Chapter 10: Waiting for the Right Opportunity
Before Luo Xuan could react, Li Sishi pointed to an eyeglasses shop not far away: "Normally, a makeover usually starts from the 'head,' but your current hairstyle is hard to change, so let's start with the glasses!"
Li Sishi brought Luo Xuan, who was still in a daze, to the glasses shop, intending for the clerk to take him to have his prescription checked. After getting rid of him, she started picking out different frames while also asking the clerk to bring out the latest contact lenses for her to look at.
Her striking appearance, coupled with the aura she had cultivated from buying things without looking at prices, made the shop assistants dare not underestimate this girl who looked too young. Therefore, they quickly brought out everything Li Sishi wanted, as she had requested.
Seeing Luo Xuan come out, Li Sishi immediately handed him two pairs of thin gold-rimmed glasses with an oval frame: "Try them on."
"Such an outdated design!" Luo Xuan exclaimed in surprise as he took it, his expression showing considerable dissatisfaction.
"My foot! This is what you call classic!" Li Sishi was actually dissatisfied with his big black plastic-framed glasses—the kind of "trendy" style popular among young people in Hong Kong in the late 80s and early 90s. When not styled properly, they really looked cheap and ugly.
Luo Xuan reluctantly put on the two pairs of glasses, looked in the mirror, and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "I look like I've aged ten years all of a sudden..."
"No, he looks much fresher than before." Seeing that Luo Xuan's features were much clearer after the big black plastic frames were removed, the shop assistant chimed in, and then recommended contact lenses to Li Sishi, "This young man has over 700 degrees of myopia. Large frames will distort his face and features. Thin frames are better. Of course, contact lenses are more suitable, as they can fully expose his face."
"Oh, it's inconvenient for him to wear contact lenses right now, so let's stick with glasses for now." Realizing that contact lenses are quite expensive these days, Li Sishi decisively changed her original plan to make the entire transformation in one go.
Whether persuaded by the combined efforts of Li Sishi and the shop assistant, or because Luo Xuan was genuinely willing to spend the money, he soon paid for the oval gold-rimmed glasses that he had previously thought were incredibly outdated.
The two had barely stepped out of the glasses shop when they were met by a group of screaming young people running forward, with a large number of girls among them.
"Which celebrity has such a big entourage?" Luo Xuan had been isolated from the world for almost a year and felt that he had become a bit out of touch with the times.
"It was around midnight, his English name is Leo, and this year his songs and TV dramas..."
"My cousin has recently taken a liking to him." Li Sishi listened carefully to the faint "Leo" that could be heard among the screams and answered with certainty.
Luo Xuan nodded, then stopped at the intersection where they were about to part ways: "Thank you so much for today."
"Don't be so polite. Our whole family is very grateful to you for preventing my cousin from getting involved." Li Sishi smiled and then said, "We don't have enough time today."
"It's inconvenient for everyone, so I'll help you with the outfit coordination next time you come out."
Surprisingly, Li Sishi is still determined to dress him up like a flower, just like she does for those girls...
Luo Xuan was silent for a while, and the words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly noticed the seriousness and encouragement in Li Sishi's eyes.
So, almost as if possessed, he replied, "Okay, see you then."
What seemed like a simple agreement at the time turned into an opportunity for Luo Xuan to find a new job that suited him.
However, it wasn't actually a complicated matter: although Luo Xuan had indeed turned over a new leaf during his year-long correctional training, the common flaws of young people—being ambitious but lacking practical skills and being unable to endure hardship—were still quite difficult to correct...
After his term ended, Luo Xuan worked hard jobs such as waiter in a restaurant and kitchen helper. Then, with the refined look of gold-rimmed glasses that Li Sishi had created for him, he managed to get the position of "manager" in a modeling agency. This was the kind of small company where the lowest level was "manager." His daily work was basically to wander around the streets looking for pretty young men and women to take photos and shoot advertisements for the partners. He was called a "talent scout" after all.
With this title, Luo Xuan managed to attract quite a few young people with dreams of becoming stars. Unfortunately, the small company he worked for was truly lacking in resources and money. Models came and went, but very few stayed, which Zhou Huiguang jokingly referred to as a "one-off collaboration"...
At first, Zhou Huichang fantasized about getting celebrity autographs through Luo Xuan, but after discovering that Luo Xuan's partners and associates were all unknown nobodies, she lost interest and focused on developing their money-making plan with Li Sishi.
Time flies, and another week of classes has come to an end.
After finishing dinner, Li Sishi sat at her desk in her room and sorted out the money she had saved up over the past few days. Then she carefully calculated the total amount of money she had now.
After more than a year of accumulation, when
With the funds for participating in beauty pageants nearly exhausted, she can gradually reduce the number of "part-time jobs" and focus on preparing for the upcoming high school entrance exams. Moreover, even if she doesn't reduce the number of jobs, the market has become somewhat saturated over the past year and is not as easy to do as before.
