Chapter 58
With Fu Mingshi's powerful spiritual support, Zhen Bao successfully completed the shooting.
The ethereal long skirt, dazzling lighting and photography, from makeup to the last shot, it was like a gorgeous fairy tale dream of an ugly duckling turning into a swan. And throughout this dream, Fu Mingshi was always there, watching her, appreciating her, and encouraging her with his deep and calm dark eyes like the night sky.
"Do you like this kind of work?"
Before taking off her makeup, Fu Mingshi walked into the dressing room where all the other staff had left. He put his hands on the back of Zhen Bao's chair and bent over to ask her.
Zhen Bao had not yet fully emerged from the fantasy just now. She couldn't help nodding her head. She liked wearing beautiful clothes, liked being photographed in her youth, liked everyone's shocked gazes, and liked the feeling of walking on clouds.
"You're beautiful and have a good figure. You can try getting into the fashion industry," Fu Mingshi said seriously, lightly turning the gemstone earring on her ear. "Shoot a few magazines a year, endorse some products, it's more relaxing than being a pet doctor and you can make more money too." Zhen Bao was a newcomer, but he would promote her if she wanted.
Fu Mingshi did not look down on pet doctors or other low-income jobs, but he couldn't bear to see his future wife work so hard and be subject to medical disturbances.
Zhen Bao's confused eyes gradually regained clarity. Looking at Fu Mingshi, she smiled, smiling like a mountain flower, fresh and simple. "I still prefer being a pet doctor."
Some likes can last a lifetime, while others are just short-lived excitement. For Zhen Bao, shooting fashion magazines was more like Fu Mingshi occasionally taking her out for extravagantly priced meals. It was nice occasionally, and could add some passion to life, but Zhen Bao preferred the down-to-earth homemade meals she ate every day.
"Alright, whatever you want," Fu Mingshi said helplessly as he nibbled on her earlobe.
Wealth and honor cannot blind one's eyes, his future wife had such noble thoughts.
The ripples caused by the photoshoot calmed down. Zhen Bao continued to devote herself wholeheartedly to her hospital internship and focused on preparing for the veterinary qualification exam after work. She gradually forgot about the magazine until the end of September when she was reviewing in her dorm and suddenly received a call from the courier asking her to pick up a package.
After hanging up the phone, Zhen Bao wondered and asked her three roommates, "I didn't buy anything recently, did they get it wrong?"
Jia Xiaoyu poked her head out from her bed and said, "Was it sent from overseas by Chairman Fu?"
Fu Mingshi had gone abroad again, but he had never sent her anything directly. He always gave it to her in person. Zhen Bao felt it wasn't from Fu Mingshi. She changed into shoes to go out and went to pick up the package. The courier was stationed at the gate of A University. Zhen Bao found hers, it was a large box that had to be held with both hands. The sender on the waybill showed...
Seeing the two characters "Hua Ting", Zhen Bao's heart suddenly beat faster. She vaguely guessed what it might be.
"Wow, such a big box!"
Hearing Zhen Bao open the door, the three roommates looked towards the door at the same time. Jia Xiaoyu even crawled off the bed quickly.
"What is it?" Qian Lele squeezed over to look.
"I don't know either." Zhen Bao put down the package and went to find scissors.
"Hua Ting! Isn't that your mother-in-law's company?" Fan Xuan screamed when she saw the courier company information on the waybill.
Zhen Bao gestured for her to be quiet. "It must be an evening gown!" Fan Xuan was extremely excited. Hua Ting mainly operated luxury evening dresses that ordinary people rarely bought since there were not many occasions to wear them.
Zhen Bao was also very excited. She carefully opened the package. Inside was a Hua Ting gift box. When she opened it, she saw a glimpse of white gauze. Zhen Bao confirmed that this was indeed the fairy dress she had worn for the photoshoot.
"So ethereal..." When Fan Xuan held up the skirt, Qian Lele and Jia Xiaoyu were stunned, with stars in their eyes.
Zhen Bao then noticed an unopened fashion magazine in the box with a famous celebrity who had become very popular in recent years on the cover.
"It's Ming Wei!" Qian Lele came over and saw the cover of the magazine, her eyes even brighter. She was Ming Wei's diehard fan and her screensaver was Ming Wei.
