The man's entourage stood stock still, gazing at the young man. The men were obviously relieved and looked at each other cheerfully. They looked as if a great storm had just broken out. The girls in the store were also silent and watched the spectacle with interest. Suddenly, two of the entourage ran out and grabbed Shi Lin under their arms.

"Hurry up, we don't have much time," they told, dragging him behind the crowd toward the side doors.

Shi Lin was, to put it mildly, in a stupor. In his heart he knew he had been mistaken for someone else and wanted to object, but he just didn't have time because six incredibly nimble assistants were flailing around him.

Someone pulled down his sweater, another took off his shirt, and there he was, shivering with cold, while the bird of paradise, clucking its tongue, meticulously circled him. His tenacious eyes didn't miss a single detail.

A slender body: not flabby, with a reasonable amount of muscle in its proper places, a long neck, symmetrical shoulders, and a straight back.

A rather thin waist, for a man, and slender legs seemed to give the man special pleasure. He clicked his tongue once more, and then, without further explanation, pointed to a mannequin with a strikingly stylish suit.

"Somebody take care of his hair, and I think this suit would suit him," Shi Ling didn't even realize it was about him right away. But at that moment a pretentiously dressed young man with slanted bangs and a tattoo on his neck came through the door.

"I'm late, it's ok?" He grinned cockily.

The retinue glared at him, but the bird of paradise waved a hand nonchalantly. The new arrival was escorted to another corner and subjected to the same procedure as Lin.

"Two is better," the pink-haired shaman muttered.

Then he clapped his hands and voiced:

"Twenty-minute standby!" And everyone scattered, dragging Shi Lin and the other guy along with them.

Sitting side by side in chairs, they watched each other surreptitiously. Masters were working hard on them, getting their hairstyles right.

"Honey, would you mind using your lenses? You have beautiful eyes, but they could use a little brightness," one of the assistants came up to Shi Lin.

"Ah, no..." Shi Lin wanted to say a lot more, but after saying a few words, he suddenly felt that his voice did not obey.

"Alright then," the assistant chanted merrily and began to pick up his colored lenses.

Meanwhile, the master finished with his hair and left. Shi Lin saw with the lenses just as he did with his glasses, which had a small diopter and were worn solely for the sake of self-confidence. Finally he dared to look at himself in the mirror and immediately made a clumsy jerk back, causing his chair to fly off to the side.

"Are you ill?" his neighbor stretched out lazily, "Why do you throw yourself about like that? You used to look like a scarecrow, and now I don't even mind looking at you. Are you new? What agency are you from?"

"Fenghuang*," Shi Lin mumbled the first thing that came into his head.

*Phoenix

His neighbor frowned and, trying to remember the agency with that name, fell silent for a while.

"Sitting there, my goodness, do you want me dead?!" suddenly a bird of paradise screamed in his ear, "Where are they suits?"

The young men were taken back to the fitting room and began to dress. If things had gone wrong up to this point, now Shi Lin was finally backed to the original plan. He was wearing a flawless navy blue wool evening suit.

The material was nice and fit perfectly. Shi Lin was already glancing at the door of the room, contemplating a plan to sneak out unnoticed, but he was dragged away again.

The room was semi-dark, lit by a garland of lamps with a soft warm light. Shi Lin saw the photographer and all the equipment. It took his breath away for a moment.

He hadn't liked being photographed since his early childhood, and now this. Mechanically his body turned and rushed away from the room, but was confidently brought back.

"So, boy... and boy," the bird of paradise chuckled, "here we go. Here's the idea, boss and bully. Honestly, a new idea and two diverse contestants make me indescribably excited!"

The man clapped his hands theatrically.

Everyone around nodded approvingly and it was obvious that the main role of the entourage was to praise the boss.

Shi Lin was seated in an armchair and given a magazine in his hands.
Someone told him to put his leg up and make a cold expression on his face. The young man was embarrassed because he had never been in such a role and instinctively slouched.

An assistant immediately ran up to him, forcibly and roughly straightening his shoulders. For better effect, he tapped him lightly between the shoulder blades, so that his back straightened.

"Okay, good, now look at me," He heard a few camera clicks, and then the photographer and the pink hairs stared at the computer screen, discussing something.

Finally the bird of paradise shouted:

"Boy, you are the boss, you have thousands of subordinates and a private penthouse. There should be more arrogance in your eyes, come on, and show me that you are an indifferent bastard who will easily run over an old lady in the street!!!"

Shi Lin swallowed nervously, and then did as he was told. Suddenly, the image of the predatory rich man came easily to him. It was because he had observed such a person every day for a year.

The photographer liked it, because his eyes lit up and he ran around the young man like a man possessed. Shi Lin changed his pose and props as he was shown and, after ten minutes, it was his turn for a steamy shoot.

The young man had his shirt slightly unbuttoned and was asked to act interested in his partner. Strangely enough, not only did he not get out of character, but he successfully went on. The bully his partner portrayed allowed himself some not-so-decent poses and facial expressions, but Shi Lin was immersed in himself and thinking about the time.

The boss was waiting for him at a quarter to nine, and he hadn't released yet...

Finally it was over. The team huddled around the computer, looking at the pictures. Everyone was excited and enthusiastically commented on the result.

Shi Lin backed toward the door and heard his partner ask:

"Hello, bro, are we picking up the stuff like we agreed?"

Bird of Paradise waved his hand without a word, not taking his eyes off the monitor, and then quickly told his entourage:

"These photos are published immediately. I know our competitors want to use a similar idea and get ahead of us, but we'll do it a day early."

Everyone nodded approvingly, and the hum of voices drowned out the creaking door. Shi Lin left the store under the admiring glances of the two female workers. This time the driver noticed the young man and even turned around and stared at him intently for a few seconds from under lowered eyelids.

"We must go back and get Mr. Jiang," Shi Ling said tiredly but firmly.

As the car turned around and drove back, the young man buttoned up and looked respectable. To an outsider looking at him now, it might have seemed as if he were a pampered young offspring of a noble family who had just arrived from abroad.

His pale skin and strikingly blue eyes made a noble, even unearthly, impression. But the look was detached, for at this very moment the scion was contemplating the stratagem by which he would steal the boss away from the party.

****
Jiang Wei made a spectacular appearance at the reception. His personality attracted the attention of hundreds of eyes. He mentally scolded himself because he absolutely did not share their love for such big receptions.

He generally liked his privacy, and crowds got on his nerves, forcing him to expend his energies in maintaining hypocritical and useless conversations. In truth, however, he wanted to make the most of one man today.

Determining his location, he took a straight course and only smiled slightly at the guests who approached him with a greeting.

About the center of the room stood a young girl in red. She had deliberately chosen that color to be noticed. She was nervous, so her table was littered with empty glasses. Watching from under her long lashes as Jiang Wei walked past to one of her acquaintances; she took another sip from her glass.

An attentive observer would have realized at once that the girl was not of high society. Rather, she looked more like a dressed-up doll with an empty head.

She was anxious, didn't talk to anyone, and checked the time frequently. She seemed to be waiting for someone or something.