Chapter 165
In the hotel corridor, Zhao Yitong rested her arm on the relief on the door, and her eyes, which were painted to look somewhat sharp, stared intently at Zhou Xiao's camera.
Zhou Xiao raised her camera and paused for a moment before pressing the shutter. She had previously seen photos of Zhao Yitong's studio, and they always featured a repetitive pattern of doors in the background, along with her poses leaning against them. Initially, Zhou Xiao had thought it was a preference of the previous photographer, but now it seemed Zhao Yitong was in her comfort zone.
With her right face obscured and her arm resting on the door, Zhou Xiao's makeup and clothing gradually began to resemble those in the photos he had seen before. Even with the queen-like makeup and hairstyle, traces of her past could still be seen.
Zhou Xiao put down her camera and looked at Zhao Yitong, who seemed a little unhappy that she hadn't taken the photo yet. She said, "Teacher Zhao, how about you move back and forth a few times? That way, the image will look more natural."
Hearing Zhou Xiao's words, Zhao Yitong lowered her arm from the door. Though somewhat reluctant, she still cooperated, pacing back and forth in the hallway. Unaware at this moment, the expression she had previously maintained had fallen due to her inner discontent.
Looking at Zhao Yitong like this, Zhou Xiao couldn't help but silently praise himself. She was a popular young actress, but her on-screen image seemed fixed, always that sweet and adorable girlish look.
While her makeup allowed her to perform better this time, Zhao Yitong's expression management failed her after a while. Her expressionless face actually complemented the feminine, couture-inspired suit perfectly.
The corridor, with its strong sense of depth, featured simple, high-end European reliefs lining both walls. The floor was covered in a velvet carpet with a black base and staggered diamond-shaped patterns. A woman in a black suit hugged her slender figure. Her hair, blown by the air blower, held a chill on her right cheek. Zhou Xiao's lens captured this cold, dignified image to its fullest.
After Zhou Xiao had taken a satisfactory photo, he estimated Zhao Yitong's tolerance and immediately called his assistant to move the camera lights to the small restaurant she had previously chosen.
Zhao Yitong, initially impatient, froze when she saw her assistant and Zhou Xiao already moving the camera equipment. "Already done?" she looked at Zhou Xiao speechlessly. He'd just walked around a few times, and already the photo was done. Was he just kidding her?
At this moment, Zhao Yitong had completely forgotten how she had pestered her agent to use her connections to find Zhou Xiao to take the photo after seeing the photos he had taken on the trending search. Especially when Zhou Xiao always asked her to change to other poses after she finished posing, her mood was even worse.
In the small restaurant, Zhao Yitong sat halfway on the Nordic minimalist round dining table. She supported the tabletop with both hands and looked towards Zhou Xiao's camera. "Is this okay?"
Zhou Xiao took a few steps back, about five or six meters. She squatted down and contemplated the composition before her for a moment. A remarkably symmetrical scene unfolded before her. She looked up at the simple copper lamps of varying heights dangling from Zhao Yitong's head and said, "Teacher Zhao, your ankle hurts. Feel it."
Zhao Yitong was already accustomed to the often baffling remarks from photographers. Hearing Zhou Xiao's words, she subconsciously adjusted her posture to reach for her ankle. Because Zhou Xiao had emphasized the importance of comfort, Zhao Yitong felt this relaxed during a photoshoot for the first time. When she heard Zhou Xiao call out her name, she instinctively looked up at the camera pointed at her.
"Okay." After Zhou Xiao captured that moment, he confirmed that it was the scene he wanted and stood up neatly.
The speed was a bit too fast for the moment. Excluding the arrangement of photography props, the time spent was much less than that of any photographer Zhao Yitong had worked with in the past.
Seeing the other person's confused expression, Zhou Xiao, who was about to put away his camera, looked out the window at the heavy rain that was still falling. After thinking for a moment, he turned around and said to Zhao Yitong, who was leaning on the round table, "It's a pity to waste such a good day. Let me take another picture for you."
Raindrops splattered on the glass, slowly forming a line. In front of me stood a woman holding a cup of coffee. Her hair was slightly damp as she gazed at the gradually gathering mist outside the window. In the chilly air, a sense of coolness, fragility, and art filled the entire scene.
Zhou Xiao said one shot at a time. When she finished taking the photo and put away her camera, she looked up and saw the awkward expressions of the people across from her. The assistant who had been communicating with her earlier came forward and asked Zhou Xiao, "Um, is the shoot really over?"
"It's over," Zhou Xiao said as he randomly imported a few photos from the camera into his mobile phone. After the other party saw the photos, the expression on his face quickly changed from embarrassment to confusion.
Even after Zhou Xiao left with the camera, the assistant still felt a little dizzy. She had seen many professional photographers shoot alongside Zhao Yitong, but no one was faster or better than Zhou Xiao!
The assistant personally reviewed the few photos Zhou Xiao had randomly clicked and imported them into her phone. The quality of the original photos alone was enough to surpass Zhao Yitong's previous finished product. Of course, this was just her personal opinion.
Zhou Xiao, who had returned to her room to process the photos, naturally had no idea that a discussion had begun in the room after she left. Of course, it was mainly Zhao Yitong who was talking, and the others were trying to persuade her.
Zhao Yitong's agency doesn't impose much control on artists, leaving the initiative entirely up to the artist herself. However, fans still feel she's a bit of a nobody. Several times, when fans criticized the agency, the group's contact person emphasized that it was Zhao Yitong's own choice, only to be slammed back by the fans.
