SABA Chapter 45

Why, why is everyone who discusses this issue with him reacting this way? Jiang Tiao felt utterly exhausted, thinking things couldn’t get any worse.

To make it to the 7 o’clock shoot, he had woken up just after 5 AM. After a morning of mental exertion, even someone as energetic as him felt a bit drained. To maintain his energy in the afternoon, he needed coffee to keep him going.

However, after their meal, the waiter brought him a cup of tea.

Jiang Tiao looked confused.

The waiter explained apologetically, “I’m very sorry, but our head chef’s team has temporarily suspended coffee service because the ‘Diamond Batch’ coffee beans from Brazil’s Datra Estate, our only collaboration this season, ran out a week ago. Our barista refuses to ruin the complete flavor experience with any substitutes. Perhaps you would like to try our low-temperature cold brew ancient tree Moonlight White, which also represents our ultimate pursuit of flavor expression…”

If he remembered correctly, when he first entered the restaurant, he seemed to have seen a waiter delivering coffee to other tables…

Jiang Tiao opened his mouth, about to inquire, but noticed that Chu Qingchao, sitting opposite him, didn’t seem surprised at all. He seemed to have accepted this explanation long ago, calmly sipping his tea from a porcelain cup with gold rim, lost in thought.

Jiang Tiao glanced at the tea in front of him, then at the faint dark circles under Chu Qingchao’s eyes, and mused thoughtfully.

He had seen a similar situation before, when he was very young, his parents had intentionally told the waiter that the restaurant was out of lamb to prevent Jiang Mingyan, who had broken his hand, from ordering lamb.

Coupled with Chu Qingchao’s inexplicable silence earlier, Jiang Tiao felt as if he had discovered something.

On the way back to the photography base, Jiang Tiao couldn’t help himself. He quietly took out his phone and shared his latest discovery with Huo Shen.

“Don’t you think my brother’s feelings for Brother Qingchao are more than just friends?”

“Hmm?” Huo Shen was quite surprised. Just as he was about to type, he saw the next message Jiang Tiao sent.

“I originally thought they were close friends, but now I realize that’s not the case. I think he might be taking care of Brother Qingchao like a younger brother.”

“Sigh, no wonder he’s always so impatient with me.”

Huo Shen looked at the messages Jiang Tiao sent him with a complex expression, then at Jiang Mingyan, who had just dropped him off at the company entrance, and felt a surge of emotion.

Fortunately, he had never taken Jiang Mingyan’s advice on matters of the heart.

…

With Chu Qingchao present for the afternoon shoot, the atmosphere in the studio was no longer sluggish and procrastinating. Every staff member moved with purpose. They were exceptionally friendly towards both Jiang Tiao and Nie Jin, readily accommodating their requests, a stark contrast to their perfunctory attitude that morning. Even the fashion editor, Xu Sisi, personally oversaw the styling.

The entertainment industry is a vast arena of fame and fortune. Nie Jin, having navigated it for many years, adapted well. She didn’t waste time making trouble for the petty individuals who had acted superior and dismissive towards her that morning, nor did she use Jiang Tiao’s connections to overstep in her interactions with Chu Qingchao. Instead, she seized the opportunity to leverage these ambiguous favors to build rapport with Xu Sisi.

Nie Jin knew that mutual benefit was key to long-lasting relationships. Compared to Chu Qingchao, whose status was vastly different, Xu Sisi, as the editor-in-chief of “ELEGANT,” was the truly valuable contact for her future.

The makeup artist was helping Jiang Tiao remove the moss from his face. This was the seventh makeup look that had been rejected and redone. Under Chu Qingchao’s high standards and demanding critiques, everyone felt like they had been peeled layer by layer. Jiang Tiao, hearing the makeup artists’ earnest discussions and brainstorming, felt a pang of sorrow and despair. He was the one truly being peeled layer by layer! It was him!

Those messy things were applied to his face and then removed, removed and reapplied. He felt as if his skin would be torn off along with them.

When they first started shooting, he always needed to be reminded to have a blank expression and not appear too sunny and vibrant… Now, after being tormented all afternoon, he no longer needed to control his expressions. He was the embodiment of hollow, tired, and numb.

Seeing the makeup artist about to add elements like sewage and corrosion to the half-cleaned side of his face, Jiang Tiao, who really didn’t want to go through the makeup removal process again, spoke up. He ignored Nie Jin’s sharp glances, fearing he would offend someone, “I don’t think Mr. Chu would like this.”

“Since the theme of this issue is the New Era of AI, the destruction that Mr. Chu wants wouldn’t be simple destruction and pollution. What he wants should be a visual effect that simultaneously showcases the damage of industrial pollution to nature and the hope for environmental restoration brought by AI technology.”

