Singlehood Syndrome

Just after posting the recruitment notice, Mr. Li came to the studio. He was carrying fresh scallions, probably just back from the market. Despite the short trip, he was wearing shiny leather shoes, exuding an air of refinement and elegance.

“Teacher Xiang, if you plan to replace me, you should at least tell me,” Mr. Li stood at the entrance of the small courtyard, expressing a hint of complaint in his tone. He seemed to be scolding Xiang Mo for being immature and making decisions without discussing them with him. However, he still maintained a polite attitude, considering that they were both respectable individuals.

“I never intended to replace you,” Xiang Mo explained, “I just wanted to find someone else and have them alternate with you.”

That wasn’t a lie. Most of the people who had time to be art models were idle individuals. If the applicants were all retirees like Mr. Li, Xiang Mo might not find new models. After all, whether it was Mr. Li or someone else, Xiang Mo would still be drawing an elderly person, so it didn’t make much difference if he changed models.

Thus, if he couldn’t find anyone suitable, Xiang Mo would continue with Mr. Li. That was why he didn’t discuss it with him in advance.

“What kind of person are you going to find?” Mr. Li, seemingly convinced by Xiang Mo’s explanation, dropped the topic of finding new models and offered his opinion instead. “You must be careful when choosing. You can’t just pick anyone; it might lower the quality of the models in the studio.”

Xiang Mo couldn’t help but find it amusing. He knew that Mr. Li had always considered himself handsome and naturally didn’t want to be categorized as an ordinary person. But in fact, no one required art models to be strikingly good-looking. Although he wrote “outstanding” in the recruitment notice, it would be ideal but not mandatory.

“Alright, I’ll choose carefully,” Xiang Mo said.

“Also, you can’t choose Lao Zhang,” Mr. Li continued, “That fake foreigner, always speaking second-rate English, thinking that everyone would fall for it? Everyone talks behind his back.”

Lao Zhang, as mentioned by Mr. Li, was an English teacher in his younger days. Xiang Mo knew a bit about him. These two had been at odds for a long time, competing to be the district model for the Old Western House area.

Sometimes, the elderly could be even more childish than children. Xiang Mo felt helpless, but he smiled and said, “Lao Zhang didn’t come to apply.”

“Hmph, he’s got some self-awareness,” Mr. Li said, showing a satisfied expression. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something and added, “By the way, Aunt Wang on the neighboring street is good; maybe I can…”

Before Mr. Li could finish his sentence, Du Chi walked over, leading Sanmao with him.

Du Chi wore a sleeveless sports top, showing the contours of his arms. He wore tight-fitting sports pants and a loose sports shorts over them. His leg muscles tightened around his knees, looking like they were about to burst with power.

“Morning,” Du Chi greeted the two of them proactively, his gaze naturally falling on the recruitment notice posted next to the studio’s sign, “Are you hiring models, Teacher Xiang?”

“We can talk about hiring models another day,” Xiang Mo finally seized the opportunity and pretended that he had something to discuss with Du Chi. He pulled Du Chi’s wrist and walked into the courtyard without further ado. “Mr. Du, your bed is still squeaking; you might want to…”

It seemed that he had successfully escaped from Mr. Li’s nagging.

Relieved, Xiang Mo let go of Du Chi’s wrist and explained, “Mr. Li wants to recommend a friend.”

It wasn’t a lie. Most of the people who had time to be art models were idle individuals. If the applicants were all retirees like Mr. Li, Xiang Mo might not find new models. After all, whether it was Mr. Li or someone else, Xiang Mo would still be drawing an elderly person, so it didn’t make much difference if he changed models.

Thus, if he couldn’t find anyone suitable, Xiang Mo would continue with Mr. Li. That was why he didn’t discuss it with him in advance.

Du Chi, who was walking behind, looked at the recruitment notice and raised his eyebrows, seemingly suggesting something, “Can I apply?”

“You?” Xiang Mo was taken aback, realizing that Du Chi was actually applying.

Indeed, as long as the person is young, Xiang Mo welcomes them as a model, especially considering that Du Chi has excellent facial features and body proportions, making him perfect for teaching.

However, there’s a problem…

“Don’t you have a job?” Xiang Mo asked.

“Right,” Du Chi seemed to have just remembered that he wasn’t an idle person, “I don’t have the time.”

The topic was dropped, and the two of them began to clean up the studio, which had been disturbed by their two pets.

The studio, filled with tables and chairs, had very few aisles. As they occasionally brushed past each other, Xiang Mo couldn’t help but catch a whiff of Du Chi’s sweat.

Everyone sweats after exercise, and that wasn’t a big deal.

