‘What?’
‘Authorize Zhao Yuqi to use her photo?’
Gao Qinghe’s jaw nearly dropped.
‘She wants to use her own photo, and yet she turns it around and says she’s giving me an opportunity? Does she have no shame?’
‘During the shoot, she kept putting herself down and elevating Lin Xi, and now she’s putting on this hypocritical, holier-than-thou act, saying she understands my thoughts?’
“Director Zhao,”
Gao Qinghe steadied herself and faced Zhao Yuqi.
“May I ask how much an official model for your magazine gets per shoot?”
“…?”
Zhao Yuqi was stunned.
“That number isn’t fixed. It depends on whether your photos are used for interior pages or the cover. For you, you’re still a rookie model, but since you don’t have an agency taking a cut, for you… let me think, at most it could be…”
“Can it be ten thousand per shoot?”
“…?! Are you insane?”
Zhao Yuqi’s voice shot up in shock, her body jerking backward.
She quickly bent down and nodded apologetically to the front row passengers who turned around to glare at her.
She lowered her voice: “Ten thousand per shoot? Even top models in the industry might not get that price unless a brand is funding it!”
She paused, her voice softening slightly.
“Gao Qinghe, given your experience, it’s already good that you’re getting paid. What you need most now is to accumulate experience and connections. Making money comes later. You have to understand that in modeling, the last thing you can rely on is quick money. The most important things are mentality and opportunity. For someone at your stage…”
“Stop.”
Gao Qinghe raised her hand, signaling Zhao Yuqi to stop.
“Spare me the ‘money isn’t everything’ and ‘think long-term’ talk. Those are either rich people’s manipulation lines or poor people’s self-manipulation lines.”
She paused, curled her lips, tilted her head, and gave a sweet smile.
“Sounds to me like you’re the one asking a favor here, Director Zhao. Let me be straightforward. Where I’m shooting now, I get thirty thousand per shoot.”
Gao Qinghe watched with satisfaction as Zhao Yuqi’s face shifted from shock to suspicion, then back to shock.
“If you can’t offer that price, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to hire me.”
Zhao Yuqi’s expression at that moment was both complex and fascinating.
“Gao Qinghe, thirty thousand… thirty thousand per shoot? That sounds really off… I mean it.”
“Are you saying I’m not worth that much?”
Gao Qinghe raised an eyebrow, challenging her.
“No? No, honestly, no shoot can offer that price!”
Zhao Yuqi’s voice rose again, and she quickly lowered it.
“Whatever it is, it sounds like a private shoot, which won’t help your future development.”
“And you know that?”
Gao Qinghe let out a cold, low laugh.
“Then tell me, what kind of substantive help can you give me?”
“…Uh, shooting opportunities, more professional guidance…”
Zhao Yuqi’s gaze wavered.
“So you’re saying, if not every day, you can arrange shoots every other day? And you’re giving me professional guidance, but not enough shoots won’t work.”
“…Ah, that depends on the photographer and crew scheduling. I can’t give a specific timeline right now…”
Zhao Yuqi stammered.
‘Ha, she knew it.’
‘She says she’ll make me an official model, but whether I get shooting opportunities is still up to her. Doesn’t she know how she feels about me?’
‘Stick my name on a shelf and forget about it—not only will I get no shooting opportunities, but it might even affect my ability to shoot with other magazines’ photographers. I’m not stupid. This kind of deal does me absolutely no good.’
“Zhao Yuqi, I’m really puzzled. What have you been going on about all this time? What kind of photo is worth all this effort?”
“…”
Zhao Yuqi was silent for a long while, then finally sighed.
As if giving up, she pulled out her phone from her bag, fiddled with it for a moment, and handed it to Gao Qinghe.
In the photo, Gao Qinghe stood under the dimmed studio lights, hair disheveled, clothes in disarray, chest thrust out as she tried to cut the binding strap that restrained her with scissors.
The expression on her face was one of great relief, but it also carried a hint of madness—not at all the demure, ladylike demeanor a girl should have.
The composition of the whole picture was exquisite.
The photo was taken at eye level. Gao Qinghe stood with legs apart, barefoot, and being short, she looked even more petite.
The people around her looked at her with shock and vigilance, as if she possessed some fearsome power.
‘Well, she did feel great when she lost it back then, but seeing herself go crazy through the lens—no matter how she looked at it, it felt strange.’
Gao Qinghe didn’t like this photo, and she didn’t quite understand what Zhao Yuqi wanted to do with it.
“So you took a candid shot of me losing it, and now you want my authorization to use this photo?”
Gao Qinghe turned off the phone screen.
“That’s hilarious. No wonder you’ve been buttering me up for so long.”
“What? No?!”
Zhao Yuqi was dumbfounded.
She snatched the phone back.
“Where did you get that idea? Hell, how could you think that?!”
‘Hmm, she swore. Looks like that wasn’t her intention.’
“Gao Qinghe, can’t you see?”
Zhao Yuqi leaned in and lowered her voice.
“I’ve been shooting for years, and I know my stuff. This photo is completely different from the model shots you see in magazines. It has a story. Look at the composition and lighting…”
She turned the screen back on, then paused and flipped it over.
“Anyway, I’ll tell you, this photo is at a level that could win a photography award!”
Her eyes burned with fervor.
“In all my years, I’ve never taken such a good photo… So please, think about it. If this photo wins an award, your profile will rise too. It’ll definitely be good for you!”
Zhao Yuqi’s voice was urgent. She leaned forward, her phoenix eyes wide open as never before.
Seeing Zhao Yuqi like this, Gao Qinghe felt a warm surge in her heart.
‘Her appreciation moved her deeply. The person who had previously spoken harshly to her and didn’t appreciate her was now, for the sake of pursuing her ideals, not only helping her get into the exchange meeting but also begging her so earnestly, placing such great expectations on her.’
‘Even though she had been absent without leave and didn’t have time to ask for time off, Zhao Yuqi would rather be angry with Lin Xi than come and scold her, and she even trusted that Gao Qinghe would understand her passion and aesthetic.’
‘For that, of course she—’
‘Of course she felt incredibly satisfied!’
‘Such a satisfying plot had finally happened to her. Now wasn’t the time to seize the opportunity and put on a good show of “touched but rejected”?‘
“I don’t give a damn about your stupid photography award.”
‘Whoa, that opening sounded a bit harsh.’
‘But she couldn’t care less.’
“Zhao Yuqi, do you really not get it, or do you think I’m stupid? If you win the photography award, you get famous. Even if I get famous, it’s for going crazy. I still need my image, even if you don’t.”
‘Yes, she wanted to become famous as a pure, innocent girl. “Black fame is still fame” doesn’t apply to her at all.’
She paused, seeing Zhao Yuqi’s expression like she’d swallowed a bitter gourd, and felt another surge of glee inside.
“Let me make this clear. As long as I live, you’ll never publish this photo.”
She paused, a half-smile in her eyes.
“Not just this one—any photo you take of me, I will never sign any authorization agreement that lets you get even a single cent of benefit. Remember that.”
Gao Qinghe picked up her chain bag, thought for a moment, and didn’t get up.
“Now, are you going to ask me to move somewhere else, or are you going to get lost and go somewhere cool?”
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