The Overly Familiar Xia Qian

It was not yet noon when An Zhiwu arrived at Yihe Garden.

She found the little Western-style house using the address she had been given.

She rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" a voice came through the video intercom.

"It's me. I made an appointment to come take photos."

"Just a moment, I'll be right there."

Before long, the door opened. The girl who answered it was tall and gorgeous, dressed in a nightgown and slippers.

She was briefly stunned when she saw An Zhiwu. "Are photographers all this pretty now?"

An Zhiwu smiled at her and followed her inside.

The little villa was simply decorated. It was clear that its owner wasn't fond of tidying up: delivery boxes of every kind were piled all over the living room, and uncleared takeout containers sat on the dining table.

An Zhiwu took a brief look, then looked away. "Hello, I'm An Zhiwu. I hope we'll work well together."

"I'm Xia Qian." She added, "I just got back from abroad a few days ago and I've been pretty busy, so I haven't tidied up yet. The house is a bit of a mess."

An Zhiwu said she didn't mind. "Should we start now, or...?"

Xia Qian took a bottle of juice from the fridge and handed it to her. "Have a seat while I go do my makeup."

"Okay."

An Zhiwu sat on the sofa and looked over the room's furnishings.

It was a large detached villa with a garden outside. She had noticed on her way in that all the little villas in the complex had gardens.

But Xia Qian clearly had no intention of growing flowers. The little garden by her door was still a patch of wasteland.

Inside, there was a treadmill, a shared bike, and other equipment.

It must be nice to be rich. Then I could run indoors.

If I put a treadmill in my little apartment, it probably wouldn't take three days for the downstairs neighbors to come charging up with cleavers.

Before long, Xia Qian came out, dressed in her outfit for the day.

It had to be said, Xia Qian was definitely a clothes hanger.

By eye, she was at least 170 centimeters tall, with curves where they belonged, a slim waist, and a flat stomach.

Perfect four-to-six proportions.

She was wearing a tight rainbow T-shirt that exposed her flat stomach, paired with light blue wide-leg jeans and large candy-colored earrings. The overall look was the currently popular sweet-and-spicy style.

An Zhiwu picked up her camera and began taking pictures of her.

After a few shots, Xia Qian leaned over to look at the photos.

"Wow, these look amazing! You make me look better than any of my previous photographers."

"Thank you. Once we're done shooting, I'll retouch them for you."

Xia Qian changed into a few more outfits, and An Zhiwu photographed each one.

Taking photos was physical work, too.

By the time they finished shooting all three outfits, not only was An Zhiwu exhausted, but Xia Qian was worn out as well.

As soon as they finished, Xia Qian flopped onto the sofa. "I'm so tired. Zhiwu, come rest for a bit."

An Zhiwu sat down at the other end of the sofa, flipping through the photos on her camera.

They still had a short video to shoot later.

They couldn't shoot it at home; they had to go to the artificial lake in the complex.

Xia Qian looked at the blazing sun outside and felt a little daunted. "Zhiwu, do you have anything to do later? If you're free, why don't we rest for a while and go shoot the video in the evening?"

An Zhiwu glanced at the scorching sun outside and hesitated too. "I don't have anything urgent, but I was originally planning to livestream around six this afternoon."

She could actually move the livestream to eight in the evening. Her streaming schedule wasn't fixed to begin with.

But for now, she still wanted to avoid eating that late whenever possible, so she wouldn't put too much strain on her stomach.

"Livestream? Are you a streamer? Do you do talent streams?"

An Zhiwu shook her head. "No, I'm a food streamer. I usually livestream myself cooking and things like that."

Xia Qian looked utterly stunned.

"You look like that, and you're a cook?!"

For a moment, An Zhiwu found herself unable to argue~

Xia Qian looked at the takeout boxes from lunch on the table, and an idea suddenly came to her. "Zhiwu, why don't you livestream at my place today? I'll pay for the groceries! I haven't had a home-cooked meal in months. Please~"

"Huh? At your place?"

Xia Qian nodded. "Mm-hmm! Look, my kitchen is huge, and I even have dedicated livestreaming equipment. It'll definitely be enough. The main thing is, I want to eat."

An Zhiwu hesitated. She wasn't the sort of person who got familiar with others right away.

Besides, when all was said and done, the two of them were really in an employer-employee relationship, so it didn't feel quite right.

This Xia Qian was obviously the overly familiar type~

Seeing An Zhiwu hesitate, Xia Qian moved over to sit right next to her. "You're going to livestream anyway, and look, I have dedicated livestreaming equipment. My kitchen has everything you could need, and I'll pay for the groceries too. All I want is to taste a teeny-tiny bit after you finish cooking." She pinched her thumb and index finger together to show just how tiny a bit she meant.

"But I've been trying to take care of my stomach lately, so I can only make mild food."

"That's fine! I promise, I'll eat whatever you make. I absolutely won't be picky!"

An Zhiwu couldn't help laughing at the sight of her. "Okay, but I'll buy the groceries."

"No, no, no! How can I eat and drink for free? I'm definitely paying for the groceries. Come on, I have money!"

"Uh..."

Seeing that she had already gotten up and was preparing to leave, An Zhiwu asked, "We're going now?"

Xia Qian was already spraying on sunscreen. "Yeah, it's already past two."

An Zhiwu looked out the window.

Weren't you just complaining that the sun was too strong...?

Xia Qian drove a convertible BMW MINI, which reminded An Zhiwu of Song Yihe's car that she had seen before. It was the same brand.

There was a large shopping mall near Yihe Garden.

After parking the car, the two went to the mall's fresh produce section.

An Zhiwu planned to make corn and pork rib soup and stir-fried shrimp with broccoli today.

She picked out a jin of young pork ribs and bought a bag of peeled shrimp.

Then she went to the vegetable section and bought some vegetables for the dishes.

The whole time, Xia Qian watched her with admiration. "You're amazing! I can't tell good produce from bad at all. How are you so great?"

An Zhiwu pushed the cart toward the checkout. "Because I find the process of cooking enjoyable?"

"But doesn't cooking always leave you smelling of oil and smoke?"

"It's not so bad. If you love doing something, that won't bother you."

Xia Qian thought about it. "True. It's like how I love putting outfits together. Sometimes it's pretty tiring, and there are lots of antis who curse at me. I don't lack money, and I don't rely on it to make a living, but it makes me happy. Cooking must be the same for you."

At the checkout, Xia Qian insisted on paying. An Zhiwu couldn't stop her, so she didn't press the matter.

By the time they returned to Yihe Garden, it was almost four in the afternoon.

An Zhiwu took out the ingredients, washed them, and left them in the kitchen in preparation for her dinner livestream.