Chapter 8.6 & 8.7
Hayden broke through his fear and shot a very superb photo, so his mood was very sunny these days. No one would think that currently online, he was the network"s most hated slag man. He and Emily"s disorderly behavior gained the audience’s great displeasure.
Gustav was very surprised when he received complaints. In the first three episodes, the two"s hook-up got the blessing of a vast majority of the audience. The two"s relationship was so heartfelt that everyone loved seeing their affectionate behaviors. And the program was not for children, so they shouldn"t be getting ethical opposition.
But after carefully reading the letter of complaint, Gustav was dumbfounded.
The audience members" general complaint seemed to be: Don’t you see Romeo’s dejected expression? For G.o.d’s sake don"t oppress the child! Get those two people away from him!
Others also wrote that Hayden and Emily"s behavior was imposing a great psychological shadow on Romeo. He is a child and needs a safe and orderly environment to mature. The program team should"ve taken his age into account.
All the letters mentioned Hayden’s damage to Romeo, it seemed that after the boy came out of the closet, he"d received everyone’s approval. Gustav was genuinely happy for the teenager, but he couldn"t stop Hayden and Emily’s love. This was a human right and a rule of law in society, so long as they didn"t hinder the interests of others, they were free to love who they wanted.
Gustav ordered the public relations department to respond appropriately to the complaints, then put on his coat and headed to the studio. He wanted to know how Kitten was doing lately, was he still confused and fearful?
But suddenly, MOT’s marketing director came to visit.
“Gustav my old friend, you"ve given me a huge headache.” The usually extravagant director now looked exhausted, staring at a stack of photos like it was giving him a migraine.
“What happened?” Gustav personally poured him a cup of coffee.
“The promotional photos you gave me are not the ones I wanted.” Mr. Director put the pictures of Emily and Romeo on the table, he pointed to Emily and said, "She is very good. If there was no Romeo or I had not seen his photos in advance, I would be happy to use her. But my friend, you should know me, I"m a perfectionist. There"s a perfect product here, but you"re insisting I use this defective one! I really can"t accept it."
Gustav stared at the boy"s photo, his eyes were a little astonished, but he still handled official affairs seriously, "But we signed a contract in advance, you have to use the promotional photos we gave."
“That’s because I had confidence in your production team, and knew that you"d definitely give me the best. Well, look at this, you"d have to be blind to choose this!” Mr. Director scorned.
Gustav had to admit that Ariel was too conveniently blind. The boy"s score and Emily"s only differed by a point or two, if Ariel had given him a fair score, today’s controversy wouldn"t exist.
He knew what Ariel was up to, but he couldn"t bring it up to outsiders, otherwise, it would affect the reputation of the show. He repeatedly apologized to the director, and agreed to give them appropriate compensation.
The director thought for a moment and compromised, "The contract cannot be breached, but it doesn"t require that each of our stores has to have your poster. So I can post Emily"s poster in the main store, and leave the other stores to our company. What do you think? Also, in the future, all arrangements related to our company’s products need the best photo to be selected with our consent, so today"s dilemma won"t happen again. If you have no opinion, I would like to write this condition into the original contract."
Since MOT was providing funding, the program team had the obligation to meet their requirements. And for the benefit of the company, they should only give the best choice, not Ariel"s sentimental selection, so this change does not hinder the principle of fair compet.i.tion. Gustav thought for a moment and nodded.
The two made a new contract, stood up and embraced each other.
After sending the director away, Mr. Gustav continued on his way to the first floor studio.
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Today’s program was giving the players a major transformation. Hayden dodged the camera and pulled Ariel into the corner to speak, then he gave Emily a very strange smile when he came back.
“In order to help you find the hidden potential supermodel in your body, and also make you achieve your most perfect and fashionable self, the program team has invited the world’s top stylists to change your image. You"ll have people dye, perm, and cut as needed. I"ve planned out the most suitable change for each of you, please look forward to it!” She twisted her hips and danced a little cheerful dance.
Everyone cheered and looked forward to their new look.
The huge studio was filled with washing, cutting and other equipment, the smell of various chemicals mixed together, it was slightly dizzying. Zhou Yun Sheng was pale and hiding in the corner, unwilling to get anywhere near the stylist Ariel had arranged for him.
“What’s the matter with you?” Ivana walked over to him with fresh, short, and neat hair. Now she looked even more handsome and fiery.
“They asked me to shave all my hair. I can"t do that.” Romeo wept, looking very pitiful.
