Chapter 351

"Luo Quan?"

In the airport cafe, a girl approached Luo Quan.

"Senior Wang Lan, right? Hello, hello." Seeing who it was, Luo Quan immediately stood up to greet her.

This was the renowned photographer Lin Zheyuan had introduced to her. The two had communicated over the phone before, and she would have full authority over the Maldives photoshoot plan.

"And who is this?" Luo Quan noticed a girl following behind Wang Lan; she looked quite young and a bit shy.

Wang Lan introduced her with a smile: "This is my apprentice, Li Yuan. She's also a student at Shangyi, a freshman in the photography department. Since there's a lot of equipment this time, I brought her along to lend a hand and learn a few things in the process."

Lin Yizhu was very enthusiastic: "Oh, so you're a fellow student! Welcome, welcome."

"These are all the pieces of equipment you paid for: Sony A7R3 mirrorless cameras, DJI Mavic 2 Pro drones. I have my own underwater equipment, and there are some other parts—they're all here."

Wang Lan and Li Yuan each had a suitcase and a long black box in hand. Judging by their expressions, it didn't seem very heavy.

"Let me help you carry one." Luo Quan said, taking a case from Wang Lan's hand.

It wasn't heavy, but considering the items inside were quite fragile, they would need to be stored carefully when boarding the plane later.

"Everyone's here..." Wen Xia walked in from outside the cafe, followed by the girls from Girls' Generation.

"Photographer Wang, why are you here too?" Wen Xia looked somewhat surprised when she suddenly saw Wang Lan in front of Luo Quan.

Luo Quan explained: "Senior Wang is the photographer I hired this time. What, do you guys know each other?"

Wen Xia nodded: "We've collaborated a few times before. Photographer Wang is a huge celebrity in the industry."

Wang Lan laughed: "It's just my peers being kind and giving me face; we're just boosting each other."

"Just for that remark, I think you're much more professional than that guy Lin Zheyuan. If he were praised like that, his ego would have already soared to the heavens!"

Hearing Luo Quan's teasing, Wang Lan couldn't help but laugh: "Xiao Lin is indeed quite flamboyant, but his talent in photography is no lower than mine. He has a very good chance of becoming a world-class photographer in the future."

Luo Quan was startled: "So it's true that Senior Lin said he's the most talented student in the history of Shangyi's photography department?"

Wang Lan nodded: "It sounds a bit exaggerated, but it is indeed the truth."

Wen Xia immediately interrupted their conversation: "I say, you two, can we save the reminiscing for when we're on the plane? Can we go through security first?"

Luo Quan felt a bit embarrassed: "Let's go, let's go. I got carried away chatting."

Actually, there was still plenty of time before boarding, but since there were so many people, it was better to resolve any potential issues as soon as possible.

Although the Maldives doesn't offer visa-free entry to China, they do offer visa-on-arrival. Once in the Maldives, you can process the visa using your flight ticket, passport, and hotel booking confirmation.

The Maldives is known as the country of a thousand islands. Its 298 square kilometers of land area are subdivided into 1,192 islands, though only about 200 of them are inhabited.

And on more than half of those 200 islands, there are hotels.

The hotel booked by Wen Xia's manager is called Jita, a five-star hotel located on Jita Island (fictional).

Jita Island isn't very large, less than 2 square kilometers. It is shaped like an obtuse triangle. The hotel rooms are lined up along the two obtuse-angled sides. In the center of the island are the restaurant and entertainment facilities, and behind the hotel is a long stretch of beach. The scenery is quite good.

Because it's not yet peak season, there aren't many tourists on Jita Island right now. Luo Quan's group of over a dozen people actually managed to get rooms right next to each other, which was quite lucky.

After passing through security, they checked in their luggage and headed to the waiting lounge.

Luo Quan was quite familiar with the girls from Girls' Generation. Although they hadn't talked much recently, they had spent several months together in the past, so their bond hadn't faded. As soon as they entered the lounge, they crowded around her, asking all sorts of questions.

The thing they asked about most was the Maldives swimsuit photoshoot plan.

"Quan-chan, how did you come up with the idea of doing a swimsuit photoshoot?" Yanagisawa Junko hadn't seen Luo Quan in a long time. As soon as she entered the lounge, she couldn't wait to sit on Luo Quan's right side, snatching Wen Xia's spot.

Wen Xia stood to the side and sneered: "It's because she couldn't keep her mouth shut and made a bet with her fans during a livestream."

