You don’t need to show anything, just normal, natural everyday photos. If you’re not comfortable, you can bring a friend. One day is 200, two days is 400. It won’t interfere with your business.

“Of course, the rights to use the photos belong to me.”

He pushed the 50 yuan over again, tore off a piece of paper, and wrote down a phone number: “Think about it.”

After saying that, William Clark pushed the door open and left.

Once outside, he immediately felt guilty, losing all the confidence he had just shown. He slipped out of the courtyard, sneaking onto the main street before finally letting out a sigh of relief: Damn, I really don’t want to act out a vice raid scene!

Seeing that it was getting late, he had no choice but to head back to school first and continue gathering material tomorrow.

For the next two days, William Clark kept scouting for inspiration and met a few more young women.

He spent 150 yuan just on PR expenses!

On the third day, he finally got a call. The voice was a bit hoarse: “Hello? Hi, are you the one, the one, taking photos?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Liangma River.”

“Oh, have you made up your mind?”

“Yeah, when do we shoot?”

“Tomorrow is fine, from morning till evening, starting at five. Bring your makeup bag. Meals are included, but not transportation. Payment after the shoot. You pick the meeting place.”

The amount of information in that one sentence made the girl hesitate a bit. Finally, she said, “Then, how about in front of Yansha?”

“Sure. By the way, tell me what I should call you.”

“What?”

“Give me a name I can use to address you.”

“Grace.”

“Alright, you can call me Mr. Brooks.”

……

In 1992, north of Liangma River, the first Sino-foreign joint venture department store opened: Yansha Friendship Mall.

Together with the Kempinski, Kunlun, and Great Wall—other five-star hotels—it formed a high-end business district. Back then, the wealthy in Beijing were basically speculators, either flipping goods domestically or abroad. Foreigners came and went, but you’d never see ordinary folks.

There was no choice but to let a portion of the comprador class get rich first.

In short, Yansha has always been a pretty upscale mall, known to everyone in Beijing.

The next day, five o’clock.

Autumn mornings weren’t as bright as summer ones; the first light was faint, blue tinged with gray.

William Clark was already waiting at the mall entrance, pacing back and forth. Occasionally, he’d run into a few early risers or people coming off the night shift, who’d cluelessly come over and ask if he had any discs.

Damn!

If he did, William Clark really would have sold them.

A little after five, he saw a girl hesitantly walking over, her hair in a ponytail, no makeup, a fair face showing both tiredness and nervousness.

“Grace?”

“Mr. Brooks!”

“Hey, you didn’t bring a friend?”

“……”

She shook her head. William Clark smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it’s broad daylight—I can’t do anything to you. Since you’re here, let’s just take the photos calmly.

Let’s shoot a few under the morning sun first, then have breakfast. By the way, did you bring your makeup?”

“I did!”

Grace showed him her small bag.

“Then freshen up a bit first. Your usual look is really rough—do your makeup the way I tell you.”

William Clark couldn’t do makeup himself, but he’d seen plenty. He’d even slept with several top streamers, so he pointed and instructed:

“Your eyebrows are a bit short, so extend them, and make them a little lighter. The other day you looked like Crayon Shin-chan. And curve them a bit, curve them—do you know willow-leaf eyebrows?”

“If you want your small eyes to look bigger, eyeliner is key. Follow the inner edge, keep going, and at the end, extend it outward and lift it up. Yes, yes!”

Grace was a bit confused but obedient, and after a few tries, finally got her makeup done.

William Clark looked at her clothes—plain and natural—so he said, “Let’s go, we’ll shoot by the river.”

Liangma River doesn’t have much presence in Beijing; it was neglected for years, overgrown with duckweed and weeds, and stank to high heaven. Only in recent years did they start cleaning it up, clearing the mud and weeds on both sides and laying some stone tiles.

There was even a small cruise ship docked in the river, which was a boat bar that operated until around the 2008 Olympics.

As a media professional, William Clark was quite skilled at photography. He directed, “Walk along the riverbank with your hands behind your back and your head down. I’ll take a few shots first.”

He snapped a few photos, but something felt off. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Roll up your pant legs.”

“What?”

“Roll them up to your knees, and let your hair down.”

Grace was at a loss, not knowing what to do—this was a whole new job for her. She did as she was told, awkwardly walking back and forth along the riverbank.

Still not quite right.

“Smile!”

“Can’t you smile?”

“I told you not to frown. You should smile at the morning sun. Look at that bright sunlight, the world is beautiful, and your mood should naturally be cheerful and happy!”

William Clark switched into work mode, which was a bit intimidating.

“I, I…”

“What do you mean, ‘I’? How long has it been? Soon the morning sun will turn into the evening sun!”

“I can’t smile.”

Grace lowered her head.

“……”

William Clark paused, was silent for a moment, then started shouting again: