Chapter One: Unfulfilled Ambition

  Throughout the afternoon, stylists were all in the makeup room, turning what was recorded in the morning into reality.

  Lin Xiao didn't say anything else, he knew that in the current domestic situation, and even for many years to come, there were very few true designers in the country. Looking at busy people like Lin Fan, he felt that expectations couldn't be too high.

  He would only speak a few words when necessary, and by the time he finished the entire process, it was already 3:40 in the afternoon.

  "Perfect, it's a work of art." The stylists in front of the mirror praised Lin Xiao sparingly.

  Lin Xiao in the mirror, his hair is slightly similar to a back head, but he deliberately applied a large amount of hair wax, making every strand stand upright. His eyebrows are thickened, like sharp swords, and even the ends of his eyebrows are slightly raised to match his eye line.

  The deliberately deepened skin tone, white lip color, and black eyeliner had transformed Lin Xiao into a completely different person.

  "After this group of photos is taken, I must take a photo to keep the memory!" Just by looking at it, the stylists felt extremely satisfied.

  "I think we're still a bit too conservative," said the freckled woman. "Just look at him, he's extremely bold. Nowadays, promotional photos are all very conventional, but if this set of photos is released, Lin Xiao will definitely be famous before it's even broadcast!"

  "Hurry up! Hurry up and take the shot! I can't bear it anymore!" The photographer had been itching to get started, watching everyone else work on Lin Xiao's makeup and styling while he couldn't join in, just like a powerful prime minister eyeing the emperor's jade seal every day.

  Time flies silently by, nobody leaves, and the room is very quiet, with only occasional words from the photographer.

  "Lower your head a bit. Right! At this angle!"

  "Ah, nice shot, furrow your brow a bit. OK!"

  Outside, it was already sunset, but the people inside didn't feel a thing until 7 o'clock sharp, when a cheer erupted.

  "Finally finished taking pictures!" "Can we see them?" "How is that possible? We have to wait until they're developed!"

  The photographer held his camera like a treasure and ran back to his studio without even eating dinner.

  "What's the hurry? We're not robbing a bank!" "Exactly, can't even wait for a moment!"

  Saying so in his mouth, but the stylists have already rushed over with each other.

  The next day, a file bag was placed on the table of the Propaganda Department. CAMI and several stylists sat on both sides of the table, suppressing their excitement with slightly red faces.

  "Fei, isn't it just some promotional photos? Do you need to come over personally for this?" Liu Yang was already over 40 years old and was a trusted member of the Chu family. Every time an architectural project was completed, he would be in charge of reviewing the final renderings, especially for luxury villas. Without his approval, no matter how elaborate the design, it wouldn't pass muster.

  "Manager Liu, take a look first!" The freckled woman said excitedly.

  Liu Yang smiled, he was poached by Chu's family, previously served as an associate professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, what good photos haven't he seen?

  He picked up the envelope with a flourish, but as soon as he opened it and took a look, he was stunned, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed.

  The stylists exchanged a look and smiled in tacit understanding.

  Yesterday they waited in person for the photos to come out, and when they saw them, there were only four words that could describe it: Astonishingly beautiful!

  That shocking, intense conflict, and eerie beauty, stunned everyone present, even the photographer sighed, probably he would have to stop taking pictures for several years, this set of photos was so beautiful that it was hard to accept.

  For at least twenty minutes, no one spoke, all of them were scrambling to look at that set of photos.

  Their expressions at that time were exactly the same as Liu Yang's now.

  Liu Yang looked at a photo very carefully, taking nearly ten minutes to put it down, and seemed to be placing fragile goods as he gently put it down, the kind of casual glance that could no longer be seen. But immediately, he picked up the next one.

  Cami clearly saw a bright light of excitement in Liu Yang's calm and peaceful eyes.

  He looked at the five photos carefully, as if they were treasures, and then put them into a file bag with great care. However, in less than a second, he took them out again and kept flipping through them in his hands.

  "Who is this?" he asked in a low voice, with a barely perceptible tremble.

  Cami smiled mysteriously "Acquaintance, Manager Liu, you've seen him."

  "Have you seen him?!" Liu Yang was shocked, he didn't see any familiar figure from this at all!

  "No way?! Is it a high-rise cleaning worker? No, they're all old ladies... Alright, stop teasing me, hurry up and tell me."

  Seeing Liu Yang's eyes and nose were all emitting fire, CAMI smiled and said "Lin Xiao".

  "Lin Xiao?!" This time the shock was even greater than before! However, Liu Yang only paused for a moment and immediately asked "Whose idea was this set of photos?"

  "Lin Xiao."

  "Whose idea was this!"

  "Lin Xiao!"

  Liu Yang's mouth was agape, and he repeatedly asked himself in his heart if he had misheard. But the fact proved that he hadn't!

  This is indeed that newcomer! The newcomer who has a face inferior to Tom Cruise and a figure inferior to Schwarzenegger's idea!

  "Is it really Lin Xiao? The new employee in our company? The one under your care?" He was afraid he had misheard, and asked again.

  This time, CAMI and the stylist both burst out laughing. "See, I knew it was this reflection." "Only three times? I asked five times yesterday."

