In the photo studio, there were quite a few staff members. The director, concerned that Xu Qiao might feel uncomfortable, intentionally cleared the set, leaving only a few individuals managing lighting and props. Surprisingly, it proved to be unnecessary.
Xu Qiao was completely indifferent to the gazes fixed on him.
If asked to unbutton, he unbuttoned. If asked to undress, he undressed, without the slightest hesitation.
The collaboration with such a cooperative artist was incredibly hassle-free.
In the nearly empty studio, a few girls took advantage of their positions to stay. At this moment, each one stared intently at Xu Qiao’s hand resting on his belt, as if it were the hand opening Pandora’s box. With just a gentle touch, they could unleash the cage of sin.
“Come on, get ready, action!” With the director’s command, the hand resting on the belt moved.
The silky satin belt easily slipped off the robe with a gentle pull, hanging down delicately along the fingertips.
The robe cascaded down the body, free from the constraint of the belt, spread open from the middle, revealing a figure wearing only underwear, teasingly concealed.
Pale, slender, but not giving off a dry sensation.
The director glanced and quickly delivered his assessment.
Xu Qiao’s physique was already good to begin with. With frequent workouts alongside Kang Wei recently, noticeable results didn’t show in a short time. However, the muscle lines on his body did become firmer.
Not an exaggerated chest and abdominal muscles like a fitness trainer, but a thin, tight layer of muscles, exuding a subtle hint of strength and masculine charm.
A young, handsome figure, drawing the attention of everyone in the studio.
He was accustomed to others’ gaze, and even half-naked, he didn’t feel embarrassed. Following the director’s instructions, he walked slowly towards the bathtub.
The water surface was covered with a layer of rose petals.
Xu Qiao stepped in, his robe swaying, revealing the indented waist and a fleeting glimpse of long legs.
In the next moment, he was already seated in the bathtub.
Those who secretly observed couldn’t help but show a regretful look.
The roses in the bathtub were in full bloom, bordering on decadence, with petals slightly curled, on the brink of wilting.
The fragrance series, named “Desire,” featured roses as its flagship scent.
Not the fresh scent of dew-kissed blossoms but rather a bold, overly bloomed fragrance, carrying a hint of fermented wine.
Seated in a tub full of roses, the young man in dark green robe had a complexion almost translucent under the lamplight. With intentionally portrayed subtle and pure makeup, he resembled an innocent and peculiar creature caught in a forest witch’s trap.
The red accents on his lips hinted at a descent into corruption and indulgence with the witch in the realm of desire.
Xu Qiao noticed that the director seemed particularly interested in his hands, going to great lengths to feature them on screen.
Tying wrists with the removed green satin belt, crushing petals with fingers, and painting nail crevices with rose juice…
After shooting many scenes, he began to feel something odd and out of place.
The director’s face lit up with excitement. Xu Qiao’s hands were slender, with unobtrusive joints, and exceptionally pale — like an exhibit in a glass cabinet. In intimate scenes, hands could be a powerful tool, providing sensory stimulation even more intense than exposed body parts.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Mo Chenghong pushed his glasses up, remaining silent.
“Xu Qiao, you truly suit these intense colors,” the director couldn’t help but praise once again.
As evening approached, the entire film was finally recorded.
The director, noting the late hour and the fatigue on everyone’s faces, considered that continuing with the remaining scenes might not be very productive. He said, “Xu Qiao, let’s continue recording tomorrow.”
Xu Qiao agreed and stepped out of the bathtub.
After soaking all day, his skin had wrinkled a bit. Li Feifei hurriedly came over to dry him off.
The director, with a cheerful smile, called the assistant to bring a large box of body lotion. “This is from the same series. The brand sent it for you.”
Li Feifei’s eyes lit up. He immediately opened a bottle, ready to apply it to Xu Qiao.
Xu Qiao wasn’t fond of smearing sticky substances on his body, especially since this series was designed for women. Having this strong fragrance all over him would be too peculiar.
