The First Photo Shoot

Nobody dared be lazy during their spare time as the first term exams drew near. Although they were all straight-A students, they were much more nervous than they used to be.

They were aiming for a scholarship in their own department, which constituted the majority of straight-A students’ income.

Qin Guan had just hung up from checking on Cong Nianwei when his cell phone rang again.

He picked up the phone and saw an unfamiliar number shining on the screen. He was confused as he rarely received any calls from anyone other than his parents and friends.

A melodic voice came out of the receiver when Qin Guan answered it, “Is this Qin Guan?”

Pressing the phone to his ear, Qin Guan answered, “Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”

“Hello. Do you know Master Zhao?” the woman on the other end of the line asked.

“Master Zhao?”

“Didn’t you model for red wine once? Master Zhao was the tailor adjusting the suits for you.”

What she was saying was ringing a bell. “Yes, I remember,” he said, “What about him?”

“Master Zhao referred you to me. I’m calling you to ask whether you have some spare time tomorrow. We’re making an advertising booklet and we’re in search of a college student who wants to work as a model.”

Qin Guan checked his schedule. He had turned down a part-time job just this week. With all the snow outside, there was nothing he could have done about it. But since this job had fallen into his lap, he could at least give it a try.

Qin Guan set a time and place for the interview with the woman, and waved the phone in front of his roommates smugly.

His roommates ground their teeth in resentment. They pulled his cheek and legs, demanding a treat if Qin Guan succeeded in the interview.

One of them was still sitting in his bed calmly. He pushed his glasses up and looked at Qin Guan. “You could make a living on your looks. I’ll take the national scholarship in your stead.”

While he struggled against the others, Qin Guan said forcefully, “It’s not the time to make a decision yet. Plus, I can be both handsome and intelligent.”

Angry with his arrogance, his roommates punched him, beating him into the ground while they yelled, “You lucky dog. You can’t be a savage anymore!”

The next morning, Qin Guan arrived at Chao Yang Park, where a small studio made shooting advertisements for booklets.

The small cabin was already crowded when Qin Guan walked in.

A busy-looking man pointed at a random place for Qin Guan to go and try on some shirts.

The advertisement today was for a phone-order clothing company. Despite the large audience, the advertisement’s taste was quite poor. The brand was in the telemarketing business. Customers watched the advertisement and placed orders through the telephone. The factory sent the goods and got paid on delivery.

The trademark of the brand was its fine quality and reasonable price. It mimicked styles from other brands and produced a good sales volume.

However, the new line, which was marketed towards young people, didn’t go well with the former model of the company, who looked like Iron Man.

The CEO had banged on his desk. We should look for a new model and make a new advertisement!

He looked confident while the marketing department looked quite depressed. That line of shirts did not play a big part in the company’s turnover. A short advertisement would be more than enough. A specialized model company would be just a waste of money.

The marketing manager had an idea. He remembered the intermediary model agents and Sister Xue, who did business on her own.

In her earlier days, Xue Wanyi had been a model herself. However, she had retreated from the spotlight after a couple of years because she felt like it was a limitation on her image. Using her unparalleled socializing skills, she had acquainted herself with a group of people like her, as well as some less famous models. Some of them had appeared on runway shows, while others had been featured in print ads.

Her friends were active on the bottom of the fashion industry. They came from all corners of the country. It was people nobody would even imagine.

After adjusting suits for several shows, Master Zhao had gotten to know Xue Wanyi and had become very good friends with her. If he came across any independent young men, he would refer them to her.

That was why Qin Guan had gotten that call.

At the time, Sister Xue’s models had all failed the interview, so she had called Qin Guan as a last resort.

As Qin Guan was standing in line to be interviewed, his phone rang. Before he could even answer it though, he was stopped by Sister Xue, who had followed the sound of his ringtone. “Are you Qin Guan? I’m Sister Xue.”

“Hello, Sister Xue. I’m here for the interview. Is there anything I should know?” Qin Guan asked as he shook hands with her.

Sister Xue was very straightforward. She informed Qin Guan about the guidelines while she expressed her enthusiasm about his appearance.

There were still several candidates waiting in front of Qin Guan, so Xue Wanyi talked with him at length about intermediate agents, handling fees and so on.

Qin Guan told her quite honestly, “Sister Xue, I’m a freshman at college. This is only a part-time job for me. I can only do it in my free time. I can’t work on weekdays.”

Sister Xue was already running her hands up and down Qin Guan’s body. She pinched here and there. He had great potential. I can’t let him go.

Sister Xue finished her evaluation. She was sure of Qin Guan’s performance.

Suddenly, it was Qin Guan’s turn. The marketing manager held a pink shirt up to his body and waved to him, “Okay. You might pass.”

Sister Xue and Qin Guan’s mouths dropped open at the man’s playful tone.

They went to the makeup department, both of them looking confused. Sister Xue mumbled non-stop beside Qin Guan, “They bullied me! They were so strict with my models, yet they let you go so easily.”

In fact, the marketing manager was also feeling gloomy. Where’s the energy of the youth? A group of heavily-powdered female models and mollycoddles. Are you kidding me?

Qin Guan’s clean face made him the shining star of the group.

The hairdresser was a freelancer who often worked on print ad shooting sites. As his fingers touched Qin Guan’s face, he couldn’t bear to apply makeup on it. It would be a tragedy to put makeup on such good skin.

In the end, he only applied some light makeup with a thin powder to emphasize the angles of Qin Guan’s his face. Then he swiped his eyebrows carefully and asked him to change his clothes right away.

At the time, the photo studio was empty. The interviews had ended and most idlers had left. Qin Guan put a different shirt on. It was exactly his size, as if it had been made especially for him.

Most people did not look good in pink. Ordinary people wearing pink tended to look like hillbillies. Qin Guan though was among those few who could pull off the color.

The shirt was junior style with a round low hemline and a high collar. Qin Guan buttoned up carefully, leaving the hem outside his jeans and strolling to the center of the studio with his hands in pockets.

When the photographer saw Qin Guan, he asked the lighting engineer and his assistant to get ready. Then he picked up the camera and made a few adjustments.

Two photos would be enough for the advertisement. One of them would be the whole front image and the other the bust. It was pretty simple.

The bust image was taken first. Following the photographer’s directions, Qin Guan stood at the appointed position, moving his sleeve up with ease.

He had to roll his sleeve first to one side and then to the other on request.

The photographer kept shouting directions, “Right... Well done. Pay more attention. Hold your arm up. Right... Keep it there. Curve your arm inside. Right, hold it. That’s right…”

The first series of photos was finished in less than ten minutes. The photographer made the playback as the people backstage checked the photos.

A bright, handsome boy was smiling warmly against the light. The pink shirt he wore fit his body well. The collar had been fixed with care, giving the impression of comfort and safety.

The boy in the picture was about to do something. He exposed his left arm gently. His slender beautiful fingers were unfastening the cuff on his shirt. The small buttons between his fingers looked delicate.

Dramatically, Qin Guan’s movements had boosted a 100-Yuan shirt to a second-rate brand. Customers interested in petty bourgeoisie leisure shirts were bound to place an order.

The marketing manager felt satisfied at the sight of the photos. Is this perhaps the transformation of our company from a local country business to a fashionable mainstream brand?