Taming a Wild Rose - Chapter 3

Li Ji and Sheng Zhao began living together.

Of course, it was a different kind of living together.

The house was large enough to accommodate the two of them.

For a few days, Sheng Zhao and Li Ji lived their lives as usual. There was no sign of any celebrity or artist’s schedule, which left Li Ji somewhat puzzled.

Sheng Zhao chewed on the breakfast Li Ji had made for her. Li Ji held a glass of milk and took a sip. In the end, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Are we going to keep living like this?”

Sheng Zhao looked up at him. The man was idly swaying the glass of milk in his hand. His pale lips were slightly moist from the milk, and his ink-black hair was clearly not properly combed but still looked good in its messiness. He seemed to particularly enjoy opening the top button of his shirt to show off a small portion of his chest.

The ordinary black shirt outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waistline. He was born to be a model.

She patted her chest and swallowed the food in her mouth. Under Li Ji’s slightly furrowed brows, she finally spoke up after a long while. “Of course not.”

She smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, leave it to me!”

Li Ji looked at her smile and slowly shifted his gaze. He seemed to want to say something but only spoke after a moment.

“…Eat slower.”

Of course, Sheng Zhao hadn’t been idling around these past few days. According to the company’s procedures, a newcomer like Li Ji with no fame or reputation could only be trained for a few years before being given some small activities. Only after a few more years of work would he become slightly famous—of course, this wasn’t what Sheng Zhao wanted.

Since she couldn’t use her connections, Sheng Zhao had to find her own way.

She examined a few magazines and selected one. Of course, Li Ji, who had no foundation or works, didn’t even have the chance to be interviewed at first. Naturally, the cover model needed to be famous, but after Sheng Zhao sent over Li Ji’s photos, the other party suddenly agreed to let Li Ji come in for an interview.

Sheng Zhao had asked before and found that Li Ji basically never took photos properly. He also refused most requests from customers to take photos together and even seemed to avoid cameras.

When asked why, he only gave a lazy response: he just didn’t like it.

So Sheng Zhao took a few photos of him while he was cooking without his knowledge.

In the photos, the man was wearing an apron and cooking with his head down. His chin was smooth and elegant, his nose straight and high, and his slender fingers chopped vegetables. His broad shoulders and narrow waist made these casually taken photos seem inexplicably high-class.

This photo wasn’t enough to change the magazine’s mind. After all, it was just a good-looking cook. How could he possibly be the cover model of a magazine?

The second photo was the real reason why the magazine changed its tune.

It was taken when Li Ji was smoking on the balcony. The first time he saw Sheng Zhao’s frown upon meeting her, he knew she disliked the smell of smoke, so he always smoked on the balcony and took a shower and changed his clothes after. He never let Sheng Zhao smell even a hint of smoke.

He had been smoking by himself on some balcony, and Sheng Zhao happened to pass by and take a photo—

The man in the photo held a slim cigarette between his fingers as he leaned lazily on the balcony. His long legs were crossed, making him seem even taller. His face was slightly turned toward the camera, as if he had noticed someone coming. It was almost as if he had been caught off guard, but the nonchalance and carelessness on his face carried a fatal allure, like that of a lazy and decadent prostitute.

This photo also earned Sheng Zhao praise. The photographer even asked her if she wanted to try learning photography after finding out she wasn’t just a little intern.

After all, professional photographers made more money than a small-time agent like her.

When Sheng Zhao proudly told him about this, Li Ji listened with a smile on his face. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. “Then are you going to abandon me, an unknown model who just signed a contract, to become a photographer?”

His fingers played with the cigarette in his hand, and the tips of his cold white fingers turned slightly red.

Sheng Zhao quickly denied it. “Of course not!” She smiled beautifully, her eyes curving up and her face flushed slightly pink. “You’re my star.”

Li Ji abruptly covered his face with his hand, hiding half of his face and even his eyes. Only a faint chuckle could be heard from behind his hand. Then he swallowed slightly, and his voice was hoarse as he said, “…Don’t say that kind of thing.”

“Huh? Why?”

Sheng Zhao asked in confusion but still carefully changed her words. “Then… my celebrity?”

“No.”

“…My superstar?”

“No, no.”

“Then, my…” Sheng Zhao pondered with his head lowered and brows furrowed. She seemed to be having a hard time deciding what to call him.

“Either way, it’s no. Stop thinking about it.”

He called out to Sheng Zhao, who was still deep in thought.

Li Ji lowered his hand. For some reason, the tips of his ears were red. He cleared his throat as if he was hiding something and changed the topic in a hoarse voice, “The audition is tomorrow, right?”

Sheng Zhao swallowed and nodded. Zge was a little confused by the man’s temper, but she still enthusiastically planned out tomorrow’s schedule.

When they arrived at the location the next day, there weren’t many people at the audition, but most of them were professional models with excellent figures. Li Ji was the only amateur.

Even though Sheng Zhao had seen Li Ji’s photos, she was still stunned when she saw the man in person. He was much more handsome than his photos; his sculpted features and cold demeanor made him an easy target for praise. Even though he had no experience or work, after a serious discussion, they still chose Li Ji over the models they had their eyes on. Even if he was just a pretty face, it didn’t matter since it was only for a few photoshoots. His face was still too suitable for the theme of this issue.

Li Ji felt a little unreal after being told he passed. He carried his backpack and put his hands in his pockets, looking handsome and tall. He never thought that all he had to do was get his measurements taken and chat with the manager to pass.

