Chapter 254 Career
"It's Zhou Xiao! I'll definitely remember this time," the old man said with a smile. He closed his skinny palm around Zhou Xiao's hand and patted it gently.
It was a bit dry, yet incredibly gentle. Zhou Xiao felt the warmth. She felt strangely less nervous about today's shoot and more excited. She thought Mei Yi looked much more relaxed and amiable now than he had in the training room.
"Hey, someone's here before me!" someone exclaimed in surprise. But when they saw Mei Yi behind Zhou Xiao, their voices suddenly dropped to a whisper, "Mei... Teacher Mei, you're here so early..."
"The old man got up early. This is Zhou Xiao, the photographer who came to help me take pictures today." Mei Yi responded in a very calm tone and introduced Zhou Xiao by the way.
Zhou Xiao readily agreed, looking at the somewhat submissive middle-aged man before him. He was inwardly surprised by their relationship. It felt like teacher and student, but not quite, more like a superior-subordinate relationship.
The man before him was Ren Yaqi, a renowned stylist. He had collaborated with numerous domestic fashion magazines and enjoyed a strong reputation among fans, specializing in women's makeup and styling. Zhou Xiaobu had shot the cover of Modern Style for nearly a year, and Ren Yaqi was considered one of the most frequent magazine collaborators.
"Hello, Teacher Ren. Just call me Xiao Zhou." Zhou Xiao looked at the sky and said, "Teacher, you can take Teacher Mei to do her makeup. I'll contact Teacher Fang."
Fang Zai was supposedly in charge of the "Modern Style Idol" section and no longer involved in the main issue shoot. But for some reason, he was the one organizing the entire shoot this time. According to the plan, Fang Zai would arrive in half an hour. However, since the main character of this shoot arrived early, he naturally had to be told to hurry to the studio.
After finishing the call, Zhou Xiao leaned against the wall and began to survey the set. The dark gray backdrop had already been laid out, and with the massive shadowless wall design, the only prop in the studio was a white high chair. Minimalism was the theme of this interior shoot.
After an unknown amount of time, hurried footsteps could be heard. Zhou Xiao looked up at the door and saw Fang Zai, who had hurried over. Seeing that Zhou Xiao was the only one in the studio, he breathed a sigh of relief, his face flushing.
Zhou Xiao felt like he, like Ren Yaqi, had a similar feeling towards Teacher Mei, a student facing a strict mentor. But one was a makeup artist, the other worked in the magazine industry; while related, they were separate fields. Logically, his interactions with Teacher Mei wouldn't be that significant, right?
Seeing Fang Zai's expression, Zhou Xiao raised his eyebrows and asked, "By the way, what about you and Teacher Mei?"
Fang Zai, who was already sitting on a round stool, had a look of deep hatred and bitterness on his face. "Teacher Mei was once a photography judge for our magazine..."
Zhou Xiao understood, and just then he heard voices coming from outside. He nodded again to Fang, indicating that he understood, and then they both looked towards the studio door.
The arrivals were none other than Mei Yi, who had just finished applying her makeup, and her stylist, Ren Yaqi. They were followed by three other staff members who had come to assist. Of these, the silver-haired Mei Yi, though seemingly the oldest, appeared more energetic than the younger members.
"Okay, let's get started." Mei Yi stopped and patted Zhou Xiao's shoulder as he passed her. Seeing Zhou Xiao's smile, he walked towards the center of the studio and sat down on a high stool.
Zhou Xiao nodded and looked at the three staff members. After seeing them skillfully taking their positions next to the lighting fixtures, she raised her camera and began filming.
Without any unnecessary movement, as the camera follows the elderly man on the high stool, Zhou Xiao feels as if he's immersed in a deep, tranquil lake. Like a profound stroke in an ink painting, Mei Yi's white dress interweaves with the inky gray backdrop behind her, striking yet perfectly blending in.
Fang Zai and Ren Yaqi watched intently from the monitor. While Ren Yaqi, who was in charge of makeup, wasn't as meticulous as Fang Zai, he was also extremely pleased when Zhou Xiaoyou deliberately highlighted the natural mother-of-pearl brooch on Teacher Mei's chest in the photo. This brooch was a sponsored piece from a luxury jewelry brand. As each photo appeared on the screen, both of them moved quietly, fearing to disrupt the shoot.
It’s so filmy.
It wasn't just the performance of the subject; the masterful use of light and shadow also came from the photographer's precise capture. Although the two people in the studio didn't communicate at all during the shoot, Fang Zai felt that they had a perfect rapport.
Outsiders could sense this, and the two people in the room were even more sensitive to it. Zhou Xiao felt that today's shoot felt particularly good. Almost immediately, she'd been thinking about asking Teacher Mei to change her pose, and the people in the room seemed to be in sync with her thoughts, naturally displaying their friendly charm.
Compared to Zhou Xiao's comfort, Mei Yi felt a sense of familiarity when looking at Zhou Xiao. It wasn't the familiarity in appearance, but in the filming techniques.
She could keenly feel that Zhou Xiao's shots were catering to her own style, and this feeling allowed her to slowly hand over control and begin to enjoy this rare and harmonious shooting.
Zhou Xiao took the photos very quickly, and the tacit cooperation with Mei Yi allowed her to have a clear idea of the photo when she pressed the shutter.
