77: Chapter 77 Temporarily Acting

Lin Wei followed in, placed the box she was holding on the open space, looked around, and nodded with satisfaction.

“How is it? Does my little warehouse look the part?”

Qiao Yichen also put down his box, his gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged shelves: “You are… professional.”

“Of course.” Lin Wei clapped her hands, “I’m a legitimate businesswoman.”

Su Qing stood at the doorway and didn't come in, just glanced over: “Her master bedroom is even more spectacular.”

Lin Wei turned back and glared at her: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Qiao Yichen became curious: “What’s wrong with the master bedroom?”

Lin Wei waved her hand: “Nothing, it’s just… a place for taking pictures.”

“Taking pictures?”

“To shoot clothes, of course.” Lin Wei said as a matter of course, “A Taobao shop needs real item photos, right? I take them all myself.”

Qiao Yichen nodded: “So you converted the master bedroom into a photo studio?”

“Not completely remodeled.” Lin Wei said, “The bed is still there, but I set up a backdrop wall near the window specifically for taking pictures of the clothes myself.”

She paused, then suddenly looked at Qiao Yichen and smiled: “Want a tour?”

Qiao Yichen glanced at Su Qing.

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Su Qing shrugged: “I have no objection.”

Lin Wei had already turned and walked toward the master bedroom. The moment she pushed the door open, Qiao Yichen saw another world—

The room was tidy, the bedding neat, but the wall near the window had completely changed. A pure white backdrop cloth hung down from the ceiling, two photography lights stood beside it, and several pieces of clothing ready for shooting were placed on the floor. In the corner of the room was a small shelf holding various props—hats, bags, and sunglasses.

Lin Wei leaned against the doorframe: “How is it? Is the equipment professional enough?”

Qiao Yichen looked carefully: “It’s almost comparable to a small photo studio.”

“Of course.” Lin Wei said proudly, “To ensure the shooting effect, the equipment can’t be subpar.”

After the tour, the three returned to the living room.

Lin Wei clapped her hands: “Alright, the work isn’t finished yet. Continue with the remaining boxes?”

Qiao Yichen nodded, and the three of them made two more trips to move all the boxes into the spare bedroom.

When the last box landed, Lin Wei let out a long breath and collapsed onto the living room sofa.

“I’m exhausted… Qiao Yichen, thank you for today.”

Qiao Yichen sat down on the single sofa next to her and took a sip of water: “Trading one meal for one laborer, you’re amazing.”

Lin Wei chuckled: “I’ll call you again next time.”

Su Qing added leisurely from the side: “I cooked that meal. You essentially traded my labor for his labor, making a pure profit for yourself.”

Lin Wei picked up a throw pillow and tossed it over.

Su Qing raised her hand to block it, the pillow skewed sideways and fell to the floor.

Lin Wei was still annoyed, so she grabbed another one from behind: “Again?”

Su Qing glanced at her but didn't move, though the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Seeing that she wasn't taking the bait, Lin Wei lost interest, tossed the pillow aside, climbed off the sofa, and shuffled to the kitchen in her slippers.

A moment later, she came out carrying three bottles of water and handed one to each person.

“Here, rehydrate.”

In May’s weather, the sun made the room stuffy. Qiao Yichen took the water, twisted off the cap, felt his back getting sticky, and simply took off his jacket, draping it over the armrest of the sofa.

After drinking her water, Lin Wei looked toward the spare bedroom: “There are still so many boxes to unpack.”

Qiao Yichen put down his bottle: “Then let’s continue.”

The three re-entered the spare bedroom.

This time it wasn't moving, but unpacking. Lin Wei found a utility knife from the corner of the wall and squatted down to slice open the tape on a cardboard box. Inside were neatly stacked T-shirts, each wrapped in a plastic bag.

She took out a T-shirt and handed it to Qiao Yichen: “Help me put these on the shelves, sorted by style.”

Qiao Yichen took it and looked at the labels stuck on the shelves—“Short Sleeve T-shirts,” “Dresses,” “Wide-leg Pants”… the categorization was quite detailed.

He placed the T-shirts in the corresponding spots according to the labels. Su Qing was unpacking another box nearby, which contained skirts.

Lin Wei muttered as she unpacked: “This batch of goods was supposed to arrive three days ago, but the manufacturer delayed it until now. If we don’t shoot them soon, we’ll waste the traffic we bought.”

Qiao Yichen didn’t stop his movements and casually asked, “Did you design these clothes yourself?”

Lin Wei looked up at him and smiled: “I don't have that skill. I pick them out from the factory; whatever styles they have, I choose what’s suitable.”

She pointed to the clothes just unpacked: “There are about a dozen styles in total. It looks like a lot, but actually, for each style, there are only a few dozen to a hundred sets. It’s a small business; I don’t dare to overstock.”

Qiao Yichen nodded and finished arranging the last few T-shirts.

Su Qing was almost done unpacking on her side. She straightened up, dusted off her hands, and asked Lin Wei, “Are we shooting now?”

Lin Wei glanced at the time on her phone: “Yeah, we need to hurry. I already bought the traffic for a specific time. I originally planned to launch the new items as soon as this batch arrived, but the manufacturer delayed it a few days. If we don’t launch soon, the money will be wasted.”

