BDB Chapter 36

This era was when talent shows were all the rage.

The benefits of transitioning from an ordinary person to a star were well-known, as the pioneers of these shows had already set a precedent.

Whether it was for the hefty half a million yuan prize or for the so-called dream of stardom, it had only been two days since the nationwide reward notice was posted, and countless people had already called the official customer service.

The customer service representative repeated the lines she said countless times each day.

“Yes, it’s valid. We have hundreds of customer service agents online to review photos. If the photo you upload is at least 30% similar to Jiang Tang, it will be displayed on the front end for the role of Ruan Li in the movie script ‘Yanyan’. Additionally, the phone number you provided will receive a verification SMS. Please ensure the person in the photo goes to the location specified in the SMS with no makeup for a face-to-face verification. If the person in the photo is indeed 50% similar to Miss Jiang, your account will be credited with the 500,000 yuan prize.”

Jiang Rao thought to herself, this was truly the way of capitalists.

In the past, although mobile photo editing software wasn’t advanced, many people were still skilled in Photoshop.

Masterful photo editors could transform a rough man into a delicate girl. Without face-to-face verification, many could have claimed the 500,000 yuan prize. Some skilled photographers were also adept at makeup photo deception. Unfortunately, the face-to-face verification required no makeup, and under such scrutiny, very few people could actually win the 500,000 yuan.

Indeed, the descendants of capitalists were skilled at saving money!

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Rao went outside the subway station and found a small photo studio by the roadside.

Upon entering, the owner’s wife asked, “What kind of photo do you need?”

“A one-inch photo.”

“Do you want it developed quickly or the type you pick up the next day?”

“Next day is fine, but I’d like a digital copy. Can it be copied to my phone?”

“Sure.”

“Could you do me one more favor? I’d like to wash my face. The makeup I’m wearing might not meet the requirements for the photo.”

The owner’s wife’s enthusiasm waned.

Such customers were typically those who paid little but had many requests.

But even if a mosquito was small, it was still a piece of meat. Washing one’s face wasn’t a big deal, so the owner’s wife pointed to the store’s restroom.

While waiting outside, the owner’s wife set up the tripod and changed the backdrop color to bright red.

As she was busy, a sound of a door clicking came from the restroom.

Looking back, the owner’s wife was momentarily stunned.

Why did she make herself look like a ghost earlier?

This appearance was far better than some of the glamorous celebrities on TV. If she applied light makeup to enhance her features, she couldn’t even imagine how beautiful she would look!

But no matter how beautiful someone was, money still had to be paid.

The camera was placed on the tripod, and the owner’s wife said, “Smile.”

The girl in front of her curved her lips into a smile.

With a click, a photo appeared on the digital camera.

One second… two seconds… half a minute…

Seeing that the owner was staring at the camera for a long time after taking one photo, Jiang Rao asked in confusion, “Why aren’t you taking more pictures?”

The owner’s wife replied, “…It’s already taken very well.”

Jiang Rao was stunned. However, when she got down from the chair and looked at the camera screen behind the spotlight, she realized that the owner’s wife was not exaggerating.

Since entering the book, whether before leaving the ancient castle or after, her makeup had hardly ever been removed.

Staring at those two unfamiliar faces for a while, she nearly forgot how stunning her original appearance was. This beauty was not due to every feature being perfect, but rather because, no matter the angle from which one looked at her face, there was not a trace of ugliness or discord.

While waiting for the owner’s wife to transfer the photo to her phone, Jiang Rao placed the ten yuan fee for the photo on the left side of the computer.

However, when the owner’s wife finished and returned the phone to her, she put the ten yuan back into Jiang Rao’s hand, showing a look of hesitation. “Little lady, could I… could I enlarge and print this photo to hang it at the store entrance? I can pay you 500 yuan for it.”

In fact, at that time, the fee for a set of model photos was only about two to three hundred yuan.

However, while it was easy to find a model who could take good photos with heavy makeup, finding a girl who could take a good photo with no makeup was much harder.

Although taking a single headshot didn’t cost much, many people in a city needed one-inch or two-inch photos for various documents every day. This business could be quite profitable if done well.