He resisted, but Li Feifei was unusually persistent, squeezing a large pump onto his arm, his face sporting a lecherous smirk.
Mo Chenghong raised an eyebrow, hooking Li Feifei’s collar backward. He stumbled back a couple of steps, ready to explode in anger, but seeing it was Mo Chenghong, he immediately held back.
“Trying to make a move?” Mo Chenghong’s voice was cold.
Li Feifei shook his head vigorously, denying any such intentions. No, no, no, he just wanted to take good care of his big brother’s skin.
Mo Chenghong nodded towards Xu Qiao. “Do it yourself.”
Xu Qiao yawned reluctantly, pressing the lotion pump with little enthusiasm.
As he left, many people approached for autographs and photos, and Xu Qiao cooperated wholeheartedly.
The brand not only provided body lotion but also gifted several boxes of shower gel, filling up the car’s trunk. Back at the studio, the girls quite liked it, and sharing it around resolved the surplus.
Returning home when it was already dark, Xu Qiao turned on the lights and immediately noticed the easel and scattered paintboxes in the living room.
Most original artworks, including promotional images, were now digitally created, but he still preferred using traditional brushes.
Lifting the white cloth covering the canvas, Xu Qiao pondered for a moment and continued painting. The initial work was mostly done in the past two days. He just needed to make final adjustments and add details.
After completing it, he scanned the artwork and sent it to Gao Ming.
The scanned image file was quite large, and Gao Ming took a while to load it. During the loading process, the painting gradually revealed itself, as if an apocalyptic scene was unfolding before his eyes.
Torn skies, shattered landscapes. Warring races, humble prayers in the darkness.
The artwork was rich in detail, cruel yet vivid. Vibrant and dazzling colors, intense yet distant. The entire painting conveyed a grand yet meticulous atmosphere, carrying the flavor of a rational and scrutinizing gaze, as if standing from a god’s perspective, capturing everything.
Gao Ming was deeply moved. The magnificent, surreal, and exceptionally realistic artwork gave the impression that Xu Qiao had truly witnessed such a world with his own eyes.
“Boss, what are you looking at?” a puzzled employee asked from behind.
Gao Ming snapped back to reality, taking a deep breath. “Our promotional material is ready.”
Shortly after Xu Qiao sent the painting to Gao Ming, he received a response.
“Xu Qiao, use your account to post this promotional image. I’ll send you the caption. After you post it, the company’s official account will repost it.”
Xu Qiao replied with a simple “okay,” switched to his secondary account, and posted the artwork on Weibo.
Dianxing Game Company immediately reposted.
After posting a few more images sporadically, the fan count had already reached four digits.
Usually, the drawings he posted were character or scene concept drafts or quick sketches, lacking high completion and resembling drafts. This time, it was the first release of such a highly finished piece, immediately attracting numerous fan comments and retweets.
「Heavens, what kind of celestial beauty is this!」
「The artist must have an entire universe in their mind.」
「This is the most awe-inspiring game promotional image I’ve ever seen. Staring at this painting for a while genuinely gives me chills.」
「Starting to look forward to this post-apocalyptic game. Can’t wait to play it someday.」
「The art is too excellent. As long as the gameplay isn’t too boring, I’m definitely diving into this.」
「Diving in +1.」
Dianxing Game was a new company. Aside from the post-apocalyptic game they were currently focusing on, they’d also tentatively launched a few small single-player games. However, these had a limited impact, and the company’s visibility wasn’t very high.
Xu Qiao’s account had a limited number of followers, so both of them didn’t have high expectations for the response to this promotional image.
Unexpectedly, fans actively reposted, catching the attention of several influential figures in the art community. This created a buzz in artist circles, leading Xu Qiao’s secondary account to gradually reach a five-digit follower count.
After resting at home for a day, Li Feifei picked him up the next day to go to the recording studio.
The recording location was a professionally invested and constructed recording studio. Many advertising companies and singers would come here to rent it.
