Chapter 155: Are They Truly a Match?

The fashion magazine cover shoot for E's Bazaar, which had garnered intense attention from CP fans online, took place at Half Moon Lake in Jinghua City from this afternoon into the evening.

The staff had cleared the area well in advance.

Lu Zhou arrived at the shooting location first. Due to the sweltering heat of the afternoon, he had ordered a round of iced drinks for every member of the production crew.

Do not underestimate an affordable cup of iced beverage; it was precisely this small gift that effortlessly dissolved the irritation brought by the scorching weather.

Consequently, Lu Zhou got along remarkably well with the staff at the set.

"Teacher Lu, didn't your assistant come?"

Lu Zhou had arrived early, and Ye Fangfei had not yet shown up. The female stylist began styling Lu Zhou first, and noticing the complete absence of any assistant around him throughout the process, she asked out of curiosity.

"I felt I could handle it myself, so I didn't arrange for an assistant," Lu Zhou replied with a smile.

While meticulously adjusting the makeup on his face, the female stylist chuckled at his words and said, "If conditions permit, it's still better to have one. For a shoot like this, you have to try on many sets of outfits, and having an assistant nearby to help makes things much easier."

Lu Zhou smiled, maintaining his posture without moving.

"Your eyebrows are quite perfect; it feels like they don't even need trimming," the makeup artist praised.

She put down her eyebrow pencil, stepped back a few paces to look at his face with a professional eye, and then stepped closer again to adjust his hairstyle.

"Very handsome, let's leave it like this for now. When Ye Fangfei arrives, we can make fine adjustments if needed."

Amidst their conversation, a commotion arose from not far away. Looking over, it was indeed Ye Fangfei arriving at the shoot surrounded by a crowd of people.

The moment she entered Lu Zhou's field of vision, she instantly captured his gaze.

She had changed her styling. Her caramel-colored, voluminous big waves had been straightened into long, sleek black hair. She wore a white, knee-length shirt dress and paired it with simple white sneakers.

Today's lipstick was a vibrant maple red, making her complexion look exceptionally radiant. Her smooth, lustrous black hair, reaching down to her waist, fluttered in the afternoon breeze, giving her an aura of youthful vitality intertwined with the gentle charm of a classic beauty.

Ye Fangfei possessed a fatal allure that naturally commanded everyone's attention.

Lu Zhou stood motionlessly, watching her amidst the crowd, the corners of his lips curling up slowly.

Ye Fangfei was warmly acknowledging the staff greeting her as her gaze swept past the crowd to land on Lu Zhou, who was seated not far away.

Their eyes collided in mid-air.

At that instant, the surrounding clamor seemed to fade into quietness.

This was their first real-life meeting since the conclusion of their former lovers' reality show.

Though the two had only been in contact via their phones a few days prior, communication through a virtual network inevitably carried a subtle sense of unreality. Now that they were face-to-face, the reality of the moment rushed over them immediately.

A familiar yet unfamiliar trace of slight restraint quietly crept into Ye Fangfei's heart.

The production crew members nearby were enthusiastically and excitedly rattling off the trivial scheduling details for the day.

Ye Fangfei barely absorbed it, leaving her assistant to follow up.

Holding a parasol to block the gradually westward-slanting sun, she walked step by unhurried step toward Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou watched her approach without blinking, the smile at the corners of his lips growing more distinct.

"Hot?" he asked.

The conversation began with the most mundane greeting imaginable, devoid of a shred of awkwardness or unfamiliarity, as if they were a close pair who had already spent countless days and nights together.

The subtle restraint that had welled up in Ye Fangfei's heart upon seeing him vanished instantly at his utterly casual inquiry.

She closed the parasol in her hand, walked over to the wooden chair beside Lu Zhou, and sat down, replying, "A little."

"How long have you been here?" Ye Fangfei smoothed down the hem of her dress after sitting down and asked casually.

"Better part of an hour, I suppose." Lu Zhou picked up a small hand fan from beside his chair and handed it to her.

Ye Fangfei glanced at the small fan in his hand, accepted it without hesitation, and began to fan herself to cool down. "Sorry to keep you waiting. There was a minor issue with some work before I came, which delayed me a bit."

As she spoke, strands of her hair danced in the air with the motion of her fan, and the pleasant fragrance of shampoo drifted into Lu Zhou's nose, sweet and light.

"It's fine, I arrived early anyway." He tilted his head, looking at her with smiling eyes.

"I actually thought you might turn down this shooting gig," Lu Zhou said.

Ye Fangfei's hand holding the fan paused at these words. A hint of a smile touched the corner of her lips as she said, "True, I initially intended to turn it down. E's Bazaar was already shot this year; I had no interest in shooting it again."

Lu Zhou raised a handsome eyebrow slightly. "Then what made you change your mind?"

Ye Fangfei resumed slowly fanning herself. She pursed her lips into a light smile and said, "You."

The flow of the surrounding air seemed to slow down at that very moment.

Her unflinching gaze and direct words caused Lu Zhou's posture to stiffen slightly.

The intertwined gaze between them in the air was a form of probing hidden deep within their hearts.

"Me?"

Lu Zhou broke the brief silence between them, his tone remaining relaxed, devoid of surprise.

