Upon arriving at the airport and finding the designated spot, a man who looked like an assistant was handing out materials to the part-timers.
Things like posters, mostly.
"Sign your name to get your stuff. You'll get fifty upfront, and after you follow me to the exit and get the artist's signature, I'll give you another hundred."
It was a 150-yuan gig that didn't come with too many demanding requirements, like screaming hysterically or fainting.
Yet somehow, even this simple task went wrong.
This bunch of part-time fake fans ended up running into real fans.
When the two crowds merged, although their numbers weren't huge, the passage happened to be quite narrow, making it impossible to squeeze through!
Naturally, they didn't get any autographs at all. Those real fans were howling away, looking as if they had been pumped full of adrenaline—a sight that even made Bailiang feel a little scared.
Huang Jingyu, however, was quite determined and managed to squeeze his way in.
Five minutes later, he emerged with a look of existential doubt, opening his mouth to declare: "The entertainment industry is so dark!"
"What's wrong?"
"That assistant who handed out our materials just now—what the fuck, he actually blocked me and wouldn't let me through......"
Pfft!
Bailiang generally didn't laugh at people unless he truly couldn't help it.
Meeting Huang Jingyu's resentful gaze, Bailiang patted the other man's shoulder to offer a word of comfort: "I reckon it's still an issue with your image. Standing at one meter eighty-five and quite handsome to boot, if you actually got up close to that male traffic star, wouldn't you end up making him look like a dwarf?"
That was a fair point!
However, Huang Jingyu still corrected Bailiang's statement: "I'm one meter eighty-seven."
Bailiang, standing at one meter eighty-four and a half, had nothing to say.
At that moment, as Huang Jingyu watched the male traffic star surrounded by dozens of people, a trace of yearning flickered in his eyes.
"That person can be replaced by me~"
Bailiang directly voiced the inner monologue right behind him.
Which made Huang Jingyu's old face flush red.
A young fellow in his early twenties really gets quite shy when his innermost thoughts are exposed like that.
Today's first job was clearly a "Waterloo." If Bailiang hadn't happened to pick up a 200-yuan bill right by the restroom door, their morning part-time wages wouldn't even have covered a single day's worth of meals.
During lunch, Huang Jingyu was still full of drive; after all, the "big gig" was coming up in the evening.
Eight hundred yuan!
However, that kind of work had a threshold—they had to submit their photos and resumes in advance for review.
It felt just like a bar's looks-based entry screening.
Fortunately, both he and Bailiang were fairly competitive in that regard, so they were successfully selected and landed a high-paying half-day job worth 800 yuan.
Buoyed by this excitement, Huang Jingyu even daydreamed a bit about the entertainment industry.
He blabbed on about how, if he ever became a star, he would definitely do this and that in the future.
The content was roughly similar to an ordinary person fantasizing about how they would spend ten million if they won the lottery.
"With the Brazilian jiu-jitsu I know, that counts as a personal specialty even in the entertainment industry, right?"
Hearing this, Bailiang thought about it seriously. "I feel like it's not very useful. Action scenes definitely won't look as good as those martial arts choreography routines. Your stuff is just way too practical."
Ah, this~
Is being practical a crime, too?
Yet Bailiang's "blows" weren't over yet. "Practical as you say, but times have changed. Win the fight and you go to jail, lose and you end up in the hospital. As for this specialty of yours, I can only think of one use for it right now."
"What is it?"
"Beating your wife."
"Your great-uncle!"
Blowing smoke and talking nonsense was always fun. Although this fellow Bailiang spoke with a "slight" edge that didn't sound too pleasant, considering he was treating him to lunch, Huang Jingyu's mood remained quite good.
However, he was celebrating a bit too early today.
Evening work meant you couldn't dress as ordinarily as you would when pretending to be fans.
Before heading out, the two of them tidied themselves up a bit. Bailiang buttoned up his white shirt straight and crisp, threw on a brown plaid casual suit jacket over it, paired it with casual suit trousers, and polished his leather shoes until they gleamed brand new.
