98: Is Chapter 98 naive?

"They're here!" Chen Zhuo had been looking outside the whole time.

He was still holding a lens-cleaning cloth in his hand, his excitement impossible to contain.

Seeing Lin Yuxi appear, a joyful smile immediately bloomed on his face.

But the next second, his gaze landed on the man beside Lin Yuxi.

The smile on Chen Zhuo's face froze instantly, and his expression turned ugly.

The excited, good mood he had been in vanished without a trace at that moment.

He didn't even bother to greet Lin Yuxi, whom he had been longing for, at the door.

Chen Zhuo turned around quickly and ran back into the store.

"Mom, Yuxi is here." Chen Zhuo ran to Store Owner's side, his tone somewhat flustered.

"But she didn't come alone; she came with a man."

Upon hearing this, Store Owner's expression shifted slightly.

"How old is this man?" Store Owner frowned and asked hurriedly.

"He looks a bit older than me, probably under thirty," Chen Zhuo answered honestly.

Seeing her son looking so lost, Store Owner reached out and patted his arm.

"Don't panic. It might not be the kind of relationship you're thinking of. Maybe they're just friends."

Hearing his mother's comfort, Chen Zhuo still felt a sense of loss.

He looked toward the door, feeling as if his heart were about to shatter.

Meanwhile, Store Owner secretly gritted her teeth, steeling her resolve.

So what if they aren't just friends?

Her son had such great qualifications, and their family had such a large store in Huaqiangbei.

Plus, her son was younger than that man; she would definitely be able to win this daughter-in-law back.

Now, she, as a mother, was even more invested in this than her son.

Just as the mother and son were whispering in the store,

Zhang Qi and Lin Yuxi had already arrived at the glass door of the equipment store.

"Is this the place?" Zhang Qi stopped and turned to look at Lin Yuxi, asking.

"Yeah, this is it," Lin Yuxi nodded.

She gripped the straps of her canvas bag tightly, feeling even more nervous.

She kept her head down, her breathing becoming slightly rapid.

Watching her awkward demeanor, Zhang Qi could faintly guess something.

There must be something off between this girl and that male classmate.

In all likelihood, this male classmate was madly pursuing her.

But Zhang Qi's mindset was actually similar to Store Owner's inside.

He didn't care at all what kind of relationship the two of them had.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if that male classmate were really pursuing Lin Yuxi,

Zhang Qi wouldn't care.

His thoughts were similar to Store Owner's; both were very confident in their own abilities.

"Let's go, let's go in and take a look," Zhang Qi said in a calm tone.

Afterward, he took a step and led Lin Yuxi into the spacious equipment store.

Having been comforted by his mother just now, Chen Zhuo's mood had recovered slightly.

He took a deep breath, squeezed a warm smile onto his face, and walked up to greet them.

"Classmate Yuxi, welcome," Chen Zhuo said, walking up to the two of them.

Looking at Lin Yuxi before him, a flash of undisguised infatuation crossed his eyes.

Although Lin Yuxi was dressed casually today, that cool, aloof temperament of hers was still charming.

Chen Zhuo reluctantly tore his gaze away from Lin Yuxi.

He turned to look at Zhang Qi, who was standing to the side, his eyes filled with a bit of vigilance and probing.

"And this is..." Chen Zhuo looked at Zhang Qi and asked.

"He's my friend, I usually call him Brother Qi," Lin Yuxi hurriedly introduced.

Her face still looked cold and aloof, but in reality, she was panicking inside.

"He happened to be free today, so I asked him to accompany me to look at some equipment."

Lin Yuxi bit the bullet and recited the excuse she had prepared earlier.

"Hello, I'm Chen Zhuo," Chen Zhuo looked at Zhang Qi and flashed a polite smile.

"Hello, Zhang Qi," Zhang Qi replied with a calm expression.

"Oh my, we have distinguished guests."

Just at this moment, Store Owner, who had been sitting in the back observing, walked over.

She hadn't originally intended to step in so quickly.

She wanted to let her son interact with Lin Yuxi first to build up some affection.

But just now, her gaze had swept carefully over Zhang Qi.

With that look, Store Owner's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't sit still any longer.

She was a shrewd woman who had been doing business in Huaqiangbei for many years, and her eye for detail was sharp.

She recognized the clothes and accessories Zhang Qi was wearing at a glance.

That was a full set of high-end custom suits, and he was wearing a Jaeger-LeCoultre perpetual calendar watch on his wrist.

Just this outfit alone added up to hundreds of thousands.

Store Owner realized instantly that the young man before her was definitely a formidable rival.

This wasn't just some ordinary pursuer; this was a genuine wealthy person.

Fearing that her slow-witted son wouldn't be able to handle this situation, she stepped in immediately.

