Chapter 41: This is a Conspiracy by the Body Double!

Could Chen Feng possibly not understand?
He understood all too well.
So the boss's wife's job was actually being a photographer at Mishima Studio?
Quite impressive.
Mishima Studio's photography skills were indeed top-tier, renowned throughout the industry. Previously, in order to boost Zhang Hexing's popularity, they had also invested in this company.
To put it simply, they were Mishima's financial backers.
Chen Feng immediately arranged: "Then I'll notify the financial magazine and call Mishima's boss to schedule the photoshoot."
"Let's set it for today. Can the afternoon be cleared up?"
Jing Zhuo used a questioning sentence, but delivered it with a declarative tone.
Chen Feng: "...Yes."
In the past, there wasn't even a photo of his full face; he always preferred silhouettes and back views, or else he used a body double.
Times certainly changed. He actually had a time when he was enthusiastic about taking photos.
Clutching his tablet, Chen Feng walked out of the office and dialed Mishima's boss.
"Hello, Boss Ji, a big gig has come up..."
-
On the other side, Song Xi was in the middle of shooting a project. During a break, the studio owner, Ji You, walked in.
"Little Xi, an urgent project has been slotted in for this afternoon. It's business style. Get ready and head to the studio for the shoot promptly at two o'clock."
Business style?
Song Xi instinctively said, "Boss, but I still have another client's project on hand, and we've only shot half of it. Besides, isn't business style handled by Lin Yan? It's not my area of expertise."
Ji You cut straight to the point: "Anyway, it belongs to you from now on. Hand your current project over to Lin Yan, and make sure you go to the business studio this afternoon. Definitely go."
Having said that in a rush, he hurriedly left.
Leaving Song Xi standing there in utter bewilderment.
What kind of business tycoon was this, acting so overbearing and even picking who they wanted!
Wasn't this purely making trouble for a working stiff? She still wanted to finish the project she was currently working on. Every photographer had a different style, and she didn't want to give up halfway.
Ye Zi chimed in excitedly from the side, "Business style is great! The people on the business side are mostly elites."
"Who knows, you might even bump into that one-meter-eighty-eight overbearing CEO from last time."
"Sister Xi is mighty! The two of us finally have a day where we get to rub shoulders with a CEO!"
Song Xi gave her a helpless look. "You really should read fewer romance web novels. Photographing people or photographing dogs is all the same; what difference does it make?"
"That's not the same. Look at Lin Yan, she has always monopolized half of the business style category. Every time elite bigshots come in, she fights to photograph them. She's probably going to be unhappy about this."
When Lin Yan heard that her project had been snatched away, she indeed felt deeply resentful.
Right in the middle of noon, she marched straight into Ji You's office. "Director Ji, why was this afternoon's business-style order given to a newcomer? I heard Jing Zhuo is the one coming in—that's my client! I was the one in charge of his photoshoot last time."
Ji You waved a hand to dismiss her. "What client is yours or mine? That's our financial backer; whoever they specify to take the photos is who shoots."
"This doesn't comply with company rules. Besides, Song Xi hasn't even passed her probation period. Can she even shoot well?"
"Don't talk to me about it. Go tell Jing Zhuo yourself; if he agrees to let you shoot, I have no objections."
Ji You spread his hands, tossing the problem right back at her.
If Assistant Chen hadn't specifically designated the photographer, he wouldn't have bothered messing with it.
Lin Yan stormed out of the office, still feeling extremely indignant.
She hadn't expected that a newcomer, having only been here for a mere month, would snatch her order away.
She certainly had some powerful tricks up her sleeve.
She wasn't one to be easily bullied either. Having spent six years at Mishima, she wasn't going to swallow this loss quietly.
At 1:30 PM, Lin Yan went over to swap projects with Song Xi.
She took a few test shots with the camera, but the resulting style differed far too much from Song Xi's first half of the set; they simply couldn't be used as a cohesive series.
"I really can't shoot this creative style, Song Xi. Why don't you do it after all? Otherwise, it would be such a waste of this stylistic set, and the client won't be happy either."
