HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 93: There really was something fishy going on!

Although Xu Lang was puzzled, he remained calm and said:

"Hello, I'm Xu Lang. What do you need me for?"

"Have you returned to Beijing? We'd like to discuss some specific matters with you."

"Oh?"

Xu Lang was even more surprised by Zhang Hao's words.

"They actually knew I left Beijing?"

It's worth noting that Xu Lang left Beijing on Friday, which was essentially skipping class, and only his three roommates knew he had left.

How did Zhang Hao know that?

"I'm in Beijing, I'll be at school soon."

"That's great! I'm right here at our school. We can talk in detail when we meet."

"good!"

After hanging up the phone, Xu Lang looked at Qin Feifei beside him.

Qin Feifei overheard Xu Lang's conversation with the other person clearly, and she was also very puzzled.

"Why did the Condor Heroes' planners contact you?"

"Who knows? We'll know when we get to the school."

While the two were talking, the taxi arrived at the school gate.

After getting out of the car, Qin Feifei looked at Xu Lang and said:

"Go ahead and do your work, I'm going to check on the exhibition setup."

"it is good."

After parting ways with Qin Feifei, Xu Lang went straight to the administration building, following the address given to him by Zhang Hao.

Arriving at office 406 on the fourth floor of the administration building, Xu Lang knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

A man in his thirties opened the door for Xu Lang.

"Who are you..."

"I am Xu Lang. Zhang Hao sent me here."

Upon hearing this, the man's face immediately broke into a smile. He reached out and shook Xu Lang's hand, saying politely,

"Oh, hello, Teacher Xu! Hello, hello!"

Zhang Hao's enthusiasm surprised Xu Lang. "Am I that famous? Why are you being so polite!"

Zhang Hao led him into his office, where he poured him tea while saying:

"I was originally going to contact Teacher Xu earlier."

But something has changed on our end.

"change?"

"yes."

Zhang Hao pulled up a chair and sat opposite Xu Lang, continuing his explanation:

"The film crew originally only planned to attend the awards ceremony tomorrow for this photography competition, but today I suddenly received instructions from Director Zhang to come and participate in this matter, so I came and temporarily borrowed this office."

The time was a bit too rushed, and the preparations were inadequate. We are very grateful to Teacher Xu for coming all the way here right after getting off the plane.

Upon hearing this, Xu Lang was even more confused. "Damn, he even knew I just got off the plane?"

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Lang couldn't help but ask:

"Stop beating around the bush, just say what you want to say!"

"Okay, okay, I was being long-winded."

Zhang Hao got up, took a document from the table, and handed it to Xu Lang.

"This is my plan for this publicity stunt. Professor Xu, could you please take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed?"

The more Zhang Hao talked, the more confused Xu Lang became.

"What's all this about? What's this hype? Why am I being asked to critique the proposal?"

Despite his doubts, Xu Lang still looked at the proposal. The first news headline read:

Why did the winner of the Super Girl competition leave the finals early?

Below this title, there is also a photo of Xu Lang's back.

Xu Lang immediately recognized him; this was the scene from last night's Super Girl finale, when Zhang Hanyun mentioned him on stage and he quickly left.

What the hell!

Upon seeing this title and the image below, Xu Lang couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Zhang Hao opposite him, frowned, and asked:

"Dude, tell me the truth, are you really a planner for the 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' production team?"

Are you a paparazzi?

Xu Lang's words were not discriminatory at all.

In 2004, paparazzi were rampant in the entertainment industry, and it was thanks to their hard work and dedication that the public had so much gossip to enjoy.

Similarly, it was they who lifted a corner of the mysterious veil of the entertainment industry, revealing a glimpse of the shady dealings within.

Xu Lang not only did not discriminate against them, but also showed them some respect.

But upon hearing this, Zhang Hao was immediately annoyed. He was first startled, then gave a wry smile.

"Teacher Xu, I'm a legitimate film crew planner, how could I possibly be a paparazzi?"

As he spoke, he pulled out his crew ID and pointed to the office, saying:

"If I were a paparazzi, would I even be able to borrow this office?"

Actually, Xu Lang didn't really think Zhang Hao was a paparazzi; he was just surprised by Zhang Hao's headline and photo.

This title is reminiscent of, or even surpasses, the "clickbait" style of later generations!

And that photo... Xu Lang was completely baffled:

I'm just an unknown photographer. Who took this photo of me?

He looked at Zhang Hao and asked:

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I'm just a freshman in college, an unknown photography enthusiast. I take photos to earn a living. What do you want me to promote?"

"what?"

Hearing Xu Lang say this, Zhang Hao was surprised.

"Teacher Xu, you're still unknown? You're a photography enthusiast? Just trying to make a living? You must be joking!"

As he spoke, he took out an entertainment newspaper and handed it to Xu Lang.

"Teacher Xu, you're incredibly famous now, especially in the entertainment industry. You're just as famous as Zhang Hanyun!"

"what?"

Xu Lang was confused by Zhang Hao's words. He looked at the newspaper and saw that the front page was indeed about Super Girl.

This is not surprising, after all, last night was the Super Girl finale.

But what is that dark figure next to Zhang Hanyun doing?

Xu Lang rubbed his eyes and continued reading.

The front page first reported Zhang Hanyun winning the Super Girl competition, but later, half of the article was dedicated to Xu Lang, such as:

"Breaking news! Zhang Hanyun's pre-competition image underwent a major transformation, all thanks to this man!"

"Shocking! Zhang Hanyun's winning song was actually written by him!"

Rumor has it that Mengniu has bought the song "Sour and Sweet Is Me" for a hefty sum!

Seeing this, Xu Lang chuckled, "Damn, these entertainment reporters really know how to dig and create suspense!"

Xu Lang even regretted it a little. If he had honestly shown up and made an appearance last night, probably not so many people would have made a fuss about it.

and many more!

Xu Lang suddenly had a thought, remembering what Zhang Hao had just mentioned about hype. He pointed to the newspaper report.

"You weren't the ones behind these reports, were you?"

"That's not it!"

Zhang Hao quickly shook his head in denial, "We only came up with the idea of creating a publicity stunt after we discovered that you were actually the mysterious Xu Lang?"

But Xu Lang soon had another question.

"Why are you making a fuss about me? I have nothing to do with you!"

Zhang Hao smiled mysteriously and placed another document in front of Xu Lang.

"Isn't this it!"

Xu Lang looked at the document, which read:

After evaluation by the expert judges of the "Beijing Film Academy Splendor" Photography Competition Organizing Committee, the champion and runner-up of this competition have been selected as follows:

The work that won the "Golden Lens Award" is: "The Rose with its Head Bowed", photographer: Xu Lang, a freshman at the Beijing Film Academy's School of Photography;

The work that won the "Silver Lens Award" is: "Dust on a Shirt", by photographer Xu Lang, a freshman at the Beijing Film Academy's School of Photography.

Xu Lang looked at the pictures below the awards. The gold award was the picture he took of Guo Fu kneeling down for Qin Feifei, and the silver award was the picture he took of Su Wan, showing her wet body being watched by onlookers.

In addition to the gold and silver awards, the organizing committee also awarded a series of special individual awards:

Best Creative Award;

Best Moment Award;

Best Color Award;

Best Composition Award;