Got it! In just over ten minutes, Zhou Xiao's shutter speed began to gradually slow down.
Pursuing quality over quantity, Zhou Xiao decisively stopped filming when she sensed the old man's fatigue from the intense concentration. The subsequent photos were just for a baseline, so she naturally wouldn't force him to take more pictures.
“OK!”
"Teacher Mei, please take a rest. Let's see when we can change the location. Let's try to finish the shooting in the morning!" Zhou Xiao asked Mei Yi who was sitting on a high stool.
Mei Yi waved his hand in the studio, "Get the car ready, I'll just rest in the car. But Xiao Zhou, have you ever attended my class?"
By the second half of the shoot, Mei Yi had made his own judgment about Zhou Xiao. This kid knew his own style and had consciously avoided the problems he had highlighted in class regarding young students' photography.
"I've always wanted to listen to it, but unfortunately, you no longer teach students, teacher." Zhou Xiao said nonchalantly. Could she say that she had learned those few lessons in the system training room?
For Zhou Xiao, this class was indeed a bit "difficult." Mei Yi, the middle-aged teacher in the system training room, was particularly strict in her teaching, but under such pressure, she did learn a lot.
Mei Yi's eyes lit up, and she smiled at Zhou Xiao and nodded. She said nothing more, but walked over to the monitor to watch the footage.
A successful career, a father of a child, and a middle-aged man, Fang Zai felt like he was back in his school days, as if a stern teacher was standing behind him as he peeped into a novel. His body tensed, and under Zhou Xiao's gaze, he shifted a few centimeters to the left.
As for Ren Yaqi, after seeing how Mei Yi hadn't spoken up during the shoot, he immediately ran back to the dressing room. Although his makeup was impeccable, for them, meeting Teacher Mei meant being extremely cautious and breathing heavily.
Zhou Xiao's gaze shifted from Fang Zai. She walked over to Mei Yi and watched the footage on the monitor together. The shoot went smoothly, and Zhou Xiao also wanted to see what comments Mei would give her.
Mei Yi appears relaxed in the photos, the light and shadow seeming to favor her. Elegance and composure are synonymous with the entire series of photos, and there are also some healing moments.
"This photo is good." The old man looked at himself in the photo and seemed very satisfied. This made Fang Zai, who mistakenly thought that Zhou Xiao would be criticized, stunned for a moment.
Was he holding back because it was him? Fang Zai internally complained, but he also knew Mei Yi wasn't like that. He only dared to vent his frustration inwardly, then took a closer look at the photo before him.
The moving mouse paused on the screen. Mei Yi, propped up his chin with one hand, gazed at the camera with a broad smile. His bony hands bore the marks of time, and his face bore the appearance of a normal elderly person, with sunken eye sockets and deep wrinkles at the corners. Yet, despite his age, he possessed a robust vitality.
Real and pure, Fang Zai seems to be able to see the unique core beneath Mei Yi's extreme elegance in her eyes in the blockbuster.
Fang Zai unconsciously raised his hand to rub his chin, and felt that the more he looked at the photo, the deeper it became. He raised his eyes to glance at Zhou Xiao, with a faint envy and admiration in his heart.
"Then should I call Teacher Ren and gather with him to go to the next venue?" Zhou Xiao, who was standing at the back, took out his cell phone and asked.
…
Inside the ancient town courtyard, a historic house rented by the magazine, all the lighting and props were already set up. The stone pavement still had wet spots; to cool off, the staff had rinsed it with clean water that morning.
"No, you guys are shooting too fast, aren't you?" Zhou Xiao and Ren Yaqi walked side by side. Because they arrived at the shooting site earlier than Mei Yi and Fang Zai behind them, Zhou Xiao only heard this question from them.
"Wouldn't it be better to end it early?" Zhou Xiao asked back.
This was Zhou Xiao and Ren Yaqi's first collaboration, and their only previous interaction was when Fang asked them to exchange contact numbers. The results were obvious: adding or not adding made little difference.
"That's certainly a good thing." Ren Yaqi, though middle-aged, had a youthful mindset. He glanced sideways at Zhou Xiao, regretting his earlier departure. He'd have to stay and see how this young photographer's photos had won Teacher Mei's favor.
Thinking of this, his mind drifted back to the past. Back when Teacher Mei was reviewing, her guidance was unstoppable. So, could it be that youth is the key to the problem? Although it was an irresponsible guess, Ren Yaqi already shed a tear for his former self.
The entire ancient house was available for filming this time, so Zhou Xiao took advantage of the fact that makeup still needed quite a bit of time to explore the entire compound. The actual scene here was far more rustic and majestic than the video he had sent her.
There are many places to take photos of the scenery outside the house, including the tall soapberry tree, the two stone lions guarding the door, and the large wooden door that is a bit mottled.
The tranquility was soon broken by the chirping of cicadas, and Zhou Xiao couldn't help but raise her camera to record this world. As birds flew over the treetops, they also brought her back to the real world.
Glancing down at the time, Zhou Xiao decisively pushed open the wooden door, just in time to see Mei Yi, dressed in a glazed blue-green satin Tang suit, walk into the hall. A sandalwood bracelet was wrapped around her left hand, and with the smoke curling behind her, she looked kind and gentle.
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