195: Chapter 189 Deeper Cooperation

The lens refocused on Lin Yu. Yu Heng was in no hurry to press the shutter; he narrowed his eyes and rested the camera on his lap.

"Do you feel like this is shameful, that it's shameless?"

Lin Yu bit her lip and didn't answer immediately.

She sat with her legs pressed together, arms wrapped around herself.

Was it shameful? Of course it was.

Was it shameless? She didn't know.

She only knew that if Xu Hao knew she worked like this, he would definitely think she was shameless.

"I just feel like I'm letting Xu Hao down." She didn't even dare to imagine his expression if he knew the truth.

Yu Heng looked into her eyes. "You haven't let him down."

Lin Yu looked up, her gaze filled with doubt and self-deprecation.

How was this not letting him down?

Yu Heng continued, his tone calm as if stating an objective fact. "Even though I'd love to do something, the reality is we haven't done anything. So far, our interactions—whether in terms of physical distance or contact—have remained strictly within a normal professional scope. I haven't touched you, and you haven't touched me. Legally and contractually, we have a clear employer-employee relationship: you provide modeling labor, and I pay you."

Lin Yu curled her lip. "From his perspective... there's probably no difference."

In her view, the exposure of her body and the display of her privacy was already a form of betrayal in itself, regardless of whether the other person touched her.

Xu Hao wouldn't distinguish between the subtle nuances of display and contact; he would only see his girlfriend stripped naked in front of another man, playing with those things for money.

Yu Heng smiled, though the smile lacked warmth. "And what about from your perspective? Do you think all female models in this industry are single? That this profession is only for loose, indecent people? Is that how you see yourself?"

His question was sharp, leaving Lin Yu stunned.

She hadn't thought about it that way. Now that e-commerce was so developed, lingerie and adult products all needed models. Did every girl in this industry have to be labeled shameless?

And what about herself?

She opened her mouth but couldn't immediately find the words to argue back.

Because deep down, a part of her did believe that, which was why she was in so much pain.

“I originally just wanted to play around, to use money to wear you down, but now I want to do something more interesting,” Yu Heng said, putting down the camera and leaning forward slightly. “You’re miserable right now because the moral standards in your head are in conflict with your actions. You want the money, but you can’t convince yourself to take it with a clear conscience. You have a prejudice against this profession yourself, so whatever you do will feel uncomfortable.”

“You’re ambitious and want to be an independent woman, but your understanding of society is actually quite weak. You need to know that this is still a patriarchal society. Except for a tiny minority, men and women at the bottom are the same—men are even more miserable. After all, as long as a woman is willing, there are shortcuts. Most men don't even have those shortcuts. I'm not advocating that one must take a shortcut, but when one is placed before you, you need a clear understanding and judgment of both the situation and yourself. That is maturity. That is independence.”

"So, I should just accept your demands, compromise bit by bit, and eventually be kept by you?" Lin Yu said, looking at him.

Yu Heng didn't immediately answer her rhetorical question.

He picked up the camera again and looked at her through the viewfinder.

In the lens, Lin Yu was hugging her knees with her chin resting on her arms, her gaze somewhat vacant.

"Why do you assume it has to end in a kept-woman relationship?" The shutter clicked once, and Yu Heng put the camera down. "Why can't it be a long-term cooperation?"

Lin Yu curled her lip. "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is." Yu Heng placed the camera on the coffee table and leaned back against the sofa. "Being kept is a one-sided taking and giving. Cooperation is mutually beneficial. Right now, you are my model, and I pay for your labor. It's that simple. As long as there is a business need, we can keep cooperating."

"So, paying extra today to make me do more excessive things is also 'labor'?"

"That was my idea," Yu Heng said frankly. "I didn't force you. Besides, I'm adding money, not deducting it. In the future, I might have all sorts of ideas and requirements. You are perfectly free to refuse them just as you did before."

"It's just boiling a frog in lukewarm water," Lin Yu said, looking at him. "I'm not an idiot."

"Then that just shows you aren't firm enough and think you'll eventually compromise," Yu Heng smiled.

"I am very firm," Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "I won't compromise."

"Then why don't we play a game?" Yu Heng said with great interest.

"What game?" Lin Yu frowned.

"We can enter into a deeper cooperation," he said. "I don't just do adult products. I also have businesses in short video and livestreaming. If you use TikTok, you should have come across an account called 'Soul Pawnshop' recently. I created that."

Lin Yu's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"Of course." Yu Heng took a box of cigarettes from the lower shelf of the coffee table, pulled one out, and lit it. "The lady boss in those videos is Jasmine, the one who contacted you in the casting group."

Lin Yu remembered. That account had been getting a lot of traffic lately, and she had scrolled past it a few times.

The woman in the videos was very elegant; she hadn't expected it to be Jasmine.

"You can make money filming that too?" she asked.

"Of course," Yu Heng exhaled a puff of smoke. "In the future, it can even lead to the entertainment industry—web series, movies, TV shows, it's all possible. That way, you'd have your own career. Not to mention solving your current financial difficulties, even a certain degree of financial freedom is achievable."

"What kind of game is this?" Lin Yu narrowed her eyes.

Yu Heng flicked the ash. "Because you'd have to sign an agency contract, which is more formal and stricter than the current filming agreement. If you breach it, there will be penalties, and the amount won't be small."

He paused and looked into her eyes.

"Also, our interactions will be more frequent—filming, training, business meetings, and so on. I will be appearing in your life often." He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray. "Do you think you can still persist without compromising? As time goes on, can you guarantee you'll be able to refuse every time?"

"How much is the signing bonus?" Lin Yu asked.

"There is no signing bonus," Yu Heng said with a laugh.

"No signing bonus?" Lin Yu frowned. "Then why is there a penalty for breach of contract?"

"Because of my investment and my creativity. I am fully confident I can make you famous." Yu Heng looked at her and said, "Besides, a base salary of ten thousand yuan a month doesn't conflict with your current filming income."

Lin Yu definitely had the figure and looks to become a star.

Ten thousand a month sounded like very little compared to twenty thousand an hour, but this was a continuous cost, totaling one hundred and twenty thousand a year.

It indeed wasn't much compared to the current filming costs, but the returns on the current filming were also huge. The results of Lin Yu's shoot were excellent; the 'Scale Blade' had already sold nearly a hundred units, and the costs had been recouped.

Moreover, Lin Yu was worth the price. With her figure and that little butterfly, if she really went to develop on Little Blue Bird, she could easily earn eighty to a hundred thousand a month.

But filming videos was purely a sunk cost.

Although Yu Heng was confident he could make Lin Yu famous, he wasn't sure how long it would take. If he offered too much and the capital turnover couldn't keep up, things would go south.

"Then how much is the penalty?" she asked.

Yu Heng smiled. "At least 20,000. If there's a real breach, how much you pay will depend on exactly how much I've invested."