But, for some reason, Xiang Mo couldn’t stop his mind from wandering after hearing Du Chi say, “I like exercising.”

“Let me clean up,” Xiang Mo said, snatching the chair from Du Chi’s hand. He avoided Du Chi’s gaze and continued, “You don’t know how things are arranged here.”

Du Chi didn’t bother with politeness and went upstairs to take a shower.

After about ten minutes, the doorbell rang outside the courtyard. Xiang Mo came out of the studio and saw a middle-aged gentleman in a three-piece suit standing outside. It was “Lao Zhang” mentioned by Mr. Li.

“Good morning,” Mr. Zhang took off his jazz hat and greeted Xiang Mo.

Suddenly, Xiang Mo had a bad feeling. He smiled politely, “Good morning, Teacher Xiang. I heard that you are looking for art models here?”

Mr. Zhang confidently glanced at the recruitment notice on the wall, and straightforwardly stated his purpose, “What do you think of me, Teacher Xiang?”

Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li were both classic gentlemen, and Xiang Mo could almost predict that if he had both of them take turns as models, the students would only say he’s changing the soup but not the medicine.

“You are quite good,” Xiang Mo began to figure out how to politely decline, “It’s just that you and Mr. Li have similar styles, you see…”

“You should fire him right away,” Mr. Zhang said dissatisfied, with a sneer on his lips, “His style is outdated, yet he still thinks he’s very fashionable. Everyone talks behind his back.”

These two old enemies, their badmouthing of each other was exactly the same.

Hearing this mix of Chinese and English from Mr. Zhang was giving Xiang Mo a headache, and he hesitated, “If I fire Mr. Li, it might be difficult to explain to him…”

“You don’t have to explain to him,” Mr. Zhang rambled on about Mr. Li’s shortcomings, “He’s a shorty, why should he be a model? He keeps boasting about his past ads, but I think there were no other candidates at that time…”

A light breeze blew, causing the leaves of the parasol trees to rustle.

Xiang Mo pretended that the wind took his attention away, and he raised his head to look at the sky, trying to temporarily escape from Mr. Zhang’s nagging.

However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed someone standing on the balcony of his third floor.

Du Chi was leaning against the balcony railing, seemingly enjoying the show, smiling at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing up at Xiang Mo.

Xiang Mo furrowed his brows and sent a look of complaint to Du Chi with his eyes: Aren’t you going to do something?

Du Chi’s smile deepened, and he pulled back his upper body from the balcony’s edge. Just as Mr. Zhang was talking about how he had defeated Mr. Li at a high school sports event, Du Chi interrupted, “Teacher Zhang, the studio’s models have already been filled.”

“Filled?” Mr. Zhang muttered, “Lao Li just told me they were still hiring.”

Xiang Mo couldn’t understand these two. Sometimes they seemed like mortal enemies, while other times they got along well.

“Just filled,” Du Chi said, glancing at Xiang Mo, “Teacher Xiang has chosen me.”

…There was no need for him to phrase it that way.

To avoid further trouble, Xiang Mo played along, “Yes, Mr. Du has time on the weekends.”

Since the model positions had been secured by Du Chi, Mr. Zhang decided not to say anything more, and after complaining about Mr. Li, he left the courtyard.

“Thanks,” Xiang Mo said. He didn’t want to hire any more models, so he took down the recruitment notice from the door.

However, Du Chi suddenly asked, “Can the hourly wage be increased a bit?”

Xiang Mo didn’t understand why Du Chi was asking that, but he replied, “No increase; I don’t want to hire any more models.”

“I meant for me,” Du Chi raised his chin slightly, pointing at the last line on the notice, “If I become a model, can we discuss the hourly wage?”

The salary of outstanding candidates could be negotiated.

Xiang Mo didn’t immediately respond. He was curious about why Du Chi was asking for more pay. But to keep the upper hand in negotiations, he deliberately said, “I haven’t agreed yet, you need to apply first.”

“Alright,” Du Chi smiled and crossed his arms, his eyes full of amusement, “How do I apply?”

“What are your strengths?” Xiang Mo asked.

“Strengths?” Du Chi raised his right hand, touched his chin, and pondered, “I can undress.”

Xiang Mo raised an almost imperceptible eyebrow. He was looking for ordinary clothing models, not nude models.

Of course, nude models were even more valuable. Sometimes, when Xiang Mo was itching to paint some nudes, he couldn’t find suitable models. If Du Chi was willing to “contribute” himself, then the price could be discussed.

Xiang Mo couldn’t help but wonder if Du Chi was precisely targeting his hobbies, offering him an irresistible temptation.

But he wouldn’t surrender immediately; it wasn’t his style. He slightly raised his chin and looked at Du Chi critically, “Then undress and show me.”