfaced to find a delicious prey but only found a dying man. Out of naïve conscience, she wanted to revive him first before eating him.

This was the boundless sea, and she smelled the fragrance of humans.

Yan Man moved closer, pressing her lips to his.

There was no distinct taste, like disinfected seawater, the soft flesh of a clam after prying it open. Holding her breath, she could hear the sound of seawater flooding over her ears, like little fish swimming past her cheeks, causing a slight ticklish sensation.

Her legs loosened, then wrapped around him again.

The buoyancy slowly lifted them up. Her lips were red, her eyelashes wet and dripping, waiting for this human she saved to utter words of gratitude.

But the human didn’t speak.

She lowered her head to look at him, her patience running out, contemplating where to start eating him.

Yan Man shifted her gaze downward, touching his nose tip with hers, the water droplets on her lip pearls falling, seeping into the crevices of his lips.

[Stop watching! Aim your mouth at his and fire immediately!]

The inexperienced little water nymph lowered her head, tentatively touching the human’s lips, kissing the corners, the lip pearls, the lower lip, then withdrawing.

She slowly opened her eyelids, her wet lashes dripping with water, gazing into the human’s eyes.

They were a different shade of brown, like beautiful whirlpools.

Perhaps she didn’t know what counted as foreplay and seduction in the human world.

An alluring innocence.

The barrage was quiet for a long time.

[Why isn’t anyone talking?]

[I’m busy, don’t disturb.]

[Hahahahaha, what are you girls doing?]

[No one’s posting exclamation marks?!!!! I’ll post them!!!! Kiss me!!!! Kiss passionately!!!! Ye Lin!!!! Ravish her lips!!!!!!]

[Today is August 15th, 11:37 AM. I am my master’s dog. Today, the CP my master ships kissed, and she laughed so loudly it woke me from my sweet nap. I was upset.]

[Send this to my friend in the ‘Floating Life, Old Years’ production team. She says this level of尺度 (explicitness) shouldn’t be sent to me. Get excited, brothers, is there anything more stimulating?]

[I can’t take it anymore. Watching this on the subway makes me blush. I can’t handle it, I’m going to buy two sets of the same to calm down.]

[Dream on, do you think you can buy the same? Sold out within ten minutes of airing.]

[What? It sold out without even being listed on the shopping cart? I was thinking of searching for it later.]

[You think the shopping cart will last ten minutes? It was gone before I could even pay!]

[This purchasing power... who wouldn’t say Yan-Ye is impressive?]

The music by the pool gradually stopped, and Ken lowered his head to look at the finished shots on the camera.

“So beautiful!” he exclaimed. “Yan Man, you are so talented.”

Yan Man nodded: “Good, then my job is done.”

Seeing the crew beginning to dismantle the set, Yan Man asked: “Are we done?”

Ken: “Yes.”

She just stepped on the ladder, made a light turn, and gracefully moved away from Ye Lin, standing on the ladder.

Her gauze floated on the water surface, shimmering in the sunlight like the moon swaying.

As she rose, the gauze once again covered her skin.

Because it had soaked in water, her clothes were heavy. Facing away from the camera, she casually raised her hand, took off the outer layer of gauze, and threw it on a chair nearby.

Her figure was excellent, her skin snow-white, and her slender wrist casually tossing the gauze looked incredibly elegant and pretty.

Water still clung to her hair and dress, dripping along her path forward, forming serpentine trails.

Drip, drip...

Her figure disappeared around the corner.

[Oh my god, so beautiful! Water sprite sister, come take my soul! I’m willing!]

[One day, I’ll surely be bewitched to death by beauty.]

[Ah, one minute ago they were all over each other for kisses, and one minute later, shooting ends, she leaves after playing with him. Whose XP got hit hard? Not me.]

[If she were an enemy spy, I’d be willing to be killed by her.]

[Director!! Where is the director!! I want to see Ye Lin’s expression!! Film him!!!]

Finally, the director came back to his senses, and the scene switched back to Ye Lin.

The man had already risen from the water.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t see his expression, only his back.

