Actually, Miao Jiayan wasn't against getting a haircut; what he couldn't accept was being "forced" to get a haircut. The other party brought up work and immediately said they wanted to cut his hair, which made Miao Jiayan feel very insecure, as if he had to make a compromise just for a photoshoot.

In such a situation, he would resist fiercely in his heart, raising all his defensive little thorns.

When Chen Chao measured against his back and set a standard, it made him feel like someone was on his side, helping him keep his hair and speaking up for him. In fact, at that moment, even if Chen Chao had indicated the same length as the woman had earlier, Miao Jiayan would have agreed without hesitation. As long as Chen Chao set the length, he felt safe.

That night, Miao Jiayan and Chen Chao stayed in a suite that had been converted from an old local guesthouse. The temperature difference between this place and their hometown was significant; to them, it was a bit hot outside, but the room was very cold. And perhaps because it was often unoccupied, it was very damp and had a faint musty smell. But it was tidied up very neatly. Miao Jiayan had never stayed in a hotel before, so this was much better than the one-story houses he had imagined.

There was a bathroom in the room. The two of them took turns showering and changing into a fresh set of clothes. They had each only brought one spare set. After his shower, Miao Jiayan washed both their sets of clothes. He went out and asked someone for a bottle of laundry detergent, and without using a washing machine, he quickly scrubbed the two sets of clothes clean by hand.

Later, the hot water ran out, and the water became a bit chilly. After washing the clothes, both his hands were red.

"Will they even dry?" Miao Jiayan felt that given the temperature in the room, they definitely wouldn't dry overnight.

Chen Chao found an outlet to plug his phone in to charge. Squatting nearby while replying to messages, he heard this, looked up around the room, and said, "Hang them by the air conditioner vent."

Miao Jiayan had already hung them on hangers. He took them down again, wrung them out forcefully, and then re-hung them.

"Brother Chao, were you not full from dinner?" Miao Jiayan asked Chen Chao.

They had eaten dinner with the people from the shoot. Chen Chao was a picky eater, and the local cuisine was very different from what they were used to. Miao Jiayan hadn't seen Chen Chao take more than a few bites.

Chen Chao said, "It was fine. I wasn't that hungry anyway."

Even if he were hungry now, Miao Jiayan couldn't get him anything to eat. Besides, they were staying in a small village with nowhere to get food. Miao Jiayan thought that if he saw a small supermarket tomorrow, he should buy some crackers and sausages to keep in his bag for when Chen Chao got hungry.

A knock sounded at the door. Chen Chao went to open it.

Miao Jiayan heard a woman's voice from outside asking, "You guys aren't asleep yet?"

Chen Chao said, "Not yet, what's up?"

"Want some instant noodles? I brought some. If you're hungry, let me know."

Miao Jiayan quickly said, "Do you have extra? If you have extra, could you give me one?"

The woman immediately laughed, her voice rising a little as she said to him, "I brought ten tubs. I can't get used to the food here, so I always bring my own supplies!"

Miao Jiayan let out a mental "wow," thinking that this was a bit too rough.

A moment later, the woman brought the instant noodles over. She had also changed her clothes and was now wearing a large T-shirt and pajama pants. Her makeup was off, and her hair was tied back casually.

"I brought two for you. Eat up and get to bed early, you two. Especially you, Yanyan. If we're shooting tomorrow, you need to be in good shape." She then added, "Ah, but it's fine. You guys at this age are resilient. At sixteen or seventeen, you can pull an all-nighter and it won't even show in the photos."

Miao Jiayan said, "You're very young too."

"Hahaha, I'm already starting to age!" the woman said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I was famous once too. A lot of people used me as their QQ profile picture. In high school, I was a non-mainstream goddess. If I put a big flower in my mouth tomorrow, you might find me familiar. Oh wait, I forgot you're not online. Never mind."

She had a large tattoo on her arm. It was the first time Miao Jiayan had seen her bare arms, and also the first time he had seen a tattoo. The woman raised her arm for him to see, saying, "Pretty, right?"

