512: 8.112 Center Of Attention*

8.112 Center Of Attention*

The third day began peacefully with Ellen's photoshoot session that was delayed yesterday.  2

Early in the morning, they were woken up by Sister Chen who rang the doorbell nonstop, the buzz almost broke through the ceiling. After stuffing himself with a bowl of cereal, Sister Chen proceeded to drag Ellen to the dressing room for the make-up artists to prod and paint his face. Lu Yizhou followed leisurely behind him all the while keeping attention to his surroundings. 

By now, Sister Chen was already numb by the fact that her cabbage had been eaten by the pig Lu Yizhou until not even the bones remained and hence, she opted to ignore his presence instead. Out of sight, out of mind.

Lu Yizhou did not perceive the poor manager's emotional turmoil as he was too busy analyzing the current situation. Less than twenty four hours ago, a small scale explosion occurred on this ship, which devoured more than twenty lives. Yet this morning, everyone seemed to go on with their lives as usual. The families were lounging on the upper deck, children running around with excited smiles on their faces and youngsters chased after their beloved idols like usual.

…It was like the incident yesterday did not happen at all.

Lu Yizhou frowned. For some reason, the peaceful atmosphere made him uncomfortable. It was like the calm before a thunderous storm. 

He looked up to see the clear blue sky with seagulls flying around. This was already the third day. Four day left until the appointed seven days and he still had no idea how the ship could possibly capsize. It was not like they could encounter a sea of icebergs amidst this tropical ocean. He had had 666 pay attention to the engines at all times in case it would malfunction because of a certain captain's nightly endeavour. And now, all he could do was to wait.

The area around the swimming pool had been cordoned off for the photoshoot session. Today, Photographer Song requested for Ellen to go first because he was inspired by how mesmerizing the elf prince was yesterday. Too bad, Photographer Song had no idea that a certain supermodel could only give 120% of his effort because someone had been staring at him intensely. But now, Lu Yizhou was subtly observing the guests instead and did not pay attention to him.

A certain supermodel was sulking and could not manage his expression well, causing the photoshoot to become stuck.

Photographer Song checked the photos and furrowed his brows. "Can't you do it like yesterday?"

Ellen had soaked in the pool for almost half an hour and his face did not look good. "My expressions are always the same."

"No!" Photographer Song tugged on his hair, frustrated. "You're more passionate yesterday! The whole set is burning because of your radiant gaze but now… now your eyes are just like a dead fish! Oh goodness, what a turn off!"

Dead fish Ellen: "..." He did not even want to say anything about that.

Photographer Song knew how hard it was to enter the zone and hence, he did not force his model. He waved his hand and planned to ask Ellen to rest first when a dainty chuckle sounded from the side. It was Chu Lingshe who had come to check the photos. "I have an idea on how to rectify the situation. Do you want to hear it, Photographer Song?"

"Oh?" Photographer Song's eyes lit up. "Do tell, my princess."

Ellen had a bad feeling about this but before he could open his mouth, Chu Lingshe had reached out and pointed at Lu Yizhou who was standing together with rows of bodyguards. "Let him come and pose with Ellen. I guarantee, you will be able to get the photos you want."

Lu Yizhou was far enough not to hear Chu Lingshe who was plotting against him. All of a sudden, his hair stood on its end when he felt a few pairs of eyes landed on him. He turned warily and found almost everyone in the set studying him with an almost identical look of curiosity on their faces. The most heated one came from Photographer Song who was staring at him as if he was a piece of fragrant meat.

Lu Yizhou: "..." 

He expressionlessly shifted his gaze to Ellen but to his surprise, Ellen did not even deign to give him a glance. Lu Yizhou was confused. What was happening?

"Yes… perfect," the photographer murmured to himself. His keen eyes zoomed in on Lu Yizhou's attractive face, his broad shoulders and his ramrod straight back that was akin to a pine tree in the middle of the snowy forest; it would stand tall no matter how fierce the storm was. Unyielding and steadfast. The more Photographer Song looked at him, the more satisfied he was. "Why haven't I seen him before?! This is such a waste of good resources! You… yes, you! Come here. What's your name?!"