Xu Sisi was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected to find an artist in the entertainment industry, filled with so many incompetent people, who possessed both external beauty and intellect. Even more rare was his humility, not being overconfident with superficial knowledge. Her gaze towards Jiang Tiao shifted from politeness to admiration, and her tone became a little gentler, almost unconsciously, “Do you have any good ideas?”

Jiang Tiao didn’t understand art, but he had seen a lot of emerging technology at Huo Shen’s company. “Perhaps imitate the repair process of symbiotic leaf veins or translucent mycelium?”

Xu Sisi pondered this.

Chen Wa noticed Xu Sisi’s change in attitude and couldn’t help but sigh. With both Nie Jin and Xu Sisi, Jiang Tiao’s personality truly made him easily liked by older women. Why couldn’t he achieve that? He was so jealous!

…

Chu Qingchao finally finished with the set design team. He looked at Jiang Tiao’s eighth makeup look and finally showed a hint of satisfaction.

The layout of the studio had been completely transformed over more than five hours of resetting. Against a giant painted forest backdrop, cables intertwined with withered trees, and black slime slowly seeped from the trunks. Industrial pollution corroded and eroded the already dead earth. The only trace of green was a giant tree in the distance, its veins glowing, constantly releasing nanobots that purified the air. They floated in the air like mist, slowly repairing everything around them that had been polluted.

Jiang Tiao wore a metal jacket made from recycled materials. Half of his body was already corroded by pollution, with charred, rotten marks spreading radioactively to his lower left jaw. He lay fallen in the polluted forest, propped up on his left hand, viscous sewage flowing from his joints, as if to merge him with the blackened earth.

Gray-blue matrix lights shone on him. He maintained the despair, struggle, and powerlessness that Chu Qingchao wanted. He wasn’t someone easily affected by others. Every time the spotlight turned on, he could achieve a state of mental clarity, unaffected by the movements of others on set.

However, Huo Shen’s appearance at the shooting location was completely unexpected. The light subconsciously appeared in his eyes, which were filled with despair and powerlessness.

“Click, click, click—” A few shutter sounds pulled him back to reality. He felt a touch of regret and immediately composed himself, regaining his emotions.

However, Chu Qingchao was in an extremely good mood, concluding the shoot, which had been incredibly grueling for over an hour.

“Very good, excellent, that’s it.”

Chu Qingchao looked at the last few photos taken by the camera. Jiang Tiao’s half-body was completely merged with the sticky sludge on the ground, and despair, struggle, and powerlessness enveloped his entire being. Only the spark of light in his eyes, like a star in the pitch-black night sky, illuminated the symbiotic leaf veins growing along his blood vessels from the right temple, tenaciously resisting the pollution.

‘Destruction—Restoration—Symbiosis’ were all perfectly presented in this photograph. The violent encroachment of industrial civilization on nature, the AI-driven ecological reconstruction, the conflict and reconciliation, civilization and technology, and other contradictions were all well conveyed through visual storytelling.

Excellent, excellent, Chu Qingchao was very satisfied.

Huo Shen felt a bit speechless. An hour ago, he had received a cryptic message from Chu Qingchao – saying that Jiang Tiao was with him and asking him to come over if he had nothing else to do, and then no further replies.

Although he knew that Jiang Tiao would definitely be fine with Chu Qingchao, Huo Shen still felt a bit uneasy about Chu Qingchao’s sudden message.

It turned out he was asked to be a prop for the shoot.

“I haven’t shot a magazine cover in years, so I can’t tarnish my golden signboard,” Chu Qingchao’s smile was smug. “Besides, aren’t I also sticking up for ‘your person’?”

Huo Shen raised an eyebrow, having to admit that Chu Qingchao’s wording had indeed pleased him, so he decided not to bother arguing with him.

Chu Qingchao browsed through the afternoon’s shooting results and clicked on a few, handing them to Huo Shen. “How is it? Pretty good, right? You didn’t come here for nothing. When I get back, I’ll package the negatives for you to admire at your leisure.”

Huo Shen took the camera and flipped through it, finally focusing on the last shot – the one capturing Jiang Tiao the moment he saw him. Huo Shen’s eyes curved slightly, and his gentle gaze held a hint of tenderness.

Chu Qingchao observed this and exclaimed with a “tsk tsk,” unable to resist teasing, “You seem to be in a pretty good mood lately?”

Huo Shen looked at Jiang Tiao in the distance, surrounded by a group of makeup and styling staff but clearly wanting to come over immediately. He smiled and frankly replied, “Indeed.”

