HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

"Your photography skills are excellent, and your photos have a lot of spirit. Keep up the good work, and you're sure to have a bright future."

Qin Feifei registered Xu Lang and returned his admission notice and other documents to him.

"Teacher Qin, when are you free? I need to talk to you about something."

"Looking for me?"

Qin Feifei was a little curious. She could see it now: Xu Lang didn't seem to have the nervousness or excitement of a newly enrolled student at all.

The way he looked at me just now showed no respect for the teacher; while not exactly lewd, it was certainly aggressive.

"Wait until after four o'clock, then come to my office in the administration building."

"Okay!"

Xu Lang collected his belongings, carrying the training uniform issued during military training, and headed towards the dormitory.

Apartment 1, Room 302.

Xu Lang lived here for three years, and in the last year he and his girlfriend moved out to rent a place.

As he walked towards his dormitory, Xu Lang's memories of this place gradually came back to life and became clearer.

The path beneath his feet had become strangely familiar. Many freshmen were still asking for directions to their dormitories, but Xu Lang could walk it without even closing his eyes.

This is an instinct etched into your very bones, carved by a thing called "habit"!

Upon arriving at room 302, I could hear complaints coming from inside even before I entered:

"Damn, I'm so frustrated! I only just realized that the photography academy isn't the photography department; I wanted to go to the photography department!"

Judging from the voice, Xu Lang didn't even need to guess; it was definitely his roommate Jiang Wei, who was determined to break into the film and television industry.

"You managed to mess up something this big? You're something else!"

The voice, tinged with sarcasm, undoubtedly belonged to the sharp-tongued Mao Jian.

"The photography department focuses on video, while we focus on still images. These are completely different directions, which is a big problem. What are you going to do?"

Xu Lang was also deeply impressed by the anxiety and worry in that voice. Zhang Yanbin was such a kind-hearted person; he could always find something to empathize with no matter what others said.

Xu Lang pushed open the door, glanced at the three of them, and then looked at Mao Jian and said:

"Brother Mao, don't listen to Brother Wei's nonsense. Even if he wants to go, they have to accept him!"

Then his gaze turned to Zhang Yanbin, "Binzi, don't worry about Wei Ge. He wants to go to the photography department, not to study video photography."

Finally, he gestured with his chin towards Jiang Wei.

"Wei-ge, tell me yourself, which pretty girl from the performing arts department have you set your sights on? Are you trying to use your status as a photography major to fool her?"

In his previous life, Xu Lang was the third oldest among the four, just a little older than Zhang Yanbin.

As soon as he entered the room, he greeted everyone with a greeting. His manner of address, tone, and content made him sound more like a close friend he had lived with for three years than a group of freshmen who had just gathered together.

The three people in the dormitory were stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Jiang Wei was quick to react. Instead of being embarrassed, he picked up a mirror from the table and looked at himself.

"Holy crap, is my intention that obvious? It's practically out of the ordinary!"

Mao Jian looked at the empty bed with a name on it, then looked at Xu Lang and said, "You must be Xu Lang. I must say, you have a good eye; you'd be good at photography."

Zhang Yanbin got up to help Xu Lang with his luggage, very enthusiastically saying, "Now that you're here, our dorm is complete. From now on, we're family. I'll help you."

Indeed, we ate and lived together for four years, becoming more familiar with each other than with family.

Xu Lang's belongings were simple, and he finished packing them quickly.

The other three had already shifted their conversation to Liu Yifei.

"Did you know that Liu Yifei, the actress who played the fairy sister in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, is a junior in the acting department of our school?"

Jiang Wei's eyes lit up immediately when Liu Yifei was mentioned.

"Yes, yes, that's her. She's so beautiful, like an ethereal fairy. I want to go to the photography department so I can see her up close."

"Brother Wei, why didn't you say you wanted to go to the performing arts department?"

"Viagra knows his own limitations; he knows he can't get in."

Upon hearing the three mention Liu Yifei, Xu Lang couldn't help but smile.

Liu Yifei, starting with her role as Wang Yuyan in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, has been the dream idol of almost every man.

Who wouldn't love a fairy-like beauty like her?

Xu Lang, however, was a rare exception. Although he acknowledged her beauty, he didn't have any feelings for her.

In Xu Lang's eyes, how could ethereal beauty compare to sexy and alluring?

A woman's purity, elegance, cuteness, and everything else pale in comparison to sexiness!

