“Mr. Gong, the first phase of Mountain’s marketing plan has been finalized. The new media department has already set up marketing matrices across various platforms and launched the initial wave of pre-launch buzz.”
“What is the volume of engagement like?”
“Pretty good. Camping is an emerging popular topic right now, and various platforms have already segmented the outdoor camping track. Our pre-launch buzz has received a lot of attention from young outdoor bloggers. The associated tags are ‘domestic camping gear,’ ‘new domestic camping products,’ and ‘camping fashion.’ They have expressed anticipation and are voluntarily helping us promote the existing brand concepts.”
“What about print media?”
“There are two magazines collaborating with us soon: one is the cover of Climber, and the other is the inner pages of Chasing the Wind.”
“Finalize the models as soon as possible. They must fit the brand’s tone. I don’t want to see pale, weaklings stumbling around in the mountains anymore.”
As the elevator chiming sound rang out, a tall man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist took long strides, reaching the end of the corridor in three steps. The executive assistant relayed real-time feedback to the new media department while jogging to keep up with the man’s pace, stepping closely behind him into an office with massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
“What would you like to drink?”
The man did not sit down after entering the room. He casually hung his tailored suit jacket on the coat rack and walked straight to the wet bar. Qiao Xi, who had just finished replying to messages, finally had a moment to look at the current situation, immediately stepped forward to take the suit jacket, and rehung it on a hanger. Without stopping her hands, she answered out loud while speaking.
“Mr. Gong, please take a seat. I can handle these things.”
“Alright, I like grinding my own coffee. Would you like some?”
Want some? Or not want some? Neither answer seemed quite right.
Logically speaking, a newly appointed design director would not be assigned an executive assistant, and everyone tacitly understood this. The group chairman’s youngest son had just returned from abroad, and a director surnamed Gong was immediately parachuted in. Although it was a newly established brand subsidiary, the headquarters had promptly assigned an executive assistant, addressing him only as Mr. Gong externally without using his official title.
Having worked with this mysterious Mr. Gong for a week, Qiao Xi still could not grasp his thoughts. Adhering to her working philosophy of doing more work and asking fewer questions, she had already walked over to the ice maker by this point.
“I will have a hot drink. Qiao, as a young woman, isn’t it better to drink less ice in the morning?”
Professional, sharp-tongued, but not a bad person. This was Qiao Xi’s impression of her supervisor after a week of work.
Therefore, after expressing her gratitude, she accepted the steaming cup of fragrant hot coffee, not forgetting to forward the shooting proposal just sent by the new media department to Mr. Gong’s email to remind him to review it. After finishing these tasks, she finally had the chance to step out to her workstation and take a sip of Mr. Gong’s special blend. Just a single sip almost sent her away.
Enduring the bitterness of working life in a big city was not enough; she had to seek out extra bitter coffee herself. This bitterness made her face wrinkle up so much it threatened to crack her makeup! Swallowing this bitter water forcefully, Qiao Xi also opened the shooting proposal sent by the new media department. Browsing through it casually, she immediately figured Mr. Gong would not be satisfied. Shifting her gaze from the screen back toward the boss’s desk behind her, she could see Mr. Gong’s tightly knitted brow right through the glass.
The next second, she saw the man pick up the intercom phone, his deep voice suppressing anger as he spoke to the other end: “What kind of garbage did you shoot? You even found Black models? Don’t you know we are a domestic camping brand? And whose idea was it to use muscular guys smeared with tanning oil? I want to see new test shots by the end of the day!”
As soon as that phone call ended, Mr. Gong picked up his cell phone and began dialing another number. It was hard to imagine how this man could process anger and deep thought simultaneously. Moreover, this bold decisiveness of picking up the phone and calling immediately was terrifying in its own way. Even though making phone calls was routine for an executive assistant, Qiao Xi still admired Mr. Gong’s ability to dial directly without any pleasantries.
“Aidan, it is me, Gong Nanxing. I remember your previous set of traditional Chinese-style photography won an award, right? Come over and help me shoot something. Great, as long as you are free, wait for my call. Hang up first.”
Switching models, switching photographers, Mr. Gong had stirred the entire company into a frenzy like boiling ants the moment he took charge. Qiao Xi swallowed the last drop of bitter coffee and received a private email from a brand PR person in the new media department. Bypassing the department head to email her directly as an assistant, she wondered what this PR person had in mind.