“That is too much, go, I’ll take you to find Ariel.” Ivana pulled him toward Ariel, the cameraman quickly followed behind them.
“You don"t want to shave your hair? Why not honey?” Ariel looked surprised, and even soothingly patted the boy’s back.
“I"ll become very ugly if I shave off all my hair. Didn"t you say you"d help us transform to a more perfect and fashionable self? That"s not fashionable!” The teenager puffed out his cheeks and boldly reb.u.t.ted.
“How do you know bald doesn’t suit you? Your face is beautiful, baldness will highlight its beautiful lines. I have been a model for almost 10 years, please believe in my professional vision.” Ariel first tempted then threatened, “And as a model, regardless of the customer"s demands, you have to accept unconditionally. Your performance today is very unprofessional, you know? Many designers make strange requests for the models in their fashion shows, are you going to refuse jobs just because you don"t want to do them? Then quit this profession as early as possible, a model isn"t the job for you."
The original Romeo only agreed to shave because of this intimidation, but Zhou Yun Sheng knew she was crock full of s.h.i.t. He blinked his moist eyes and a cautiously replied, "You"re correct, but the purpose of today is not to get ready for a catwalk, but to help the players find a compet.i.tive image. Everybody is very beautiful, why do you only want me to be ugly? Are you up to something?"
He was quite rude, but his expression was innocent, only letting onlookers think he was outspoken, no suspecting.
“Why do you think bald will make you look ugly?” Ariel tried to hide her impatient expression. "You won"t know until you try it, right?”
“Because I’ve tried it.”
Zhou Yun Sheng blinked his blue big eyes, helpless and dazed, then he noticed Gustav’s entrance. He quickly walked over to make a request after shooting Ariel a meaningful glance.
“Mr. Acheson, may I presumptuously ask to use your Tablet PC?” He grabbed the Tablet PC, and looked helplessly at him.
Gustav loosened his tie and quietly said, "You can use it.” The kitten was blinking his big blue eyes at him, tickling his heart.
Zhou Yun Sheng smiled gratefully at him, then he dragged his finger across the tablet a few times and raised it to the crowd and the cameras, “As you can see, this is my bald headed look. I look like a white egg with a human face. Is this fashionable? I doubt it."
A white egg with a human"s face, this metaphor was really appropriate. Everyone couldn"t help laughing.
Although the depiction of the young man was still so delicate and lovely, the feeling was strange, like a terminally ill patient, giving people the feeling of being weak and strange, not stylish. If you used this image to partic.i.p.ate in a modeling contest, you"d become the b.u.t.t of the joke.
This was the so-called supermodel"s vision? Gustav quickly glanced at the embarra.s.sed Ariel, then rubbed the young man"s platinum hair to a.s.sure him, “Rest a.s.sured, I won"t let them shave your hair."
It’s a sin to shave all this soft and smooth hair! Gustav felt happy that he got to rub Romeo, and angry at Ariel"s impudence.
“Then what style should I get? Except for baldness, I"ll accept whatever else.” The young man put down the computer, and used his two hands to unconsciously brush his hair, fluffing his messy hair even more, a lock even stuck out, fluttering in the breeze, he looked like a helpless fool.
But the world’s most lovely fool.
Gustav"s heartbeat quickened, he brought his fist to his lips and coughed, then he smiled, “You look very good like this, don"t change. Of course, if you want to, then you can let the stylist to give you a hair mask, it will make your hair softer and smoother." And feel more comfortable to rub.
After hiding this last sentence, Gustav led Ariel away.
Zhou Yun Sheng and Ivana high fived to celebrate the victory.
That evening, The Next Supermodel’s official website issued an announcement, due to scheduling conflicts, Ariel will withdraw from the program group, and her position will be replaced by the hottest supermodel, Bonnie.
Jeffrey and Bonnie visited the villa where the contestants lived and talked with Hayden alone for more than an hour. No one knew what the three specifically talked about, they just knew that when they came out room, Hayden’s expression was very ugly.
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The second day of new imaging was the challenge. The players rode to the huge studio, and the first person they noticed was not the gorgeous Miss Jeffrey, but the tall, firm, and handsome Gustav. Prior to this, they all knew that the producer of the show was Mr. Acheson, known as the fashion-circle king, but they never saw him appear in the studio.
But it seemed that because of Ariel and Hayden"s scheme, the very s.e.xy gentleman came to oversee the studio for two days in person.
“In order to prevent unfair compet.i.tion in the show, from today on, Mr. Acheson will appear as the producer in the studio, so be extra