When the fans were voting, they experienced an unprecedented internal contradiction. If they were to vote according to the live stream performance, it was very clear who they should vote for.
On the one hand they felt that they should stay loyal to their idols, and support him no matter how their idol performed. On the other hand, they also wanted to be fair and just, and choose the person they personally admitted should be selected.
Some fans whose loyalty was relatively high and loved their own idols more deeply finally decided to vote for their idols. And those whose loyalty wasn't that high, and just liked their original favorite idols, voted for Jing Yang after some hesitation. And some netizens who had not previously decided who to support very simply directly voted for Jing Yang.
However, from this live broadcast, the netizens could tell that the shooting process for models was actually very hard, and very difficult. Even for well-qualified models, it would be very difficult to achieve a perfect shot. And so, Arthur Yang being able to perform to that degree must have been the result of a lot of effort and hard work. In these three years, he should not have slacked off at all.
The voting results came out very quickly. The director and designer's score, as well as the scores of the staff members, undoubtedly were biased toward Jing Yang. And for the netizens' vote, even though Jing Yang did not have a large fan base and thus did not get as many votes as those models with a lot of fans, the difference was not very big.
In the evening the organizers published the edited videos online. The number of views and clicks for Jing Yang's video skyrocketed, very quickly exceeding the numbers for the rest of the models combined. And the number of views was a very honest representation of the netizens' and fans' most authentic evaluation. Even if some fans waned to support their favorite models, they still could not resist looking at Jing Yang's video again and again.
Dilumo watched his own video and even he could barely stand to keep watching. And in the comments below, there were many netizens leaving satirical comments. Usually as long as someone said a single sentence bad about him, that person would immediately be surrounded by his fans. Seeing those who insulted him being scolded, he would feel incomparably comfortable in his heart. But right now, even the number of fans who came forward to speak for him had decreased.
What Dilumo didn't know was that those fans who helped him speak were fewer because most of his fans were currently repeatedly watching Jing Yang's video, and they simply did not even see people insulting him. There were also a small number of fans who were already too embarrassed to help defend him. There were only some brain-dead powders still insisting on helping him out.
Dilumo did not go watch Jing Yang's video, just looking at his view count, he had already thrown the computer to the floor in fury.
"Those stupid fans, didn't they say that they would always support me no matter what? And now just when I need their support, where did they all run off to?!" Dilumo slapped the table in anger.
Conley sat on the sofa, saying indifferently, "Fans were originally very temperamental creatures, they like whoever does well. In the past you did well so they liked you, and now he performed well they like him, isn't this very normal? Did you expect them to always stay loyal to you? Unless you always perform extremely well, that is impossible."
Dilumo quickly walked up to Conley and grabbed his collar, viciously glaring at him. "Don't be so ambiguous here, don't think that I can't tell you're praising Arthur and insulting me. Your fate is now tied together with mine, if I'm not good, you think you can do well?! Look at your gaze today at him, the dirty thoughts in your heart were simply written on your face, did you think I couldn't see? Or did you think that if you went to go find him now, he would still forgive you and return to your side?!"
Conley pulled his hand away and said with a not very good expression, "You're overthinking it, I am very clear about our current situation. I also know that our fates are connected, and of course I hope that you can be better than him."
"I'm telling you Conley!" Dilumo viciously said. "Don't think that you can just get rid of me, everything was done by the two of us together, even if I fall to hell I will pull you with me! Don't think that you could play both sides and win! If you dare to come up with any tricks, and deal with me like you helped me deal with him, I will take you down with me! No one will win!"
Conley stood up, his face ugly. "Right now your emotional state is uncontrolled. We'll talk after you calm down, rest early."
Dilumo's face twisted as Conley walked out, that normally gentle and amiable mask was completely shattered.
Conley closed the door from the outside and looked gloomily at the already closed door. In the corridor he just happened to meet the staff member that had arranged the rooms for them, so he walked over and asked, "Excuse me, what room does Arthur Yang live in?"
The staff member looked him over strangely and did not answer his question.