Looking in the mirror, the short-haired young man inside had a tall, upright posture, refined facial features with distinct, angular lines that revealed an exceptionally striking bone structure. A pair of phoenix eyes—narrow but not small—with slightly upturned corners added a touch of carefree charm.
With looks like his, if he kept a straight face and tightened his jaw, he could look quite cold and carry a sharp edge.
It was just that Bailiang loved wearing a smile, which instead gave him an absurdly approachable vibe.
People free from malice and the heavy pressures of life tended to be like that.
The location for the evening gig was quite proper—it was the very place where flat-rate models like Bailiang and the others usually took photos.
The model agent who posted the task was named Old Zhou, a familiar face in this circle.
Bailiang had some impression of him, while Huang Jingyu eagerly went over to greet him because Old Zhou was known as the model agent who settled payments the most promptly.
A so-called model agent was actually pretty much the same as those crowd bosses in Hengdian, with a similar nature of work.
Including Bailiang and Huang Jingyu, there were a total of eight people for tonight's gig.
A whole lineup of handsome guys.
Bailiang glanced briefly at his "colleagues" and suddenly spotted a "blind spot"!
He patted Huang Jingyu's shoulder. "You're actually the tallest one here."
Hearing this, Huang Jingyu froze for a second, cast a glance around, and realized it was true.
In the male modeling industry, there were still certain height requirements.
Especially for runway models, who were often required to be over one meter eighty-six.
For flat-rate models, the height requirement could be lowered somewhat depending on looks.
Even so, people in this profession were generally quite tall.
When taking on modeling photography gigs, it was usually hard for Huang Jingyu's height to stand out too much.
Yet today, he felt somewhat like a crane standing among chickens.
There were even some who had sneaked in at barely around one meter eighty.
Similarly, purely from the perspective of looks, all eight guys on today's gig could be considered handsome.
Was this really a looks-based screening?
Yet Huang Jingyu looked around and confidently declared to Bailiang, "It's still the two of us brothers who are the most handsome!"
Bailiang corrected him with a deadpan look, "It's me who is the most handsome."
"Bullshit! Aren't I, a rugged tough guy like this, more handsome than you?"
"When we took the subway over, only two girls asked for your WeChat, but six girls asked for mine."
Lies won't hurt, but the truth is a sharp blade.
When Bailiang brought out the "big data" to deliver his conclusion, Huang Jingyu was left speechless.
However, the volume of their discussion was indeed a tiny bit too loud, and they almost offended all the other six brothers.
Especially the shortest one among them, who glared at the two of them with quite a bit of lingering resentment.
Yet Bailiang simply smiled at him in a very friendly manner, looking as harmless to humans and animals as could be.
Which instead cornered that guy.
He might as well have just said, "What are you looking at?"
They were all young people with thin skins; it was easy for them to get into conflicts over a single sentence, but even easier to be left completely at a loss by a smile full of goodwill.
Bailiang: If you mess with me, consider it like messing with a marshmallow~
"The cars are here, let's go, let's go, get in."
At that moment, two commercial vans pulled up, and Old Zhou the model agent called out for everyone to board.
The vehicle that Bailiang and Huang Jingyu got into was the one where Old Zhou sat in the front passenger seat.
Once inside, Huang Jingyu couldn't quite hold back his curiosity. "What kind of gig is this today, Brother Zhou? Where are we headed?"
Wearing a floral shirt with a pair of sunglasses propped up on his forehead, Old Zhou put on a mysterious expression. "Good stuff, a great gig, just put on a good performance."
Right, right, right—which meant absolutely nothing.
Fortunately, the car didn't drive very far—just about a ten-minute ride—and brought the eight male models to... a high-end KTV.
When they arrived, Huang Jingyu was utterly dumbfounded.
Huh?!
Where the hell have you brought us, man?