Si Nian had hung the materials for a few days before realizing that not only the job market, but even the modeling market wasn’t so easy to navigate anymore.
The offers from businesses were shockingly low.
However, switching back to her old profession, she finally didn’t come up empty-handed.
After all, her appearance was indeed striking.
Si Nian quickly received a few scattered orders for photo shoots, and there were two brands and a photography studio that required her to go for an interview next week.
Over the weekend, she went shopping with Jiang Yihan.
Jiang Yihan had been working overtime at the magazine office lately.
The magazine she worked for was planning to hire a deputy editor for a special supplement and organize a launch event.
It was rare to have some rest time, so while enjoying the rare weekend, she couldn’t help but think about her friend’s wealth that had once slipped through her fingers.
“You think if Lu Shuyan hadn’t found out that day, how much was he planning to give for the breakup fee?”
In the milk tea shop, Jiang Yihan sipped her milk tea, thinking seriously.
Si Nian had occasionally thought about this question recently as well.
After some consideration, she said, “Ten million?”
She thought for a moment and then felt it was too little.
“That can’t be right. Twenty million?”
“Thirty million?”
“Forty million?”
“Fifty million?”
After a series of escalating numbers, that was the highest Si Nian dared to imagine.
It was also the amount she had always dreamed of.
“Fifty million?!”
Jiang Yihan gasped when she heard “fifty million.”
She wasn’t entirely clear on what fifty million meant, but she was very clear about the fact that if fifty million were in the bank, the daily interest would be five thousand.
Jiang Yihan stomped her foot in frustration, “It’s all my fault.”
“This could have set me up for life! Wuwuwu…”
Si Nian bit the straw and pulled at her lips.
Regret was useless now; she only felt like she had missed out.
Other pretty girls and little internet celebrities who hooked up with rich second-generation men immediately started spending money, demanding this and that, knowing it was impossible but still indulging in extravagant spending during the relationship.
But she had always maintained the image of a pure, obedient girl, so she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy spending money in such a way.
At most, she would buy clothes and shoes within her budget, and even when Lu Shuyan gave her expensive gifts, she had to stop him, saying such expensive things were meaningless.
“I’m with you for who you are, not your money.”
If only she had taken the opportunity to at least try some indulgence.
Instead of always playing the obedient girlfriend, never able to ask for anything, and sometimes even attending boring banquets in the identity of “Lu Shuyan’s girlfriend,” watching others pretend to be friendly with her because of Lu Shuyan, while in reality, few people took her seriously, considering her a girl from a humble background who couldn’t make it to the top.
Jiang Yihan was still hitting her chest in frustration.
Si Nian lowered her head and silently deleted all of Lu Shuyan’s contact details from her phone.
The two spent the weekend together, and after Jiang Yihan finished her break, she went back to work.
Si Nian followed her schedule and attended interviews.
The first job she secured was for a sample shoot at a photography studio.
The studio was called “Mohe” and was fairly well-known online, specializing in wedding photography.
Many girls listed it as the place to take their wedding photos when they eventually got married.
The wedding photography industry was highly competitive, and innovation came quickly.
Studios like this usually had to launch new styles and themes for sample photos every quarter, or they would soon be pushed out by competitors.
This quarter, the studio was preparing to shoot new sample photos, and the usual model they worked with had gone home to get married and have children.
The boss had high standards and was struggling to find a suitable new model.
However, after meeting Si Nian at the interview, they immediately booked her after two test shots and offered a generous fee of two thousand a day.
Si Nian landed her first major job after returning to her old profession.
Although she was familiar with being a sample model, she had never done a wedding photo shoot before.
The biggest characteristic of wedding photos was that they had to be taken with two people.
Unlike other types of shoots, where she could pose alone, wedding photos required both partners to convey some emotion.
If wedding photos didn’t exude sweetness, no matter how well other aesthetic aspects were done, they wouldn’t attract customers.
So, Si Nian researched various types of wedding photos online in advance.
On the first day of the shoot, she finally met her partner.
The theme of the new season’s wedding photos at “Mohe” was fresh and natural.
Si Nian wore a simple white slip dress, which was a trendy light wedding gown.
Her hair was styled into a side braided ponytail, and the highlight of her whole look was a lily of the valley flower crown on her head, giving her an artistic, fresh, and energetic appearance.
Si Nian sat in front of the mirror as the makeup artist finished her makeup, and saw that her male partner for the wedding shoot seemed to be ready.
He was about 185 cm tall, with red lips and white teeth, a handsome guy who seemed to match the theme of the shoot.
He wore a white silk shirt and matching white pants that went with her wedding dress.
She heard he was a newcomer in the industry, and the boss chose him purely because of his looks.
Si Nian made eye contact with the male model who was playing the “groom” today.
The makeup artist finished the final touches, stepping back with satisfaction as she admired her work on Si Nian’s face.
“Alright.”
Si Nian stood up and walked to the shooting location.
The set had already been prepared.
The studio had rented a small courtyard and decorated it into a bright, fresh space full of greenery and wooden furniture, resembling a sunny garden room.
Her male partner greeted her, “Hello.”
“Hello,” Si Nian nodded in response.
The photographer had already adjusted the camera and smiled, pleased with the sight of the perfectly matched male and female models.
With these physical conditions, today’s shoot would be half the work for twice the result, and the post-production editing would be a breeze.
The lighting crew was also ready.
The photographer said “Action” and raised the camera, pressing the shutter.
Si Nian held a bouquet of lilies of the valley, the same white as her crown, in one hand, and immediately looped her other arm around her male partner’s.
Facing the camera, she flashed a sweet and playful smile.
“Good, very good,” the photographer immediately praised.