At that moment, she was on the phone with her agent, trying to replace Zhou Xiao with a photographer she'd previously worked with and who listened to her. The agent on the other end of the line was busy, and upon hearing this, he was somewhat frustrated. "My dear, you were the one who specifically requested Zhou Xiao. Now that we've already shot the first set, it won't look good if you change at the last minute!"
The assistant standing next to Zhao Yitong heard the agent's voice on the other end of the phone and started to persuade her, "Yes, Sister Yitong, I saw the original film and it was shot really well."
The hotel was not connected to a computer during the shoot, so no one could see the photos Zhou Xiao was taking in real time. As the only assistant on the scene who saw and received the photos, he wanted to show them to Zhao Yitong, but she showed no interest in him at all.
"Sister, you know," Zhao Yitong continued dissatisfiedly, "My left cheek is generally recognized as beautiful, but this photographer didn't care about my opinion at all! And he took the photo so quickly, who knows if he was just shooting randomly!"
The assistant stood by, speechless. She recalled the fans who always criticized the photographer for always capturing the left side of her face under the studio's official photos. Many photographers had subtly suggested during shoots whether or not to capture her full face, but Zhao Yitong resented such directives. After switching photographers twice, subsequent photographers, presumably reminded of this, stopped mentioning the issue.
Unexpectedly, this young photographer used magic to defeat magic. Yes, the photo Zhou Xiao sent her on her messaging app showed the right side of Zhao Yitong's face. But the assistant secretly glanced at Zhao Yitong while she was talking and thought that the right side of her face in the photo was really beautiful!
…
Zhou Xiao received a message from the other party the night before her scheduled photoshoot, saying they'd stood her up. Besides that, they also asked her to send the finished photos to a designated email address as soon as possible. She could still use the hotel they'd booked for three days, and they'd still pay her the original price.
Zhou Xiao raised an eyebrow when he saw the news. Thinking back to the time at noon when he asked Zhao Yitong's assistant about the outfits for the next day's styling, he thought the assistant was hesitant and seemed to be planning to stand him up.
Zhou Xiao glanced at the photos already saved in the folder and sent them over. She had originally planned to meet face-to-face during the shoot tomorrow morning, but now seemed more convenient. As she sent the flight purchase record, Zhou Xiao was already looking at hotels. This particular hotel was specifically designed to facilitate Zhao Yitong's shoot; she was currently looking at the hotels near the filming location that Xiao Yi's agent had sent her last night.
Zhao Yitong's agent received an email from Zhou Xiao. But she hadn't had time to read it yet. It's common for big agents to manage multiple artists. With Double 11 still a few days away, there wasn't much rush for the film review.
Although Zhou Xiao was Zhao Yitong's designated photographer, her manager also made sure to assess whether he was a good match for her artist. Zhou Xiao's work is not only well-known in the fan circle, but also within the industry. Zhao Yitong's accusation that Zhou Xiao was "blindly shooting" was dismissed by her manager, as she's known for being a difficult young woman to please.
When she found time to review the finished film the next day, she hurriedly contacted her assistant to contact Zhou Xiao at the hotel, only to learn that he had already left that morning. Furthermore, the studio's finance department received a transfer with the note "Zhao Yitong filming fee." Her agent figured it was the second payment she had previously made to comfort him.
Knowing her actions had upset the other party, the agent was now filled with regret. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she opened the Zhao Yitong Studio account on a certain blog and scrolled through the work of the photographer who had taken photos of Zhao Yitong today. A quick glance revealed that the comments at the top of the post were all: "Zhao Yitong is so beautiful, photographer, get out!" "Sun Manping is taking kickbacks again, right? Where did you get this third-rate photographer? Why don't you replace him!" "..."
Sun Manping silently turned off her phone and watched the male artist, still distracted during the recording of the show, sigh inwardly. Both of them were making her worry! She grabbed a blank A4 paper from the table next to her and wrote "Qianning! Cheer up!" with a marker. Then she half-crouched next to the PD, shaking the paper wildly to remind him.
As for Zhao Yitong, Sun Manping simply sent her a few selected photos and then left the matter alone. It was a good idea to part ways amicably. Zhao Yitong would be terminating her contract with the agency in a few months, and her focus had gradually shifted to younger artists. She simply needed to maintain a positive relationship with her so she wouldn't refuse to mentor her juniors.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xiao was reclining on a sofa in his new hotel, watching a variety show gossip posted by a Weibo account. "Running Man" was set to film next month, with NINE STAR as the first group to participate.
This rumor was quickly confirmed by forum insiders, as the production team of "Run for Life" was the current Huayao. The spread of this information also triggered a re-watch craze for "Star Road 101".
Zhou Xiao also took the opportunity to look back at the VIP full version of the eighth episode, in which Ji Shao wore sunglasses and a suit. Why didn’t he realize that Ji Shao was still quite young at that time?
As for being stood up, Zhou Xiao didn't think much of it. It was just a simple job, and if she hadn't already agreed to film him twice, she wouldn't have wanted to continue. She simply returned the extra money, and that would be a successful collaboration.
During her time at the hotel, Zhou Xiao could focus more on the upcoming filming. Thinking of Xiao Yi brought back memories of her time on Star 101. She wondered what sparks would fly when filming with this teacher. Zhou Xiao was still looking forward to it.
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