He was wearing more, so his clothes were heavier. Folds of fabric gathered at his waist, revealing the outline of his back under his shirt, and his long legs looked even straighter after being soaked in water.

The man also walked barefoot into the changing room, with deep indentations around his ankles.

[Squee squee.]

[Ye Lin! Learn from your wife! What’s wrong with taking off your pants that are about to fall anyway?!]

[What do you know? Taking off clothes can only be seen by his wife. A virtuous husband indeed.]

[Ye Lin would have never thought he’d ever be associated with the words ‘virtuous husband’ in his lifetime.]

Yan Man finished dressing in the changing room, put on her clothes, and went out to dry her hair.

There was a washbasin between the two changing rooms with hair dryers on both sides, probably specially prepared for them.

Ye Lin was already drying his hair. Yan Man picked up the pink dryer on her side and started drying her hair downward.

Not long after she started blow-drying, the live stream camera panned over here.

In the mirror, the two stood on either side but were only inches apart due to the narrowness of the washbasin.

Ye Lin bent down to dry his hair casually, while Yan Man combed her hair to one side and lightly swung the hairdryer.

The live stream was noisy, but the barrage comments were satisfied:

[The morning after rolling around in bed together? Already social security.]

[Thank you, I love your brand’s after-sales service. Following the store now.]

Perhaps realizing the camera was filming over, Yan Man lifted her head, smiled at the mirror, and greeted everyone.

[Look at my daughter’s clear eyes! Can you still fantasize about it?]

[Sorry, I can. Isn’t this just a newly adult water sprite swimming alone to a strange place suddenly encountering estrus, catching a man in confusion, enjoying him, forgetting everything afterward, and continuing to explore the world happily?]

[There are many authors from the PO fiction community running around in the Yan-Ye fandom. Account sent.]

While chatting, everyone suddenly remembered someone raising a flag earlier:

[By the way, what about the person who said they’d parade in swimwear? They kissed, where are you?]

[Damn, so am I really going to run naked across the Sahara Desert?]

[Haha, if I can see Yan-Ye doi in my lifetime, running naked across the Sahara is nothing! I’ll directly winter swim across seven continents and eight oceans!]

The raucous jokes in the live stream ended after the shoot concluded.

Yan Man yawned and saw Simon looking wilted in the lounge.

Compared to herself, she wanted to see his commotion more.

Yan Man raised an eyebrow: “How does it feel to reunite with Bi Tan?”

At the mention of this name, Simon immediately entered attack mode. He was wilted a moment ago, but now he sat upright: “I’m cursed through eight generations! I only talked to him for three sentences—exactly three sentences! My mouth is dirty.”

“…”

“Don’t talk about me—”

Simon changed the subject and became gossipy: “So you and Ye Lin filmed a kissing scene? How was it? What’s your mood?”

“What mood could there be,” Yan Man found it strange, “it’s just normal work.”

“Who would mix work with reality?” she said, “That’s unprofessional.”

Some jobs require physical labor, some require mental effort.

And as an artist, every part of the body is content that needs to contribute under the lens.

It’s like entering the scene when the lens opens, and exiting the scene when it closes.

Simon: “You’re quite clear-headed about this point.”

Yan Man agreed: “Is there anything I don’t see clearly?”

“...”

As they spoke, the two walked out of the lounge. Simon introduced what was in his hand: “Your lunch has arrived, specially proportioned by the nutritionist. Considering you were in the water today, they added an extra piece of chicken breast for you...”

As he spoke, he looked up, and coming from the side hall were Ye Lin and Bi Tan.

Simon: “...”

Bi Tan: “...”

In the blink of an eye, war was about to break out.

Simon: “Why do I keep seeing you?”

Bi Tan: “If you didn’t walk this way, how would you see me?”

“Is this road owned by your family? Can’t I walk here?”

“Do you expect me to detour for you? Who are you? My first love?”

...

Before Yan Man realized it, the two managers had stopped in the corridor and started arguing.

As they argued, old grudges resurfaced.

