Blazing fire is hard to extinguish chapter 17
Poaching
Although Ye Fengshan had a carefree personality, he was reliable in his work.
Half a month later, Lin Chi received a call from his agent.
Huo Yuning’s voice was trembling with excitement.
Standing on a street that was already a bit chilly, she waited for a car in front of a shopping mall. A giant poster was right in front of her, displaying a cool, sharp model lying on silk, showcasing a diamond-studded wristwatch.
She said to Lin Chi, “Lin Chi, you’ll never guess who called me today.”
She had received a call from SEN Company, and the person she spoke with was Tang Xiaoyou, SEN’s most capable assistant general manager.
The other party was straightforward about the purpose of the call.
“I believe you remember me. We met at TR’s fashion gala last time.”
Of course, Huo Yuning remembered.
But she had gotten in thanks to a friend who worked as an editor at a fashion magazine, while Tang Xiaoyou was an invited guest. They were not on the same level at all.
“Yes, I remember. May I ask why you’re looking for me?”
At this point, she couldn’t dare to think what kind of windfall might have fallen on her, instead frantically recalling if she had offended the other party.
Logically, she hadn’t.
She had only briefly encountered this Tang in the restroom and had kindly handed her a band-aid for her bleeding finger, finally daring to give her a business card.
Surely, this wouldn’t cause trouble.
Huo Yuning thought hard.
But Tang Xiaoyou laughed, “I went back and looked at your resume and found your work impressive. So, what do you think? Would you consider switching to SEN?”
Huo Yuning, still on the street, lowered her voice and squealed to Lin Chi.
“The SEN! I’m stunned! Oh my god, could it be that the incense I burned at the Temple of Heaven Palace recently worked? How on earth did SEN notice me!”
She even jumped up and down a few times in the street, not caring about her image.
Lin Chi laughed, understanding Huo Yuning’s excitement.
SEN was one of the largest model agencies in the country, established in 2010. It included several world-class supermodels and maintained close collaborations with top international directors, brands, and magazines.
Standing on the street, you could lift your head, and any model in an international luxury ad could be from SEN.
Such a glittering big company, compared to their small, third-rate agency, was like comparing the Forbidden City to a dilapidated house.
Lin Chi sincerely congratulated Huo Yuning, “Congratulations.”
“Yes, congratulations to you too,” Huo Yuning’s voice was filled with joy. “SEN also wants to sign you. No wonder Tang Xiaoyou is a top agent. She said she reviewed the models at our company and found only you with great potential. She thinks staying at our company would be a waste. So, we can sign with SEN together!”
Huo Yuning was almost overwhelmed by this piece of luck.
She stomped her foot on the street again, so happy she didn’t know what to do.
But Lin Chi frowned.
For some reason, he felt a strange twinge inside.
“They want to sign me too?”
“Yes. They think you have great qualities and are very satisfied with your previous shoots and ads.”
Huo Yuning found this natural and was even a bit proud.
She had brought Lin Chi up herself, so how could she not know?
Lin Chi’s runway walk, his performance during ad shoots, and his understanding and presentation of the photographer’s intentions were all excellent.
“You’re not hesitating, are you? Lin Chi, don’t be foolish. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Huo Yuning cautioned, “Our crappy company has nothing, constant internal strife, and when there are resources, they are not distributed fairly. There’s no fair competition at all. Don’t go crazy and start feeling sentimental now.”
Lin Chi chuckled helplessly.
He wasn’t that foolish, and besides, there wasn’t much sentimentality attached to their current company.
“I know, Miss Huo. Didn’t we agree? Wherever you go, I go. I have no big ambitions. Just point the way, and I’ll follow.”
“That’s more like it.”
Huo Yuning laughed heartily. Seeing her taxi approaching, she reluctantly told Lin Chi, “Alright, I have to go. My car’s here.”
Lin Chi hung up the phone, checked the time, picked up his backpack, and went back to class.
But as he listened to the professor’s lecture, he twirled his pen, feeling a bit puzzled.
It wasn’t that the olive branch from SEN was bad.
It was just too good.
Too good to be true.
He had a realistic assessment of his and Huo Yuning’s levels.
He wasn’t overly modest; he knew his conditions in the industry were actually quite good, and photographers who had worked with him gave him high praise.
But SEN was an elite company with countless supermodels. How would they notice him and Huo Yuning, two relatively small-time talents?
He reviewed his recent work in his mind.
The most noteworthy was his recent walk in the domestic fashion week.
And a photoshoot for the third- or fourth-tier magazine, “THREE.”
He stroked his chin, still feeling something was off.
Lin Chi wasn’t one to dwell on things. If he had questions, he would seek answers.
After class, he sat by the school fence, hesitated for a moment, and sent a text message to Li Tingyan, asking if he was available.
“Yes.”
The reply came quickly.
Lin Chi immediately called.
Li Tingyan was momentarily surprised, gestured to his assistant, and quickly answered.
“Hello?”
Lin Chi twirled the ties on his clothes around his finger and didn’t beat around the bush.
He got straight to the point, “I have some good news today that I want to celebrate.”
“What is it?”
“My agent and I have both been poached by SEN. They want to sign us.”
