SABA Chapter 42

Jiang Tiao’s expression was normal, as if he were talking about the good weather today: “Oh, I just called Director Guan and told him I still want a chance to audition.”

“??”

There was too much information in one sentence, and Nie Jin was stunned for a while before she realized what Jiang Tiao was saying. She was furious: “Why didn’t you tell me before making a unilateral decision?!”

Jiang Tiao: “I called you, but you didn’t pick up.”

Jiang Tiao acted innocent, after all, silence could be considered tacit consent when necessary.

The series of changes caught Nie Jin off guard. She hadn’t figured out a solution to what Chen Wa said, and now Jiang Tiao had created a new problem for her. Nie Jin’s temples were throbbing with anger.

However, things had already happened, and no amount of scolding would help. The priority now was to understand the situation and come up with corresponding countermeasures. She suppressed her anger, “What did Director Guan say?”

Jiang Tiao spread his hands: “He said he knew, and he would have the relevant staff communicate the specific audition time with you.”

“???” Nie Jin was completely bewildered. She frowned, thought for a long time, and began to doubt her ability as an agent, “How did you persuade him?”

Jiang Tiao thought about it, and felt a little speechless. There was no persuasion at all. The complete process was that he called, Guan Qing answered; he stated that he wanted a chance to audition, Guan Qing said okay, he knew. Then the series of self-recommendations and persuasive lines he had prepared were all stuck in his throat. He was silent for a full minute.

During this minute, he didn’t speak, and Guan Qing didn’t speak either. Jiang Tiao suspected that Guan Qing practiced the vow of silence. Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, “Did you anticipate me calling you?”

Guan Qing smiled slightly and explained: “They all recommended Ye Qinghan, but I think you fit Zhao Heng in my mind better.”

Jiang Tiao’s mood was somewhat complicated. He relayed Nie Jin’s request to contact the audition time and the fact that the project team said the role had been given to Ye Qinghan, “Facing this situation, most people would choose to give up and try to get other scripts earlier, right?”

At least inform me, Nie Jin had already advised him not to waste time!

Guan Qing: “I think given your personality, if you want this role and are reasonably confident, you would contact me proactively.”

This meant that if he wasn’t prepared and didn’t have much confidence in the role, then even if Guan Qing contacted him proactively, the audition result wouldn’t be very good. So Guan Qing left the decision of whether to audition up to him? This was really… Jiang Tiao didn’t know what to say.

After listening, Nie Jin’s furrowed brows didn’t relax but deepened, “You don’t think Guan Qing’s intention in doing this is simply to give you the choice, do you?”

Jiang Tiao: “Of course not.”

After knowing that Ye Qinghan was his competitor, Guan Qing proactively said he hoped Jiang Tiao would come and audition, and then be rejected, versus him thoughtfully and proactively requesting an audition and then being rejected. Although the result was rejection in both cases, the psychological impact was completely different.

If some narrow-minded person encountered this, they might even hold a grudge, thinking Guan Qing deliberately wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

Nie Jin: “Since you know that, you must also know that the fundamental reason he would handle it this way is that he thinks the possibility of you being selected is slim.”

“Given Guan Qing’s personality, if he had already decided to use Ye Qinghan, he would have told me directly. The reason he didn’t say anything is that he still wants to see my performance.” Jiang Tiao was in good spirits. He felt that since Guan Qing wanted to see his interpretation of the role, it must be that Ye Qinghan couldn’t give him all the feelings he wanted for the character. And the feeling Ye Qinghan lacked, Guan Qing thought he could provide more easily. Being able to make Guan Qing think this way must be due to his inherent temperament or personality. What could it be?

After getting along for this period, Nie Jin had a general understanding of Jiang Tiao’s personality – although he was usually good-tempered and easy to talk to, he was essentially stubborn and very opinionated. Once he made up his mind, even eight donkeys couldn’t pull him back.

Forget it. She didn’t want Jiang Tiao to bother with this matter anymore, firstly because she was worried about offending Ye Qinghan, and secondly because she didn’t want Guan Qing to think they were being unreasonable and have a bad impression of them. In this situation, whether to audition or not made little difference. What if some god in charge of acting opened their eyes? Heh, the probability of this was even lower than winning the lottery. She still hoped that Jiang Tiao’s acting skills honed during this time would make the audition staff change their minds about him, and perhaps they would remember him for other suitable roles in the future.