The internet celebrity on set had come with specific requests, insisting on a fixed fairy-tale floral theme. If the set couldn't be unified, the client would throw a tantrum.
Song Xi thought about it and realized it made sense.
"But what about the business side..."
"I just went to ask, and that business bigshot isn't coming today; his schedule has been pushed to next time. Why don't we just stick to our own roles and shoot what we're good at? How about that?"
Hearing Lin Yan say this, Song Xi happily accepted.
"Alright, then I'll continue shooting this set."
At 2:00 PM, Jing Zhuo arrived punctually at Mishima's business studio. He had even meticulously styled his hair and makeup, exuding sophistication from head to toe.
Lin Yan had been waiting for a while. Seeing Jing Zhuo, she hurried forward with a radiant smile.
"Hello, President Jing. I'm your dedicated photographer, Lin Yan. We've collaborated before—do you remember me?"
Jing Zhuo's gaze swept across the photo studio.
Aside from a few assistants, there wasn't even a trace of Song Xi to be seen.
He said indifferently, "I recall that the person I designated this time wasn't you."
Lin Yan felt a flicker of awkwardness, but quickly put on a smile.
"You must mean Song Xi. She's a newcomer and doesn't quite know how to handle the business style yet; the finished products are unpresentable."
"Besides, she's very busy this afternoon and doesn't have time to shoot you, so they switched to me."
"Very busy?"
Jing Zhuo muttered those two words, spun a nearby swivel chair with two fingers, and sat down, crossing his legs with the effortless relaxation of someone used to being at the top.
"No matter. I'll wait for her."
He spoke slowly, "Whenever she's done being busy, that's when she can come and shoot me."
What did this mean?
Was he really dead-set on Song Xi?
Lin Yan shifted her feet, wanting to call Song Xi over, but she simply couldn't bear to miss this opportunity.
The man in front of her was exceptionally handsome and immensely capable.
Great physique, even better face.
If she could hook someone like this, her status in the industry would undoubtedly rise to the next level, cementing her as a pyramid-tier photographer.
With Jing Zhuo as part of her portfolio, all future business-style shoots would belong to her, and the people she would come into contact with would be wealthy, high-capital bigshots.
Perhaps her future husband would be one of them.
And if it were Jing Zhuo... that would be even better.
Lin Yan gritted her teeth and decided to wait it out with Jing Zhuo.
She refused to believe it. Important figures had extremely precious time; if Song Xi kept stalling and didn't show up, he would eventually lose his patience.
At that point, she might even be able to lodge a complaint with the boss and get Song Xi fired.
Jing Zhuo waited for a full hour.
Along the way, he kept instructing Chen Feng on work matters via his phone, demanding this and that—a message every three minutes, an arrangement every five minutes.
After being tortured for an hour, Chen Feng simply couldn't hold it in any longer, and asked with a mix of excruciating pain and curiosity:
"Boss, didn't you go take photos this afternoon? Has the shoot not started yet?"
How could he possibly have so much free time to pick on him?
Jing Zhuo: "Some other woman showed up."
Chen Feng: "?"
Jing Zhuo: "She said Song Xi was busy and couldn't be bothered with me, and insisted on stepping in for her."
Chen Feng: "!!!"
What the hell...
Was this some kind of substitute's conspiracy?!
How could Chen Feng, seasoned in the business world, fail to understand what was going on?
He had explicitly instructed Ji You to have Song Xi photograph Jing Zhuo. Ji You had agreed repeatedly and told him everything was arranged, claiming Song Xi wouldn't be reassigned.
That meant internal fighting had broken out within their studio.
And it had escalated all the way to Jing Zhuo's doorstep.
The anger and frustration that Chen Feng had endured for an entire hour were unleashed directly upon Ji You.
He pulled out his phone and blasted a call through.
"Hey, Ji! What is going on with your studio?!"
"My boss Jing has been waiting in your business studio for an hour! And the only result is some woman stalling him, refusing to let him see Song Xi and refusing to let her take the pictures—what is the meaning of this?! If you have a problem with President Jing, just say it to his face!"