In that era, the cost-performance ratio of Apple phones was not high. After discarding the old Nokia phone she had used for a long time and buying a flip phone, Jiang Rao found that while the phone could make calls, its photo quality was only a fraction of modern phones, resulting in blurry and distorted images.

She was determined to win that 500,000 yuan prize and couldn’t afford to submit a blurry photo.

Being in debt, she had neither the need nor the money to take professional photos.

Thus, she chose the cheapest, fastest, simplest, and most straightforward option—a one-inch headshot.

She didn’t expect to get a pleasant surprise.

After thinking for a moment, she nodded. “Yes, that’s fine.”

After all, her face was already exposed.

One photo for 500 yuan. It was a good deal.

Seeing how agreeable she was, the owner’s wife’s attitude improved significantly compared to when she first came in.

When Jiang Rao asked to use the computer, the owner’s wife even trustingly turned to print the enlarged headshot she wanted.

Jiang Rao entered the URL she got from the subway station into the search box, registered, filled in her information, and uploaded the newly taken photo to the reward page. When she saw the message “Your photo has been successfully submitted. Please wait for the review,” her heart suddenly raced.

After a while, her heart gradually calmed down.

It was okay, even if it didn’t pass, it would be fine. Things would work out in the end, and rushing wouldn’t help.

However, her worries were unfounded.

After using the 500 yuan she got from the owner’s wife to check into a hotel and spreading out her dinner from outside on the table, her phone received a text message.

Opening it, she saw it was the verification SMS from the official website.

The verification time was set for the next morning at nine o’clock, and the location was at the Nine Regions Hotel in City C.

It was a warm spring morning in May.

The next morning, Jiang Rao woke up to the first light of dawn.

However, when she used the hotel-provided toiletries to freshen up, she realized she had woken up much too early.

She used to wear makeup every day, but today, for the 500,000 yuan prize, she couldn’t wear any makeup at all.

Waking up early and having nothing to do at the hotel, Jiang Rao arrived at the Nine Regions Hotel’s lobby around 8:30.

She arrived early, but others had arrived even earlier.

Even though it was first-come, first-served, she was still placed eighteenth in line.

Fortunately, the verification process was done in batches of eight.

After nine o’clock, she had only waited for about five minutes in the waiting area before the first batch of girls, who had been verified, walked out looking dejected.

One of the girls, upon seeing her companion, muttered, “What the hell with the half a million? Is this a scam? Since Jiang Tang became famous, not ten, but at least eight people have said I look like her.”

Her companion pointed at a girl nearby, “Look at her. If she doesn’t get the half a million, I’d say this whole thing is a joke! It’s probably just a free promotion for that movie!”

“Fuck! She’s really beautiful!”

Jiang Rao, being sensitive by nature and having a keen sense, noticed the gazes directed at her. As the one they referred to as “that girl” and the one who was described as “really beautiful”, she took a deep breath and followed the crowd into the room.

Standing before the table, she saw the judges behind it scanning her from left to right, evaluating each of them from top to bottom.

When they reached her, more than one person paused.

Then, someone tapped a man wearing a hat who was slumped over the table.

“Director Feng, Director Feng, take a look at this one. Number eighteen seems to resemble Miss Jiang more than just 50%. With some makeup, it might be 70% or 80%!”

Feng Ke, frowning, looked up at the person beside him. “What if it’s less than 50%?”

“Just take a glance, just one glance. It won’t take much of your time.”

It wasn’t that Feng Ke wasn’t dedicated, but as an art film director, his focus was on exploring the depths of the human psyche. Although he was also a mere mortal who appreciated money and beauty, he still had the artistic pride typical of his profession.

When Young Master Li had thrown him the challenge of finding a second Jiang Tang from the vast sea of people, Feng Ke had to rewrite scripts and plan this event himself to carry out the task diligently.

After two days of observing, he found many people with similar noses and eyes to Jiang Tang, but when it came to combining all the features, those who resembled her by 30% online sometimes didn’t resemble her at all in reality!

He was already weary, and upon hearing his assistant’s comment, he turned to look at the so-called number eighteen with little enthusiasm.

Just one glance, and he felt compelled to quickly pull out his phone to call Young Master Li.

He had seen a photo of Young Master Li’s dream goddess, and the person standing before him now…

He had found Young Master Li’s dream goddess. What kind of reward would Young Master Li give him?

——