The most beautiful space

84 Spending Time Together

Su Tong's appearance alone destined her to be the center of attention wherever she went, the only difference being how well she was covered up by her clothing. Now, as the main model for the new season's collection by Sielt, everything she did provided fodder for gossip. However, Su Tong's usual demeanor was so calm and uninteresting that it left everyone's gossip-loving souls unsatisfied.

Once, a female supermodel who used to work with Sylther heard about Su Tong's situation and came to Sylther's house under the pretext of visiting him to provoke him. Just when everyone thought there was going to be a good show, Su Tong was severely humiliated by the 182cm tall woman for her height. She then satirized Su Tong for a long time in both English and Chinese. Everyone went about their business as usual. In the end, the woman got bored or thought Su Tong's fighting power was too weak, so she left with her entourage of assistants 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, still looking very aggressive.

The fact that Su Tong had changed to a cool male assistant quickly became common knowledge in the studio. Xie Chengjing calmly allowed everyone to watch. Every time Su Tong greeted the models, teachers, and designers in the studio, he would be stared at. Although most of these people didn't mean any harm, Su Tong still felt that she had made Xie Chengjing feel wronged. Given his status, who would dare to criticize someone like him?

Xie Chengjing saw right through Su Tong's thoughts, but his focus was completely different from Su Tong's. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he said to Su Tong, "It's okay, I actually think it's quite interesting. But you, you must be facing this kind of gaze everywhere you go."

Su Tong was both surprised and touched. Yes, ever since her appearance became so outstanding, she attracted all sorts of stares wherever she went, who seemed impossible to shake off. At first, she wanted to cover herself from head to toe to avoid being seen, but now she could completely ignore irrelevant people. Feeling that her mutual concern for Xie Chengjing was a bit pretentious, she laughed and said, "That's good. I doubt anyone in my country would look at you like that anymore. Just think of it as experiencing life. As for me, you don't need to worry. We women think differently from you men. I'm happy that someone is willing to pay attention to me. I should be worried if no one wants to look at me anymore."

When Archer swaggered into the practice room in a tight-fitting outfit that accentuated his slim waist, long legs, and pert buttocks, Su Tong had already changed into her "battle boots"—a pair of specially made high heels with heels a full 30 centimeters high and so thin they weren't even as thick as Su Tong's little finger. Although they looked a bit exaggerated, the effect was remarkable. Once she got used to wearing these shoes, she could walk on ordinary high heels with ease, running and jumping freely. She was wearing a simple black practice skirt with a long hem but no design whatsoever.

Archer was used to seeing her like this. As he walked towards the practice runway in the practice room, he focused intently on looking down at his newly done nails, not giving Su Tong a single glance.

So Archer walked to the edge of the runway and looked up to see a tall, fit, cool, and handsome man standing there—a man who looked incredibly capable (this is Archer's mindset, completely devoid of morals). His eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately tried to pounce on Xie Chengjing. Su Tong already knew Archer's lecherous nature. As Xie Chengjing pushed Archer back an arm's length away by placing his right index finger on Archer's forehead, Su Tongze quickly stepped between the two, crossing his arms in front of him and saying righteously to Archer, "No, Archer! You can't harass my new assistant! My original assistant had something come up, and he was only able to fill in after a lot of trouble. Control yourself, or I'll call Adonis in a heartbeat! You should think about the consequences of Adonis's jealousy!"

To the uninitiated, Archer and Adonis seem like a perfect match. Adonis, a charismatic supermodel, appears to be the womanizer, but in reality, Archer is the one who can't resist strong, handsome men, leaving Adonis constantly worried about him being snatched away and keeping a tight rein on him. The first time Adonis was drafted to mentor Su Tong was to check up on Archer at the Silt Studio.

As expected, once Su Tong mentioned Adonis, Archer had to restrain himself no matter how unwilling he was. However, he still couldn't help but keep casting fiery glances at Xie Chengjing, and he became increasingly strict when instructing Su Tong, as if he was taking revenge on Su Tong for having a cool assistant that he envied.