He didn’t explain what kind of company SEN was, wanting to see Li Tingyan’s reaction.
Li Tingyan repeated, “SEN? A modeling agency?”
“Yes, it’s considered one of the top agencies in the country. You know supermodel Liang Zhen, right? And Shang Xueya? They’re both signed with SEN.”
“I know.”
Li Tingyan slightly raised the corners of his mouth. He had actually known for some time that Lin Chi was going to be signed by SEN, but hearing his happiness now put him at ease.
“Congratulations, your career is advancing again.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Chi also laughed but hesitated for a moment before asking, “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I can’t help feeling that this opportunity is a bit too good to be true. I’m just a small model, and my agent, Huo Yuning, hasn’t achieved anything particularly outstanding, though she is excellent and hardworking. Why would SEN suddenly take an interest in us?”
He slowed his tone as if pressing for an answer, “Signing with SEN, did you have a hand in this, Li Tingyan?”
Li Tingyan didn’t even raise an eyebrow and easily denied it, “It wasn’t me.”
He chuckled, “Lin Chi, my company’s business doesn’t involve the fashion industry. Even if I wanted to help, I wouldn’t be able to. This is your own achievement.”
He wasn’t exactly lying.
A few days ago, Ye Fengshan brought him the news that SEN’s Tang Xiaoyou had already noticed Lin Chi because Lin Chi had previously appeared on the cover of the magazine THREE. Tang Xiaoyou, being a long-time friend of the magazine’s editor-in-chief, happened to be present during the shoot.
Tang Xiaoyou took notice of Lin Chi then and later asked for his resume.
Even if Ye Fengshan hadn’t knocked on their door, Tang Xiaoyou had already intended to poach them.
In fact, it was Lin Chi’s small agent who benefitted from their goodwill.
Tang Xiaoyou had been undecided about signing Huo Yuning, but after hearing Ye Fengshan’s request, she agreed with a smile.
So, Li Tingyan felt no guilt about his words.
Lin Chi, however, remained skeptical.
He knew that Li Tingyan’s business mainly involved real estate and energy, but so what? Helping a small model like him would be a trivial matter for Li Tingyan.
To be honest, he was shocked the first time he looked up Li Tingyan’s wealth and background online.
But precisely because of this, he thought he couldn’t be that important to Li Tingyan.
He was just a casual lover for Li Tingyan, purely because he was good-looking. They both benefited from the arrangement, but for someone as busy as Li Tingyan, how could he have time to care about a small lover’s career development?
“Alright, maybe I overthought it,” Lin Chi exhaled, feeling relaxed as he thought about the contract he was about to sign, and his tone became cheerful. “I was just asking, no other intentions. As I said, my career is already on the rise; I don’t need anyone’s help.”
Li Tingyan’s voice was gentle, “I understand.”
The phone conversation fell silent for a moment.
It was already November, and the weather on the streets had turned cold. People were wrapped in thick coats.
Lin Chi, being vain, still dressed lightly, showing his slender collarbone and wrists, with only a narrow green scarf around his neck, just covering his Adam’s apple.
He fiddled with his phone, wanting to say more to Li Tingyan but not knowing what to say. Someone honked nearby, making a noisy sound.
Amid the hustle and bustle, he heard Li Tingyan ask, “Are you free in a few days? Do you want to come out and celebrate?”
Lin Chi slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Celebrate what?”
The traffic light had already changed, but he hadn’t moved.
People around him hurried across the crosswalk, but he remained at the street corner.
“Celebrate your career advancement, celebrate meeting your mentor,” Li Tingyan’s voice was still gentle, his side quiet enough to amplify his voice. “Besides, isn’t your birthday coming up?”
This time, Lin Chi truly felt a momentary void in his ears.
“How do you know?”
His birthday was on November 23, indeed approaching.
But he was puzzled, sure he hadn’t mentioned it to Li Tingyan.
Li Tingyan said, “I saw your ID card, and once you left a resume on the bed, it had your birth date on it.”
Ah…
Lin Chi touched his nose; it was something he would do, leaving things lying around. It wasn’t surprising that Li Tingyan saw it.
But seeing it was one thing; remembering it so well was another.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
He heard Li Tingyan ask seriously, “Do you want to spend your birthday together?”
Lin Chi truly laughed this time.
Because of Li Tingyan’s serious inquiry, as if it were a significant meeting that needed to be scheduled in advance.
How interesting.
He glanced at his calendar. He didn’t really like celebrating his birthday and had declined friends’ offers to celebrate.
Though he loved excitement, he didn’t enjoy grand celebrations on his birthday.
He smiled and said to Li Tingyan, “If it’s just the two of us, sure. I don’t like noisy birthday parties.”
Finally, after hanging up the phone, Lin Chi noticed a light rain falling, making his hair slightly damp.
A gust of wind blew, and dressed so lightly, he couldn’t help but shiver. The light turned green again, and he quickly ran across the street.
On the other side was a cake shop selling hot milk tea and freshly baked fig cakes. He usually didn’t indulge himself, but maybe because he was in a good mood, he bought one for himself.
“Huo Yuning would definitely scold me if she knew.”
He muttered to himself, then took a big bite.