CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 76: CANDID OR POSED

Someone commented: [This restaurant is really nice. Last time I went there on a rainy day without an umbrella, and the waitstaff lent out all their umbrellas, so one of them took off his jacket to shield me from the rain.]

[I accidentally cut my hand on an oyster there once, and they even gave me a band-aid.]

[I lost my wallet there once, which had several thousand yuan in cash as well as my ID and bank cards, and they returned everything to me.]

One positive review after another quickly turned into a grand discussion about the restaurant. Even many people who had never been to the restaurant were drawn in, asking for the address and expressing a desire to dine there if given the chance.

This caused la faya to quickly gain popularity online, and the customer flow increased severalfold compared to usual.

The restaurant owner was very grateful to Su Xingyu, smilingly saying on Weibo: [Thanks to Miss Su for helping us with the promotion. Thank you for your eyes that are good at discovering beauty. Our la faya staff act sincerely; they are the most beautiful employees.]

The most beautiful employees, the most beautiful photos.

Su Xingyu’s photo titled "In the Rain" quickly led in votes, ranking high on the semi-final leaderboards.

As Su Xingyu browsed the vote count, she said to Lu Shifeng during dinner that day, "Thank you for helping me choose the photo. Can I ask why you picked this one?"

Lu Shifeng said, "It was a random choice."

Su Xingyu: "..."

A random choice, coincidentally picking the one she intended to use for the competition?

There were nearly a hundred photos on the camera!

She still found it somewhat incredible. Perhaps it was... a meeting of minds? The thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly felt a chill for thinking that way and dared not delve further. She buried her head and ate her meal.

Along with her, another photo was also receiving a high number of votes.

The photographer was the well-known Lin Luna, capturing a scene on the city’s famous artistic pathway of a girl dancing amidst blooming flowers. The girl wore a light silk white dress, her hair draping over her shoulders. It seemed someone called to her from behind, prompting her delicate turn under the sunlight, with a smile so beautiful it was intoxicating.

[This girl is really beautiful.]

[Great taste in clothes and posture—a 100-point beauty!]

[Indeed, among all the photos in the street photography contest, this girl has to be the most attractive, right? It’s rare to see a photo with both excellent photography techniques and such a beautiful subject. Not giving this photo first place is unconceivable!]

[I voted for this one.]

[So did I.]

[Me too.]

A herd of followers quickly pushed this photo to a rank higher than Su Xingyu’s French restaurant photo.

Su Xingyu glanced at the photo, a slight cold smile appearing between her eyebrows: "Su Xingqi?" Sure enough, the girl in the photo was her half-sister Su Xingqi. Somehow, she had also entered the competition!

She didn’t believe that this photo was a casual snapshot. The composition, lighting, distance...

It all looked too staged!

This was a street photography competition! Street photography inherently disallows staging!

With nimble fingers, she opened her frequently visited photography forum and posted Su Xingqi’s photo.

She added a title: [Everyone, help determine whether this is a candid shot or a staged one?]

Her ID "Xingchen" was well-known, and soon the post received a flood of replies. Many photographers pointed out that based on various details, the likelihood of it being staged was high. The smile was too deliberate, given the distance and angle of the flower path, an unintentional turn should show more surprise in the eyes, and the light and skirt hem should be more casual, not exhibiting such a deliberately fluttering effect akin to a wind machine.

A curious bystander asked what the photo was about.

Su Xingyu replied: A street photography contest in S City.

Several photographers also following the competition commented: [The girl in the photo is none other than Su Xingqi. She is a professional model who has shot ads for Qin Bag and knows the photographer Lin Luna. They’ve collaborated before. It’s no surprise if Lin Luna invited Su Xingqi to help him for the contest.]

[That’s cheating!]

More photographers expressed their indignation.

Someone couldn’t resist logging onto the contest’s official site, posting these revelations in the comments.

The comment caused a great uproar, with the public beginning to debate whether it was staged.

Photographer Lin Luna specifically came out to clarify: [Indeed, Miss Su Xingqi is a professional model, and she’s also my friend. But who decided that models can’t participate in street photography competitions? That day we were shopping and walking down this flower path, and I suddenly got inspired. I called her name, she turned around, and I took this shot. Isn’t that a candid shot?]

Her explanation received much support. Who says models can’t enter the competition?

Moreover, someone wrote a long, eloquent article suggesting that originally frontrunner Su Xingyu couldn’t bear someone surpassing her, and deliberately sent trolls to smear Lin Luna and Su Xingqi. The article was very persuasive, and soon, online votes began a retaliatory rebound. Many irrational onlookers avidly supported Su Xingqi, and overnight, what was just a slight lead over Su Xingyu turned into a significant one.

Su Xingyu felt quite distressed, extremely distressed.

She sat in front of her computer in a daze, the gentle sunlight enveloping her.

Lu Shifeng walked into the room and saw her somewhat gloomy mood.

He glanced at the webpage she had open from behind and asked, "Running into trouble?"

Su Xingyu nodded, sighing as she recounted the events.

Again, it was Su Xingqi.

Lu Shifeng’s expression turned slightly cold: "Such activities hold little meaning for a model. She probably did it intentionally to prevent you from getting first place. I can help you deal with her."

Su Xingyu gave a bitter smile: "What can you do to deal with it? To be honest..."

Her slender fingers moved the mouse, lightly resting on the two photos: "That day I was kidnapped, everything was rushed, and the photo of the French restaurant didn’t have time for post-processing. Su Xingqi’s photo was processed, putting aside the candid versus staged issue, purely in terms of quality, it indeed slightly surpasses mine."

"Are you sure hers is staged?" Lu Shifeng asked.

"Certain," Su Xingyu said with a sigh, "But that’s just my intuition, not evidence." This was the problem; though many photographers knew that photo was staged and violated the street photography contest rules, none had enough evidence to prove it. After all, no one was at the scene of the photograph to capture any staging scenario.

Lu Shifeng gave her a calm look: "Give me some time."

With that, he turned and left the room.