Conley quickly explained, "It's like this, I have some very important things to talk to him about. We are very old friends, even though we have some misunderstandings, but not any deep hatred, so…"
"I'm sorry." The staff member interrupted him. "We have rules, and cannot casually disclose to anyone a model's room. If you want to see him, you can contact him personally."
"Is that so? Okay, I, will contact him myself…" If Conley could directly contact him, he wouldn't need to ask a staff member. But they wouldn't say, and he also couldn't keep asking, or else it would only arouse suspicion.
~
When Jing Yang was almost falling asleep, he suddenly felt someone press on his body. As soon as he was going to open his eyes, his mouth was blocked, and a very strong tongue reached into his mouth and entangled his tongue.
"En~wu~" A wide palm kneaded between his legs, and Jing Yang was rubbed with some pain. He couldn't help but clamp his legs together and issue a sound in protest.
Regulus took off his pajama pants and stroked his thighs with force.
Jing Yang felt that his movements were a little rough and his mood was also somewhat wrong. He held his shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?"
Regulus occupied his lips and sucked them hard, then rested his head on Jing Yang's forehead. "I don't want to let anyone see your body. I want to hide you away, your legs, your body, are all mine."
Regulus watched Jing Yang's complete video. The person inside was so beautiful he didn't seem like he could be real, his body was too beautiful, every line was like it had been personally made by God. Such a beautiful person, such a seductive body, how could it not attract people's gaze. This gave him the sense that his treasure was being spied on by thousands, millions of people, making his heart feel very uncomfortable. This was a treasure belonging only to him, he did not want to let anyone else see. Once he thought that there definitely were people thinking of some unsavory things while looking at Jing Yang's body, his heart became even more uncomfortable.
"But the model's job is to use their body to show the products ah." Jing Yang met his gaze in the dark. "They can only see, but only you can touch me. My body only belongs to you…I don't want to give up my job."
"I know, I know." Regulus tightly hugged him. "I'm not going to force you to give up your modeling job, I'm just…somewhat jealous, jealous of all of the people who can see your body. So, you have to compensate me."
"What kind of compensation do you want?" Jing Yang asked.
"I want you to stay with me your entire life, and never leave me." Regulus said very seriously.
"Okay." Jing Yang agreed. "I promise you, not only this life, but also the next life, and the lifetime after that…I will always stay by your side, and never leave you."
The two people made a promise, the mantra that they gave themselves. It would always be etched in their souls and would never disappear.
Regulus slowly leaned down and kissed his body.
"En~ah~" Jing Yang grabbed the pillow hard, bearing Regulus's powerful impacts. He was like a boat drifting in the wind and rain, shaking non-stop until his head was almost dizzy. Yet his body was very excited and very happy, wanting even more.
~
The first stage of the competition was over. Even though Jing Yang's support rate online was not the highest, once the overall score was calculated, he was still firmly in first place.
The second stage of the competition was the fashion show. All of the models were taken to Worsson, the designer menswear company under the Fernelea group, for rehearsals before the catwalk.
The hottest designer this season was McDonnell, one of the chief designers of Worsson menswear and a famous demon figure in the modelling world. Not only was his character bad, but his tongue was also more poisonous than a snake. Even the best supermodels couldn't escape his poisonous tongue. But he just had to be a genius in clothing design, and every item he designed would be sought after by countless people. So even if his tongue offended a lot of people, he still sat safely in the position of Worsson's chief designer.
As soon as the models heard that this time they had to show clothing designed by McDonnell, everyone was distressed. They desperately steeled themselves and reminded themselves that no matter how unpleasant his words were, they had to bear it.
The models stood on the rehearsal stage. McDonnell came in wearing sunglasses and with his chin raised, followed by seven or eight assistants, walking proudly like a peacock.
McDonnell took off his sunglasses and an assistant immediately reached to take them. He quickly glanced at the models and said, "Are these the models I'm going to use for the new launch?"
"Yes." An assistant said.
"They're stuffing any random junk over with me." McDonnell rolled his eyes and glanced at the models with disdain. "I'm going to choose myself, if I can't see them, let them leave."
