HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Back in the dormitory, before even entering the room, I could hear Jiang Wei's mocking voice coming from inside.

"See, I told you Zhang Hanyun was a delinquent, now even they admit it."

"Let me see, let me see!"

When Xu Lang entered the room, the three of them were gathered around Jiang Wei's computer, looking at gossip news on it.

Zhang Hanyun?

What's wrong now?

Xu Lang had only taken her photos a few days ago, but he was genuinely concerned about her progress.

Walking over to look at the screen, it displayed the first set of photos that Xu Lang had taken of Zhang Hanyun.

"Look at this one, there's a look of confusion in her eyes. And look at this one, she's clearly on the verge of giving up on herself."

"She really does look like a delinquent girl."

"What's going on with Zhang Hanyun's team? The Super Girl finals are just around the corner, how could they release promotional photos like this? Doesn't this completely overturn her previous cute junior student image?"

Upon seeing Xu Lang return, Zhang Yanbin asked him again, "Third Brother, did you see it? Do you think someone deliberately ruined Zhang Hanyun's reputation?"

After listening to the conversation between the three of them, you have to admit, they were quite accurate; they captured exactly the feelings that Xu Lang wanted to express.

"What's the big deal about ruining it? It's just adolescence. Weren't you confused and rebellious back then?"

As Xu Lang spoke, he took a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it.

"To be honest, I think this is the real Zhang Hanyun. Her previous 'good girl' image was obviously fake; only kids like her. How many adults do you see who like Zhang Hanyun?"

"What you say makes sense."

Zhang Yanbin is easily persuaded, but Mao Jian disagrees.

"Third brother, that's not right. Does it matter whether it's true or false? Which celebrity isn't packaged? Zhang Hanyun's previous image might have looked fake, but she was still very popular. Now? Her previous image has been completely overturned, and she'll probably be hated by everyone!"

Before Xu Lang could speak, Jiang Wei nodded in agreement, "Yes, right now the internet is full of people cursing her, saying she's a liar, deceiving the public's emotions, it's overwhelming!"

"Oh?"

Xu Lang also took out his phone and browsed the entertainment news. It was true; it was no exaggeration to say it was everywhere.

"Li Xiaolin is indeed daring; he's really bold!"

Undoubtedly, this is the first step taken by Li Xiaolin's team. Thinking about it, Xu Lang actually admires him quite a bit.

Xu Lang dared to think in the direction of overthrow because he had no direct interest in it, so whether it succeeded or not was irrelevant.

But Li Xiaolin, Zhang Hanyun, and others are different; they are at the center of the vortex and are the direct beneficiaries of the situation.

It failed, it was a complete defeat, and there was no chance of recovery!

Xu Lang found Zhang Hanyun's phone number and wrote a short message:

"How are you feeling now?"

Zhang Hanyun quickly replied with a text message:

"Do you know what it feels like to want to die? Like this!"

"Ha ha!"

Xu Lang didn't try to persuade her. With Zhang Hanyun's "bad girl" attitude, why would he need to persuade her?

It's good enough that she doesn't yell at others or flip the table!

Putting down his phone, Xu Lang looked at Jiang Wei and the other two, and said:

"Wouldn't it be better if it were everywhere? Black and red are still red!"

"Hehe, third brother, you're just talking nonsense. Black is black, and red is red. Look, on the official Super Girl popularity chart, Zhang Hanyun used to be ranked second, but now she's at the bottom, and it's a precipitous drop to the bottom."

"Sigh, what a nice young girl, ruined by capital."

"Exactly! Now it's become a negative example!"

"Holy crap, who gave Zhang Hanyun this idea? Did that person get kicked in the head by a donkey?"

"Yeah, he's definitely sick."

"But you know what, these photos are really captivating, capturing the confusion of adolescence perfectly."

As Zhang Yanbin spoke, he nudged Xu Lang, "Third Brother, this photo has a lot of your style!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wei objected and took the initiative to defend Xu Lang.

"Fourth brother, you can't say that about third brother. Third brother's photography skills are far superior to that idiot's!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a "smack" and Xu Lang slapped him on the head.

"Who are you calling a fool?!"

"Um?"

