Qin Guan held three individual awards in his hands. Looking at the lonely, small diploma in his hand, Ouyang Fen felt weak both physically and mentally.

Qin Guan piled up his certificates and returned to his original position. The results of the local final would soon be announced. The host read from his card excitedly, "The third winners of the capital local final of the New Face Model Compet.i.tion are No. 21 Li Xiaoli, and No.7 x.x.x..."

They both came on the stage to get their bouquets and certificates from the distinguished guests. Li Xiaoli was quite happy. As a green hand designer, I'm really fortunate to place third. She hadn't just won an award, but also a chance to be guided by a professional designer. n.o.body could be happier than her.

"The silver medal winners are x.x.x, No.11 of the female group, and Ouyang Fen, No.20 of the male group." When Ouyang Fen returned with his diploma, Qin Guan grinned at him and said insincerely, "Congratulations."

F*ck congratulations! As Ouyang Fen had expected, the host announced that Qin Guan was the winner of the male group. Qin Guan put his pile of certificates into Ouyang Fen's hands and headed for the stage. "Give me a hand, buddy. I've got too many awards."

Too many awards? I have plenty myself. You are bullying me! And I'm not your buddy, I'm your enemy! Your arch enemy! Understand?

Smiling brilliantly, Qin Guan accepted his bouquet and diploma. The host was holding a small announcement from the Chief Editor of "Models" magazine.

Holding the microphone excitedly, she announced the good news to the models, "Dear contestants, our compet.i.tion has been completed successfully. The top 10 contestants will partic.i.p.ate in the national quarter-final, representing the capital. Of course, that's not the only good news. The following news, brought by the Chief Editor of 'Models' magazine, will surprise you all. The top three of the compet.i.tion will be invited to an outdoor photoshoot of the magazine in September, the most beautiful part of autumn. The photos will be published inside the latest issue of the magazine. Aren't you excited by the news?"

"Yes!"

"Excellent!"

The contestants buzzed with excitement. Such a chance was quite big for them.

The compet.i.tion ended on that happy note.

Qin Guan was frowning as he returned backstage. Sister Xue was negotiating with the staff of the organizing committee and packing up his diplomas. She thought that there was something wrong with him, but she was too busy to ask. I'll find out later.

She got rid of Ou Qiang, packed up Qin Guan's things, arranged his diplomas and bouquet, got his first winner award and notice for the quarter-final, put the photoshoot notice away, and finally drove Qin Guan back to college in her shabby car.

It was dark and the headlights of her small Lada created a bright halo on the road. Sister Xue let out a long breath and told Qin Guan, "I know what you're thinking. Just say it. You don't want to attend the photoshoot at all."

Qin Guan nodded. "Won't it affect my courses? I'll be really busy."

Sister Xue held the steering wheel with one hand, opened the glove compartment, and searched around inside. Qin Guan pulled a wrinkled pack of cigarettes from the side of the door. He handed her the last cigarette and said, "That's what you're looking for, right? You should smoke less. You always smoke, no matter what mood you're in."

Sister Xue took the cigarette and lit it up, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Stop talking nonsense. I read the schedule. We'll start on Friday afternoon and shoot on Sat.u.r.day. You'll be background for others. The job will be finished in half a day. I'll drive there with you, and we'll return on the same day. It won't take too long."

Qin Guan felt relieved. Then he came to the most important question, "How much is the award for the local final?"

Sister Xue sneered, as if she had known Qin Guan would ask that question. "2,000 yuan."

"What? Only 2,000 yuan?" Qin Guan would have jumped out of his seat if it wasn't for the seat belt.

"You should be grateful. Some domestic compet.i.tions even ask the partic.i.p.ants for money. I picked a formal compet.i.tion for you. Anyway, you could make some money. How much do you expect to make with your current fame though? If you win the national final, the award will be bigger. About 10,000 yuan, I think."

All right. The total prizes will be more than 10,000 yuan. Qin Guan felt that his effort hadn't gone to waste. At the entrance of the college, he picked up his bouquet and diplomas. He took six bills from the award money and handed them to Sister Xue. "Here is your share, one third of the total amount. Take it. It's late, buy something delicious for yourself."

Sister Xue accepted the money, murmuring "nasty kid" before she got back in the car. She didn't forget to remind Qin Guan happily, "There is no term for an award share in our contract. Thanks a lot for your generous gift." Then she drove away, leaving in a wisp of smoke. Qin Guan saw her off blankly. He wanted to weep, but he failed to shed any tears. I was cheated. Where is my money?

The intense summer heat slowly subsided. Autumn came. The top 10 contestants of all the local finals gathered in the capital, and the quarter-final of the New Face Model Compet.i.tion officially began.

There were 280 contestants from 19 areas partic.i.p.ating in the quarter-final. Only the lucky top 30 guys would qualify for the national final at the end of August. The atmosphere was tense at the compet.i.tion site. All the judges for the preliminary compet.i.tion had arrived.

The models needed to show up twice for the preliminary compet.i.tion. Once with an optional outfit, and once with a swimsuit. Their fate would be decided by their performance.

The site for the quarter-final was much larger. There were five entrances to the main T stage. This meant that there would be five models on the T stage at the same time. It would be a test for their style and, in a sense, their luck.