Although slightly out of protocol, Qiao Xi still opened the email at this critical juncture. It contained several model portfolio cards, all of which looked like unfamiliar faces, presumably filtered out due to lack of experience. But what was so special about this model that the PR person would resort to emailing across levels to push him…
“Mr. Gong! I received a model portfolio card here and forwarded it to you. Please take a look when you have time.”
Gong Nanxing looked up slightly at the assistant who knocked on his glass door, his sharp nasal bridge casting a gloomy shadow over his side profile in the light and shadow. Qiao Xi swallowed hard. Objectively speaking, Mr. Gong was very handsome, but he failed to evoke any romantic thoughts because he was genuinely terrifying in a work state.
Hearing her words, Gong Nanxing’s fingers moved back to the mouse, checked the sender’s title, and gave Qiao Xi another cold, upward glance.
“Are you advising me to treat a dead horse as a living doctor?”
“You should take a look. I think it will give you a different feeling.”
Qiao Xi cursed herself inwardly for meddling, but things had come to this, pushing her head forward or pulling it back was all one cut anyway, so what else could she do?
Over the next long thirty seconds, a spark suddenly flashed across Gong Nanxing’s dead-water-like eyes. Qiao Xi knew this matter had potential. Sure enough, the next second, she received instructions to make phone calls and schedule an audition. Meanwhile, he called the photographer back, and the entire company began busy preparations, surging and boiling like a pot of boiling water.
The protagonist responsible for all this commotion remained completely oblivious. Only his simple and somewhat raw portfolio card quietly rested on Gong Nanxing’s desktop: Mu Asu, male, 185 cm, current student at A University…
“Mote, Moting, whatever, close enough, this must be it.”
The person mumbled a string of incomprehensible local dialects under his breath, parked his small electric scooter outside the towering office building, and pulled out his resume, which was neatly tucked inside a file folder from a slightly washed-out backpack. Then he took out his phone, opened the chat window, and contacted the PR sister coordinating with him.
“Mu Asu! Over here!”
Professional women in office buildings, even in thirty-degree weather, not only wore long-sleeved shirts but also draped air-conditioning cardigans over their shoulders. Mu Asu took out a pack of tea-scented wet wipes to wipe away his sweat. Even though he was only wearing a sports tank top and had been stuffy on the subway all the way, sweating profusely, wiping himself down prevented him from looking too disheveled.
Quickly tidying himself up, he ran toward the front of the office building in two or three swift steps. His tanned skin was slightly flushed from the dry heat, making it especially distinct under the lobby lights.
The PR sister noticed his current embarrassment and handed him a pre-prepared can of iced cola. Mu Asu whispered his thanks and followed her all the way up the elevator.
Passing through a long corridor and pushing open a door revealed an oversized shooting studio spanning an entire floor. Everyone was busy setting up scenes, adjusting lights, and short girls carrying large bags of clothing were darting back and forth among them.
It was Mu Asu’s first time seeing such a large-scale shooting venue, and he froze in place, biting the straw of his cola and looking around stealthily using his height advantage.
“Mu Asu, little brother, you probably haven’t done many shoots. You can just call me Sister Bella. Give me a title first, it is best to pick a stage name in this line of work later. I will go help you coordinate with the makeup artist. The work content is just what I sent you. You can sit here and review it for a moment first.”
“Okay, Bella sister… I… just call me Little Calf.”
Bella was too busy to dwell on his mosquito-like response, picking out the useful information and hurrying off like a gust of wind. Mu Asu scratched his face and then his thigh, looking left and right to make sure no one was paying attention to him, before finding a side stool next to a potted plant and sitting down. After staying still for a moment, he felt he looked too sneaky, so he tentatively parted his legs slightly.
Today’s work content was not complicated, just shooting a set of pictures and a video in the studio. Whether he got selected or not, there was a running errand fee. Compared to his other part-time jobs, the pay here was genuinely quite good, which was why he was willing to transfer three subways, switch to a shared electric scooter, and drive another twenty minutes to get here.
“Little Calf! Get ready and come over for makeup!”
“Okay! Coming!”
Hearing the call, Mu Asu hurriedly gathered his belongings and ran toward the source of the voice. At that time, he did not know this was just a small prologue to his future destiny.