The three looked at Xu Lang, none of them understanding what he meant.

"Why are you in such a hurry to talk about that idiot photographer, Third Brother?"

"Damn it, I took Zhang Hanyun's photos, and I came up with this project proposal too!"

Anyway, it wasn't a secret, so Xu Lang just said it outright.

"what?"

The three brothers were dumbfounded. After all that cursing, the real culprit was right in front of them!

"Hehe, third brother, we didn't know it was you who took the picture."

"Yeah, third brother, how could you come up with such a plan? Isn't that suicide?"

"I told you that the photography style was similar to Third Brother's, and you were right, weren't you?"

Xu Lang ignored the three of them and browsed entertainment news on his own.

Just then, Jiang Wei shouted again.

"Look, the official website has released new pictures."

His shout drew the attention of all four of them.

This time, it's a set of six pictures.

First picture: In the boundless darkness, Zhang Hanyun stands alone and helpless, her eyes filled with confusion and fear, which is heartbreaking to see.

The second picture shows a chaotic crowd in the background. Zhang Hanyun is huddled in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, being criticized and insulted by everyone. Her slightly raised face is covered with glistening tears, and her eyes are filled with confusion, fear, and endless grievances.

Those tearful eyes are enough to make your heart clench.

The third image: It was still an oppressive darkness, oppressive to the extreme, but at the end of the darkness, a light appeared. The light was like a sharp sword, cutting through the endless darkness and guiding Zhang Hanyun to a path of light.

Zhang Hanyun shielded her eyes with one hand, looking at the light with longing and hesitation, but judging from the steps she took, she was moving towards that light.

Fourth picture: On the stage of the Super Girl audition, Zhang Hanyun held the microphone tightly with both hands and sang. Her face was full of a cautious expression, but the fear and confusion in her eyes had disappeared and replaced by a light.

The light in their eyes was so bright that it filled people with hope.

The fifth picture shows Zhang Hanyun at the finals of the Super Girl Chengdu competition. She is standing on a brightly lit stage, singing her heart out. Her movements and eyes exude confidence.

The confusion and rebellion have vanished!

The sixth picture is an extreme contrast: the bottom left corner is endless darkness, while the top right corner is brilliant sunshine. Zhang Hanyun is holding a microphone and running from the bottom left corner to the top right corner.

Above her head, a line of text floated:

I was once lost, but I longed for glory!

After looking at a set of pictures, the dormitory became unusually quiet, and even the usually boisterous Jiang Wei remained silent for a long time.

"Holy crap, I can't watch it, I really can't watch it!"

Jiang Wei suddenly stood up, rubbing his head with both hands, his face showing both anger and confusion. He rushed up to Xu Lang and loudly questioned him.

"Third brother, did you take this picture too?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

Not only Xu Lang, but the other two also looked at Jiang Wei with curiosity.

"It's over, you've ruined me."

Jiang Wei pointed to the first two photos, his voice tinged with emotion.

"When I saw this, my heart trembled. You know, when I first entered high school, I was also rebellious and didn't like studying. I felt like this, and I couldn't stand anything. Others also couldn't stand me."

Can you understand that feeling of being at odds with the whole world, yet being abandoned by it?

He had barely finished speaking when Mao Jian patted him on the shoulder, his expression unusually serious and his tone unusually sincere.

"I understand! How many of those who take the art exam actually love studying? I completely hated studying back in my first year of high school, and even my mom gave up on me."

At this point, a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.

"Luckily, I met my cousin, and I learned about photography from him. You can understand, right? It really felt like Zhang Hanyun holding the microphone. It was the only light in my dark three years of high school."

Finally, he looked at Xu Lang again.

"Third brother, you're really ruthless. This photo of yours is cursed; I can't bear to look at it, it'll break my heart!"

Zhang Yanbin didn't seem to have many feelings. He was still silently watching in front of the computer, but his shoulders were shrugging slightly and his hand was constantly wiping his face, which betrayed his state.

Xu Lang never expected that this set of photos would have such a powerful effect, touching the three of them.

However, he did not like such sentimental scenes.

To break the awkward silence, he kicked Zhang Yanbin in front of the computer.

"Stop crying! Go check out the reactions online!"