Chu Qingchao was caught off guard and choked on a mouthful of “dog food” (a metaphor for witnessing public displays of affection).

He suddenly remembered a complaint he had overheard from someone who had collaborated with Huo Shen in the lounge area of a club. That person was probably a female executive from some company, perhaps just teased by her girlfriend about her thoughts on collaborating with a handsome man. Chu Qingchao remembered her exact words were, “Get real, you haven’t been in close contact with him. That face, that aura around him, it’s colder than Siberian air. No matter how handsome he is, a glance from him can make your calves tremble.”

“From the beginning to the end of our collaboration, for a full year and a half, I never saw him smile! Those who knew understood that the project was profitable, but those who didn’t would think our company had lost him billions!”

“Who would dare to have a crush on him? Siberia has no spring. Anyone with a crush, as soon as they enter a hundred-meter radius of him, would freeze into ice shards.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Chu Qingchao really wanted to capture Huo Shen’s current expression and show it to her, to prove that Siberia did have spring.

As Chu Qingchao sighed, he seized the opportunity and struck while the iron was hot, “My magazine is still missing an interview for this issue. Since you’re already here, how about it? Will you contribute one?”

The theme of the quarterly issue was “New Era of AI,” and in China, there was no company more renowned in the intelligent domain than Sheng Yao. Sheng Yao possessed the world’s top intelligent driving system, and its fully automated intelligent mining technology developed a few years ago had been implemented in multiple countries. As the de facto chairman of Sheng Yao Group, Huo Shen was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for an interview.

Huo Shen was speechless. “This is your other purpose for calling me here, isn’t it?”

Chu Qingchao deliberately played the victim. “You know my situation. To help Jiang Tiao with this, I’m under a lot of pressure.”

Huo Shen rarely accepted interviews and had no leaked photos, always maintaining an air of mystery in the public eye, being the most enigmatic business newcomer in the eyes of the public. If Huo Shen were to accept an interview, it would not only fit the theme of the issue but also be a significant selling point. However, if Huo Shen was truly unwilling, it wouldn’t matter; he could do it himself, and his interview would be valuable enough.

Huo Shen didn’t believe that Chu Qingchao’s initial plan was to interview him. It was likely a sudden idea that occurred to him while coaxing him to be a shooting prop.

Chu Qingchao deliberately sighed. “Actually, whether or not the interview happens isn’t that important. It’s mainly for your sake. You see, Jiang Tiao is the cover of this issue, and you have the most weighty opening interview. His photos will complement your interview, and your names will be seen by the world together, remembered together. No matter how the world changes, your public life will always have his presence… Tsk, how romantic. I’m giving you an opportunity.”

Huo Shen was silent for a moment. Just as Chu Qingchao thought he wouldn’t respond to his nonsense, he heard Huo Shen say with apparent pleasure, as if he was quite satisfied with the idea, “Alright, then have the person in charge contact Lin Shun.”

No way! This actually worked?! He had just rambled casually, and even he himself wasn’t convinced.

Chu Qingchao was filled with emotion. “I finally understand what ‘infatuated by beauty’ means.”

Jiang Tiao finally finished removing his makeup. He broke free from the staff surrounding him and, as soon as he arrived, heard Chu Qingchao say, “What does ‘infatuated by beauty’ mean?”

Huo Shen saw the raw red marks on Jiang Tiao’s face and frowned slightly. “What happened?”

“It’s all the repeated makeup removal and application,” Jiang Tiao rubbed it with his hand carelessly, immediately gasping in pain. “I’ve realized that no industry is easy.”

Huo Shen stopped Jiang Tiao from fiddling with his face. “Don’t mess with it, you need to put some medicine on it.”

Huo Shen’s hands were very cool. Touching his burning face felt like encountering a mountain spring while hiking in the peak of summer. Jiang Tiao’s eyes narrowed comfortably.

Chu Qingchao: “…”

This was unbearable to watch!

Chu Qingchao felt speechless hearing the two of them talk so intimately, as if a wall separated them, “Does it hurt?” “A little.” “Why don’t you let the doctor take a look.”

“Hey, hey! That’s enough. When Huo Shen wasn’t around, you didn’t even cry out when you cut yourself.”

Jiang Tiao felt happy seeing Huo Shen and didn’t care about Chu Qingchao’s scolding.

Huo Shen’s eyes curved slightly, and he finally deigned to take his gaze off Jiang Tiao. He looked at Chu Qingchao. “Shall we have dinner together tonight?”

Chu Qingchao looked at Huo Shen and Jiang Tiao, acting as if no one else was there, as if a wall separated them. He waved his hand. “Forget it, just looking at you two fills me up. You two go eat by yourselves.”