Chapter 132: An Unconventional Deception

Since waking up in this era, Chen Xin had never once thought about searching for her family from her previous life. The reason was simple: her father had died early, her mother had remarried, and she hadn’t seen her mother since she became an adult. That was why she had accepted her current reality so easily. Yet, here she was, seeing her uncle from her past life in the middle of a crowd! And to make matters worse, he was dressed in a "non-mainstream" style—it was truly hard to swallow.

Her knowledge of and passion for fine food had all come from her uncle’s personal guidance. During those days when her father passed away and her mother moved far away, it was her uncle who had held her world together. Back then, he had always tried to tell her that the world would return as much happiness to her as she poured into it.

At the time, she had actually doubted his words, because she didn't feel happy at all. But later, every holiday, her uncle would take her out with a camera to photograph the surroundings. Whether it was people or nature, everything under his lens possessed a unique vitality. It was during that period that Chen Xin fell in love with food and travel. After graduating from university, she chose these two hobbies as her career, spending five full years building her personal social media account into an influential platform with millions of followers.

Having arrived in this era so inexplicably, her uncle was the only thing she truly missed. But in her past life, her uncle had already found his own happiness, so while she missed him, she never worried. Now, looking at his ridiculous, edgy outfit, she felt a sudden urge to rush over and give him a proper makeover!

It was such an eyesore!

"You Le, hurry up! Did you get the promotional shots?"

A burly man, who appeared to be the director, was shouting from below. Her non-mainstream uncle dashed to the sidelines with his camera, snapping several shots, then stood up straight and gave the director an "OK" gesture.

Chen Xin leaned against the railing, struggling to recall if her uncle had ever had this experience. In her memory, he was a man whose attire was always impeccable, right down to every strand of hair; he was elegant and nothing like the person in front of her. They seemed to belong to two different worlds.

However, thinking back, she could understand it. The aesthetics of this era were truly something one wanted to simply flip past. The advertisements on TV, and even the outfits of stars seen at the rare foreign awards ceremonies, all radiated a sense of "silliness." It was no wonder that fashion industry experts later dubbed the first decade of the 21st century a period of abysmal taste, where many celebrities wished they could destroy every photo taken during those years.

As she drifted off in thought while watching the people below, she inadvertently locked eyes with her non-mainstream uncle.

He paused for a second, then suddenly raised his camera and pointed it at her. Chen Xin, having grown accustomed to being his model, subconsciously struck her best pose and expression.

Although it was just a local production, the set was quite busy. Even though You Le was the photographer, he would proactively help out, especially when the floor staff was overwhelmed. His willingness to assist had won him the favor of the entire crew.

***

Finding it less than interesting after a while, Qin Qing and her group decided to continue toward the mountain. There was a temple at the peak; although they were staunch materialists, that didn't mean they weren't interested in the temple. It was famous for being built on a cliffside. From afar, it felt as though a strong gust of wind could simply blow it over. Yet, according to the villagers, the temple was nearly three hundred years old, and aside from beams and pillars damaged by termites, it had remained completely unaffected by wind or rain.

After climbing for over forty minutes, they reached the halfway point. Tourists coming down from the top said it would take at least two more hours to reach the temple.

This group of young people spent most of their time hunched over desks and rarely exercised, so this climb had already cost them half their lives. The male students were doing slightly better, but the female students were already starting to lose heart.

"Are you guys going up?" Gou Xiangru, who was a bit plump and didn't like exercise to begin with, sat down by a pillar, refusing to take another step. Seeing the male students preparing to climb further, she looked at her two friends with a desperate expression.

Chen Xin was fine; she exercised every morning, so the hike wasn't strenuous for her. Qin Qing, however, was conflicted—she wanted to see the temple but didn't want to leave Gou Xiangru alone.

"How about this? I’ll stay here with Xiangru and wait for you. You guys go ahead for a bit, and if you can't make it, just come back down. We'll wait until four o'clock before heading down?"

Gou Xiangru nodded vigorously; she really couldn't go on.

Two other girls also decided not to climb further. They had heard there was a waterfall pool if they took the fork to the east, and they planned to go check that out instead. The remaining female students decided to continue; they figured that since they were already there, if they didn't see the temple now, they might never have the chance again.

Once the group dispersed, Chen Xin pulled Gou Xiangru into a roadside pavilion to chat.

The reason she had stayed behind was actually to talk to Gou Xiangru about the situation with Qin Qing’s "fellow townsman."

"So, what should we do?" Gou Xiangru was soft-natured. She had tried to advise Qin Qing twice before, but when Qin Qing didn't listen, she hadn't pushed it, thinking that since nothing had happened for so long, it should be fine. She never imagined that when trouble did come, it would offer no room for maneuver.

"I talked to Senior Sister Wei. She also thinks we should find an opportunity to distance ourselves, or at least make sure Qin Qing doesn't get dragged into it by those two jerks. If she speaks up now, people will sympathize with her. If she keeps quiet, I’m afraid they’ll try to push all the blame onto her."

"No way! That guy was just putting on a show to pursue Qin Qing; they haven't even been on a date. Can't Qin Qing just say she never agreed to anything?"

"The problem is, the silly girl actually called her fellow townsman's parents and tacitly confirmed they were a couple!"

Chen Xin wanted to rub her temples. These single-celled, naive kids did whatever came to their minds without any strategy. Now, everything was a mess. If it weren't for the fact that Qin Qing and Gou Xiangru had always been good to her, she wouldn't want to get involved in these affairs at all. She wouldn't be staying long anyway; once she left, who would be able to worry about anyone else?

Just as the two were worrying about what to do, a few people walked up. Leading them was none other than Chen Xin's non-mainstream uncle.

"Hey, students, can I discuss something with you?" You Le’s eyes lit up when he saw Chen Xin sitting in the pavilion, and he hopped over. "I'm looking to take some portrait photos. Would you mind being my model?"

Gou Xiangru guardedly grabbed Chen Xin’s hand, signaling her not to agree easily, fearing the man might be some kind of creep.

"What do you need photos for?" Although Chen Xin didn't think her non-mainstream uncle was a scammer, she had no memory of him ever taking portrait photos. Most of his award-winning work in the future consisted of landscapes, and the rare portraits he did take were candid shots of people without professional models.

"Oh, you know those celebrity calendars?" You Le’s eyes crinkled as he instantly switched into sales-pitch mode. Chen Xin was far too familiar with him; seeing that signature grin, a level-ten alarm went off in her head.