Although Su Tong isn't a professional actress or model, she currently works primarily in the entertainment industry. The job of an artist's assistant is actually quite simple: first, one must be meticulous and good at interpersonal relationships; second, one must be extremely loyal to the artist they are responsible for, keeping everything about the artist, good or bad, completely confidential. Otherwise, someone like Su Tong, with her good habits and a dull life devoid of any romantic entanglements, would be fine. However, if she had even a slight penchant for smoking, drinking, or frequenting nightclubs, or some ambiguous relationships with men and women, once those ever-present paparazzi found out, her reputation would be ruined. Specifically, when Su Tong is training, her assistant simply watches from the sidelines, wipes her sweat, feeds her water, and fetches her things.

Su Tong felt rather uncomfortable, but considering that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she felt it would be a waste not to enjoy it. As Xie Chengjing handed her water, she panted heavily under Archer's envious and jealous gaze, saying, "Haha, I'm probably the only one who can afford to have a major general as my assistant. Thinking about it, it's really a waste of talent."

Xie Chengjing adapted well, took back the water bottle, handed the towel to Su Tong, and said very honestly, "This job is very easy."

The morning was filled with tedious training, and the afternoon was spent driving to the venue for the show to learn about the specific arrangements and rehearse. Then, the show officially began at 7 pm. This show was the launch of a new product from a famous wedding dress brand in country A. Su Tong's height was simply not up to par in the international modeling world, but her looks and figure were outstanding enough. With the backing of Selter, she was chosen as the final model of the show, creating a stark contrast with the 185cm tall black female model Julianne who opened the show.

Su Tong has delicate features and flawless skin. Her natural beauty is so good that even among a sea of ​​beautiful models, she looks like a painting. She originally planned to go against the heavy makeup style of the modeling industry and take a natural route. She basically doesn't need to wear much makeup. Just highlighting the bridge of her nose, contouring the sides of her nose, and contouring her eye sockets will prevent her features from losing their three-dimensionality under the strong lights on the runway, and that will be perfectly fine.

Working as an assistant backstage was a completely new experience for Xie Chengjing. Coordinators, designers, models, and assistants came and went. A long row of dressing tables, models sitting in front of the stage, makeup artists standing behind with various makeup tools, and rows of interconnected small changing rooms—the backstage of such a large fashion show was busy yet incredibly organized, with everyone working diligently at their posts. However, those who have been models for a long time are quite relaxed. Many models backstage, because they have to try on several outfits in a row, basically change clothes and accessories on the spot with incredible speed, and they can even skillfully avoid messing up their hair.

Su Tong had blushed and felt her heart race when she saw such scenes before, even though she was also a woman. Now, she could see the beautiful women in front of her as human sculptures. She guessed that Xie Chengjing was also somewhat surprised. She whispered to Xie Chengjing, "Hehe, they change clothes so fast, right? Actually, I've learned that trick now. It's no problem for me to take off and put on clothes in 3 seconds. Even when I'm not in a hurry, I unconsciously speed up. It actually saves quite a bit of time."

Xie Chengjing nodded and said, "Practice makes perfect, that's the principle."

Xie Chengjing had changed into a more ordinary and inconspicuous gray outfit. Like any ordinary assistant, he kept his head down and quietly followed Su Tong. Among all the female models backstage, Su Tong was the shortest and had an exceptionally beautiful face. She would attract attention wherever she went, but no one else paid any attention to Xie Chengjing.

He watched Su Tong walk steadily ahead, only occasionally giving a faint smile to one or two people who greeted him, completely ignoring the gossip and various gazes of others. He felt once again that this woman, who might be physically weak, was absolutely strong and deserved her own world.

Because Julianne and Archer's boyfriend Adonis work for the same company and have a good relationship, Su Tong was able to share a private dressing room with Julianne, thus avoiding the need for a public costume change show. After deciding on the models' outfits, a full rehearsal began. The designer and director then adjusted the models' entrance order, outfits, and positioning based on the rehearsal. After a break and preparation, the media began entering around 6 PM, and by approximately 6:45 PM, the invited guests and media from various industries had basically all arrived.

At 7 o'clock sharp, the stage lights came on right on time, and the brand's wedding dress launch officially began.

After the invited prominent media figure finished their brief remarks, the lights dimmed, then, amidst applause, blazed back on, focusing on a circle at the entrance. Julianne, a stunning Black woman in a white strapless wedding gown with blue trim and a tiered train, appeared on stage. Her long, red-dyed hair was styled in an updo, secured with a blue and white veil. A captivating smile played on her bright red lips as she gracefully walked to the front of the runway, turning left, smiling, turning right, raising an eyebrow, before returning amidst applause and cheers.

