It wasn’t long before the event officially started.
This final round was different from the previous preliminary and semifinal rounds. After taking their photos, the eleven contestants sent them via email to the organizers, without publishing them on the official website beforehand. The host, dressed in a black evening gown, greeted the attendees with a smile: "Welcome to the finals of this street photography contest. Next, we will display the photos of each contestant on the big screen in sequence, and invite them on stage to explain their shooting concepts. Once all explanations are complete, the audience here and the viewers in the live broadcast room will vote together, and the top three contestants with the most votes will be crowned as tonight’s champions."
The lights on the stage flashed, weaving a dreamlike tapestry of light and shadow.
The first contestant stepped onto the stage, and his entry titled "Carp" appeared on the screen.
This contestant seemed a bit nervous, cleared his throat, and started explaining his work, "Hello everyone, my, my photography piece was taken at a small temple in the southern part of the city. There’s a scarcely visited pond in that temple, and I accidentally discovered the koi fish in it..." He elaborated on his process of finding the koi, the timing of the snapshot, the use of light, as well as his ideas about composition and post-editing. Finally, he bowed deeply, earning a round of enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Su Xingyu applauded as well. The photographers in the finals are all quite skilled, especially with this type of animal photography, which is considered relatively difficult. Choosing such a photo for the final is, in itself, a testament to one’s capabilities.
The host took back the microphone and smiled, "Now, let us invite the special guest judge of this competition—Mr. Gu Zijing, director of the Art and Creative Department at Blade Group, to give us his critique of this photo."
Dreamlike beams of light swept across the audience, finally landing on someone in the first row.
Su Xingyu turned her head and saw the figure seated one seat apart on her right. Unsurprisingly, that area was occupied by Blade Group staff. Gu Zijing stood up calmly, waved to the audience and cameras, while the man beside him, known as "Mr. Leng," continued typing on his notebook with a poker face, seemingly indifferent to the beams and cameras brazenly catching him slacking off. The rightful source is novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Su Xingyu’s gaze was drawn to this man—just how strong must his mental resilience be?
The photographer instinct within her stirred again, and she couldn’t resist stealthily taking out her phone and snapping a candid shot of Mr. Leng’s side profile. She thought her movements were discreet, as years of practicing street photography had honed her skills to perfection. Although she was very close, she felt confident that her silent phone capture in the dark would go unnoticed.
Yet, just as she pressed the shutter button, the man who had been typing away suddenly turned his head, his sharp, aggressive eyes locking onto her: "Delete it."
Su Xingyu was stunned.
How did he, how did he even notice?!
He had been so focused that it seemed like he wouldn’t have noticed even if the world had collapsed!
Due to the shock, she momentarily forgot to react and just stared at him blankly.
Mr. Leng grew impatient: "Delete it!" His tone this time was more of an overpowering command.
Alright, getting caught taking candid shots, such matters should indeed heed the wishes of the subject. Reluctantly, she took out her phone, accessed the photo she had just taken. Although it was taken in the dark with inadequate exposure, thanks to her excellent fine-tuning skills and angle choice, she had captured the stern side profile of Mr. Leng clearly. His determined sharp eyes and his habitually furrowed brow created a perfect arc in the darkness. The backdrop of vast darkness and moonlight-like beams cast on the other side offered a stark contrast and impact akin to professional shots.
If this photo were shown, few would believe it was captured in a hurry.
Su Xingyu was a bit unwilling and tried negotiating: "Look, it’s so well taken, can I keep it? I can edit and then send you a copy, you look really handsome in it."
There was faint anger gathering around Mr. Leng: "Delete it or I’ll smash your phone, believe it or not?"
Su Xingyu was speechless. How is this person so hard to communicate with?!
Are all Blade Group staff ? Is Lu Shifeng, that Xie Jian, and now this Mr. Leng, whose name she doesn’t know, all the same? Feeling gloomy, she hesitantly prepared to delete the photo, finger hovering above the delete button, reluctant to press it, and dared to ask again, "Really delete it? Can you reconsider?"
His response was Mr. Leng’s sharp gaze, impatient enough to kill.
Su Xingyu’s heart was bleeding; she loved that photo, it was so sad.
But an arm can’t wrangle a thigh, so she had no choice but to press the delete button.
Just then, her phone screen lit up with an incoming call.
The caller ID, showing "Lu Shifeng," was almost blinding.
She looked at the screen, dumbfounded. Why would Lu Shifeng call her at this time? Could it be he found out she snuck out? Feeling guilty, she debated intensely whether to answer, her beautiful eyes fixed on the screen. After a long time, she still didn’t dare press the answer button.
The screen stayed bright for a while, but finally, the call ended.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the screen lit up again, still Lu Shifeng.
On the verge of tears, she held the phone as if it were a scalding potato, unable to decide whether to answer or not.
Next to her, Mr. Leng grew even more impatient, on the brink of exploding: "Either answer or hang up! Send me the photo."
Su Xingyu jumped in surprise and reflexively pressed the hang-up button, then reflexively reached for the photo’s delete button.
Mr. Leng stopped her immediately: "Did I tell you to send it to me, didn’t I?"
Stimulated one after another, Su Xingyu was feeling a bit off, "Send it to you? Didn’t you just say to delete the photo?"
In the shadowy darkness below the stage, Mr. Leng’s gaze was sharp: "You are Su Xingyu. If you want things to be wrapped up quickly, be sensible and send me the photo!"
Su Xingyu: "... How did you know who I am?"
Mr. Leng: "Lu Shifeng urgently transferred me here to help a photographer named Su Xingyu. Honestly, it’s risking delaying my work! Hurry up, after helping you I still need to catch a flight."
Her brain swamped with overwhelming information, Su Xingyu muddledly sent the photo to Mr. Leng.
Lu Shifeng urgently arranged for someone to help her? How is that possible? Hasn’t he always tried various ways to obstruct her from winning the championship?
Thinking about it, her phone screen lit up once more, still Lu Shifeng.
Instinctively, she pressed the answer button.