Zhen Bao handed the more excited roommate the magazine first.
"Can I open it?" Qian Lele politely asked before taking action.
Zhen Bao smiled and nodded.
After unwrapping, Qian Lele first looked at the outer cover of the magazine and noticed that this was the new issue that would go on sale tomorrow. After appreciating Ming Wei's style and reading the big headline introduction, Qian Lele was about to flip it open when she suddenly noticed a small headline: Zhen Bao, My Blessing.
Guessing that this "Zhen Bao" was her roommate next to her, Qian Lele immediately flipped open the magazine and quickly found her familiar face behind Ming Wei and other well-known female stars and models. Looking at the photo of Zhen Bao dressed like a fairy descending to earth in a fairy dress, then at her roommate who was even more beautiful and ethereal because of the outfit, Qian Lele simply couldn't peel her eyes away. She murmured, "Zhen Bao, you look so beautiful in this photo..."
Zhen Bao hadn't seen the final product yet and leaned over nervously. Jia Xiaoyu and Fan Xuan also temporarily put down the dress to form a circle of four heads, allowing those who could read to read the words and those who couldn't to just look at the photos.
Zhen Bao's fairy dress was an off-the-shoulder long white skirt with romantic chiffon flowers decorating the hem, with the concept of "Sleeping Beauty". There were two photos in total. In the left photo, Zhen Bao lay flat in a tree house full of natural atmosphere. A man in a suit stood at the bedside, leaning over to kiss her lips, really kissing her with his lips pressed against Zhen Bao's. Zhen Bao looked as if she had been awakened by the prince, opening her eyes with a gaze as clear and pure as a child's.
In the right photo, Zhen Bao stood on the streets of a big city, her eyes full of curiosity about the new world, while her hand was held by a man's big hand. But this time only the man's arm was shown, the focus was entirely on Zhen Bao and the fairy dress.
But from the side profile in the first photo, it was not difficult to recognize that the man was Fu Mingshi.
"Did you two take the back door? Not enough PDA in daily life so you have to show off in your mother-in-law's magazine?" Fan Xuan gently shook Zhen Bao's arm while her eyes were still on the photos and interview below. The interviewer was Hua Ting's editor and the interviewee... Fu Mingshi.
No wonder the title was "Zhen Bao, My Blessing".
"Chairman Fu is so romantic." Jia Xiaoyu hugged Zhen Bao's other arm, her heart melting.
Zhen Bao's whole body melted. She had thought Fu Mingshi was just accompanying her for the photoshoot. She didn't expect Fu Mingshi to also write accompanying text specially. Reading those words Fu Mingshi used to describe her in front of her roommates, Zhen Bao was shy and embarrassed. She went around to look at the dress instead.
Qian Lele gently bumped Jia Xiaoyu, then pointed to the last paragraph.
Jia Xiaoyu cooperated seamlessly and cleared her throat. Using the tone of the interviewer, she asked, "If you had to describe Zhen Bao in one sentence, how would Chairman Fu portray her?"
Zhen Bao's movements stopped for a moment and she secretly pricked up her ears.
Qian Lele followed up, "She is my... Eh, how do you pronounce this word? I don't even recognize it."
Zhen Bao laughed. Qian Lele was just pretending, even a middle schooler would recognize that word.
"You don't even recognize this word, how did you pass the CET-4 exam? Fu said Zhen Bao is his angel. Angels in Chinese is pronounced 'tian shi', so Chairman Fu said Zhen Bao is his 'tian shi'." Jia Xiaoyu deliberately misinterpreted it, emphasizing the "shi" character heavily.
The girls had finished eating the dog food. They put down the magazine and came over to interrogate Zhen Bao: "When did you shoot this? Was it wedding rehearsal before you got married?"
"No, mother said the model they found before wasn't very suitable, so she asked me to come audition. Then they just took the photos. I didn't know about the other arrangements," Zhen Bao explained with a red face. Fu Mingshi was really... he didn't give her any news at all, just pretended to casually ask if Feng Ke had given her compensation for the photoshoot. Thinking of that joke, Zhen Bao was startled. Was this dress something Feng Ke sincerely wanted to give her, or did Fu Mingshi pester him about compensation? If it was the latter, it would be too embarrassing.
