Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

Alan wanted to pull out the weeds, as Jessy explained beforehand. I thought Alan was the type of person who was laid-back and liked to party. Who would have thought that he was actually being cold-blooded in his work? Alan demanded perfection, and that’s what the models and actors at Gene had to show.

Ms. Lola used to promote Yuri Wu as the top model. Unfortunately, Yuri Wu stopped being a supermodel ten years ago. She was now more focused on being a housewife to her husband-a vocalist in an international rock band-and their two children.

Because of that, Alan wanted to re-evaluate which models would be prioritized in promotions. He was looking for new faces as Gene’s management icons to replace Yuri Wu.

To vie for that position, we had to showcase our talents. One by one, we would demonstrate our abilities in photoshoots. The camera would take our photos five times automatically, with a three-second interval between poses. All we had to do was display our best pose each time the camera snapped.

It was a concept similar to a photo box.

There wasn’t much time to think of new poses. Everyone naturally used their signature poses, and that’s what Alan wanted to see. There was no chance to change outfits because Alan also wanted to see our fashion taste.

I glanced at the cameras that had been set up. There were three cameras in total. Two cameras from lower angles are positioned diagonally upward. One camera stood upright to shoot from the front.

I observed the models and actors showing off their signature poses. The actors and actresses mostly smiled elegantly or sweetly, while the models displayed more daring poses.

Kiara, of course, behaved like a snake, with the first two poses showing a calm and elegant pose, then three more poses with daring poses. Too daring, even. She looked more like an advertisement for prostitution than an editorial in a magazine.

“Fenella. It’s your turn,” Jessy said, quickly putting her arm around my waist.

I stepped forward onto the main stage. Everyone was watching me, including Alan, who sat right in front of the small screen to see all the photo results. I had to make sure I would still have my contract extended at Gene.

Retirement age as a model? Ha! There’s no such thing! I would prove that, as long as I wanted, I would remain a model. I was even a more professional and mature model than others.

“I’m ready,” I said, nodding to Jessy.

The sound of the camera counter buzzed three times. For the first pose, I used an elegant pose. For the second pose, I imitated a masculine style.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Three seconds later, I changed poses again, this time more daringly with a pose like my signature ballet move with one leg raised in the air with a unique curve while my face was made flat with a blank gaze staring out the window. I named that pose “Fairy Dance.”

For the fourth pose, my body faced sideways while my eyes stared sharply at the front camera. Meanwhile, the other hand tossed my white shoulder bag so that the bag floated in the air as if posing with me, with me as the controller of the bag’s leash. My bag eventually fell off the stage.

On the last opportunity, I quickly took off both of my shoes. At the last count, I jumped and landed with a split-thank God I wear shorts. Both of my hands were raised above, with both index fingers bent, forming a hook to pinch the strap. My facial expression smiled satisfactorily with happiness.

When I finished, I was almost out of breath. People applauded loudly.

“Bravo! Fantastic! Magnific!” Alan cheered as he clapped loudly.

“Thank you,” I said, blushing.

“I have never seen such drastic pose changes like that before. All the movements seemed to have been carefully calculated for a long time. Are those really your signature poses?” Alan asked with a gleam of bright light in his eyes. He seemed very impressed.

“Yes. Those poses usually always manage to dazzle the photographers.” I stood up, blushing with embarrassment.

“Great.” Alan clenched his fist and punched the air. “Okay, next. Oh, God, Fenella. You’ve raised the standard to a much higher level.”

I stepped down from the stage and immediately grabbed my white bag. I quickly put on my shoes and walked lightly towards Jessy.

“Did you see that? I’ve never felt so nervous before!” I exclaimed with a suppressed shout.

“I saw everything, Fenella. You were amazing. You deserve to be the new supermodel. You deserve to be the new face of Gene.” Jessy continued to praise me, and then we hugged tightly.

“Thank you, Jessy. This is all thanks to you.” We laughed together gleefully.

I still remember the first time I entered the modeling world. Since I first joined Gene, Jessy has been my agent. In the beginning, she handled two models at once-me and another model. The other model always changed for various reasons, but not me.

Jessy and I persevered through the tough fashion world until Jessy was finally assigned exclusively by Ms. Lola to be my agent. We were a very compact and complementary work team.

Up to this point, I felt proud. Yes, I’m not a supermodel. Yes, I’m still struggling to get an extension of my contract with the mother agency. But at least I have grown rapidly, and I am proud of my achievements.

“Hey, good job.” Greg hugged me briefly.

“You too, Greg. Good job.”

“Drink?” Greg then handed me and Jessy two cocktail glasses.

“Thank you,” I said, and Jessy said at the same time.

“I think Alan will choose you to be the new face of Gene,” Greg said. “No one makes Alan so enthusiastic other than you.”

“Do you think so?” Kiara suddenly returned with her arrogant demeanor.

“Yes, I think so. What about you?” I asked Jessy.

“Oh, of course, I also think so. How about you, Greg?” Jessy asked.

“Of course.” Greg nodded as if we were discussing the weather in October.

“Stop fooling around.” Kiara hissed, clearly annoyed at being teased.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be so arrogant after this,” Kiara said with a thin, wicked smile at me, her hands clasped in front of her chest. Then she turned and left.