CSGM - Chapter 92
Chapter 92: Being Controlled
Chu Xi leaned down beside Ren Zhi, looking up at her.
She felt as if the nape of her destiny had been hooked... This must be the downside of a collar with a leash.
Ren Zhi, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the hooking, as if she had something under her control. She even laughed at Chu Xi, saying:
"This looks a bit like a little dog leash."
Then, after a moment of thought, since there was no one else in the private dressing room, she whispered to Chu Xi:
"Your makeup and styling team really gets it."
They get what looks sensual, what attributes are alluring, and what will resonate with Chu Xi's target audience.
The V-neck suit that revealed a large expanse of her fair neck, paired with the black leather choker.
Combined with Chu Xi's own slender and long neck, and her exquisite physique, it was an absolute killer combination.
It was enough to make one drool.
In fact, it was the same principle used by the styling teams for Ren Zhi and many other female stars who wore off-the-shoulder dresses or showed off their legs, even if their styles were different.
It was all about dressing in a way that made them more alluring.
So Ren Zhi thought.
For once, Chu Xi didn't understand.
"Gets what?" she asked Ren Zhi, her eyes clear and innocent.
Ren Zhi chuckled softly, deciding not to explain it to this clueless straight girl.
Instead, she brought up another point: "You can smile less tonight. You look cooler when you're expressionless."
Chu Xi: "I don't like to smile much anyway."
"Couldn't tell. You're like a husky."
Ren Zhi teased her, even scratching her under the chin. Her skin felt smooth and cool to the touch, but it quickly warmed up.
Chu Xi pulled away from her hand, the chain on her collar making a soft clinking sound. She covered her neck, feeling as if her skin had heated up.
Just now, she actually had a sense of... shame, a desire to escape.
How could she let someone pull the chain on her collar?!
"Don't pull this."
Chu Xi pressed a hand to her collar protectively, helped Ren Zhi move her dress train out of the way, and took a step back.
It was the first time Ren Zhi had seen such an expression on her face.
Four words described it best-
A virtuous maiden defending her honor.
"So you can be shy?" Ren Zhi teased her.
Shy?
Not really.
But Chu Xi couldn't quite explain it. A moment ago, a strange feeling had washed over her heart.
She thought it might be because she didn't like being controlled by others.
She had been very uncomfortable with their eye contact when she was looking up at Ren Zhi. Having her neck pulled upward by someone else gave her the illusion of falling into their hands.
Her heartbeat had become erratic, and as she clenched her fists, she realized her palms were burning hot.
"I'm not shy," Chu Xi said, turning her head away.
"Then why is your face red?" Ren Zhi asked with a laugh.
She was curious if Chu Xi was really that thin-skinned when it came to these things, blushing after just a little teasing.
Chu Xi turned her head back to look at her with a helpless expression. She fiddled with the ring on her choker, loosening it a bit before speaking.
"Sister, you were pulling so hard just now I could barely breathe, okay?"
Also, Chu Xi clarified, "This choker wasn't from the stylist. I picked it out myself."
Don't give all the credit to the makeup and styling team.
She had her own sense of style, you know? She hoped Ren Zhi would understand that.
Ren Zhi was surprised to hear that.
So this was a straight girl's happy accident?
"My taste isn't any worse than a stylist's, right?" Chu Xi was quite competitive.
"Yes, yes, you chose well. Very sensual," Ren Zhi said, nodding as she held back her laughter.
Regal?
Chu Xi looked in the mirror, even more pleased with her image.
"Tsk, it is pretty regal."
How rare. Ren Zhi had finally noticed she was good-looking too.
Seating for the Peach Video Scream Night began at eight o'clock, but before that, at six-thirty, there was a red carpet show.
Ren Zhi and Chu Xi arrived in the same car. Once they got out and entered the venue, they no longer needed to hide their outfits.
The only difference was that Chu Xi got to skip the red carpet portion.
She had arrived early anyway, so she waited for Ren Zhi in the audience stands.
After seeing a number of male stars who were either overly effeminate or looked rough around the edges, Chu Xi thought to herself that the disparity in looks between male and female celebrities was just too great.
No, wait, it was the audience's taste that was too strange.
The entertainment industry had a goddess-tier beauty like Ren Zhi as the gold standard, yet the audience could still stomach so many ugly men? Truly impressive.
But even when it was the female stars' turn, their styles varied, and Chu Xi didn't find many of them particularly good-looking.
This particular audience member's uniform evaluation was: not as good as Ren Zhi.
After all, she had seen Ren Zhi both with and without makeup-beautiful every time, incomparably so, utterly flawless.
It just seemed that the more famous the star, the later they appeared. Waiting for Ren Zhi was truly difficult.
Chu Xi was bored but didn't dare to leave, afraid that with her luck, Ren Zhi would appear the second she left, and she would miss it.
So she could only stand in this boring spot, watching the surrounding crowd of spectators get excited, screaming and applauding for the appearances of some minor female stars.
At this moment, inside the theater, in a lounge guarded by more than a dozen bodyguards.
The CEO of Peach Video was having tea and chatting with his daughter.
"You just returned to the country. Tonight, I'll introduce you to some uncles and aunts. Connections are very important for whatever you want to do in the future."