  Cami couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a burst of laughter. "If the company didn't have a second Lin Xiao, it would be him."

  "How is it?"

  Liu Yang solemnly put down the photo, sighed three times in a row "How can such a person become an actor?! He would definitely be popular in the fashion world! CAMI, I want to apply for a transfer! You're wasting your talent! Too much wasted talent!"

  But he also knew that was impossible, after complaining for a while, then said "Do you plan to use these photos as his promotional pictures?"

  When CAMI saw these photos, she was also shocked, but at the same time, she had thought it through.

  "Of course! However, the Kangxi drama team may not use these photos. I plan to take another set of formal dress photos and submit them together with this set. But his homepage website must use these photos!"

  "Liu Yang praised 'a very good method, if he temporarily has no drama, it will also attract the attention of others. Especially female movie fans and petty bourgeoisie groups, their enthusiasm for fashion is more terrible than you can imagine. This will be a long-lasting attraction.'"

  "Also, I plan to ask you to help send it to Cai Weijie and Hong Huan."

  Liu Yang's expression turned serious, and he said with a hint of a smile, "What a big heart you have."

  "Manager Liu, don't you think this set of photos is not good enough?" Immediately, there was dissatisfaction from the stylist.

  "Enough. Of course, it's enough! There isn't such a classic photo in the domestic model circle now." Liu Yang admired the photo in his hand "However, you guys are mixed in the fashion circle and should know their identities."

  Everyone was slightly silent for a moment, and these two people were now as famous as Jacky Cheung in the music scene.

  "Hong Huang, known as 'China's Oprah', the big boss of 'iLook' magazine, and the original domestic fashion queen. If we're talking about who was the first to push Chinese fashion onto the world stage, it would probably be her." Liu Yang thought for a moment before saying "Cai Weijie's Yishang Media Group is even more of a link between China's fashion industry and the world. He has connections with many internationally renowned fashion designers, but he only values people like Zhang Manyu and Liu Dehua - that level of superstar."

  "I actually had a connection with them, but that was when I was an associate professor and had the title to make contact. After moving to Chu's family, the connection wasn't much. To be honest, Chu's family has sponsored many of their projects, so it would be easier for Mr. Chu to show up."

  "He sighed and said, 'You also know that Chu Zong's relationship with the Chu family is not so harmonious now.'"

  Liu Yang nodded and said, "These photos have a bit of Japanese and Korean style shadow, but the concept is very different. In my opinion, the current Japanese and Korean trend is 'to please the crowd', it has not formed a real, complete style. To be honest, I don't like the current Hallyu wave."

  "But this group, although also with eye lines and lip colors, gives people a feeling of art, conflicting art, not being limited to the 'shock' on the surface. He adds these, absolutely not just for the sake of grabbing attention, but to unify the style of the entire artistic photo. Different people can interpret different meanings from this set of photos."

  This gave this set of photos an extremely high rating.

  "Let me give it to the professor instead, he can pass it on much better than I can. At least it will be handed directly to them. It won't be thrown into the trash without even being looked at."

  "And I believe that once they take a look, they won't be able to move their eyes away."

  After everything was done, CAMI didn't tell Lin Xiao, but instead let him return to his daily routine.

  Lin Xiao didn't ask, he had great confidence in this set of photos, the worst idea was that it would be praised but not popular, after all, it was a future trend, and it was still difficult for domestic audiences who hadn't entered the world by the end of 2000 to accept.

  But he believes people in the fashion world won't be fooled.

  His life had become a routine of going back and forth between the gym and his dorm, occasionally visiting Li Hao and He Lanyun on set, and he even borrowed a month's salary from CAMI to have a small gathering with them.

  He had been back for seven days, and today he just came back from the gym after taking a shower when his phone rang.

  He picked it up and took a look, it was an unfamiliar number.

  "Hello."

  "Excuse me, is this Mr. Lin Xiao? I am Zhao Musheng, head of the propaganda department at Ying Shang Broadcasting Group."

  It's as if they were afraid the other party would say no, so the other party immediately reported their own identity.

  Lin Xiao really had this idea, but when he heard the other party introduce himself, he immediately agreed.

  Ying Shang Media Group, in his previous life he remembered very clearly that many international supermodels at home, such as Zhao Lei and Du Juan, were all agents personally done by the group's boss Cai Weijie, a well-known name in the domestic fashion circle.

  It was unexpected that CAMI could send his own photos there, and he was also a little surprised. Every year, countless models who want to become famous throw their resumes and photos in, but most of them end up in the trash can.

  But this is exactly what he wants, and for the more than 20 days of publicity campaign ahead, the more intense the better.

  Upon hearing his confirmation, the other party immediately said "I heard Mr. Lin is now in Beijing? I don't know if you have time to meet up? Your photos received high praise from our judges, and our company is very interested in this set of photos by Mr. Lin."

  "Okay, let's set a time then?"

  "So how about tonight?"

  "No problem."

  "Alright, so 'Mystery' bar at 8 o'clock tonight."

  After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao immediately went to find CAMI to borrow something.

  If I can get Cai Wei Jie's approval, I'm afraid I won't have to worry about clothes for various awards and promotions for a long time.