The most important thing is
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Youth magazines like Yea have also launched columns such as those recommending trendy outfits.
High school girls of this age undoubtedly subscribe to more "authoritative" magazines.
Thinking of this, Li Sishi checked the "activity expenses" column in her notebook and then turned her attention to the "nominators" column.
The requirements for the Miss Hong Kong pageant are not high, but there are a few necessary conditions: First, applicants must be between 17 and 25 years old; second, applicants must hold a valid Hong Kong identity card, passport, or birth certificate; third, applicants must have lived in Hong Kong continuously for two years or have resided there for a total of two years before applying; and fourth, applicants must be nominated by a "nominator" who meets the corresponding conditions.
In addition, the additional requirements of not being bound by a contract, never being married, and never being pregnant are sufficient to select a beautiful and elegant "Miss Hong Kong" who represents the image of Hong Kong for a year.
Although TBL TV also stated after these competition conditions that the TV station had the right to relax the above conditions based on the candidates' circumstances, according to Li Sishi's memory, the relaxation of conditions was basically something that happened after the millennium.
Moreover, the relaxed conditions are generally for those with higher education levels, while the age restrictions are rarely relaxed. As symbols of "identity" for people from the port city, these are things that are difficult to relax.
This is actually normal. In the coming year, the Miss Port City winner will need to represent the port city and promote it. If she can't even speak the language and characteristics of her hometown, what kind of "Miss Port City" is she?
Moreover, during her term as Miss Hong Kong, she had to attend many large and small galas and charity events as the new girlfriend of TV station boss Sir Zhao, or as a goodwill ambassador representing Hong Kong.
If you don't handle interpersonal relationships well and can't expand your network, it will easily affect your public image or offend some powerful figure.
Therefore, relying solely on a beautiful appearance will at most get you to the runner-up position; only a generous and proper "demeanor" can meet the potential requirements for the final champion selection.
These are lessons she learned after suffering a lot in her past life—her real loss was that she was too young, impetuous, and had no sense of "how to behave" in this society based on personal connections.
This time, Li Sishi didn't really know if she could overcome all obstacles and win the crown that she had been regretting for two lifetimes; but at least she knew that she would do "better" than she had done in the past, in every aspect.
However, whether it was her "past life" or this life, the timing of her return was perfect. In terms of age, she was just over 17 years old before the auditions, and her Hong Kong ID card and two years of continuous residence also met the requirements. As for the "nominee"...
She already has her top target and a backup option, but right now isn't the right time for her to contact that top target, so she still needs to wait for the right opportunity...
Just as Li Sishi closed the notebook, Zhou Huichang, who had just finished showering, pushed open the door and walked in.
"Cousin, cousin! What gift are you planning to give Guangzai for his birthday?" Zhou Huichang asked as she dried her hair with a towel and jumped onto the lower bunk.
"Are you implying that I should prepare a birthday present for you?" Li Sishi turned around and smiled.
Upon realizing that she and her twin brother did indeed share the same birthday, Zhou Huichang quickly waved her hand, "No, no, I was just asking for reference..."
"Do you think this is the first day I've met you?" Li Sishi turned around and looked at Zhou Huichang, who was chuckling awkwardly, with a scrutinizing gaze. "So, what is it?"
"Actually... I originally planned to buy a game console as a birthday present for Guangzai."
However, because there wasn't enough money..." Zhou Huichang honestly explained the reason.
"How come you don't have enough money?" Li Sishi found this rather strange.
According to the records of "part-time jobs", Zhou Huichang earned more money than her.
"I had enough money at first, but then I heard that Leo would be a guest at the opening parade of the Regional Municipality Festival, so I used some of it to buy tickets..." Zhou Huichang explained, holding her face in distress, "I've already paid the deposit for that game console, it'll arrive tomorrow..."
"I told you not to waste money!" Li Sishi said, feigning anger, then added with a regretful expression, "But I've already prepared birthday presents for you all..."
One was a color theory encyclopedia that she specially asked the bookstore owner to stock, and the other was the latest model of sneakers. Together, they cost her quite a bit of her savings.
"Cousin, cousin, please lend me the money first. I'll pay you back as soon as I have the money, okay?" Zhou Huichang pleaded hurriedly.
Amused by Zhou Huichang's anxious and flustered appearance, Li Sishi tapped her forehead: "Forget it, if you still owe me a little more, I'll cover it for you and you can pay me back later—this is to remind you to plan ahead and not act impulsively without thinking things through."
"I will definitely thank you again, cousin!" Zhou Huichang quickly replied, then, as if she had something she couldn't say, she fidgeted and tugged at her clothes. "Cousin, there's something else I'd like to ask you for help with..."
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