The disk began to turn around, and the blue background appeared on the TV screen. Everyone had quieted down, holding their breath as they waited for the images to start playing.
“It is mating season for animals in Africa, and the grassland is full of life...” the familiar voice of Zhao Zhongxiang [1] was heard.
Then a male lion and three lionesses appeared on screen, making love.
There was silence before people suddenly exploded in laughter.
“What the hell is this?”
“Are you mad, Qin Guan? Is this your idea of a love-action film?”
“But there are lions mating. The commentator said that it was mating season.”
The sincere face of the young man emerged in Qin Guan's mind as he recalled his words. Qin Guan’s innocent heart was hurt. Ye Dong clucked his mouth and took the disk out of the player to make space for the next one.
The television brightened again with a flash.
A Japanese girl with very little clothes appeared suddenly on the screen, saying sweetly to the camera, “Hello! It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ryoko Nagase. Please kindly advise.”
The boys shouted and sat back in their chairs, staring at the screen in concentration.
Ten minutes passed, twenty...
The girl was leading the audience to places where she had shot movies, and she was introducing her directors and male partners.
She wasn’t getting to the point though. She wore very little clothes, but she did not take them off. She was hot, but she was not naked.
They watched on until the film ended. Finally, the actress gave them a little something of what they had been thirsty for.
She groaned and touched herself for a while, but this was not what they really wanted to watch.
They all complained for a while. Qin Guan had earned the title of “pirated disk greenhand.”
However, Qin Guan let out a long breath of relief. Delicious food should be shared secretly. The room is filled with straight-A students. Li Laoshi, the most honest student of the Finance Department, is sitting in the southern corner, and the violin virtuoso is sitting in the back row. How can top students with thick glasses behave like this? They’re a group of polished scoundrels! I’m ashamed to be with them!
He had forgotten who was the leader of the group.
Downhearted, everyone was dismissed. Qin Guan put the disks away and returned to his dorm with his roommates. Liu Xiaoyang repeated his question once again, “What is a love-action movie?”
They all stared at him speechlessly before they answered together, “When you grow up, you’ll find out.”
There was no story overnight. Before they knew it, the weekend had arrived.
Led by Professor Li and Sister Xue, Qin Guan went to Balizhuang, where the most renowned and oldest model agency in China was located in the capital.
As early as November 1989, the company had held the first New Silk Road Chinese Model Competition, which was the first national model competition, thus building a solid foundation for model selection, cultivation and promotion for the future.
Its predecessor had been the China Fashion Art Performance Group, a subdivision of the China Clothing Cooperation. Professor Li was actually one of its oldest members.
She led Qin Guan to the office of the Training Department with ease and knocked on the door. A voice sounded from behind it, “Come in, please.”
They pushed the door open and found a woman inside. The woman embraced Professor Li.
Sister Zhang had been a model in Professor Li’s time, but she had chosen to stay and work in the company. She was currently in charge of the New Silk Road Training School.
They sat down, and Professor Li briefly introduced Qin Guan to Sister Zhang, handing his resume and basic information to her.
Sister Zhang read the resume and scanned Qin Guan over carefully twice. She nodded in satisfaction before she said, “The boy is in a good physical condition, even better than most of our models. Are you interested in a full time job here?”
Sister Xue was anxious. I discovered Qin Guan first!
Professor Li gestured to Sister Xue, indicating for her to calm down, before she explained Qin Guan's situation to Sister Zhang.
Sister Zhang seemed disappointed. Spreading her hands out, she said, “Your requirement is a piece of cake. Let me explain though, little Xue. We have a standard contract for subordinated models here. Qin Guan has no formal contract with any agency, so he must be an independent model, am I right?”
Xue Wanyi nodded honestly before Sister Zhang continued, “Once he’s attached to our company, he will be a member here. His class will be C, which is a signed model.”
Xue Wanyi nodded again, slightly inspired with enthusiasm.
Sister Zhang knocked twice on her desk with her pen. “Generally speaking, a model will suffer losses from a subordinating contract. Our resources will surely concentrate on our own models. You can only get some small jobs given up by other agents. So now we come to the most important question. What’s your goal in becoming a model, Qin Guan?”
Xue Wanyi hastened to gesture at Qin Guan, but he ignored her and told Sister Zhang happily, “To make money!”
Xue Wanyi covered her face. F*ck!
Sister Zhang burst into laughter, “You are the most honest child I have met recently! C-level is not enough for you to make money though. I would suggest that you try some small competitions. With enough experience, you could even participate in our own competition.”
Xue Wanyi and Qin Guan exchanged a glance, listening to her suggestion with an open mind.
There was nothing left for Sister Zhang to say, so she just made a call, “Little Ma, bring two copies of subordinating contracts to my office.”
In less than five minutes, Little Ma knocked and came in with two contracts in hand.
Sister Xue read carefully about the duties and charges on both sides before signing.
Little Ma stamped the contract. From that moment on, the contract was officially in effect.
Striking while the iron was hot, Sister Xue took two more contracts out of her backpack and handed them to Qin Guan.
[1] Zhao Zhongxiang: One of the most famous and eldest hosts in CCTV, who used to be the commentator of the CCTV’s documentary series “Animal World”.
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