Eternal Replay: A Love Rekindled

Chapter Fifteen

The screen of the mobile phone was flashing an unknown phone number. After a few moments of silent breathing, Corey composed himself and answered the call.

"Hello, is this Corey? I'm Robert, Nina's uncle," a steady male voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hello, uncle," Corey said sweetly, trying to sound friendly right from the start.

Robert didn't mind being called "uncle". He had only one niece, Nina. Naturally, he had some favorable impression of Corey, who had been praised to the skies by Nina.

"Nina might have told you the general situation, so I won't beat around the bush," Robert said straightforwardly. However, what he said next took Corey completely by surprise. "You know Secret, right? They are currently auditioning models for an upcoming advertisement. If you're interested, I can recommend you to my friend."

Of course Corey knew Secret. Its Chinese brand name, translated as "*", was a world - renowned luxury brand. It mainly dealt in perfumes and bags, and also had a high - end cosmetics line. Among its products, almost every bottle of perfume was a classic. Once launched, no matter how expensive, it could start a new trend.

Corey also knew about the advertisement Robert mentioned. The product series newly launched in 2011 was regarded as the pinnacle of perfection in the following years. Even the empty bottles of that series were speculated to sky - high prices by shrewd collectors after production ceased. Another reason this year's advertisement was so memorable was that, in order to open up the Greater China market, Secret, for the first and precedent - setting time, shot two advertisements for its perfume.

Knowing how haughty Secret was, it had never shown such preference for any region before to the extent of creating a special advertisement for it.

Precisely because of this, the chance to shoot this advertisement made countless popular stars flock to it, vying for the opportunity with all their might. All kinds of malicious gossip and back - stabbing tactics made it seem like a real - life palace intrigue drama during the period when the news broke.

This opportunity from Secret was far better than that ridiculous summer - release drama. Corey's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said, "I know about it. Thank you, uncle. I'm interested!"

Robert said on the other end of the phone, "Well, you don't have to rush. The formal audition is after the New Year. I heard from Nina that you're studying in City A, so the distance is just right. I'll contact you then."

Corey said goodbye to Robert very politely. As soon as he hung up the phone, he excitedly jumped onto the bed and almost punched the mattress.

However, Corey soon calmed down.

Although the opportunity provided by Robert was rare, and he was confident in the audition, things in the entertainment industry often didn't work that way. You couldn't always get a chance just because you had the talent. The capital operations and power games behind the scenes often couldn't be countered solely by personal talent or ability.

Not to mention that he was penniless and just an ordinary nobody with no fame at all. Competing with top - tier stars for a coveted opportunity was like daydreaming.

Even though the audition was still far away, Corey could more or less predict the outcome.

But this wasn't enough to discourage him. Since he couldn't seize the domestic opportunity, why be restricted to it? Secret's annual advertisement, after years of development, had become a must - watch global series. Instead of competing for a highly competitive domestic advertisement opportunity, it might be better to focus on the broader global market.

Secret's annual advertisement had never cared about the fame of the models. Successfully participating in it was almost equivalent to becoming globally famous. As for why Robert didn't offer Corey the drama opportunity but a more excellent one this time, Corey thought the reason probably lay in the difference in the first impression.

After the class reunion in his previous life, they, a group of boys, were laughing and playing around until very late. They were all drunk, staggering around, looking listless and lacking in manners. This was in stark contrast to his well - behaved, smiling, and honey - tongued demeanor this time. In addition, Corey paid more attention to his appearance, and he was much more handsome than in his previous life.

As soon as he got this unexpected opportunity, Corey immediately went to Secret's official website and repeatedly watched every advertisement they had made since the millennium. In each of Secret's advertisements, usually all the main products of that year were integrated into the details, and each advertisement of each year had a theme that echoed all the series of that year.

Youth, Poison, Luxury... had all been the themes of Secret's globally stunning product series.

Secret, famous for its picky standards, had never hidden its love for beautiful men and women. As a result, almost every year's advertisement featured a stunning beauty that left everyone in awe.

The official website revealed very little information about this year's advertisement. However, Corey still found a keyword revealed by Danae, the perfume design director, in a recent news interview: narcissism.

Corey was suddenly enlightened by this keyword.

The reason why this year's advertisement could become a classic was precisely because of this crucial keyword that added the finishing touch to Secret's product series. Since its inception, Secret had never concealed its "narcissistic" attitude. It was arrogant and aloof, much like a self - admiring god in the clouds, looking down on the mundane world. It was just that in the previous products, this attitude was always veiled, but this time it was plainly stated.

Corey then recalled the documentary he had watched later about the shooting of this advertisement. When Danae reviewed the details of this advertisement shooting in it, she had clearly stated that, even though it was highly praised, in fact, both the casting and the final product of this advertisement didn't meet her expectations.

"Almost all the models at that time couldn't achieve the expressiveness I expected, and even some so - called professional actors were no exception. I think they should thank God for giving them a perfect face. Otherwise, their dull expressiveness would not only be unbearable to me but also definitely not be accepted by the audience.

Before the casting started, I naively thought that maybe there would be someone with a face that made heaven jealous and also a God - given expressiveness. But the fact proved that a window and a door can't be opened at the same time."

Corey had also watched both of the advertisements Secret shot later. The international version was actually of very high quality, while the domestic version, judged from a professional perspective, was indeed somewhat disappointing. As a result, in that review documentary, Danae didn't even mention the first advertisement for the Greater China region. When the reporter asked relevant questions, she looked very displeased and quickly skipped the topic.

Reality had to yield to capital, and capital often bowed to reality. In this year, Secret hoped to open up the largest market in the East and naturally had to spare no expense to cater to the audience. As a result, nearly half of the stars invited to shoot the advertisement were popular ones.

First of all, the advantages of this approach were obviously greater than the disadvantages. Distinguishable stars could bring topics and publicity, thus greatly optimizing the advertising placement effect. Secondly, the purchasing power brought by the fan effect couldn't be underestimated.

After this advertisement, Secret, under the Chinese brand name "*", entered the Eastern market and indeed achieved great success, even becoming more approachable than its previous aloof image. However, there were also disadvantages. Since then, the domestic and foreign market promotions were almost completely separated, and when viewed together, it always looked very strange. A few years later, when looking back at that separately - shot advertisement, a lot of negative comments began to surface, and it was far from the unanimously praised appearance it had back then.

Corey roughly sorted out his thoughts and felt more confident. However, when he looked at the figures of the men and women on the computer screen and then pinched the flesh on his own body, he felt that something was amiss.

Although he had a somewhat decent figure, having never missed out on playing basketball or working out, he had never had systematic training. Now, he only had the rudiments of muscles, and that was about it.

Now it seemed that it wasn't enough.