"Dad, you know I'm not interested in the entertainment industry."
The father's voice was warm but his words were old-fashioned and tacky, so the young lady's voice was a mixture of coquettishness and impatient resistance.
"I know. I'm not asking you to meet celebrities, just to say hello to those uncles and aunts from the business world."
"Fine, fine. But you promised to let me participate in 'I Am the Brain King.' That's the only thing in this country I'm slightly interested in."
"Besides studying and competing, can't you develop any other hobbies?"
"What's wrong with this? I don't want to be like that group of actors, relying on packaging for the camera, completely illiterate, with no intellectual depth."
"Alright, alright... I can't win against you. But you can't say things like that outside!"
In truth, the CEO agreed. Aside from some who had a talent for acting or singing, most of those celebrities and artists indeed lacked substance and knowledge.
Even he often found it painful to chat with many stars, feeling as if he were talking to an idiot, casting pearls before swine.
That was why he didn't refute his daughter's opinion.
-Half an hour until the gala begins.
-Time for two more rounds of competition.
-And then I have to go to that boring social event.
The young lady in the office seized the time, quickly matching for another online game of a show event in the "I Am the Brain King" mini-program.
Now that she had graduated and returned to the country, she was preparing to storm the show. She was going to be the Brain King of the next season!
Other than that, she had no interest in boring social events and insincere networking.
Chu Xi waited for an hour and a half, and in the last twenty minutes, she had a growing premonition-
Ren Zhi was probably the grand finale of tonight's red carpet.
As expected, the red carpet gala forced her to watch everyone else before Ren Zhi finally appeared as the very last one.
She wore a long, teal-green gown, adorned with patterns like forest light and shadows. Her graceful figure was elegant yet lively, and the large expanse of her exposed skin was snow-white and smooth. The moment she appeared, the audience in the stands went wild!
One by one, they stretched their camera-wielding hands forward, trying to get closer to take clearer photos of Ren Zhi.
Her makeup was subtle and elegant, giving off the feeling of a white moonlight descending!
"She blew them away, she blew them away..." a red carpet reporter muttered from behind his camera.
The moment Ren Zhi appeared, she had once again outshone all the artists who came before her!
Ren Zhi's aura was dignified. She smiled and greeted the audience from the stage, the curve of her lips perfectly angled, professionally impeccable.
She took a pen and signed her name on the wall behind her, her slender arm moving gracefully, captivating everyone's eyes.
It was as if with her appearance, all other scenery instantly paled, and the venue's focus automatically converged on her.
A beauty like jade, loved by all.
Chu Xi waited for her to come down amidst the gasps, adoration, and cheers, finally meeting up with her at the entrance to the gala hall.
"Let's go." Ren Zhi smiled under the bright, dazzling lights, looking even more beautiful than usual.
"You look especially beautiful today," Chu Xi praised her sincerely, subconsciously raising the arm closest to Ren Zhi for her to take.
The long dress was inconvenient, so Ren Zhi expertly took Chu Xi's arm to walk forward.
Seeing her reaction, Chu Xi knew that plenty of people must have vied to support her in the past; Ren Zhi was used to it.
At a top-tier gala like this, the seating in the venue was strictly hierarchical.
Seeing the hall filled with round tables, chairs, and a bustling crowd, Chu Xi first led Ren Zhi to find her seat.
Ren Zhi was seated at a table very close to the stage, but Chu Xi's invitation card indicated a different seat.
Ren Zhi was in Section A, while she was in Section F.
Chu Xi tilted her head, saying with regret, "This is as far as I can take you. Your flower-guardian is logging off."
Ren Zhi was amused by her. She lowered her head and smiled. "Go on, then. Thank you."
The way she lowered her gaze, pursed her lips in a smile, and then looked up again was a captivating sight. Chu Xi couldn't forget it even after she turned away, a smile unknowingly spreading from her heart to her lips.
On the way to find her own seat, Chu Xi lifted her wrist to her nose and sniffed.
It was as if the fragrance from Ren Zhi's hand still lingered there.
It was probably just a psychological effect. Who would spray perfume on their hands?
Chu Xi chuckled at her own thought.
But whenever she thought of Ren Zhi, she subconsciously associated her with a fragrant, sweet, and very pleasant feeling.
However, this pleasant mood didn't last long.
Chu Xi soon encountered a speechless situation.
When she arrived at the table indicated on her invitation, she found that while there were eight people assigned to it, there were only seven chairs.
And it wasn't just that a chair was missing.
What left Chu Xi speechless was that she was the last to arrive, and the first seven people had already taken all the seats.
Even if it was Section F... surely the staff couldn't be that careless?
The artists at this table didn't seem to know each other well, and they all just stared at her with wide eyes.
Chu Xi turned around and looked at the other tables nearby.
Should she just grab a chair from a table that wasn't occupied yet?
That didn't seem right.
She stood there hesitantly for a moment, her good manners temporarily paralyzing her.
The busy staff members didn't even glance at Section F; they were all serving tea and water to Section A. Seeing the disparity, Chu Xi nearly rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath.
Just as she was about to go find someone to get a chair, a familiar voice sounded by her ear.
"Hey! Hey, hey! Chu Xi?"
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