Luo Quan retorted stubbornly: "Even though making the bet wasn't my original intention, the fans did end up raising the 100 million dollars. Doesn't that just show how awesome my fans are?"

Junko nodded quickly: "That's really impressive. I wonder if we could raise that much money if it were us."

It was originally just an offhand remark, but the other members of Girls' Generation actually started to ponder it.

This kind of crowdfunding really tests the loyalty and financial capability of fans. Girls' Generation is currently known as the top girl group in Asia, basically invincible in China, and they have quite high popularity in Japan and Korea as well.

But if they really asked their fans to crowdfund 100 million, could they actually do it?

After thinking about it, Kang Yoon-ah frowned and said: "It feels a bit difficult. Luo Quan's crowdfunding success this time was because she called upon fans from all over the world, plus a Dubai prince, and that prince alone covered one-third of it."

Wen Xia laughed: "We have such wealthy benefactors too."

"Hmm?" Lin Yizhu and the others immediately pricked up their ears. They could actually hear this kind of gossip!

Seeing Wen Xia's smiling, silent expression, Junko blushed: "Sister Wen Xia, don't talk nonsense. I don't have any wealthy benefactor."

Wen Xia spread her hands and smiled: "I didn't say who it was. You're the one who stood up yourself, who can you blame?"

"Is it that Ye Kai?" Luo Quan remembered that Wen Xia had told her back then that a top-tier young master in the country had given Junko huge support on the night Girls' Generation was formed.

Hearing the name Ye Kai, the other members of Girls' Generation also laughed. They all knew the story between Junko and him; it wasn't a secret within the group anymore.

During the early days of their tour, this Young Master Ye would show up in the front row every time to cheer them on, and during the intermission, he would go backstage to give Junko roses.

However, Junko would always clearly express her refusal, but Young Master Ye's skin was like soaked, cold cowhide—tough and thick. No matter how many times he was rejected, it was useless.

Although he didn't come to the tour venues much later on, his alt account often interacted under Girls' Generation's official Weibo, and he was even an administrator for Junko's super-topic. His fan purity was incredibly high.

"If you put it that way, if Junko were willing to do a swimsuit photoshoot, this Young Master Ye might really be able to throw out 200 million." Luo Quan teased Junko with a serious expression.

"I'm not talking to you guys anymore." Junko blushed and shyly went to sit next to Yue Wei.

Wen Xia pulled Kang Yoon-ah to Luo Quan's side and stood in front of the two of them, looking them over carefully.

Luo Quan's smile froze on her face: "What are you looking at?"

"Comparing figures. Didn't you say just now that once you got to the beach, you were going to crush us in Girls' Generation? Yoon-ah is about the same height as you, so I want to see if you can crush her."

As Wen Xia spoke, she ended up attracting the attention of all the members of Girls' Generation.

Luo Quan retorted: "Stop trying to stir up trouble for me. I only said I'd crush you!"

"I'm the leader of Girls' Generation. If the leader's face is damaged, the members naturally have to help me stand up for myself." Wen Xia said with a righteous expression.

Luo Quan laughed: "So you're admitting you've already been crushed by me?"

Wen Xia was noncommittal: "Stop trying to change the subject. You've already issued a challenge to all the members of Girls' Generation. Naturally, we'll all be here to deal with you... Everyone, right?"

"Right!"

The girls were all quite excited.

In terms of looks, they couldn't compare to Luo Quan—that was destined from birth, and it couldn't be adjusted to the same level later on.

But a good figure can be achieved through later training. Many of them were already idols before the group was formed, having taken years of body-shaping classes and danced for years. Their figures were beyond perfect!

If they didn't have graceful S-curves, they wouldn't dare wear crop tops and miniskirts on a stage under the spotlight.

Therefore, when it came to comparing figures, even Junko, who was the least confident, dared to go up against Luo Quan.

She knew her friend's personality very well: a typical otaku girl who loved anime. During her three years of high school, other than going to school, she stayed at home. The number of times she went out shopping could be counted on one hand!

With that amount of exercise, what kind of good figure could she have?

"Roar... looks like you guys are very confident." Luo Quan rested her arms on the back of the chair, sitting like a boss: "Don't say I didn't warn you. I've been doing high-intensity exercise and practicing yoga recently."

The three roommates heard this and all burst out laughing, tearing down her facade without any mercy.

They had been in the same room for these two months; no one knew Luo Quan's state better than they did.