“That’s it?”

Sheng Zhao had prepared him mentally for this beforehand.

She smiled as she took out the signed contract. “Of course, it’s that easy. So you’re not too far from becoming a celebrity now.”

Li Ji glanced at her and laughed lightly. He didn’t say anything sarcastic, but he felt that she was only painting a picture of the future.

“I was worried you wouldn’t take it seriously, so I purposely made it sound more serious to get you to be more serious.” Sheng Zhao’s clear voice mumbled happily, as if she was in a good mood.

“…I would take it seriously.” Li Ji responded nonchalantly, his words light and airy. “If I didn’t take it seriously, why would I sell myself to you for five million?”

He felt that Sheng Zhao was eagerly waiting for him to become famous.

Li Ji had assumed that she was financially well-off. After all, not many people could afford a mansion in the city center.

He really couldn’t understand why Sheng Zhao had signed him. He’d asked her before, and she’d said that she didn’t lack money with such a large mansion, so why did she have to work as an ordinary manager for him?

Sheng Zhao had been stunned for a moment before saying that it was her parents’ legacy. She’d also said that she’d been living independently since she was very young and that the house had been maintained for many years.

After that, she pressed her lips together and didn’t say another word.

Li Ji looked at her lonely expression and paused, then pressed his lips together and didn’t speak. He thought a lot and filled in the gaps in his mind.

Her parents had passed away, leaving behind only a large mansion, but her life was still so difficult that she had to live independently. Was she unwilling to sell this house to improve her life? After all, he had seen the house himself. There were very few appliances inside, and it was clearly empty. It was clear that she didn’t have extra money to buy furniture.

Her goal was only—making him a celebrity.

She must have taken a huge gamble, wanting him to become famous and earn a lot of money without any foundation or experience.

So Li Ji felt a little uncomfortable when the photographer joked about Sheng Zhao learning photography instead of being a manager again.

In any case, he would take it seriously.

He made a promise to her that he would become the celebrity she wanted him to be, so for now, she shouldn’t change careers and leave him.

As long as she didn’t leave him, it was fine.

At this thought, Li Ji felt inexplicably irritated. He looked at the girl’s bright and confused eyes, then pressed his lips together and said, “I’ll become the person you want me to be.”

Sheng Zhao let out a light laugh. “Okay.”

The photoshoot began not long after. The photographer was clearly very pleased with Li Ji’s looks and figure. Although this was Li Ji’s first time shooting, his stiff movements and somewhat unnatural expressions didn’t bother the photographer.

Li Ji was also worthy of his reputation as the number one host in the club. He quickly adapted to the situation and no longer looked as strange as he had when he first started.

Sheng Zhao watched him work from the side. Li Ji would occasionally feel her serious gaze and look over awkwardly…and ruin a photo, making the photographer pull his hair out.

Perhaps because she was pretty and tall, some of the young male staff members hesitated for a while before approaching her to strike up a conversation.

Sheng Zhao was a little stunned. After a while, she realized they were asking for her contact information and shook her head, saying in a small voice, “Sorry, sorry, I can’t give you my contact information.”

The young man lowered his head a little awkwardly and tried to ease the tension. “Are you also a model here for the photoshoot? Ha ha, if you want to grab something to drink after you’re done, I’ll treat you.”

“I’m not a model, I’m his manager.” Sheng Zhao pointed at Li Ji, who was still filming.

The male staff member blushed a little at his joke and stuttered out a compliment. “You look very pretty, I thought you were also a model…”

After finishing some of the shots, they didn’t have many usable ones and needed to change the makeup and outfit to continue shooting. Li Ji had just rested up a little when he saw Sheng Zhao chatting happily with an unknown young man.

He paused for a moment before going to change his clothes and instead unbuttoned one of his collars in the heat. He walked over with his long legs and said to Sheng Zhao without any courtesy, “I want some water.”

Sheng Zhao blinked at the male staff member to indicate that she would be away for a while, then went to grab a bottle of mineral water for Li Ji.

Perhaps the male staff member felt the slight hostility from Li Ji, he paused before walking over to continue chatting with Sheng Zhao.

Li Ji frowned slightly. His handsome face that had been nonchalant at first now wore a slightly sour expression, but Sheng Zhao didn’t notice and continued chatting with the other man with a smile.

The male staff member felt the slight hostility and knew that he was a model who had been selected to be on the cover of the magazine without any experience or connections. He smiled at Sheng Zhao and said, “You guys got a big one this time.”

“This issue has an interview with Chen Shuoxing. It’s still a secret—” He winked at Sheng Zhao.

This sentence had a deeper meaning. “Got a big one” meant that Li Ji had lucked out by being chosen to be on the cover of the magazine with Chen Shuoxing without any experience. And telling Sheng Zhao this secret meant that he was expressing his fondness for her.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Zhao paused.

Li Ji was a little confused and asked Sheng Zhao, “Who’s Chen Shuoxing?”

“Ah? You don’t know who Chen Shuoxing is?”

The male staff member was a little surprised, but he still pointed to the commercial building across from the window. The large screen on the building was advertising a famous international skincare brand.

The spokesperson was handsome and beautiful, with no flaws in his features visible on the giant screen.

“He’s that guy.”

Chen Shuoxing was an actor, singer, and idol… He was a celebrity who had crossed multiple fields with a high popularity.