Grabbing her phone, Zhen Bao went out to the balcony to call Fu Mingshi.
It rang three times and just as Zhen Bao remembered it should be early morning in Paris and was about to hang up, the call connected. Fu Mingshi's slightly hoarse voice came through, "Missing me?"
Having disturbed his sleep, Zhen Bao felt quite embarrassed. Her voice was much softer, "It's nothing, go back to sleep."
"I'm awake already, what is it?" Fu Mingshi rubbed his eyes and waited quietly. Zhen Bao looked delicate and dependent, but she was actually very independent. She wouldn't call him just to chat. As long as she took the initiative to contact him, there must be an issue, although occasionally it would be a silly question like "Is this turtle cute?".
Since he was not sleeping, Zhen Bao pouted and said, "Auntie just sent me a dress, the one I took a photo with. It wasn't the one you asked from Auntie, right?"
Fu Ming Shi laughed with his eyes closed, "Your fiancé is not poor enough to ask his mom for clothes yet."
Zhen Bao breathed a sigh of relief.
"Silly Bao, do you miss me?"
Zhen Bao bit her lip, "You're the silly one. Don't say anymore, I'm going to study."
Unable to stand Fu Ming Shi's teasing and ambiguous tone, Zhen Bao decisively ended the call and went back to her dorm room, where her roommates urged her to try on the dress and show them.
The next day, the new issue of Huating Magazine hit the stands. At noon, Qian LeLe sent her a screenshot showing the magazine's interview with Ming Wei gaining a lot of attention online, while Zhen Bao and Fu Ming Shi's section was also being widely shared. Unlike when she first became known in her freshman year, Zhen Bao and Fu Ming Shi were now considered a model couple. Most of the comments were blessings and praises, with netizens envying her good fortune in having such a nice mother-in-law.
Seeing the photo of her future mother-in-law Feng Ke's elegant pose, Zhen Bao felt a warmth in her heart. Meeting Fu Ming Shi was also her blessing.
On the third to last day of the National Day holiday, Fu Ming Shi returned from abroad and went straight to Zhen Bao's school to pick her up.
Zhen Bao also brought the dress with her. These expensive clothes and accessories useless at school, she would bring back to the villa.
Once in the car, Zhen Bao turned to the page with them and asked him, "Was it your idea to propose this feature?"
Fu Ming Shi nodded, his dark eyes fixed on her, debating whether to kiss her first in the car or speed to the villa and kiss her thoroughly upstairs.
"What made you think of it?" He looked at her ardently. Zhen Bao lowered her head shyly and asked in a small voice.
"It just came to me when I saw your photoshoot." Fu Ming Shi started the car, not daring to look at her further, or he'd want her right there.
His pheromones were too strong. Zhen Bao also kept silent, heart racing erratically.
Half an hour later, the car pulled into the villa garage. As Zhen Bao reached to unbuckle her seatbelt, Fu Ming Shi suddenly grabbed her. She turned and he was already upon her, one hand holding her head to kiss her deeply. After a short separation, reunited lovers grew even fonder.
The two stayed in the garage for over half an hour before composedly getting out of the car. Fu Ming Shi looked neat as ever, while Zhen Bao's cheap coat was badly rumpled, barely concealing what transpired. Considerately, Auntie Wang pretended to know nothing and only greeted them briefly before leaving to work.
"It's all your fault," Zhen Bao complained in a small voice, terribly embarrassed.
"You can blame me again," Hoisting her easily onto his shoulder with one arm, Fu Ming Shi carried his fiancée upstairs briskly, gift box tossed aside. Once in the room, he made straight for the bed... The cramped car left him unsatisfied.
By the time Fu Ming Shi was finally satisfied, Zhen Bao was utterly spent. "You can wear that dress to the group's year-end gala this year," he told her, kissing her shoulder as he held her from behind.
Zhen Bao blinked in confusion and looked back at him. What year-end gala?
Fu Ming Shi kissed her eyes, holding her hand to explain, "It's time I bring you to more events, to meet more people, so you're not strangers with everyone at our wedding banquet next year."
Before, she had been a student, but from now on, he would bring Zhen Bao to various occasions to gain experience and meet people, as his fiancée.