Bi Tan: “Isn’t it just because I pulled off a piece of your wig backstage at the Screaming Night? Do you have to hold a grudge till now?!”

Simon refused to budge: “A piece? Was it just one piece?!”

“Who knew the piece underneath was also a wig! I thought I’d give you face and pat it twice, and it fell off again! Didn’t you also pull off my pants?!”

Simon: “Still holding a grudge about a game, can’t you take a loss? Besides, didn’t you have another pair of pants underneath?”

Bi Tan was emotional: “If I didn’t have another pair of pants inside, I’d go die right now!”

Yan Man: “...?”

“Excuse me,” she said, “So you two became enemies because of this?”

The two were arguing as if no one else was around and didn’t hear her.

Ye Lin: “They liked the same host.”

That makes sense. Yan Man muttered: “Even so, it shouldn’t have escalated to this. Who ended up pursuing her?”

“Neither.”

“...”

Bi Tan pointed to Ye Lin: “Because that female host damn likes him.”

Yan Man: “...”

Now you can hear?

Soon, the second round revolving around the female host began.

Yan Man waited for a while, seeing no sign of this battle ending, and sat down at the table.

Zhou Xuan: “What are you doing?”

“Will they stop arguing anytime soon?” Yan Man opened the insulated bag, “If I don’t eat now, my lunch will get cold.”

“...”

She only had this one proper meal a day, and it would be a pity if it got cold.

While eating, Yan Man enjoyed watching the two argue with great relish, almost as if she were eating while watching a drama.

Ye Lin: “...”

At the end of the meal, there were two extra cherry tomatoes. Zhou Xuan had already eaten lunch, so Yan Man turned her head and offered them to Ye Lin: “Want these?”

Ye Lin: “You can’t finish and you’re giving them to me?”

“Don’t think of people as being so dirty,” she said, “at least don’t say it out loud.”

“Did I guess wrong?”

“You guessed right.”

“...”

Five minutes after finishing the meal, the argument finally showed signs of calming down.

Bi Tan: “I’m not talking to you anymore. I have an LV banquet tonight, busy, understand?”

“What? Showing off?” Simon sneered, “Only your family is going? My family is going too!”

Suddenly assigned work, Yan Man: ?

Simon quickly obtained the entry tickets.

In the car, Simon placed the ticket stubs on the table, found a perfect angle, took a picture, sent it to Bi Tan, and then let out a breath of relief.

After sending it, he turned to look at Yan Man: “Do you want to go?”

Yan Man: “Didn’t you already get the tickets for me?”

“I mainly didn’t want to lose momentum. Is he the only one busy? We are busy too!” Simon said, “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

“Let’s go. After all, there’s nothing to do in the hotel anyway,” Yan Man said, “I’m quite interested in this season’s theme.”

That evening, after finishing makeup and hair, Yan Man got into the nanny van and headed to the LV dinner party.

The main hall was filled with fragrances and shadows of elegant dresses. The long tables were adorned with fresh red roses, and each place setting had a set of cutlery. The velvet tablecloths swept the ground, complementing the pale orange candlelight.

Yan Man was no stranger to such occasions.

Big shows or banquets often invited the Yan family. Her family thought she didn’t need to attend, and she preferred the peace and quiet, only occasionally hearing about them from her brothers or seeing some photos.

She never expected to become a guest herself one day.

This was a very subtle overlap, almost like a side proof that even without the family’s radiance, she was still moving forward on her own.

This was good.

She recognized many people; for example, the one wearing a pink dress was the daughter of a certain clothing brand, and the one in a blue strapless dress was someone’s kept lover…

But no one knew that her Yan Man was from Yan Real Estate.

This feeling was also very delicate, as if her heart was electrified, tingling.

Before she could enjoy this “secret” for long, she turned her head and saw a familiar face.

This face didn’t resemble her much. Her family’s genetic traits were strange; she looked like her mother, while her three brothers all resembled their father.

It was her third brother, Yan Zong.

The moment their eyes met, Yan Man thought for a moment and smiled at him frankly and gracefully.

At this moment, she was very grateful that there were many people around because she read from Yan Zong’s gaze that he wanted to draw his sword.

