Ling Weilong made a decision.
The next day, he found Su Xingyu: "Stick with me, I'll teach you how to take photos."
Su Xingyu blinked, with the breakfast given by the editorial department still in her mouth: "What's this about sticking with you? Aren't I already sticking with you?"
Ling Weilong was annoyed: "I'm saying I want to take you as my apprentice! Teach you how to be a photographer! Isn't it every photography assistant's dream to one day become an official photographer? Unfortunately, most people aren't lucky enough; photographers don't let them learn secretly. You're lucky to follow me, I can make you capable of handling things on your own in two years, and your worth will skyrocket!"
Su Xingyu looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to make such an offer.
She tried hard to swallow the breakfast in her mouth: "Thanks, but I'm fine with being a little assistant."
This time, Ling Weilong was the one surprised: "Can't you have some ambition?"
"Even if I have ambition, I don't need to learn photography from you." She mumbled softly. It wasn't that she was bragging, but according to the enthusiasts on the forum, her photography skills already ranked among the best. Wasn't Cang Er inviting her to Iceland to shoot diamonds? If she truly had ambition, she would have gone to shoot diamonds a long time ago, right?
Ling Weilong was exasperated: "Do you intend to be an assistant all your life?!"
Su Xingyu's expression was a bit confused, but she quickly smiled: "Let's just see how it goes for now."
What else could she do? She was quite helpless too. Lu Shifeng was adamantly refusing to budge, so how dare she become a photographer when he didn't allow it? Wasn't she humiliated enough before?
She lowered her head and took another bite of her breakfast, the rich creamy cheese melting in her mouth, just like the deep sorrow she couldn't shake off.
Ling Weilong said: "I admit defeat to you!"
"Everyone has their own ambitions." She chuckled lightly, her smile tinged with a bit of bitterness.
After that day, Ling Weilong was in a bad mood, always complaining about how her not becoming a photographer was a waste, criticizing her for who-knows-what's going on in her head. She was utterly fed up, so during lunch this day, she slammed down her bowl and chopsticks: "Ling Weilong! Do I look like someone who lacks money?"
Ling Weilong stared at her: "Why don't you? If you didn't, why be a little assistant?"
She tugged at her clothes: "Take a good look at these, what brand is this? Huh?! Can you recognize the latest season's model? Do I lack money? Do I?! Why should I be ambitious in my career! Why should I become a photographer! If one day I decided not to work anymore, I could just leave without going hungry! Keep your theory about becoming a photographer and reaching the pinnacle of life to yourself, I'm just happy to be a little assistant!"
She roared ferociously, stunning Ling Weilong.
He looked at her like she was a monster for a long time, then weakly said: "You... you're indeed wearing D.C's latest model of the season, but you can't buy this in the country at all, isn't it a Taobao knock-off?"
"You're the Taobao knock-off!" Su Xingyu was about to explode.
Ling Weilong: "... You don't have to lie to me, many just-entered-the-fashion-circle girls love wearing knock-off brand models from Taobao, it's not shameful." This circle is all about appearances, how could fresh graduates stepping into society have so much money to buy big brands? They just have to rack their brains to make themselves look glamorous, Taobao knock-offs, false or real, have long been a tacit secret.
Su Xingyu felt she was truly down on her luck, weakly saying: "Should I bring you some diamonds tomorrow, really big colored diamond jewelry, you should be able to tell if diamonds are real or not, right?"
Ling Weilong: "These days, imitation diamonds look very real too."
Su Xingyu: "..."
She didn't want to talk to him anymore, she rarely wanted to appear wealthy in front of others, but was completely despised.
She was on the verge of tears as she buried her head and silently ate.
Ling Weilong also quietly shoveled in his food, and as he was nearly finished, he suddenly asked: "Are you really not short of money? I heard Su Xingqi's family background is good. Since you're her sister, you could indeed be a rich beauty. But if you're really a rich beauty, why work here? Learn from her and become a model... never mind, you're short."
Ling Weilong lowered his head and shoveled in more food.
Su Xingyu nearly wanted to hit him, this guy, always picking on sore points!
But after this conversation, at least her ears were clear, and he never brought up taking her as an apprentice again.
The editor-in-chief of Illusion Dream called them to the office: "Weilong, the fashion shoot you did for Jiang Zhenzhen needs to be redone."
Ling Weilong's face changed instantly: "Redo, why? Mr. Zhao, are you questioning my photography skills?!"
"No no no," Mr. Zhao quickly reassured him, "Of course your work is excellent, but here's the thing, the previous Huadie Clothing ad swapped out Su Xingqi, which made her very unhappy, and now her boyfriend is Qin Mu, who approached us wanting to invest a lot of money to launch a Qin Corporation's bag advertisement with Su Xingqi as the endorsed model."
"And what's that got to do with me?" Ling Weilong dug his ear.
A fashion magazine wouldn't only publish one brand's ad in an issue. Su Xingqi can have hers, and Jiang Zhenzhen can have hers; they don't conflict.
Mr. Zhao smiled wryly: "That's exactly the trouble. Originally, Huadie scheduled a cover photo shoot for the autumn-winter fashion week three months later, but now the Qin Corporation also wants the cover." A cover photo is completely different from an inside page; maybe a brand or model could appear inside, yet never get to be on the cover their whole life.
This time, Jiang Zhenzhen was lucky; as a newcomer, she managed to get the Huadie Clothing ad, which was a high-profile brand. Otherwise, she might not have been qualified for the cover for another three to five years.
Not to mention, it's the cover for autumn-winter fashion week.
There, major brands and celebrities, supermodels fight fiercely for spots.
Ling Weilong, however, didn't seem to care much: "In such a matter, the club should just negotiate with both parties. It's not like I'm the one who has to be on the cover. Why should a tiny photographer like me get involved?"
Mr. Zhao looked distressed: "Logically it should be Huadie's turn for the cover, but the Qin Family is offering more money, and it's a tough decision for the club now. The president and Mr. Liu have been arguing nonstop for days." This issue also involves office politics; Mr. Liu is the vice president sent down from Cloud Group's headquarters and often doesn't get along with the homegrown president of Illusion Dream, confronting each other openly and covertly.
Ling Weilong already heard about it, now snorted: "I see, it must be that one of them supports Huadie and the other supports Qin Mu, that's why you're in such a bind." The cover affairs are always handled by the editor-in-chief, so if both put pressure on Mr. Zhao, it indeed would be highly stressful.
Mr. Zhao was stressed out: "So we came up with a solution through joint discussion – Huadie's ad photo and the Qin Family's ad photo, whichever is better will be on the cover."