Si Nian shifted her head slightly toward her partner’s shoulder to change her pose.
The male model next to her seemed to get into character a little slower than Si Nian.
At first, he seemed a bit stiff, probably because he had never shot a wedding photo before.
But after a while, as Si Nian continued, he gradually got into the mood and showed some professionalism.
They moved from sitting to standing, holding hands, and leaning their faces together.
The photographer kept reminding them to smile a bit more sweetly, aiming for the image of a happy newlywed couple that could be portrayed by models.
After a few hours of shooting, Si Nian felt her face was about to freeze from smiling.
The makeup artist started to touch up her makeup.
The couple shots for today had already finished.
Since wedding photos were often the most beautiful pictures for many girls, they hoped to leave some solo pictures.
So, as a model for sample shots, Si Nian needed to stay and take a few solo shots.
While the makeup artist touched her up, Si Nian overheard the assistant quietly discussing how handsome today’s male model was and whether he was a newcomer.
She saw her male partner had finished his work and left.
After Si Nian finished her solo shots, the sky had completely darkened.
The photographer seemed very satisfied with the model’s performance today and smiled, saying there would be another set of shots tomorrow.
The first batch of new sample photos for “Mohe” this season was themed around a simple, fresh, oxygen-like style.
The second batch would return to the traditional wedding photography style, formal and full of ceremony, with an outdoor shoot in the outskirts.
The shooting background was a mountain range with rugged, jagged rocks.
The golden light of the sunset illuminated the bare rocks.
Si Nian wore a French satin off-shoulder wedding gown with a long train, a veil on her head, and her hair simply but elegantly pinned up.
Her male partner wore a neat black suit, with a black bow tie at the collar.
They posed for the most classic wedding shots, holding hands, gazing into each other’s eyes, and embracing.
But during the shoot, probably because the sunset light was so beautiful and the photographer’s creative energy was overflowing, they added a scene where the “groom” passionately kissed the “bride’s” forehead in the stunning setting.
It wasn’t a big deal—just a forehead kiss—after all, it was a wedding shoot.
Si Nian closed her eyes and felt the veil on the back of her head lift slightly from the breeze.
Her male partner leaned down and, with a very “professional” attitude, gently kissed her forehead.
The photographer’s camera kept clicking, not stopping until the last bit of the evening glow disappeared.
After the shoot, the team took the studio’s business van back to the city.
Si Nian finally changed out of the heavy wedding gown and put on a denim jacket.
She sat in the car and texted Jiang Yihan, telling her she might be a bit late returning tonight.
Then someone gently tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around to see her male partner, who had been shooting with her for the past two days.
He handed her a phone screen with a QR code.
The male model smiled and said, “Add me on WeChat.”
“Let’s call each other when we have work in the future.”
“Okay,” Si Nian nodded.
Many jobs in the industry are introduced through personal connections.
They had worked well together these past two days, so there was no harm in getting to know each other.
She scanned the QR code he handed over.
After adding him, the person immediately sent his name: Yuan Yu.
Si Nian wondered whether this was his stage name or real name, then sent her own name in reply: Si Nian.
After adding each other on WeChat, Yuan Yu leaned forward a bit and asked, “Are you a part-time model?”
Si Nian put away her phone and replied, “Currently full-time.”
Yuan Yu said, “Oh, no wonder. You seem very professional.”
Si Nian, unsure of how to respond to the compliment, gave a dry laugh, “Thank you.”
After that, Yuan Yu didn’t say much more, and Si Nian, exhausted from the day, leaned back in her seat and fell asleep.
When she woke up, they had already reached the city.
They got out of the studio’s car and needed to take a taxi back to their place.
The payment for the shooting had already been transferred to Si Nian by the studio owner.
Si Nian received the transfer and started calculating that after taking a few more jobs, she would need to find her own place to live.
It would be awkward to keep sharing with Jiang Yihan.
She also went to the fruit shop and bought some fruits she usually wouldn’t splurge on and carried them back to Jiang Yihan’s small apartment.
Today, Jiang Yihan was unusually back before Si Nian.
She knew Si Nian had been shooting wedding photos, so as soon as she arrived, she demanded to see the photos from today’s shoot.
Si Nian showed her a few mirror selfies from her phone in the French satin wedding gown after getting her makeup done.
Jiang Yihan immediately exclaimed, “Wow!”
“Mohe” was quite well-known, especially for the sample photos used for promotion, and the quality of the wedding dresses used in the shoot was excellent.
“I don’t want to get married,” Jiang Yihan said, zooming in on the photo of the wedding dress, drooling, “but I want to take wedding photos.”
Si Nian didn’t have much feeling about wearing wedding dresses because she had worn so many beautiful clothes and dresses, making wearing lovely outfits a part of her job.
The only grievance she had was during the past five years, she had to maintain the pure, innocent girlfriend image to match Lu Shuyan’s unworldly persona.
She had forced herself into a rustic, elegant country style, while being mocked behind her back by a group of rich, plastic sisters.
Jiang Yihan hugged her phone excitedly and rolled on the couch.
She looked at Si Nian in the vintage French wedding dress in the photos, imagining how good the final pictures would look.
Then she looked at Si Nian, who was now cutting an apple for her.
No matter how she looked at it, Si Nian didn’t seem like someone who would be ignored.
“Nian Nian,” Jiang Yihan said, genuinely considering another possibility, “If you had continued modeling back then, maybe started doing some social media…”
“You might have become famous by now.”
Si Nian cut a small piece of the apple she had just peeled and placed it in Jiang Yihan’s mouth.
She also thought about the possibility Jiang Yihan had mentioned, frowned, and then said,
“Maybe?”