"You three can forget about it. I dare say, even if you stay here for four years, you won't see him even once!"

In his previous life, Xu Lang never met Liu Yifei during his four years of university.

They're all celebrities now, filming every day. Who's still in school taking classes?

From this perspective, Jiang Wei's idea was correct. By switching to the photography department, if he could get into the film crew, he would have another chance to see Liu Yifei in the future.

The photography academy focuses on images, and graduates tend to work in fields like photography, media, and commercial photography, which have little to do with the film and television industry.

I checked the time; it was past four o'clock.

"Alright, I'm not going to waste any more time with you three lecherous men. I have to get down to business."

Xu Lang got up, ignoring the reactions of the other three, and left the dormitory with his camera.

Knowing the way well, I quickly arrived at the administration building.

They found office 201, knocked on the door, and soon Qin Feifei's voice came from inside.

"Come in."

"Teacher Qin, I am Xu Lang."

Upon entering the office, Xu Lang subconsciously glanced around.

This is a two-person office with two desks.

Right now, Qin Feifei is all alone. On her desk, besides office supplies like computers, the most conspicuous item is a mirror.

Big, small, upright, folded, round, square.

Xu Lang glanced at them and saw that there were as many as four pieces.

Next to the mirror, there was a makeup box that wasn't closed properly.

Besides these, there were two photo frames on the table, each containing a solo portrait of her.

"How come I never noticed how narcissistic she was in my past life!"

Looking at Qin Feifei:

She is 168cm tall with fair skin, an hourglass figure, a swan neck, right-angled shoulders, a smooth waist-to-hip ratio, and doe eyes—a standard beauty.

She wore a beige silk satin square-neck fitted short-sleeved shirt on top, charcoal gray thin mid-low waist slightly flared suit pants on the bottom, and nude 5cm pointed-toe stiletto heels on her feet.

Deep brown, wavy hair, half-tied into a low ponytail secured with a black satin hairband, with two wispy strands of hair framing the face, perfectly framing the profile.

Her face was covered in a light, natural-looking makeup, with a thin foundation to create the illusion of flawless skin. She only drew a very thin inner eyeliner at the outer corner of her eyes to elongate the eye shape, paired with a dusty rose lipstick, which made her look very radiant.

Xu Lang sighed inwardly, "She certainly has every reason to be narcissistic!"

Xu Lang withdrew his gaze, temporarily abandoning his fantasies about Qin Feifei, and spoke with great politeness:

"Teacher Qin, every year during our school's military training, there's a photographer accompanying the students to record their heroic bearing."

This task and the person chosen are always from our college every year; I'd like to apply.

"You know quite a lot!"

Qin Feifei's lips curved into a smile, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"Xu Lang, are you just trying to skip military training?"

"How is that possible?"

Xu Lang's politeness vanished, replaced by a tone as if he were discussing a business deal.

"Sister Fei, I'm doing this entirely for the good of our college. Think about it, if the photos turn out great, won't our college leaders be happy? And as the teacher in charge of this, won't you also look good?"

Xu Lang raised his camera and said, "You've already seen my skills. I'm confident I can capture the best of our classmates and not let you down."

The first half of Xu Lang's words carried a hint of boasting, but the latter half seemed to convey a sense of mission that he was determined to fulfill.

"You've got quite the mouth; you should go into acting."

Seeing that Qin Feifei's words carried a hint of humor and weren't as serious as before, Xu Lang immediately felt that things were going well.

"Now that everyone's been reborn, who would still want to participate in military training?"

Xu Lang was determined to find a way to escape this military training.

"Sister Fei, does that mean you agree?"

"Don't call me Sister Fei, just call me Teacher Qin."

"Calling her 'teacher' makes her sound old and doesn't bring out Fei Jie's elegance. I think Fei Jie sounds better."

"You...you're so glib!"

Qin Feifei was truly somewhat helpless with Xu Lang.

Speaking of which, she genuinely admired Xu Lang's photography skills. She was quite envious of that photo of Su Wan, and it would be good if he took it.

but. . .

Qin Feifei hesitated again, "In previous years, this was done by upperclassmen. Teacher Ma from the class of 03 has already recommended someone to me."

As she was speaking, there was a knock on the door:

"Teacher Qin, I'm Zhao Bing, recommended by Teacher Ma from the Class of 03. I'm here to let you know about filming the military training tomorrow."