Finally, half an hour into the banquet, while she was in the restroom, she was dragged into a deep alley.

Yan Zong’s voice gritted through clenched teeth: “Yan—”

“Shh, keep it down,” Yan Man said, “I am a person of some importance now. Please don’t shout my name loudly.”

“...”

Yan Zong: “What kind of madness has possessed you again? Huh? I know you’ve always been whimsical and used to doing as you please, but how can you just run off to be an actress because of a disagreement? Don’t you know Dad hates us showing our faces publicly?”

“I know,” she said, “that’s why I became an actress.”

“...”

Yan Zong took a deep breath, telling himself to stay calm.

“Let me tell you, last week when I heard the news, my mind exploded. If I hadn’t been so busy recently, I would have pulled you out of that ridiculous variety show long ago!”

“You only found out about me last week?”

She thought for a moment and said, “Then it seems I’m still not famous enough.”

Yan Zong: “...”

Yan Zong: “Stop messing around! Go home, do you hear me?”

She stood firmly by her principles, saying resolutely, “I told you, unless Yan Wendong apologizes to me, I will never go back in my life.”

“Are you crazy or am I crazy? You want your father to apologize to you? Why don’t you make him kowtow three times and beg for forgiveness with thorns?”

“That works too,” her voice crisp, “does he have the guts?”

“...”

“Get rid of unrealistic thoughts. Let me tell you, fame in the entertainment industry comes and goes fast, blown away by the wind. And do you know how messy it is? Is your personality suited for it?”

“Don’t come crawling back begging to return when you can’t make it. If Dad’s soft-hearted period passes, you’ll have a lot to cry about.”

As Yan Man listened, it seemed she only caught one key point, and her competitive spirit flared up again.

“I won’t fail.” She changed the subject, “Do you know the Times Square opposite the company?”

“I know,” Yan Zong fell into the trap, “isn’t it right across from Dad’s office.”

“There’s a huge billboard directly facing his office. Do you know whose ads are displayed there?”

“The most popular ones,” Yan Zong paused, “why are you bringing this up?”

Yan Man: “My ad will be there soon, facing Yan Wendong every day, letting him see but unable to touch.”

“............................”

Silent for a full minute, Yan Zong: “Do you think you’re that famous? Can your ad really be placed there? The last ad there was for Ye Lin, do you understand?”

Suddenly remembering, Yan Zong was Ye Lin’s number one fan.

He probably came today because Ye Lin was here.

Yan Zong: “Do you think you’re famous now? How dare you covet the position of my idol?”

The next second, a staff member outside called her:

“Teacher Yan! Teacher Yan Man! It’s time to take group photos! The fans are waiting! Are you ready?”

Yan Man shrugged: “Not that famous, just casually taking pictures and trending on hot searches, attending brand events with a bunch of fans.”

Then she answered and calmly left, entering the red carpet surrounded by crowds.

Yan Zong: “...”

This group photo was taken with Ye Lin. After the shoot, Yan Man turned directly and headed to the parking lot downstairs.

Halfway there, a Cayenne pulled up, and Yan Zong opened the door, pulling her into the car.

Yan Man struggled a few times but chose to give up since she couldn’t beat this bastard.

As the Cayenne started, the Porsche behind flashed its lights twice.

Bi Tan’s gaze was excited: “Hahaha who is that?! Were they almost fighting outside? Could it be an old childhood friend or something—”

Ye Lin closed his eyes halfway, resting against the window.

Bi Tan: “How can you sleep? Don’t you feel any sense of crisis?!”

“No.”

The car moved smoothly forward. At the toll booth, the driver of the Cayenne leaned out and asked, “Excuse me, the navigation says Songzhu Road is very congested. I heard there’s a shortcut. Do you know how to get there?”

The security guard gave directions, and the Cayenne rolled up its windows and drove ahead.

Inside Ye Lin’s car, the driver Xiao Liu suddenly remembered to ask, “By the way, where are we going?”

Two seconds of silence inside the car.

Ye Lin: “Songzhu Road.”