When they arrived, there was another unfamiliar face besides the director and the recording staff.
The director introduced the person to Xu Qiao, “This is the language coach.”
“Language?” Xu Qiao glanced at the coach. Why would they need a language coach?
The director explained, “It’s a sudden decision from the brand. They were pleased with your performance in yesterday’s scenes and decided to simultaneously release this commercial in overseas markets. So, in addition to Chinese, you also need to recite the adult lines in Ancient Florentine.”
Hecate was an Italian brand, more precisely, originating from the central Italian city of Florence. Not expecting Xu Qiao to know this language, the director directly brought in a language teacher.
Xu Qiao glanced at the script, and a subtle curve tugged at the corner of his mouth. The director thoughtfully provided Chinese phonetic annotations beneath the lines in Ancient Florentine to assist him.
“Reciting in Chinese phonetics will definitely sound stiff and not standard. This is just to help you memorize. We still need the language coach to correct the accent.”
The language coach, a woman in her forties with gold-rimmed glasses, elegantly nodded at Xu Qiao when the director introduced her.
After the preparations were completed, they began the formal recording, starting with the Chinese lines.
The lines were only a few sentences, but the director had high demands. Recording the Chinese part alone took nearly three hours, with instructions on tone, phrasing, and pauses for each line.
After having lunch in the recording studio and taking a break, Xu Qiao started learning the Ancient Florentine lines with the language coach.
Florence, representing the Renaissance, was renowned for its artistic prosperity, making it an exquisite and profound city. Ancient Florentine is considered one of the Italian language dialects, sounding mysterious and imbued with narrative.
The coach read a sentence, and Xu Qiao followed suit.
The director had initially prepared for Xu Qiao to spend half a day learning the accent, understanding that correcting the pronunciation for a Chinese person who had never studied this language could be challenging.
Surprisingly, Xu Qiao picked it up quickly. His pronunciation was remarkably accurate. Listening to him, the coach found it challenging to pinpoint areas for correction.
He sounded so authentic, just like a local.
About ten minutes later, the language coach asked Xu Qiao to read the entire lines by himself.
After he finished, the language coach cleared her throat and said to the director, “You can start recording.”
“Is that it? Already learned?” The director, idly scrolling through his phone, was somewhat surprised to hear the coach’s words.
The language coach nodded confidently, and the director, still skeptical, called out to prepare for recording.
As Xu Qiao entered the recording room, the language coach hesitated for a moment, looking at his back. In the end, she refrained from asking: Could you have spent time in Italy?
“Thorns cover the window lattice,
Draped in the midnight veil of rose twilight,
From where to seek her silhouette,
Listening to the sighs of the branches.
Wipe, wipe.”
This time the recording went much faster, finishing in just over an hour.
The director let Xu Qiao listen to the processed sound.
Ethereal music, a faint chant, accompanied by his recitation, created a hauntingly resonant atmosphere.
“The effect of reciting in this Florentine language is really good.” The director gave a thumbs up and thought for a moment before finding an appropriate phrase, “Sophisticated, mysteriously impressive, very pleasant to listen to!”
This language was most notably featured in Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” It naturally carried a tinge of sacred and time-settled feelings. However, when applied to an advertisement like Hecate, it added a touch of enigmatic contradiction and allure.
“Once the final cut is ready, we’ll send it to you first.” Xu Qiao nodded, then walked out of the recording studio with Li Feifei.
With the remuneration from Chatting About already deposited into his account, plus the advertising fee this time, he finally wasn’t living hand-to-mouth.
Our baobei is gonna be rich now!!!
The game is almost finished now
What will be the impact?
Thx for the chappy
Hmmm, I wonder if there’s anyone who may recognize the world from his art?
Thanks for the update!!
Thank you for the update ☺️
Yay! Our baby is going to have more hand and face fans after this 😆😆
Thanks for the chapter!! 🫶🫶
Money, get!
Thank you for the update
Thank you for the chapter!
Thank you for the update 🖤 💯
Thanks for the chapter!