HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Seeing Zhu Zhu's somewhat exasperated expression, Xu Lang smiled gently and said:

"I don't want anything, I just don't believe you can get money from your family!"

"Um?"

Xu Lang's words startled Zhu Zhu, and his eyes instinctively darted away.

But soon, she feigned composure and gave a cold laugh.

"ha!

Xu Lang, don't you believe in my background?

Do you think I'm lying to you?

You can look it up. My grandfather was a founding major general, and my father is an entrepreneur. It's easy to find out.

Although they don't agree with me being a model, it's still easy for me to ask for ten thousand yuan!

I just don't want to ask for it.

"With my background, how could I possibly renege on your debt?"

Zhu Zhu spoke with absolute certainty and was very able to justify his words; anyone else might have believed him.

But Xu Lang sneered, arms crossed, his tone remarkably confident.

"Although I don't know the specifics of your relationship with your family, I can say for sure that you will not be able to get the money."

At this moment, Zhu Zhu seemed to lose his composure, his face filled with anger as he pointed at Xu Lang.

"What gives you the right to say that? Who do you think you are?"

"I was just an observer who noticed something different about you."

Xu Lang's words threw Zhu Zhu into a panic, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

"What...what clue?"

Xu Lang pinched his chin with one hand, sizing up Zhu Zhu as he said calmly:

"All I know is that people from prominent families generally don't carry counterfeit bags. It has nothing to do with how much money they have, but rather their inherent pride won't allow it."

Upon hearing Xu Lang's words, Zhu Zhu subconsciously hid the LV bag on the table behind her back.

"I...I'm just a prop for the filming."

The excuse Zhu Zhu came up with was plausible.

"Okay, let's choose another one."

Xu Lang continued:

"Children from truly prominent families would not attend a second-rate university like the Federation of Industry and Commerce. Even if their grades were poor, they would be sent abroad to obtain a degree through fraudulent means."

At this point, Xu Lang asked curiously:

"You weren't a model when you were in college, right? According to what you said, your relationship with your family shouldn't have been so strained back then."

Large families value their social circles above all else; why would they send you to a university like that?

"this..."

Zhu Zhu's eyes darted around quickly, and after a moment, he replied,

"I...I don't want to go abroad."

"Don't you want to go abroad?"

For an ordinary person, her reason might be acceptable, but Xu Lang was a reborn person, and she was very clear about some of Zhu Zhu's experiences.

In her previous life, probably around next year or the year after, Zhu Zhu went abroad and made a name for herself overseas. She had countless boyfriends, and the photos that were exposed were incredibly chaotic.

Later, because of the emergence of "Lock A", Zhu Zhu was also labeled as "the three major express delivery companies".

"In this situation, you're telling me you don't want to go abroad? Do you really think I'm stupid?"

Xu Lang sneered inwardly, but he couldn't say those words out loud.

"Okay, let's not talk about school then."

Xu Lang continued to throw out clues,

"The cousin you mentioned down there just now, if I'm not mistaken, was someone you hired to impersonate him?"

The purpose of you hiring people to put on this show is simply to make me believe that you come from a powerful family and have real ability, but that you are restricted in your spending because of conflicts between your ideals and your family, and that you are currently short of money and want me to support you.

Is that right? Am I wrong?

"you..."

Before Xu Lang could finish speaking, Zhu Zhu's eyes became extremely flustered, and his hands and feet tensed up with nervousness.

"You're talking nonsense. Would I go so far as to hire someone to lie to you?"

"Am I talking nonsense?"

Xu Lang also got excited and, disregarding Zhu Zhu's feelings at all, said directly:

"Should I bring that person up here and ask them?"

That person's surname is Zhou; he's an editor working backstage for this men's magazine.

"what?"

When Xu Lang immediately revealed the man's identity, Zhu Zhu was completely stunned, her pretty face turning deathly pale.

"How...how did you know?"

"How would I know? Ha!"

Speaking of this, Xu Lang really has to thank his memories from his previous life.

However, this was inevitable. In his previous life, he had photographed illustrations for Men's Magazine, and he knew almost all of the editors there, if not all of them.

Just now in the coffee shop, the lighting was dim, and Xu Lang only felt that the person looked somewhat familiar.

