After My Rebirth, My Husband Pampers Me Everyday!

Chapter 154: MY BOYFRIEND COMMISSIONED THE LOOK

The Rolls Royce Boat Tail pulled up outside TongShu and Liuxian came around to open Guiying’s door, Guiying stepped out with his bag, the morning air hitting him as people on the pavement turned to look.

He started walking toward the building.

One step. Two. Three. Four.

He stopped.

Turned around.

Liuxian was still standing at the car watching him, one hand on the open door, saying nothing.

Guiying walked back, took his face in both hands and kissed him once, twice, then stepped back.

-_-

Liuxian blinked.

Just once.

But Guiying caught it — that brief unguarded thing behind his eyes, the one that only came out when something reached him before his composure could get there first.

After everything this morning, he probably hadn’t expected this.

Honestly? He hadn’t planned it either.

Liuxian pulled him in without a word, arms wrapping around him firmly and gently at once, chin resting against his hair, and stayed there like he had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

"I really like you." he said quietly. "My love."

Guiying let him hold him for one more moment, then stepped back and adjusted his bag.

"Call me when you’re done," Liuxian said, straightening. "I’ll come pick you up."

Guiying turned toward the building without answering.

He was already smiling before he reached the doors.

Lin Yansu was already at the door when Guiying walked in, tablet in hand. She stopped mid-sentence when she saw him.

He was still in his morning outfit, houndstooth shirt, black knit polo, pinstripe trousers, but without the wig and contacts, the room shifted. Coffee paused. Fingers stilled on hangers.

Guiying ignored it and went straight to her station.

Yansu set the tablet down and reached for the wig case out of habit.

"Actually," Guiying said, settling into the chair, "I want to dye my hair."

"Dye it?" she asked, one brow lifting.

Guiying pulled up the photo on his phone and held it up. Blonde, long, exact. "Like this."

He was tired of the wig. It had served its purpose, the disguise, the alias, the wall between Tang XiaoYu and Xue Guiying. But Saturday changed that. After the Xue family dinner, after Liuxian walked in beside him, there’d be no point in hiding anymore.

Yansu studied him for a second, then flipped open the colour chart. "Of course, Mr. Tang. I’ll get started right away."

Two hours later, she turned the chair around.

The studio went quiet.

Bai Zichen set his coffee down. Shao Mingye looked up from his camera for the first time in forty-five minutes. Meiling paused with an armful of hangers.

Guiying studied himself in the mirror. The blonde suited him and matched his eyes, his bone structure, like it had always been there. He looked like his mother. Seeing it without anything in the way hit differently.

He slipped his rings back on. "Okay. What’s first?"

Nobody answered right away.

"Bai Zichen."

"Right," Bai Zichen said, snapping out of it. "First look. I’ll get it."

Shao Mingye moved to adjust his lights without a word, jaw tight like he was recalculating something. Yansu handed over the first outfit herself, expression giving nothing away.

Guiying turned toward the changing area when Jiang Wenxi caught up to him.

"Mr. Tang. Schedule change. Today’s shoot is a collaboration."

"With who?"

Jiang Wenxi’s mouth tightened. "Quinn."

Guiying followed her gaze across the studio. Quinn was holding court with his entourage, correcting a junior stylist with that particular patience people get when they like hearing themselves talk.

Guiying’s good mood from that morning thinned out fast.

He exhaled quietly and went to change.

When Guiying stepped back onto the set, Quinn noticed him immediately. The entourage noticed first, their attention shifting through all three of them like the air in the room had changed. Quinn turned, composing his expression, and stopped for a moment.

Guiying walked past him without a glance and went to Shao Mingye’s setup. He set his bag down by the equipment table, checked his phone once, then put it away.

"Tang XiaoYu," Quinn said.

Guiying turned.

Quinn was smiling with that particular warmth that never reached his eyes. He stood with his arms loosely crossed and his head tilted, playing the part of someone being gracious.

"I didn’t know you’d be here today," Quinn said. "What a surprise."

Guiying met his gaze. "Quinn," he replied, with the same tone he used for the weather.

Quinn’s smile didn’t move, but something shifted behind his eyes. He glanced at Guiying’s hair, then his face, then back to his hair, making it look casual.

"New look?" he asked.

"Yes," Guiying said, and turned back to Shao Mingye.

Quinn kept going. "It’s interesting," he said, loud enough for the crew nearby to hear. "Very bold. Not everyone could pull it off, but to each their own."

One of his entourage made a small sound and swallowed it.

Guiying turned slowly and studied Quinn for a moment. It was the kind of look that took measure of a person and found nothing worth noting. Quinn held it, confident that his routine still worked.

"Thank you," Guiying said pleasantly. "I’ll pass your thoughts along to my boyfriend. He commissioned the look."

Quinn’s smile stayed, but it hardened at the edges.

Bai Zichen made a sound into his coffee cup from behind Guiying.

Jiang Wenxi stepped between them with the ease of someone who kept things from escalating on set. "Mr. Tang, first setup is ready. Quinn, your stylist is waiting for you on the left." Her tone was professionally warm and left no room for argument.

That ended it, for now.

Guiying turned away and got to work. He could feel Quinn’s eyes on his back for the rest of the morning, and he kept his posture steady without giving him anything else.

The shoot started well enough.

Shao Mingye positioned them at opposite ends of the set for the first series. The brief was clean editorial work with minimal interaction, and it suited Guiying. Quinn kept angling himself into Guiying’s sightline, clearly intent on being impossible to ignore.

Guiying ignored him. He had years of practice.

"Can we try something with more energy?" Quinn asked Shao Mingye between shots. "It feels flat. We’re not really connecting."

Shao Mingye lowered his camera and looked at both of them. "The brief is clean and editorial," he said. "We’re not shooting a romance."

"Obviously," Quinn said. "I just think there’s room for more dynamic interaction. Don’t you think, XiaoYu?"