Camera

Besides Jiang Se, the other students who had performed well in the National College Entrance Examination were also invited to be in the video.

The others were slightly nervous when they saw the temporary filming set.

Jiang Se was the first to get her makeup done. Because she was still a student, the makeup artist merely applied a thin layer of foundation on her face, so the makeup on her face was not heavy.

Even with only light makeup on, her beauty shone under the lighting.

What surprised the videographer was that Jiang Se showed no signs of cowering before the camera. Her eyes did not dart. It seemed as if she was not intimidated by this setting at all.

He took a test shot, told his staff to adjust the camera angle, and gave an "okay" sign. The other people in the room shifted their gaze onto Jiang Se who was sitting on the stool.

When the light hit her body at that moment, the camera was focused on her upper torso. Her facial expressions were extremely relaxed as she looked into the camera.

The teacher-in-charge raised a paper with words printed on it. The videographer motioned for her to stand beside the camera and showed the paper to Jiang Se. "Just say what's printed on this."

They were words of gratitude toward the school's effort in nurturing them. Jiang Se ran through them twice in her head. When she felt confident enough, she told the videographer that she was ready.

The videographer had prepared himself to do several retakes of this clip. He was surprised to see Jiang Se performing well before the camera to the extent that her clip was done in one take.

The videographer inspected the video clip again. The hastily constructed set was simple and crude with the background behind Jing Se actually being a piece of black flannel.

However, her outstanding beauty somehow neutralized the dull colors of the set. She brought life into the frame. Her performance and beauty made the simple video clip of praising the school elegant. Other than her surroundings, her video clip practically needed no further editing.

The videographer felt slightly excited as he asked her, "Have you starred in videos before?"

Jiang Se smiled and nodded. She had played a role in Zhang Jingan's "Rescue Mission" when she went to Shen Villa some time ago, thus she was no stranger to being in front of the camera. Although her experience in filming was not rich, at the very least, she would not be flustered just by seeing a camera.

When she was done, the teacher-in-charge walked up to her with a smile. "You've done well."

"Thank you." Jiang Se had come to school in the uniform the school prepared for her. The simple school uniform even seemed prettier on her. Her slender waistline also helped add to this impression. The teacher glanced at her, not expecting this student of hers to give her so many surprises.

She had taught several senior year classes before. However, there were not many who were as beautiful as Jiang Se and had good grades at the same time.

"The hired videographer, Tan Ming was praising your performance just now. He was wondering if you had prior experience to being filmed on set."

The teacher-in-charge never paid much attention to Jiang Se in the past. All she knew was that she was close to Lu Baobao. When the two of them were close friends, she did not expect one of them to achieve stellar results while the other could not even get into any college.

"I can tell that you've worked hard to earn your results this time. It's a shame that Lu Baobao's mind wasn't focused on her studies although she was close to you."

Jiang Se recalled the changes within her over the course of the past month. She was about to say something when the principal walked up to them with soft and quiet motions. He gestured for them to be quiet.

Because the filming of another student had begun, the videographer asked them to keep it down.

The filming sessions of the remaining students did not proceed as smoothly as they had to do several retakes.

Fortunately, though the videographer appeared impatient, he did not burst out in anger. It took some time before the filming was done. The principal brought the students out of the filming set, gave them more words of encouragement, and handed them an envelope each. The students left after that.

Jiang Se opened the envelope to look when she walked out of the school gates. There was $2,000 inside. She located a bank nearby and wanted to deposit the cash into her bank account. However, she remembered the laced words that Zhou Hui had said to her recently.

Ever since her National College Entrance Examination, she had never gone out of the house, save for the day of the audition and the day when she went back to school to pick her university of choice.

Zhou Hui had subtly expressed that she wished Jiang Se would find employment. She then complained about their rising living expenses lately, especially when the utility bills came.

Jiang Se considered this and deposited $1,500 into her account, keeping $500 in cash with her. She intended to pass this money to Zhou Hui for her to use as she saw fit.

When she deposited the money, she promptly received a short message on her phone. The balance in her account was now $3,100.

She still had $4,200 in remuneration from "Pretense to Reality". Combined with that amount, the total value of her property was now slightly more than $7,000.

This amount would have been enough for her tuition, but she did not plan on living with the Du family while attending university.

The First Academy had dorms, but the students would have to pay for it. That was another huge annual expense she had to think about.

She glanced at the message on her phone which stated her account balance and sighed. She felt that it was time for her to find another job. Even if she tried to reduce her spending by eating less and not buying new clothes, this amount of money would not be enough.

It was now early July. When she auditioned for "Pretense to Reality", the crew had told her that the filming would begin in the middle of July. However, Jiang Se's role in the film was minor. She did not know when her turn would come. She was pondering if she could find another part-time job in the meantime when the crew called her.

She was informed that the filming would take place at Imperial Productions on the 18th, so on that day, Jiang Se woke up even before the sun was up.

Du Changqun was still at home. The lamp in the living room was not switched on, and Zhou Hui was busy in one corner of the kitchen.

Only the sounds of Du Changqun slurping his porridge could be heard in the house. The siblings, Du Honghong and Du You, were still sound asleep.

Jiang Se went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had just turned on the tap when Du Changqun slammed his bowl and chopsticks onto the table with a loud bang. He asked loudly, "How much was the water bill this month?" His bowl and chopsticks clattered loudly.

The living conditions of the Du family were tight. Jiang Se had the habit of taking a shower before going to bed every night. When summer came, her room felt like a cramped sauna.

Every night before she slept, Zhou Hui would remind her to switch off the fan. Needless to say, the members of the Du family would always mention the utility bills with cold expressions on their faces whenever she took a shower.

She wrung the face towel and wiped her face. She was wondering if she should rent a place on her own elsewhere.

When she reemerged from the toilet, Du Changqun had already gone out of the house. Zhou Hui gave her eldest daughter a glance and sighed. "Shouldn't you be finding a job by now?"

She knew that Jiang Se had done well in her National College Entrance Examination this time. The teacher-in-charge had given them a call about the good news on the 23rd when the results came out.

However, it did not matter how well Jiang Se did in her exams. The condition of the family was laid out in front of her. Even if she wanted to go to college, she would have to pay for her tuition fees. Du Changqun had clearly said that he would not be paying them for her.