Julianne's public image was always glamorous and aloof, but in the modeling world, no woman who had achieved her level of success was naive. Su Tong was clearly just Sylphy's chosen lead model for this season, not someone who intended to stay in the modeling industry long-term, and therefore posed no threat to Julianne's interests. Thus, Julianne's attitude towards Su Tong was friendly but not overly intimate. As she lifted her long train and climbed the stairs backstage, Julianne smiled encouragingly at Su Tong: "Sue, you are the most flawless beauty I have ever seen. Believe me, your performance will be amazing!"

Su Tong smiled and thanked her, "Yes, thank you! A friend of mine from my motherland really likes you, Julian. You are even more beautiful in person than you are on TV and in fashion magazines. Could you please sign an autograph for me as a souvenir? I even brought your new photobook from earlier this year."

As he spoke, Xie Chengjing took out the deluxe photo album and marker from his bag and handed them to Julianne.

Julianne was startled by Xie Chengjing's swift action, but she quickly regained her smile, which was now noticeably brighter. "Of course, I'm delighted. It's an honor to be liked by a friend from your country. Sue, please be sure to convey my gratitude to your friend." She took the book and pen and signed her full name on the hem of the full-length photo of her in her long dress on the title page.

Su Tong wasn't just making things up; Li Li was indeed a huge fan of Julianne, frequently buying her photo albums and fashion magazines featuring her, and using Julianne as a role model for her style. Getting Li Li's autograph while subtly praising Julianne was a win-win situation. Su Tong smiled and took the notebook, saying smugly, "Thank you so much. Now I can explain myself when I go back to China."

By the time it was Su Tong's turn, people had already seen hundreds of beautiful women in various styles, wearing wedding dresses of all lengths, from pure white to boldly colored. Fortunately, the organizers had already promoted the finale model, a rising star in the modeling world; otherwise, many people might have lost interest in Su Tong's appearance. Because the staff were already crowding near the stage, and her assistant couldn't get too close to the backstage entrance to the runway, Su Tong turned around, waved to Xie Chengjing, and stepped onto the stage.

The moment Su Tong's figure came into the audience's view as she touched the stage lights, Xie Chengjing, who was watching her back, instantly noticed the change in Su Tong's temperament. Her usual gentle and soft feeling was instantly replaced by something else. Every movement she made was full of dynamic beauty, making it impossible for people to look away. It was as if a gentle light was emanating from Su Tong.

Under the dazzling lights and amidst the flashing camera shutters, the appearance of the last model elicited a considerable gasp. This model was truly stunning!

The model wore a simple, pure white sleeveless wedding dress, almost indistinguishable from the other models' outfits. Her head was adorned with small flowers and a veil, with no other embellishments. Her proportions were perfect, her neck long and slender, her skin as white and flawless as ivory, her features exquisitely perfect. Her beautiful eyes seemed to see nothing at all, yet also gazed serenely at the model seated below, utterly captivating. Though her smile wasn't radiant, just a slight upturn at the corners of her lips, it created an illusion of happiness, as if she were an exquisitely beautiful bride, gracefully walking towards her lifelong partner at her wedding.

After days of training, Su Tong now walks on the catwalk almost instinctively, confidently showcasing herself. However, just as she reached the middle of the runway, the thin heel of her high heels suddenly stepped on something, causing her to slip and lose her balance, falling forward in full view of everyone.

The cameraman behind the camera closest to the runway saw something at Su Tong's feet and exclaimed, "My God, no one noticed! It's a rhinestone that fell off one of the models' clothes or decorations!"

The cameraman next to him took a look and exclaimed, "Wow! Sure enough, the fallen rhinestones were tiny, reflecting the lights on the runway, and you wouldn't notice them unless you were paying close attention." He thought to himself, "This model's runway is really unlucky; she's probably in big trouble now."

Xie Chengjing had deliberately chosen a spot backstage with a view of the runway. When he saw Su Tong, who had been performing with ease, suddenly slip and fall forward, he was momentarily panicked, but he only took half a step forward and then calmly made no further moves. He wasn't too far away to react in time; this wasn't a film set where reshoots were possible. Even if he couldn't get there in time, he couldn't possibly go on stage to save her. Excellent professional models would get up and handle such situations themselves. Besides, Xie Chengjing didn't think such a small thing could knock Su Tong down. His only worry was that such a straight fall might cause some injury.