However, it was also good that Nie Jin didn’t know how to communicate the cancellation of today’s shoot to Jiang Tiao. Otherwise, snatching a role yesterday and then targeting a shoot today would make anyone explode, no matter how good their temper. Nie Jin organized her language.

Jiang Tiao: “Oh, and one more thing.”

Nie Jin’s eyelids twitched. Hearing Jiang Tiao speak now made her temples throb.

Jiang Tiao: “I also told Director Guan about Zhang Xuelan’s matter. I said I didn’t reveal any script or role to her.”

Nie Jin couldn’t believe it. Was this the kind of thing you could just say directly? Wasn’t this no different from directly criticizing Guan Qing for the teacher he found for him not being good enough?!

“And then? What was Director Guan’s reaction?”

Jiang Tiao: “He said he hadn’t expected that, and apologized to me.”

Nie Jin opened her mouth and gave up thinking, “…Forget it, you are all my benefactors.”

Chen Wa, who had watched the whole process, was laughing uncontrollably. He had seen most of the artists Nie Jin had managed, and it was the first time he had seen someone make Nie Jin so dazed, tired, and speechless with anger. He was about to tease them when a photography assistant responsible for the set decoration ran over.

He was stunned to see Chen Wa at first, politely said, “Hello, Brother Chen,” and then turned to Jiang Tiao with some impatience, urging him, “Why aren’t you waiting in the studio? I’ve been looking for you for ages. The photographer is ready, we can start shooting.”

Nie Jin looked at Chen Wa, and Chen Wa was also confused – it was impossible. He had just come to find Nie Jin after the meeting. At the meeting, the editorial department and the photography department had already reached a consensus to give up on Jiang Tiao. The chief editor responsible for this issue had personally called Ye Qinghan’s side to communicate. There was no way they would suddenly change their minds.

Nie Jin was about to accompany Jiang Tiao to check the situation, but before she could enter the photography base, she was stopped by Xu Sisi’s call. Xu Sisi was the chief editor responsible for this issue of the magazine. She had met a few times when she brought Luo Xingwen for a photoshoot, so they had some acquaintance.

“Editor Xu?” Chen Wa poked his head out, “Are you looking for me to discuss changing your artist to shoot the theme for another issue of the magazine?”

It wasn’t impossible.

Nie Jin looked at Jiang Tiao, “I’ll go over. You listen to their arrangements and don’t throw a tantrum. If anything happens, wait for me to come down. Don’t take the initiative to step forward, as it’s easy to give people something to talk about. I will also ask them for an explanation about the wasted morning…”

“Got it,” Jiang Tiao waved his hand indifferently. Waiting was a common occurrence for artists with little status. He was too lazy to argue with them. He’d rather finish the shoot early and go back to ponder Zhao Heng’s character psychology.

Nie Jin’s rambling instructions amused Chen Wa. He had seen many artists managed by Nie Jin, but he had never seen anyone make Nie Jin jump with anger and still be so concerned.

…

Jiang Tiao was led to the styling room by the photography assistant. Perhaps it was because too much time was wasted in the morning, everyone was in a hurry. He felt that the time for makeup and styling this time was faster than any previous assignment.

“Why did it take so long? Just do a quick job.”

As soon as Jiang Tiao was pushed into the studio, he heard the impatient voice of the photographer Yang Min.

In the studio, the photographer was the boss. As soon as Yang Min finished speaking, a sycophant immediately pushed Jiang Tiao heavily, “Hurry up! You guys are so troublesome. Do you know how long we’ve been waiting?”

Did they say anything after waiting all morning? Jiang Tiao stood in the middle of the lights, his expression not good.

Yang Min: “Alright, next set.”

Jiang Tiao: “?”

He hadn’t even made a pose, and it was already finished? And then it was the next set?

Or was Yang Min planning to just take some ugly photos as Chen Wa said?