It was true she had been exercising recently, but it had only been half a month. To put it bluntly, what could that achieve?

"Looks like your roommates don't really agree with your statement?" Wen Xia crossed her arms, her smile gradually spreading.

"They're laughing at you for overestimating yourselves!" Luo Quan refused to lose face and wouldn't back down.

It was mainly because she knew her own situation. Her lack of exercise was one thing, but it was also a fact that her flesh obediently grew in all the right places.

Usually, seeing the number 130 on the scale gave her a huge sense of crisis, and she would shout about being too fat and needing to lose weight. But whether she was actually fat or not, only she could see that in the bathroom.

Isn't "Versailles literature" popular on the internet lately? People like her are exactly what it's talking about.

The members of Girls' Generation carefully observed Luo Quan. Today, as usual, she was wearing a loose Chanel coat, and her entire figure was hidden beneath the thick coat.

She must have gotten fat, that's why she's wearing something so thick, trying to cover up the fat! That's what Wen Xia thought, and her previously anxious heart finally settled down.

"Sigh, one day without practicing dance and my bones feel a bit loose." Kang Yoon-ah said, straightening her body and stretching with her hands behind her back, her chest held high.

In terms of size, she wasn't the biggest in Girls' Generation, but her figure was definitely the most well-proportioned, quite aesthetically pleasing.

This stretch made Luo Quan's three roommates feel inferior.

After stretching, Kang Yoon-ah gave Luo Quan a look that was half-smile and half-tease.

Although this was her boss, girls always like to compare themselves in terms of figure and looks, especially super beauties like them.

They might not say it out loud, but they would want to compete openly or secretly.

In private, the members of Girls' Generation often had similar competitions. It was generally acknowledged that the ones with the best figures were Kang Yoon-ah, Yue Wei, and Wen Xia. Among them, Yue Wei was known as the "conscience" of Girls' Generation because she had the most generous bosom.

Luo Quan was indifferent: "Heh, looks like Yoon-ah-xi wants to provoke your boss."

Yoon-ah pretended to be aggrieved: "Not at all, I was just stretching."

"Tch, just wait for me!" Luo Quan's clothes were too big, so she definitely couldn't make any counterattack right now; she could only make threats.

The result was that Wen Xia pressed her advantage, mocking Luo Quan for a good while.

Luo Quan didn't say anything. The more smug Wen Xia was now, the more satisfying it would be to slap her face later.

Amidst the laughter and teasing, Lin Yizhu and the others finally got to know the idols from Girls' Generation.

Girls always have endless topics to talk about, and the overlap is quite high. As they chatted, they became familiar with each other.

Luo Quan and Wen Xia were still bickering just a moment ago, but after a while, they were sitting together, heads touching, starting to discuss their travel plans for after they arrived in the Maldives.

As an island nation built up from coral reefs, the Maldives has quite a lot of shallow beaches and coral ecosystems, making it very suitable for diving.

Unlike Luo Quan, Wen Xia's swimming skills were quite good. She had previously obtained a diver's license in Korea. Since they were going to the Maldives this time, she definitely wanted to try diving.

Of course, the Maldives arranges professional diving instructors to accompany tourists who dive. Yachts and emergency personnel are always on standby on the water, and the diving locations are carefully selected, so they won't choose places that are too deep. Safety is basically not a concern.

However, Luo Quan had always been timid, and she had never been in the water before, so she clearly rejected Wen Xia's proposal for diving.

And since there were so many people this time, only Wen Xia had a diver's license. It wouldn't be right for her to go diving alone while everyone else just watched from above, right?

As the leader, she certainly couldn't go off diving by herself.

Wen Xia thought about it and felt that made sense. In the end, she gave up the idea of diving in the deep-water area and decided to just swim around the shallow beach. Actually, the difference wasn't that significant.

As they chatted, it was time to board. Everyone picked up their luggage and went through ticket inspection to board the plane one by one. The girls helped each other carefully store the photography equipment.

Amidst the purser's sweet and gentle voice, the girls put on their seatbelts and switched their phones to flight mode. Some listened to music, while others continued chatting.

It had been nearly two months since Luo Quan last saw Junko and Yoon-ah. In these two months, Luo Quan had recruited two more artists for the company, and she had to tell them about that.

Junko and Yoon-ah also had a lot to say to Luo Quan, but those things would have to wait until Luo Quan caught up on the sleep she missed last night.

After pulling an all-nighter and going through the morning, her eyelids were now so heavy she couldn't keep them open...