In Miao Jiayan's eyes at the time, he couldn't appreciate it yet; he just found it a little scary.

"I have them on my legs, too. You'll see them in the summer. Alright, I'm heading back. Eat up and get some sleep." After saying this, the woman waved and, just before leaving, said to Miao Jiayan, "Don't... fool around with your brother too late, 'kay."

Miao Jiayan didn't understand what "fooling around" meant, so he just nodded and said, "We won't."

Miao Jiayan's impression of "Yunnan being like spring all year round" was shattered to pieces that night. He woke up from the cold several times. The air conditioner had been running all night, and the dry, hot air blowing on his face was very uncomfortable, yet he still felt cold.

Chen Chao didn't sleep well in the next room either. Miao Jiayan woke up very early. He looked in at Chen Chao's room and saw he was still sound asleep, so he didn't call him, and instead sat in his own room for another half hour.

When Chen Chao woke up and came out, he called out as he walked, "Miao'er?"

"Yes, Brother Chao," Miao Jiayan quickly came out and said, "I'm here."

Chen Chao had thought he had gone out by himself. Seeing that he was still there, he said nothing more and went to the bathroom.

After a hectic day yesterday and a poor night's sleep, Chen Chao looked a bit grumpy that day. But Miao Jiayan wasn't scared. Back when Chen Chao was still living in their hometown, Miao Jiayan had already stopped being afraid of his waking temper and even dared to wake him up.

In the morning, it was time for the haircut. Chen Chao sat behind Miao Jiayan. Miao Jiayan watched him through a small, square mirror; Chen Chao had his eyes closed, dozing off.

The woman must have given specific instructions. At first, the stylist barely cut anything, just trimming here and there.

Later, seeing that Miao Jiayan wasn't so guarded anymore, he asked, "Can I cut a little more, handsome?"

Miao Jiayan nodded.

Chen Chao opened his eyes and looked over. Miao Jiayan met his gaze and felt that he was safe.

This photoshoot was very different from the last one at home where he was photographed picking cotton. It wasn't as relaxed.

This time, Miao Jiayan had to change clothes and wear makeup. The set was arranged with light reflectors, and a crowd of people watched him as he was being photographed.

"Is it okay to wear a skirt, Yanyan?" the woman asked tentatively.

Miao Jiayan thought for a moment and said it was okay.

"Such a good boy." The woman patted his freshly styled, smooth and shiny hair. "But we won't have you in a skirt the whole time. I won't make you look like a girl. I want to make you a beautiful boy. Trust me."

Miao Jiayan said okay.

Although Miao Jiayan had been very guarded before, he was extremely cooperative once the photoshoot actually started. He did whatever he was told, and he didn't get angry even after shooting back and forth.

Just like last time, the initial shots of Miao Jiayan didn't turn out well; he was very stiff. The first outfit was supposed to be a skirt, but the woman had misjudged the size. It didn't fit Miao Jiayan; she had gotten one size too large.

So they switched to a pair of shorts. The top was a thin, white, fine-knit sweater with wide sleeves, and on the bottom was a pair of shorts that came to above his knees. The sweater wasn't long, and when he walked, a narrow strip of skin on his waist would sometimes be exposed.

Chen Chao thought this combination was ridiculous. A sweater with shorts.

"The legs have to be exposed. It's all flowers down there. Having pant legs against the flowers would look tacky," the woman explained.

Then don't make him wear a sweater, Chen Chao thought.

The woman pushed Miao Jiayan's hair back and said, "It'll be a bit cold. We'll just have to ask Yanyan to bear with it. Once we finish shooting quickly, I'll take you to eat."

Miao Jiayan said, "It's okay."

Today they were shooting tulips, a brilliant field of connected yellow. However, it was an overcast day, and the lighting was deliberately not made too strong, aiming for a slightly grayer tone.