Because the entire set was looking at him, the fans who surrounded the swimming pool also had their focus shifted away to see what the commotion was. In a blink of an eye, Lu Yizhou became the center of attention and just like that, his effort to keep his presence low for the past three days was utterly destroyed.

The fans started to talk among themselves.

"...Who is that?"

"He's standing together with the bodyguards so is a bodyguard too? Why is Photographer Song looking for him?"

"Eh… now that I look at him, he's quite handsome. His body is very okay. No, scratch that, he's fucking hot. Look at those arms and shoulders. I bet he could carry me with one arm."

"Oh gosh, now that you're talking about it, I also think that this big brother is very handsome! He really isn't involved in the entertainment industry?!"

Everyone practically had the same question plastered in front of their mind: why hadn't they noticed such an excellent-quality man before?!

Lu Yizhou had actually made quite a sensation when he suddenly showed up as Ellen's bodyguard yesterday. However, everyone in the set was no stranger to attractive faces after being in the entertainment industry for so long. Hence, they only gave Lu Yizhou a few inquisitive glances and threw the matter to the back of their mind. 

It was the fans whose blood was starting to boil. "What? Is this big brother going to pose with supermodel Ellen in the swimming pool?! Oh my God, it will be so hot!"

Photographer Song blinked in confusion when he found Lu Yizhou ignoring him and asked the director beside him. "Why didn't he answer me? Doesn't he hear me calling?"

The director huffed and sent a little assistant to fetch Lu Yizhou into the set, thinking that he was too timid to answer the call from a renowned photographer. But Lu Yizhou was unmoved. His gaze was transfixed on Ellen who had climbed up from the pool and was wrapped in a fluffy towel as he listened to Sister Chen nagging. Perhaps Lu Yizhou's stare was too intense or perhaps he had caught wind of the commotion nearby, Ellen finally glanced his way. However, he swiftly looked away again as though nothing happened. His entire body was oozing with 'don't wanna talk' aura.

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched. How did he anger the little leopard again?

"...please, come with me." The little assistant had repeated for the nth time without receiving a response. She was starting to sweat and opened her mouth again. "Um—"

"Let's go," a rich, low pitched voice came out of the handsome man's mouth, sounding much more pleasant and hypnotic than anything she had heard before.

The little assistant was stunned for a moment and then her face flushed red. "Y–Yes, please follow me!" 

Lu Yizhou finally stepped into the set and stood in front of Photographer Song who examined him from head to toe. His eyes sparkled. "Yes… if it is him, then he definitely can pull it off." Without even consulting Lu Yizhou's opinion, he turned to order his assistant. "Bring out 'that' costume!"

"T–That costume, Sir? Are you sure?"

"Hurry up!" Photographer Song almost fidgeted on his feet due to anticipation. He eyed Lu Yizhou once again and rubbed his hands together, face flushing red. "Let's try it and see, okay? The lifeline of our photoshoot lies in your hands! Please help Ellen to reach his breakthrough!"

Lu Yizhou was ready to protest when he heard Ellen's name and he shut his mouth again. In the end, he was dragged to the makeshift dressing room in the deserted corner of the swimming pool that actually only consisted of a few privacy screens lined up to form an enclosed space. 

The make-up artists spent a few moments discussing — almost arguing — on how they should package Lu Yizhou's image before starting to work on him. They had been conditioned to work under pressure and would surely be quick on their feet. However, fifteen minutes passed and there were still no signs from the other side yet.

Photographer Song frowned and checked on the time for the nth time. He was already behind schedule because of the accident yesterday and his patience was running thin. He was ready to ask for Chu Lingshe to come out first when all of a sudden, a few high-pitched squeals rang out. "Oh my God, look at him!"

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