No matter who reaches out, as long as they can help her finish shooting the brand deal, they’re a good hand—once she’d finished writing, Su Wan closed her notebook and placed it by the bedside.

She lay back on the bed, turned over, and kept mentally rehearsing every single detail of tomorrow’s shoot.

The appointment was set for 2 p.m.

From 8 a.m. onward, she’d been restless and uneasy.

She tried three different outfits one after another—the first was too formal, like she was going to sign a contract; the second was too sloppy, as if she couldn’t be bothered to get herself together; and the third… She stood in front of the mirror, staring at it for a long time, then finally sighed and changed back into her most familiar white shirt paired with a light-blue pair of jeans.

Su Wan took a deep breath in front of the mirror and slowly let it out.

“Don’t panic.”

“It’s just borrowing some equipment.”

“You’re the client; he’s just here to deliver the gear. Hand over the goods, take the handover—clear as day.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The phone rang—it was the doorman.

“Xiao Wan, there’s someone downstairs looking for you. They said they’re here with some equipment.”

She sat up abruptly, grabbed her coat, and dashed out the door.

As she hurried downstairs in her slippers, she couldn’t help wondering: had he changed a lot?

Had his voice deepened? Did he grow a bit of stubble? Or was he still wearing that kind of faded hooded sweatshirt, standing lazily yet straight as a pine tree?

When she reached the apartment building entrance, all she saw was an old electric scooter quietly parked, its trunk wide open.

Shen Rongyuan was standing with his back to her, bent over, checking the items inside the trunk.

He’d always been thin in college, and now he looked even leaner. His jawline was sharper than she remembered, his cheeks slightly sunken, his features crisp and defined. The black hoodie hung loosely on him, almost too big to hold the fabric. Hearing her footsteps, he turned around and glanced at her without saying a word, simply handing her a brown paper bag that was lying beside him.

“Everything’s ready,” Shen Rongyuan said in a flat, monotone voice, “The camera, tripod, fill light, microphone—they’re all in there. The batteries are fully charged, and the SD card’s already formatted.”

But his eyes hadn’t changed.

They were still just as quiet, just as gentle—like the calm waters of a late-autumn lake, utterly undisturbed.

Su Wan took the bag and noticed his hands holding it—the knuckles were clearly defined, the joints thinner than they’d been in college, yet still long and graceful.

“Are you still shooting photos?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Still cityscapes?”

“Mm, I’ll do a few portraits now and then,” he paused for a moment.

She looked down and saw that the tripod legs were fitted with rubber pads, presumably to protect the floor from scratches; the microphone was covered with a fluffy windscreen, obviously for wind protection; and the camera’s startup screen was already set to portrait mode—exactly the composition she used most often when shooting short-form videos.

Su Wan looked up at him: “How… how did you know what I was going to shoot?”

Shen Rongyuan replied, “I watched your last video.”

Su Wan was taken aback: “You watched it?”

“Yeah,” Shen Rongyuan said without elaborating, “It was pretty good.”

She was momentarily speechless.

Back when she used to shoot videos, he’d always been like this—quietly anticipating everything for her. Any problem she hadn’t even realized yet, he’d already prepared the answer for.

Shen Rongyuan pointed to the paper bag: “There’s an instruction sheet inside, explaining how to use each piece of equipment and recommending some editing software. If you don’t know how to export the footage, you can use the ‘Kuai Jian’ app to export it directly and post it on the platform.”

She nodded and hugged the bag a little tighter.

“How long will it take?” she asked.

“Let’s see after we’re done.”

“I’ll pay you rent.”

“No need.”

“That won’t do.”

“Then think of it as returning the favor,” Shen Rongyuan finally looked up, his gaze meeting hers. “When you were a sophomore, you helped me revise the captions for a photography assignment. Otherwise I would’ve failed the course.”

Su Wan was stunned.

She’d completely forgotten about that.

End of Chapter 10: Borrowing Equipment