Chapter 53: If we can, if we can’t, we can’t.
Chapter 53
The mood was set.
It would seem inappropriate not to have a child now.
"If you want to kiss me, you don't have to wait until I cry. Go ahead." Li Zhen put her arm around Lu Yanming's neck and kissed him.
It was the first time she had taken the initiative to kiss him while sober. Not bad.
But she didn't get to enjoy the pleasure of taking initiative for long before Lu Yanming got up and pressed her down on the couch, pinning her beneath him.
Breathing heavily, the atmosphere in the room became extremely ambiguous.
"I just wanted to have a nice chat with you. Why are you getting handsy?" Lu Yanming raised an eyebrow teasingly. "One second you're about to cry, the next you want me already? You bounce back quickly."
Li Zhen's face reddened. She sniffed and said hoarsely, "Didn't you say we could do it today?"
Lu Yanming smiled. "Let me take a look first..."
Look?
Look at what?
Li Zhen was still processing this when Lu Yanming lowered his head.
Her skirt lifted...
Li Zhen clutched the couch tightly, her ears bright red. "President Lu!"
A few seconds later, Lu Yanming withdrew his hands, looking regretful. "No good, you haven't recovered yet. Let's wait one more day."
Li Zhen tugged her skirt down and bolted up. "You..."
She couldn't get the rest of the words out. Li Zhen was so angry she turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
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Leaning against the door, she panted, chest heaving.
How could he just casually inspect her like that!
She had just started thinking he wasn't so bad, but now...
What a jerk!
"It's Monday again. Time to start another miserable week of working my ass off."
In the makeup room next to Photography Studio 12, Meng Yuanjie complained wearily as the makeup artist worked on his face.
"Well, you partied too hard this weekend. No wonder you have no energy for work," said Zhang Xiya as she curled her hair.
She had recently gotten air bangs and had to spend a lot of time styling them every day.
Li Zhen had arrived early and was already prepared, sitting on the sofa waiting. "How come Qiao Yi still isn't here?"
"I don't know. I texted her first thing this morning to ask her to bring the buns from outside her residential complex, but she hasn't replied. Maybe she overslept?" Meng Yuanjie's makeup was done. He got up from the dressing table, flopped down on the sofa next to Li Zhen, and sprawled out lazily.
"No way. She has a darling daughter she has to get up early every day to take to school. There's no way she overslept," said Li Zhen. She took out her phone and called Qiao Yi.
The call went unanswered.
Li Zhen checked the time. It was about time to head to the studio and get ready. She'd contact Qiao Yi again later.
As she approached the door, she bumped right into Jiang Kening.
Li Zhen's brow furrowed slightly and she shifted to the side to let Jiang pass.
Jiang shifted in the same direction, blocking Li Zhen's path.
Li Zhen looked up at her coldly. "Don't block the way."
"I have something to tell you, a friendly warning. Do you want to hear it or not?" Jiang leaned against the doorframe, completely obstructing the passage.
"I'm not very interested in 'warnings' from you," Li Zhen said with a trace of an icy smile.
What kind of friendly warning would Jiang give her?
Unless the moon started rising in the north.
Zhang Xiya was still holding the curling iron. Slowly, she said, "Yuanjie, I saw a very interesting sentence yesterday."
Meng Yuanjie: "What was it?"
"A good pig doesn't sleep in late, a good donkey doesn't bray randomly, and a good dog never blocks the way," recited Zhang Xiya. She put down the curling iron and glared at Jiang Kening. "Too bad some dogs just love to jump around, blocking the way and making noise."
Jiang Kening's face turned red, then white.
Gritting her teeth, she ignored Zhang Xiya and didn't bother sparring with Li Zhen anymore. She went straight to the point: "Li Zhen, you're headed to Studio 5 now, right? Sorry, but I booked all my print jobs there recently."
Li Zhen's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? They changed it? What about me then?"
"You'll still be in Studio 5, just wait a little longer," said Ren Zongshun, appearing in the doorway.
Jiang Kening quickly moved out of his way. "Manager."
Li Zhen had a bad feeling about this. "Manager, Jiang takes up the whole morning for one shoot. If I have to wait for her to finish before I can start, won't I be shooting until 8 or 9 at night?"
Ren Zongshun tried to pacify her. "I know you're upset, which is why I came to tell you myself. You've been with the company for three years now so you're a veteran. You need to learn to follow the company's arrangements."
Before Li Zhen could respond, Zhang Xiya objected, "Manager, that's not right. The studio and schedule were already set. How can you just change it on a whim?"
"Zhang Xiya, if you were the boss you could call the shots. You're not, so keep your mouth shut!" Jiang Kening glared at her.
She had been itching for a chance to snap back at Zhang Xiya for calling her a dog earlier.
Meng Yuanjie scoffed lightly. "What a good little boss's pet."
"Meng Yuanjie!" shouted Jiang Kening.
"Alright, that's enough," said Ren Zongshun, his head pounding. "Li Zhen, the decision's been made. I already spoke with the photographer at Studio 5."
Li Zhen glanced at Jiang Kening's smug face, considered for a moment, then said, "We could share it..."
Ren Zongshun nodded, relieved. "That works."
Li Zhen: "But I shoot first, she shoots after."
Ren Zongshun: "Hm?"
Jiang Kening immediately blew up. "What are you thinking? You shoot first? A partial model like you is going to snatch the studio from me, a full-body model? Make me wait for you?"
"Yes, you're so dignified and amazing, the best! I'll give you your sense of superiority. But as for the studio, we can only follow the original schedule. I use it first, you wait if you want to use it. That's how it is. Take it or leave it." Li Zhen spoke slowly and deliberately.
There was no way Li Zhen would foolishly wait for Jiang Kening to finish shooting.
That would mean unpaid overtime for her these next few days, plus docked performance pay! Docked wages!
"Manager Ren, look at how she..." Jiang Kening jabbed a finger at Li Zhen.
Ren Zongshun was also getting a headache.
Li Zhen was usually very even-tempered, but he knew that provoke her and she became a lioness who would sink her teeth into anyone.
He actually quite admired Li Zhen for being hardworking and excellent at her job, and got along well with her.
But recently, for some reason, Jiang Kening was dead set on opposing Li Zhen.
Ren Zongshun fingered the membership card Jiang Kening had just slipped him and steeled himself to say, "Li Zhen, that's how it'll be. I already spoke to the photographer at Studio 5."
With that, he hurriedly fled the impending disaster zone.
But he hadn't taken two steps before he heard Jiang Kening shriek behind him, "Ah!"
Followed by her screaming furiously, "Li Zhen! You bitch, you slapped me!"
Ren Zongshun's heart thudded wildly. He whirled around to see a scene that made his blood boil!
Jiang Kening had Li Zhen by the hair. "You dare hit me? I'll kill you!"
"You just flipped me off!" Li Zhen had Jiang Kening by both ears. "Did you spend the weekend partying with the sun? Feeling brave enough to kill me today, huh? Well I'm going to kill you if you don't!"
Zhang Xiya was thrilled at the side, baring her teeth in excitement. "I've been wanting to hit her for ages! Slap her, little Zhen Zhen!"
"Go Li Zhen!" Meng Yuanjie yelled eagerly. "Tear her mouth! Rip out her tongue!"
Ren Zongshun: ...A bunch of lunatics.