HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Xu Lang stared at Qin Feifei.

Actually, he didn't want to argue with Qin Feifei, but seeing her like that, he knew she hadn't gotten over her emotions from last night.

At this point, trying to reason with her is completely useless.

Left with no other choice, Xu Lang resorted to this desperate measure.

Seeing that Qin Feifei was also helpless, Xu Lang finally became serious.

"You're leaving anyway, it's not too much to ask me to see you off, is it?"

"How do you want to send it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Lang checked the time; it was already past six in the evening. "I haven't treated you to dinner yet. Let's have a meal together as a farewell gift."

"good!"

Qin Feifei could agree to this request.

After getting off the bus, the two left the school gate and strolled forward.

They randomly chose a quiet restaurant, found a window seat, and sat down.

Xu Lang casually ordered a few dishes, then looked at Qin Feifei.

"Why did you suddenly decide to resign?"

Qin Feifei propped her head up with her hands, looked out the window, and replied calmly, "Isn't it all thanks to you!"

"Um."

Xu Lang understood Qin Feifei's meaning; it all stemmed from the stabbing last night.

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Lang asked as if to confirm:

"Are you really determined to return to acting?"

This time, Qin Feifei didn't dodge the question. She turned around, looked at Xu Lang seriously, and said frankly:

"After I got back yesterday, I didn't sleep a wink all night and thought about my experiences over the past ten years."

You're right, I do love acting at heart. I wasted the previous ten years of my life, and I don't have time to waste on this counselor position. I have to make up for it tenfold.

"Hmm." Xu Lang nodded. "What are your plans for the future?"

"What else can I do? I'll try my best to get audition opportunities and get back into shape, after all, I've been away from the film and television industry for ten years."

Xu Lang shook his head. "A role is a double-edged sword. You can't just take any role; it has to fit your image."

"Oh!"

Qin Feifei chuckled, picked up the lemonade in front of her, and took a sip.

"Do you think I still have a chance to choose? I know more about the entertainment industry than you do. Compared to young actresses like Liu Yifei, I'm already too old."

Xu Lang knew that Qin Feifei wasn't pessimistic; she genuinely understood the entertainment industry.

In the entertainment industry as a whole, newcomers are rising to the top too quickly.

Yang Mi, who is still in high school, has already stepped up.

Compared to others, 25-year-old Qin Feifei does look old.

"That's precisely why auditions and casting are so important!"

Xu Lang had ulterior motives towards Qin Feifei, and he didn't want to see her go astray, end up bruised and battered, or even degenerate into a plaything of capital.

"If you're going to succeed, you'll have to become my plaything!"

Xu Lang pondered for a moment, then changed the subject.

"Sister Fei, to be honest, I'm planning to set up a studio, not just a single-service photography studio. More like a talent agency, I'm currently looking for suitable candidates to sign. You..."

He paused for a moment, then revealed his true thoughts.

"Sister Fei, you can join my studio."

"you?!"

Qin Feifei was truly astonished by Xu Lang; her eyes were filled with disbelief as she looked at him.

"You mean, you want me to become your signed artist? To work for you? Ha!"

Qin Feifei scoffed, her face full of mockery, and waved her hand in front of Xu Lang's eyes.

"It's not even completely dark yet, why are you already dreaming?"

Despite her mockery, Xu Lang remained unfazed, neither blushing nor skipping a beat.

He knew he had no confidence in saying that, and Qin Feifei's reaction was definitely to save face for him.

But Xu Lang didn't care.

He understood life in his previous life, so why would he care about these things now that he's been reborn?

He grabbed Qin Feifei's hand, which was waving in front of his eyes, and said seriously:

"I'm not joking, and I'm not dreaming; I'm serious!"

"Okay, then tell me, what can you give me if I sign a contract with you? Funds? Resources? Or connections?" Qin Feifei laughed as she spoke.

"Xu Lang, to be honest, I really admire you. How could a little kid like you dare to think about such big things?"

"A little brat?"

Xu Lang rubbed his pert nose, trying to ease the awkwardness with a joke, "Sister Fei, you have to understand, you can't speak without experience. Besides, I'm not exactly young anymore!"

Qin Feifei blushed and cursed.

"Pah, you scoundrel!"

After she finished cursing, she couldn't help but wonder why she had ended up sitting with this "little hooligan" and listening to his lewd jokes.

What's worse is that he hasn't turned against her yet, nor has he left.

Given his past personality, wouldn't he have slapped her across the face long ago?

"Sigh, it seems I really am getting old!"

As Qin Feifei was thinking, Xu Lang continued:

"Sister Fei, I really don't have the resources, funds, or connections you mentioned, but what I can do now is something that no one else can do for you."

"Oh? Tell me, what can you do for me?"

"I can tailor-make a character design, select actors based on the character design, and then create an image design based on the character design."

"That's all?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"Ha!" Qin Feifei scoffed again. "What kind of persona? Never even heard of it. Besides, I'm making movies and TV shows. What use is just a promotional photo?"

"It's not just about the photos, it's about the persona!"

In 2004, the term "persona" had not yet been used, and the entertainment industry did not have this kind of packaging. Xu Lang could not explain it to her in a few words.

Finally, in his haste, Xu Lang gave her an example.

"You know Super Girl, right? Zhang Hanyun, that's the one who was packaged according to my ideas, and the results are pretty good now, she has a good chance of winning the championship."

And then there's Re Yizha, a freshman in the 04 acting class, who only got an audition opportunity by showing me his photo.

Xu Lang wanted to give other examples, but after thinking about it, he realized that the photography competition was not over yet, and Su Wan and Qin Feifei had not gotten the chance to audition, so there seemed to be no other examples.

However, Zhang Hanyun's situation still shocked Qin Feifei.

"Is Zhang Hanyun someone you've packaged? Is it true or false?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Xu Lang took out his phone and showed Qin Feifei the plane ticket Zhou Man had sent him that day. "See this? This is Zhang Hanyun's agency. They specifically invited me to participate in the finals."

"Really?"

Qin Feifei was indeed somewhat surprised. "I was saying that looking at her promotional photos gave me a very familiar and warm feeling!"

Qin Feifei knew that Super Girl was so popular, and she had been paying attention to it from the beginning. She was very clear about Zhang Hanyun's changes.

She had been wondering why Zhang Hanyun's promotional style had changed so much; now she knew the reason.

Looking at Xu Lang, Qin Feifei admired him even more. "I have to say, this kid has some skills."

Seeing that Qin Feifei remained silent, Xu Lang stopped trying to persuade her.

"Sister Fei, how about this? This weekend, you can come with me to Changsha to watch the Super Girl finals and see for yourself if what I said is true."

Furthermore, I'm confident that with the photos I took of you before, you'll have no problem getting an audition opportunity.

You can make a decision after you've actually landed the role of Guo Fu.

How was it?

Seeing Xu Lang's confident words, Qin Feifei hesitated for a moment.

More importantly, she doesn't have anywhere good to go right now:

She can't go to well-known big companies;

She wouldn't even consider an unknown small company.

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Feifei nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then I'll go to Changsha with you."