E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 130: Episode 130: How a Fashion Blockbuster is Made 1

Chapter 130: Episode 130: How a Fashion Blockbuster is Made 1

"An old friend, huh? Then we really need to step up our game! Can’t have you looking down on our Hehe, right?" Zhou Xueyin joked, "You two catch up, I won’t interrupt."

"Yiyang, how about we have lunch together? It’s been so long since I saw you, ever since you went back to the United Kingdom, it’s been years, and I really missed you, hehe..." Liu He said, her cheeks flushing as she looked at Li Yiyang.

"I missed you too. Let’s find a Chinese restaurant at noon; I’ve been craving Peking duck," Li Yiyang said with an embarrassed smile.

Li Yiyang and Liu He were neighbors. As children, their families were as close as one, and they often dined at each other’s houses.

Later, Li Yiyang followed his mother to study in the United Kingdom and only returned to Beijing during spring and summer vacations. Then in university, he had a heavier academic load and also designed for his mother’s company, so he didn’t have time to return to China.

Initially, Liu He still maintained contact with Li Yiyang through letters, but international postage was just too expensive, and eventually, she stopped writing. After starting university, they completely lost touch.

So it was a complete surprise and a pleasant one at that, when Li Yiyang returned to China to expand his career, unbeknownst to Liu He.

To understand the whole advertising process and to see more of Liu He, during the product brochure shoot, Li Yiyang practically spent all day at 51buy’s office.

Officially, he was there to look at the photos Wang Simo took, but in fact, his gaze often lingered on Liu He whenever he got the chance.

Liu He too was distracted at work; typing a sentence, then staring long at Li Yiyang until she noticed he was looking back, then quickly shifted her gaze back to the computer screen.

Like this, their eyes met often and both of them smiled unwittingly.

"Um... Miss Zhou, could I make a request for tomorrow?" One day in mid-December, after the shoot, Li Yiyang approached Zhou Xueyin.

"What is it? Was there an issue during today’s shoot, or are you not satisfied with today’s results?" Zhou Xueyin asked tentatively.

"No no, everything was very satisfying, perfectly so!" Li Yiyang hurriedly explained, "I was thinking, tomorrow I and Liu He could shoot a set... um... er, just..."

"Are you thinking of doing a couple’s shoot for your company?" Zhou Xueyin guessed his intention from his hesitant speech.

"Um..." Li Yiyang nodded shyly, "Is that okay?"

"Of course! But it still needs to have that tech vibe, only..." Zhou Xueyin hesitated a bit.

Even though she had considered a couples photo session, it was meant to involve a girl cross-dressing, so they hadn’t prepared men’s clothing sizeable for two.

Now that Li Yiyang proposed to shoot with Liu He, men’s wear became the biggest issue.

"Tell me, what do I need to prepare?" Li Yiyang was unaware of Zhou Xueyin’s concern.

"Well... how about this, bring an old outfit tomorrow, and we can alter it into a high-tech cosplay on-site," Zhou Xueyin suggested, confident that tomorrow, under Yao Shanshan and Wang Simo’s transformation, Li Yiyang would definitely look like a dashing male robot.

Early the next morning, Li Yiyang drove Liu He to the company bright and early, eager for today’s photo session.

"Hehe, you go write the brand story first, we need to modify Annson’s clothes..." Zhou Xueyin called Liu He back from the doorway of the photostudio, where she had been spectating.

"Yinyin, I want to see too..." Liu He said coquettishly.

"Sweetie, there’s nothing interesting about the process, trust me, I won’t mess up your Yiyang’s stuff. Go back now, be good~~" Zhou Xueyin patted Liu He on the shoulder, "I’ll call you over when it’s your turn, don’t rush."

"Okay, but... what do you mean by mess up... no, wait, what’s this about my Yiyang..." Liu He protested, her face turning red.

"You two keep busy, I’ll go handle the daily tasks..." Zhou Xueyin looked at Yao Shanshan and Wang Simo, who were methodically tailoring for Li Yiyang, feeling very reassured and went back to her own workstation.

Yao Shanshan had experience making clothes for BJD dolls, and with Ding Wuping’s teachings, she now skillfully conducted tailoring for real people as well.

Soon, an ordinary shirt, under the skillful transformation of Yao Shanshan, turned into a garment full of sci-fi feel.

Once the clothing was ready, Wang Simo started applying makeup on Li Yiyang, using a silver-gray palette, making him look like a character who had come back from the future in a science fiction blockbuster, cool and icy, with his hair done in a cool half-face hiding style with silver-gray spray.

Yao Shanshan also used makeup as paint, drawing a three-dimensional gear on Li Yiyang’s right face, making him look more like a malfunctioning robot.

"Hehe, come look at your Yiyang!" Wang Simo shouted teasingly.

"In a moment... just one more sentence!" At that time, Liu He’s attention was fully absorbed in her writing, completely uninterested in seeing what Li Yiyang had turned into.

But everyone else was curious, as Li Yiyang, who was already very handsome, had been transformed by Yao Shanshan and Wang Simo into something else.

So, everyone crowded at the doorway of the photo studio, "Wow! The icy robot prince is online! Hehe, your Yiyang, he’s going to be famous!"

Liu He quickly finished her last punctuation mark and couldn’t wait to squeeze into the photo studio.

A silver-grey, futuristic, and technologically packed mechanical prince appeared in front of her, leaving her stunned.

Although she knew that Li Yiyang had always been the spokesperson for male elegance, he had never worn such heavy makeup before, and seeing a different Li Yiyang today, Liu He felt she had truly lived in vain all these years.

"Not bad, not bad! Annson’s look is absolutely stunning! Alright, alright, don’t just stand there, Hehe, it’s your turn now!" Zhou Xueyin was very pleased with Li Yiyang’s look, but having everyone from the company piled at the door was quite a spectacle, so she pretended to be angry, "Stop gawking, don’t you have work to do?"

Hearing Zhou Xueyin’s scolding, everyone chuckled and returned to their workstations to continue with their tasks.

"Hehe, come here, let me do a makeup look that matches with your Yiyang!" Wang Simo forcibly turned Liu He’s head, who was still admiring Li Yiyang, towards herself, "Look at me, you can look at your beloved later!"

"Stop talking nonsense... I hate it..." Liu He protested softly, her face blushing.

The look created for Liu He was that of a futuristic female technician. Already having short hair, it was easy to achieve the tough yet gentle effect.

Her hair was also styled into an uplifted shape with silver spray, and her makeup was done in silver-blue tones, with some light orange brushed on her cheeks to add a warmer tone than the silver-gray. Yao Shanshan also drew fine metallic lines on her face, making her look very much like a robot.

"Hmm! Perfect!" After Liu He had gotten dressed, the two of them standing together truly looked like a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.

With the couple watches added, Wang Simo took a promotional photo that she was very satisfied with.