The assistant quickly whispered in his ear. "These models are also the participants in this time's Fernelea lifetime spokesperson competition. The new release and the live broadcast of the competition will be at the same time. Big Boss personally ordered that every person must be used."
McDonnell's eyes turned, and he said, "Then let them all get dressed and let me see."
The staff took the models to change their clothes. What they were wearing now was just samples of a couple styles, and the real new clothing would only be worn in the final rehearsal before the launch.
After the models changed their clothes, the catwalk director Klass also came over. He walked to McDonnell and asked, "What, are you already starting to rehearse?"
"No." McDonnell said. "I'm going to select."
"Isn't this time's show with the competition? Is it useful for you to pick and choose?" Klass asked doubtfully.
"I'm willing, can you control me?" McDonnell squinted at him.
"Okay okay okay, you pick and choose slowly, once you're done call me, I'll come over and start rehearsing for them." Klass couldn't provoke him but could hide, he first went to rest.
McDonnell walked up to the models and said to the first model, "The neck is so long, are you a giraffe? Please shrink your neck as much as you can when you walk on the catwalk."
He frowned and said to the second model, "Your ratios are too strange ba? You're so tall but your legs are so short, with your appearance you still actually came to be a model? I would be embarrassed to even leave the door if I were you."
He walked to the third model's face and said, "Your head is too big, not only is the proportion disharmonious, but it would make other people focus on your head, who would go to look at the clothes? If you have the least bit of work ethic, you should take the initiative to quit."
Models' bodies were commodities, and letting other people nitpick them was one of the duties of their work. When newcomers first entered the business, they would basically all suffer from a round of criticism. But personal attacks like McDonnell's that directly jabbed at their hearts really were rare.
When he walked to Jing Yang, he looked him up and down several times, failed to find a point that he could criticize, and then walked twice around him. He really could not find any flaws, and could only say, "You…are not bad, at least there is one that can get into my eyes."
Dilumo saw him walk in front of him and couldn't help but hold his breath. Just now there was someone who had received confirmation, and he felt that he was not any worse than him, so he should also be able to get a good review.
"Your shoulders are too narrow! How can such shoulders hold up clothes?" McDonnell looked at Dilumo with a face full of disdain. "And what's going on with your waist? It's all rounded like this and you actually still have face to be a model, do you not usually manage your body shape? Do you have any professionalism?"
Dilumo's face showed signs of cracking, and he struggled to bear the anger in his heart. This was the first time he had been criticized so miserably since he had entered this career.
The netizens watching the live stream also knew what kind of character McDonnell was, and the people who worshipped McDonnell were not any less than those worshipping these models. Some netizens felt that it was very interesting to watch McDonnell swear at people. The key was that after he scolded them, and you went to look at that model, you would discover that he did not say anything wrong, it was just that his words were more vicious.
Even though McDonnell's mouth was poisonous, he had never randomly scolded. Every swear he let out was a real problem that the model had.
Dilumo had never walked in McDonnell's shows before, so of course he had not been scolded by him before. But after only once, when even his own fans looked at his waist, they felt that it really was quite round, and his shoulders were really too narrow. So some of his fans silently climbed the wall and left.
Translator Notes:
[1] ambiguous – 阴阳怪气, seems a little weird, meaning is like eccentric, mystifying, doesn't really seem to fit this context
[2] take you down with me – 同归于尽, idiom, means ending in mutual destruction
[3] Worsson – 沃欧森, pinyin wo ou sen
[4] hottest – 新款, actually means like newest or latest, but doesn't seem right in this context
[5] McDonnell – 麦唐尼, pinyin mai tang ni, would personally have translated it to Martini or something lol but MTL uses this consistently
[6] random junk – 外拐裂枣, uhh so this is like defective goods I think
[7] Klass – 克拉斯, pinyin ke la si
[8] nitpick – 评头论足, idiom, means minute criticism, finding fault in the minor details, esp for appearance
[9] climbed the wall – 爬墙, basically means to no longer be fans of him
Random Notes:
About 1 hour: 2 pm – 3 pm, for 4.4k characters to 2.7k words. I imagine McDonnell as Gordon Ramsey for fashion, but more vicious. lol.