"Do you feel guilty for leaving me behind to shoot all by myself?"

He continued to look straight at her, his eyes tinged with a trace of amusement as he teased further.

Ye Fangfei did not catch a single trace of panic or fluster on his face, so she decided against teasing him any further.

She gave a soft chuckle and said, "Guilting? Do I look like someone with such a soft heart?"

Lu Zhou shrugged, answering her with an expression that conveyed: I have no idea.

Ye Fangfei averted her gaze, looking toward the shimmering surface of the lake not far away, and asked, "Do you have time tonight?"

"I suppose I do," Lu Zhou replied.

"If you do, you do; if you don't, you don't. What does 'I suppose I do' mean?" Ye Fangfei looked back at him, asking with a puzzled expression.

"It mainly depends on what you have in mind. I can flexibly arrange my evening," Lu Zhou said.

"Regarding what I mentioned to you before, Qin Yi wants to see you. If you have time, since we happen to be working together today, would you like to come with me to see him tonight?"

Ye Fangfei revealed her plan, which also served as a response to Lu Zhou's earlier question.

Lu Zhou hadn't expected that in this lifetime, Ye Fangfei bringing him to meet Elder Qin would be arranged for today; it was somewhat beyond his expectations. After pondering for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

"Sure," he said.

With that, he took out his phone and sent a message to Pan Chengyi: [I have more important matters tonight, let's catch up tomorrow].

At that moment, the hair and makeup crew came over to call the two of them for a wardrobe change.

The fitting room contained two large clothing racks filled with high-end designer couture for both men and women. Because this issue of E's Bazaar featured a dual cover for a man and a woman, the selected outfits for both genders were carefully coordinated in terms of style and color design.

This issue was mainly divided into several themes: sky blue, black, white, and pink.

The first outfit Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei shot was the pink theme.

Ye Fangfei was required to wear an off-the-shoulder pink bubble-sleeve dress, the skirt appearing as though it were gathered from clusters of three-dimensional pink roses, with a hemline falling just above the knee.

Dressed thusly, Ye Fangfei looked soft, tender, and lovely. At first glance, one might mistake her for the type of girl who was exceptionally skilled at acting coquettish.

Yet upon closer inspection of her expression, one would realize: ah, she certainly was not.

Correspondingly, the men's outfit paired with Ye Fangfei's attire was also pink.

Lu Zhou wore a pink casual suit, paired with a white casual shirt underneath. The shirt collar featured a unique design, folded outward over the lapel of the thin pink suit jacket, creating a strong couples-wear aesthetic alongside Ye Fangfei's outfit.

Pink is not a color every man can pull off, but Lu Zhou could. Wearing it did not give off an overly feminine vibe; instead, it made him appear even more spirited and vibrant.

However, wearing this many layers made Lu Zhou anticipate that he would soon be driven crazy by the heat.

This E's Bazaar shoot took place outdoors by the lakeside.

Utilizing the natural lighting of the impending sunset, the cinematic quality of the framing was breathtaking.

The composition the photographer wanted was:

The background consisted of the lake and the lawn; the prop was a live golden retriever. Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei sat side by side on the lawn, the young man affectionately smiling down at the girl, while the girl playfully teased the golden retriever crouching nearby. Golden sunlight washed over the two people and the dog.

It seemed like it would be a relatively simple scene to execute.

However, the reality of the situation was that both Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei had assumed their best poses as requested, but the dog simply wouldn't cooperate...

Just as the photographer planned to press the shutter, Ye Fangfei reached out to stroke the golden retriever's head. It suddenly stood up with a start and barked twice, lunging toward Ye Fangfei.

Taken completely by surprise, Ye Fangfei was startled and reflexively dodged toward Lu Zhou's side.

Noticing the commotion, Lu Zhou pulled her toward him in one swift motion, raising his right arm to wrap around her waist and shielding her from the lunging dog.

The golden retriever stood on its hind legs, paws resting against Lu Zhou's arm, meeting him eye-to-eye.

Lu Zhou smiled at it and said, "How can you go around scaring people? That's not a good boy."

At that moment, the dog's owner from the production crew called out the golden retriever's name. The dog let out a soft whine, then climbed down from Lu Zhou's arm and squatted back down nearby.

Ye Fangfei cast a resentful glance at the golden retriever and complained, "You're too naughty!"

Lu Zhou released her and softly inquired, "Are you alright?"

Ye Fangfei shook her head slightly and asked in return, "What about you?"

Lu Zhou smiled and said, "I'm fine."

Sensing that the distance between them was overly close, Ye Fangfei quickly straightened her posture, avoided his gaze, and self-consciously raised a hand to brush back her hair.

"Good then. Thank you."

She could barely conceal the fleeting, shy smile at the corner of her lips.

What they did not know was that at this exact moment, the photographer pressed the shutter button.

In the frame, the man looked down at the girl with smiling eyes, while the girl turned her face slightly, her right hand brushing away the long black hair stirred by the wind, her face bearing a perfectly calibrated sweet smile.

Finding the composition too picturesque, the photographer couldn't resist showing the assistant the shot he had just captured.

After looking at it, the assistant clicked his tongue in admiration and chuckled softly, "They really look the part, don't they? If these photos are posted online, their CP fans are probably