Su Wan turned around and sat back down at Su Wan’s bedroom desk, clicking open her computer. The little red dot in the upper-right corner of her email inbox had already piled up into a small mountain—so dense and crowded that just looking at it made her head spin.

More than twenty unread emails, all with titles revolving around the same few phrases: “Collaboration Invitation,” “Direct Brand Signing,” “High-Budget Campaign.” Among them were obscure makeup brands she’d never even heard of, as well as WeChat friend requests from local women’s clothing vendor booth owners, each with an overly enthusiastic note: “Sister, your outfits are so stylish—I’d love to ask you to shoot a set of outfit photos for me!”

Su Wan patiently opened each email one by one, quickly skimming through the collaboration details, double-checking the quotes, and verifying the companies’ registration information. Some brands didn’t even have a proper official website; their promotional images were just pieced together from random pictures found online. Others quoted a whopping five hundred thousand but demanded three videos posted in a single week, plus mandatory product links in the shopping cart—terms so unreasonable they bordered on absurd.

She furrowed her brow slightly, tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and created a new spreadsheet titled “Collaboration Evaluation Checklist.” The first column listed brand qualifications, the second noted product safety, and the third checked the reasonableness of the quote. She carefully marked each item with a check or an X, and when she tallied up the scores, only five brands barely managed to pass the threshold.

Three of those were apparel brands—vendor booths that Zhang Jie had mentioned before, all of which actually produced real merchandise. Their clothes were reliable in quality, and their pricing was fair and reasonable. The other two were emerging domestic skincare brands, with clean, transparent ingredient lists that emphasized gentle, skin-nourishing formulas, making the risk of disappointment extremely low.

Su Wan first replied to “Suyan Ji,” her tone straightforward: “Please send the samples to the studio, along with the complete production process and official test reports. I won’t artificially smooth or beautify the final footage; I’ll give you an honest assessment of how good the products really are.”

After sending that message, she went through the remaining four contacts one by one, carefully confirming the collaboration details and setting the shooting schedule. Three women’s outfit shoots and two makeup tests would all be completed on the same day—tight but highly efficient.

No sooner had she finished sending the messages than her phone gave a gentle vibration, and Shen Rongyuan’s message popped up: “The lights have been picked up; we’ll be there promptly at 2 p.m.”

She replied simply, “Okay,” then quickly sent over the organized shooting plan, meticulously noting the lighting style required for each shot—warm light for soft, cozy sweater sets, side-backlighting for atmospheric shots of someone walking in a trench coat, and soft, diffused light for close-ups of foundation application.

Shen Rongyuan responded almost immediately: “For the trench coat shoot, I’ll use a reflector board to catch the light—let me adjust the angle for you.”

Seeing his message, Su Wan couldn’t help but smile. She casually flipped her phone face-down on the desk, stood up, and headed out to the balcony to carry the equipment case. The case was heavy and pressed down on her hand; as she bent over to lift it, her knee let out a faint crack. But she didn’t even flinch—she dragged the case straight into the living room, unpacked it right there, and carefully arranged the tripod, fill lights, and phone holder one by one.

At 1:40 p.m., the doorbell rang precisely on time.

Shen Rongyuan pushed the door open, carrying a professional camera bag on his back. In one hand he held a collapsible softbox, and in the other a reflector board—his movements were crisp and expert. He set the gear aside, glanced at the neatly stacked sample bags in the center of the living room, and casually asked, “Are we shooting five looks today?”

“Yep,” Su Wan replied, still crouching on the floor sorting through the clothes by size, without even lifting her head. “Three outfit shoots this morning, and a concentrated makeup shoot this afternoon—let’s try to wrap up before dark.”

He nodded briefly, rolled up his sleeves without another word, and began setting up the lights. Two fill lights were securely mounted—one on the left, one on the right—with enough space in between for movement. After adjusting the angles a few times, he looked up at her and said, “For the sweater shoot, we want a very natural, everyday feel—natural light combined with a bit of warm fill light. Does that work?”

“Yeah, exactly that vibe,” Su Wan said, picking up her phone to take a test shot and zooming in to examine the details. “As long as we can clearly capture the pleats at the neckline, that’ll do.”

“Turn around once,” he said in a low voice.

She complied, standing up and slowly turning in place, her arm gently raised and the sleeve falling naturally with the motion—immediately creating the perfect atmosphere.

End of Chapter 17: Little Money Is Back