They weren't originally supposed to shoot here today; they had specifically moved the schedule to take advantage of the cloudy weather. Tulips photographed on a sunny day would appear more vibrant, but also more vulgar. Only on a cloudy day, paired with a little boy in white, would it look "cleaner."

Miao Jiayan followed instructions, walking one moment and sitting the next, smiling a little then retracting it. Despite his cooperation, he just couldn't get into the right state.

The photographer had a bit of a temper and was clearly growing impatient. He muttered under his breath, "No spark."

"Bullshit, what do you know about spark," the woman's voice was also very low, her lips barely moving as she grumbled. "Are you comparing him to the internet celebrities you're used to shooting? Just do your job and shoot properly. Don't you give me that sour face."

The photographer was probably very familiar with her. He said, "I can't get the shot. He's too stiff."

"That's your problem," the woman said. "The raw material is right here, and you don't know how to polish it."

"I don't think he's that good-looking. Not as good as last year's." The photographer looked down at the photos and said, "I think you're wasting your time."

"You don't know shit about what to look for," the woman scoffed with a "pfft." "Xiao Rong shot him last time, and there wasn't any of this nonsense from him."

"That's because he was taking the easy way out. We're going to shoot like that again today? Then what did you bring him all the way here for? Just find a flower market and have him wear some tattered clothes and be done with it."

The woman stopped talking to him, tossed out a "cut the crap," and walked away.

Miao Jiayan couldn't hear their conversation. He was still sitting blankly in his previous spot, not knowing what he was supposed to do next. His eyes drifted around aimlessly, quiet and still.

He was sitting on the ground, half his body obscured by flowers. From Chen Chao's perspective, he could only see his shoulders and face.

Miao Jiayan couldn't hear what the others were saying from where he was, but Chen Chao could. They had been shooting for so long without a single usable shot. The photographer was dissatisfied, and although the woman wasn't dissatisfied, she was still getting a bit anxious after failing to get a good result for so long.

Chen Chao watched Miao Jiayan, who had just stood up on command, patting the dirt from his hands and then from his bottom.

Yet he felt that a small, trembling flower sprout, having grown up precariously, was about to bud.

Miao Jiayan changed from one outfit to another, and they moved to several different locations, shooting with all the different colors of tulips.

When he changed clothes, the woman brought him a huge piece of cloth and had Chen Chao hold it up to shield him while Miao Jiayan changed inside. Usually, when shooting male models, they would just change out in the open. They were wearing underwear anyway, and boys weren't afraid of being seen. The woman was being considerate of Miao Jiayan's timid and introverted nature, so she had specially prepared it for him.

While he was changing, Chen Chao asked him, "Are you tired?"

"It's fine, I don't really have to do anything," Miao Jiayan said, then added, "I just don't know what expression to make. The photographer brother isn't talking to me anymore."

"Ignore him. Let him talk or not," Chen Chao said as Miao Jiayan emerged from behind the cloth and he lowered his arms.

Changing clothes back and forth in the winter, and always into shorts, Miao Jiayan was so cold he was shivering a little. He looked up at Chen Chao, smiled, and said, "Mhm."

"Alright, stop whispering. After this last set, we're done. I'll take you guys out for something good to eat," the woman came over and said.

"Okay," Miao Jiayan said as he walked over with her. He asked, "Are we eating at the same place as yesterday?"

"Nope, we'll drive out to eat. I saw that neither of you ate much yesterday. You can't get used to it, right?" the woman asked with a smile.

"My brother doesn't like it," Miao Jiayan said.

The woman looked at him and said, "Sweetheart, you're so sweet."

Miao Jiayan didn't understand. "Huh?"

"You really like him, don't you?" She wore the expression of someone who knew, signaling "I get it," and added, "You two are a good match."

Miao Jiayan was stunned by her words and couldn't speak for a long moment.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? I've been around the internet; what haven't I seen?"

He didn't dare to speak anymore. He turned to look at Chen Chao. Seeing him turn back, Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, as if asking, "What's wrong?"

Miao Jiayan quickly shook his head and turned back around.