The styling assistant was scolded, and after letting Jiang Tiao change into a new outfit, they didn’t even bother to restyle his hair and quickly rushed him to the next studio.

Yang Min: “A little more to the left, no, a bit forward. Where’s the set? The props are too messy, reduce the vines.”

“Lighting technician, come and add a set of fill lights.”

The set designer, along with a group of people, came up to rearrange the vines. Jiang Tiao didn’t want to be in the way, so he moved aside.

“What’s going on? Why are you moving?!” Yang Min looked up from behind the camera and scolded, “Don’t you even know how to shoot for a magazine? No wonder you’re still an eighteenth-tier celebrity after so long.”

Yang Min: “What are you looking at? What’s with that look? Stand back! Does everyone need to wait for you?”

Jiang Tiao licked his back molars and returned to his original position.

“The lighting can be a bit softer, yes, that’s good, next set.”

Almost as soon as the set designer finished organizing, Yang Min asked the styling assistant to take him to change for the next outfit.

After changing five outfits, even though Jiang Tiao didn’t understand fashion magazine shoots, he sensed something was wrong.

“Raise your chin, stand back a bit, walk the path, add 1/4 stop to the main light. This angle is good, record it in the dynamic manual,” Yang Min adjusted the camera’s exposure value, in a good mood, “Okay, change into another jacket.”

Jiang Tiao did not reach out to take the jacket the styling assistant handed him. He stood under the lights, with his arms crossed, his face so cold that there wasn’t a trace of expression, “What do you mean by this? Are you using me as a light stand?”

The studio fell silent instantly. No one expected a minor artist to directly question him in public. Their gazes flickered between the two, some watching the show, others lowering their heads, pretending not to have heard anything.

Yang Min stopped pretending and said sarcastically: “You should be grateful that your height and physique are somewhat similar to Teacher Ye.”

Jiang Tiao: “I recall my contract doesn’t seem to include this job.”

Yang Min: “It’s your honor to be Ye Di’s stand-in.”

My honor my ass, Jiang Tiao almost couldn’t help but swear.

Yang Min sneered: “Otherwise, do you think you’re worthy of my lens? Because of you, today’s shoot has been delayed by a full four hours. If you still want to cooperate with ‘ELEGANT’ in the future, I advise you to cooperate well and contribute your insignificant role. Teacher Ye will be here soon. If you’re sensible, you’ll still have a chance to observe and admire his shooting skills.”

Jiang Tiao: “Heh, I never knew that ‘ELEGANT’ is now controlled by you. So, according to your statement, ‘ELEGANT’ will need to pay all compensation for the contract changes, and you can pay it all personally?”

Yang Min hadn’t expected an artist to talk to him about contracts and compensation. His arrogant expression froze in place.

Jiang Tiao calmly opened his phone and scrolled through the contract at lightning speed, “According to Article 3, Clause 2 of the contract’s breach of contract terms, for any requests exceeding the agreed scope of services, our party has the right to charge service fees at 400% of the basic hourly labor fee. Are you saying that from 10:45 AM until now, the accumulated cost of 198,000 yuan can be directly claimed from you personally?”

Yang Min had worked in the fashion industry for over twenty years and had deep qualifications. All the minor artists were respectful in front of him, and no one had ever dared to be so arrogant. His face turned red, “198,000 yuan? A single photo of mine at a photography exhibition sells for 200,000 yuan!”

Jiang Tiao recalled the information Zhuang Xiang had given him and sneered, “You’re not talking about the highest-priced piece among all your works, ‘Reflection,’ are you? I heard that the famous photographer Zach Wong has already sued you in France for composition and creative plagiarism.”

A murmur erupted in the studio. Yang Min immediately turned red with embarrassment. He angrily rushed to Jiang Tiao and was about to make a move: “Who do you think you are? Letting you be Teacher Ye’s light stand is already promoting you! Offending me is offending ‘ELEGANT.’ Do you believe I can make you unable to work in the fashion industry? You’ll never get a fashion endorsement again!”

“How come I don’t know the company has given you such authority?”

Just as the scene was about to descend into chaos, a magnificent and cold voice sounded faintly from the studio entrance.

…