But just as he came up, he suddenly remembered something.

Adding to the previous doubts, everything makes sense.

Deng Deng Deng!

Zhu Zhu took two steps back and plopped down on the sofa, his face ashen and bloodless.

Seeing her like this, Xu Lang felt no sympathy whatsoever.

"Hmph, all that scheming just to save on filming fees? You really know how to scheme!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhu's previously ashen face flushed crimson. He jumped up, pointed at Xu Lang, and loudly questioned him:

"Is there anything wrong with me being careful with my money?"

After shouting that, she completely broke down; her eyes were red, and her voice carried the pent-up emotions of the moment.

"Hmph, you all look down on me, despise me, and don't recognize me, but I'm going to live a life that makes you proud and show you that I can still live without you, and I can even live better."

"I don't look down on you, nor do I despise you. I just don't want to be deceived."

Xu Lang's words were devoid of emotion; he was simply stating a fact in a calm manner.

"Hmph, what's the difference between you and them?"

Zhu Zhu's words were full of disdain.

"If I hadn't mentioned my family background before, would you have agreed to let me owe you money for the photography? After you figured it out, you changed your mind. Isn't it because you think I have no one to rely on? You think I can't come up with the money?"

Isn't it just a matter of treating people differently based on their status?

You're just like them!

Seeing that Zhu Zhu's crackdown was expanding in scope, Xu Lang scratched his head.

"To be honest, I'm not interested in your family background; I'm interested in you."

However, since we've come this far, I'm also interested in your story. Why don't you tell me in detail what exactly caused the conflict with your family?

"what?"

Xu Lang's words calmed Zhu Zhu down, who had been somewhat hysterical, and brought her back to her memories.

She sat on the sofa with vacant eyes, her expression shifting between excitement and sadness, tears streaming down her face involuntarily.

After a long while, she slowly said:

"You're right, I have nothing to do with them anymore."

"Is everything alright?"

This word is used very seriously, exceeding Xu Lang's expectations.

"My family has a tradition of favoring boys over girls since my grandfather's generation. From a young age, I was not well treated at home because I was a girl."

In my second year of high school, a photographer took a lot of sexy photos of me because he thought I had a good figure. My grandparents found out about it and dragged me in front of the whole family for a public denunciation meeting.

My dad threw my photo album on the ground and stomped on it until it was a mess.

He pointed his finger at me and said, "Our Zhu family has no shameless children like you."

Not a single person in my family spoke up for me.

Even my mom was so angry that all she could do was cry.

At that time, I was going through a rebellious phase and had a strong rebellious streak. The more they opposed me, the more I wanted to do it, as if only in that way could I make my existence stand out.

So I went even further and took more and more photos, and the scale of the photos became increasingly larger and larger.

This also affected my studies.

After my college entrance exam, when I decided to become a professional model, my conflicts with my family reached their peak.

My dad declared that if I did anything shameless again, I could forget about ever stepping into this house again.

In a fit of pique, I left that home for good.

In these three years, I haven't spent a single penny of their money, I've never gone back home, and they've never looked for me.

"oh!"

After listening, Xu Lang suddenly understood, "So that's how it is."

Looking at Zhu Zhu, whose expression remained somber, Xu Lang felt a genuine sense of admiration for her.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that someone could give up such excellent conditions and run away from home for three years, living entirely on their own, is something that most people wouldn't do.

Thinking of this, he asked curiously:

"You were just using your family's influence to put on a show, is it because you regret it?"

"regret?!"

Upon hearing those two words, Zhu Zhu raised his head again, his eyes filled with stubbornness.

"The word 'regret' doesn't exist in my dictionary. I'll do everything in my power, even resort to unscrupulous means, just so that on the day I succeed, they'll regret it!"

"Great idea!"

Xu Lang couldn't help but give Zhu Zhu a thumbs up.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhu's eyes lit up with hope again. He stood up, took Xu Lang's hand, and said sincerely:

"Xu Lang, could you take the photos for me? I'll definitely pay you back later."

or..."

Zhu Zhu spoke softer and softer until finally, his voice was barely audible.

However, Xu Lang's physical attributes had been enhanced with attribute points, so he actually heard what Zhu Zhu said at the end.