"This is my mother," Chen Zhuo said, introducing her quickly when he saw her approach.

"When it comes to equipment, she's much more professional than I am."

"I'll let my mom give you a proper introduction in a bit."

His mother's arrival gave Chen Zhuo immediate confidence, and he felt much more assured.

"Hello, ma'am," Lin Yuxi said, bowing slightly and greeting her politely, despite her severe social anxiety.

Store Owner looked at the beautiful, cold-tempered, and polite girl before her.

She felt more and more satisfied the more she looked at her; this daughter-in-law was exactly what she had in mind.

"Young lady, what kind of equipment are you looking to see today?"

Store Owner asked kindly, her face full of a gentle smile.

Upon hearing this question, a flicker of confusion crossed Lin Yuxi's beautiful eyes.

She had only ever used second-hand, broken equipment before and didn't understand those high-end pieces at all.

She only knew how to turn on the camera to record and understood a few basic parameters.

Now, asked to name a specific model, she really didn't know what to say.

Lin Yuxi subconsciously turned her head and cast a look of help toward Zhang Qi beside her.

Zhang Qi stood there, his expression composed, appearing confident.

He had previously consumed a system Skill Points to directly acquire Photography Mastery.

He was naturally well-versed in all the top-tier equipment currently on the market.

Zhang Qi looked at Store Owner and spoke in a calm tone.

"First, bring out a Sony VENICE 2 full-frame 8K cinema camera."

"Then bring a Sony A7S3 mirrorless camera to use as a backup angle."

"For lenses, bring a full set of ARRI Master Prime professional cinema lenses."

Zhang Qi didn't speak quickly, but every word was articulated very clearly.

"For the stabilizer, I want the DJI Ronin 4D 8K cinema camera integrated gimbal."

"For lighting, bring a set of ARRI SkyPanel S60-C LED soft lights."

"For audio recording, use the Sennheiser Digital 6000 wireless microphone set."

"Finally, I need high-speed storage for ProRes RAW and Blackmagic RAW."

"1TB CFexpress cards, I want the full array."

In one breath, Zhang Qi reeled off a string of the top professional equipment names.

After he finished speaking, the entire equipment store went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Let alone Lin Yuxi, who was listening with a dumbfounded expression and had no idea what these things were.

Lin Yuxi stood beside Zhang Qi, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and helplessness.

Although she couldn't understand those complex English model names,

just listening to Zhang Qi's machine-gun-like delivery as if reading a menu,

she could guess that these things definitely wouldn't be cheap.

She twisted the corners of her clothes tightly with both hands, her heart beginning to pound.

What is Brother Qi doing? It's just a short video; is it necessary to buy so many things?

She really wanted to tug on Zhang Qi's sleeve and tell him not to be impulsive.

But because there were outsiders present, her socially anxious personality made her afraid to speak up.

Even Chen Zhuo, standing to the side, had a look of confusion on his face.

Chen Zhuo stood to the side, his expression looking somewhat awkward.

He prided himself on being the young owner of the equipment store and usually considered himself well-versed in various mirrorless cameras.

But what he usually dealt with were consumer-grade products.

Everything Zhang Qi listed were industrial-grade equipment used by professional film crews for making movies.

He, the young owner, hadn't even heard of them, which made him feel extremely embarrassed.

He had originally wanted to show off his professional knowledge in front of Lin Yuxi.

But now, he had been utterly crushed by these few sentences from Zhang Qi.

However, Store Owner, standing opposite them, had an expression that was becoming extremely grave.

The smile on her face had vanished, and her eyes were filled with undisguised shock.

Others might not understand, but how could she, a veteran who had been in the equipment business for over a decade, not understand?

The things Zhang Qi had just listed not only proved that Zhang Qi was an extremely knowledgeable expert,

but also directly proved Zhang Qi's terrifying financial strength.

This equipment was all top-tier, film-industry-level gear, and the prices were outrageously expensive.

Just the body of that VENICE 2 cinema camera would cost hundreds of thousands.

Adding in that full set of ARRI cinema lenses, the price was immeasurable.

Putting this whole set of equipment together would cost at least two or three million.

Store Owner took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

She was a shrewd businessperson, and her mind was racing.

She had just roughly calculated the wholesale price of this equipment in her head.

Just that set of ARRI cinema lenses would cost over a million.

Plus the top-tier Sony cinema camera and various supporting facilities.

If this deal were really made, the profit would definitely be very substantial.

But at the same time, she also developed a deep wariness regarding Zhang Qi's identity.

A person who could casually rattle off this equipment and intended to buy it directly,

was definitely not at a level her foolish son could handle.

She even began to doubt whether her earlier thought of helping her son win a wife was too naive.