She turned to look at the pile of unopened boxes by the spare bedroom door: “We’ll shoot the new styles today, and sort out the rest slowly.”

Saying that, she walked to the pile of newly arrived clothes, squatted down, flipped through them, and picked out a few items—one of each style, all in sizes she could wear.

“I’m going to change first.” Lin Wei stood up, holding the pile of clothes, and headed toward the master bedroom.

When she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned back and looked at Qiao Yichen:

“Qiao Yichen, do you know how to take pictures?”

Qiao Yichen was momentarily stunned: “With a phone?”

“A phone works, but I have a camera.” Lin Wei said, “Do you know how to use it?”

Qiao Yichen thought for a moment: “A DSLR? I know a little.”

Lin Wei’s eyes lit up: “That’s great! You can take the pictures for me in a bit.”

Before Qiao Yichen could agree, she had already entered the master bedroom, and the door snapped shut.

Su Qing spoke leisurely from the side: “She’s roped you into manual labor twice now.”

Qiao Yichen smiled without saying anything.

A few minutes later, the master bedroom door opened.

Lin Wei poked her head out and beckoned to them: “Come in, come in, I need a hand.”

Qiao Yichen and Su Qing walked over.

Inside the master bedroom, the wall near the window was completely set up—the pure white backdrop hung down, the two photography lights were positioned beside it, and the angles were adjusted. A small rug was spread on the floor, upon which sat several props ready for use.

Lin Wei had already changed into the first outfit, a floral sundress, and stood in front of the backdrop, adjusting her hair in the mirror.

“Boss Qiao, you take the pictures for me, use that camera.” She pointed to the DSLR on the bedside table.

Qiao Yichen picked up the camera and turned it on to test the lens.

“Just stand there and shoot?” he asked.

“Mhm, full-body shots, half-body shots, close-ups, take a few of everything.” Lin Wei had already struck a pose, “You frame the shot; as long as it looks good, that’s fine.”

Qiao Yichen raised the camera and looked at Lin Wei through the viewfinder—the background was clean, the light was soft, and she looked even prettier in the lens than usual. It wasn't a deliberate kind of beauty, but relaxed, natural; just standing there, she created a picture.

He pressed the shutter a few times.

Su Qing watched from the side and suddenly spoke up: “Shouldn’t you adjust your light a bit? It’s a little dark.”

Lin Wei glanced over: “Then Su Qing, you help me adjust the lights, and Boss Qiao, keep shooting.”

The three of them got busy just like that.

Lin Wei changed from a dress to a short-sleeve top, then from the short-sleeve top to wide-leg pants, one set after another. Occasionally, Su Qing was also pulled in, changing into clothes and standing in front of the backdrop to act as a free model.

The two girls repeatedly went in and out of the bathroom—changing clothes, fixing their hair, reapplying makeup.

Qiao Yichen held the camera, pressing the shutter until his hand ached. The scenes in the viewfinder changed one after another; he couldn't even tell which outfit was which anymore.

When the last set of clothes was finished shooting, the sunlight outside was already slanting westward.

Lin Wei collapsed onto the bed and let out a long breath: “Finally done shooting…”

Qiao Yichen put down the camera and rubbed his wrist: “Take a look at the results; I might not have shot them very well.”

Lin Wei climbed up, took the camera, flipped through a few shots, and a smile appeared on her face: “They look great! Much better than my selfies. Qiao Yichen, you saved me a huge amount of time today; otherwise, I would have needed several days by myself.”

Qiao Yichen smiled without saying anything.

Lin Wei was already sitting by the bed with the camera, starting to select photos one by one. A laptop sat beside her, ready for photo editing at any moment.

Su Qing emerged from the bathroom, having changed back into her own clothes and re-tied her hair.

She glanced at Lin Wei: “Aren’t you going to rest for a bit?”

“No time, I need to launch the new items quickly.” Lin Wei didn't look up, “I have to finish editing the pictures tonight.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Yichen’s phone vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw a message from Liu Yanran.

Liu Yanran: “You were with Lin Wei and Su Qing today?”

Qiao Yichen was momentarily stunned and typed back: “How did you know?”

Liu Yanran: “Lin Wei posted on Moments.”

Qiao Yichen clicked on Moments, and sure enough—Lin Wei had posted twenty minutes ago with a picture of the pile of cardboard boxes and scattered clothes on the floor, captioned: “Thanks to Boss Qiao for the friendly labor sponsorship [Heart].”

He smiled and continued typing: “Yeah, she tricked me into helping out today.”

Liu Yanran replied instantly: “Normal. When she was busy before, Su Qing and I were both pulled over to be manual laborers.”

Qiao Yichen: “What time are you coming back tomorrow?”

Liu Yanran: “Driving back in the morning, should arrive around noon.”

Qiao Yichen: “Okay, drive safely.”

Liu Yanran: “Mhm.”

The conversation ended.

Qiao Yichen put away his phone and looked up—Lin Wei was still selecting photos, and Su Qing was leaning against the headboard scrolling through her phone.

The light outside had dimmed a few more shades.