"Oh, you guys got here fast! Over here, over here!"

Xiao He and the others turned to look, just in time to see Chadley waving at them with a camera hanging around his neck.

—This whole thing started with Xiao Chen.

After recovering the photos taken that day, Xiao Chen immediately contacted Chadley and had a friendly exchange with him.

And this time, Chadley, who had always been keen on photographing street scenery and regional culture, finally sent an invitation to Xiao Chen.

Oh, no, to be more precise, he sent an invitation to Xiao He.

As a street Photographer, Chadley naturally preferred the street culture of various regions. When he had no work invitations, he would travel around on foot, using his camera to freeze those "moments" that happened in life.

Besides being a street Photographer, just as Chadley had told Xiao Chen before, he also filmed basic photography tutorial videos and posted them online for beginners to learn from.

It was quite surprising that such a famous street Photographer would suddenly invite Xiao He to be his model.

After all, his lens mostly focused on ordinary people. Even when he was invited by the fast & furious 7 Film Crew to shoot a few times, he basically photographed cars instead of people.

If you had to count it that way, Xiao He should be the first celebrity model he had invited.

Liu Rulan hardly hesitated before agreeing directly.

It wouldn't take much time anyway, and Chadley was quite famous in the industry. This collaboration between two powerhouses could be considered an opportunity for both to break into new circles.

Why not?

It's just that Xiao He never expected the shooting background Chadley had set his sights on was actually the same neighborhood he and Lao Qi had visited before...

—

"Hi, Chadley!"

Leading the others across the road and getting closer to Chadley, Xiao He saw the camera hanging around Chadley's neck and the large bag on his back.

Xiao He's expression couldn't help but turn strange, and he looked back ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ at the small alley they had walked through last time across the road.

Great. Although the official shooting location wasn't in that alley, it was basically only separated by a wide main road.

But with Chadley choosing this place, won't he really get robbed?

After all, they were targeted by those two robbers before because they were carrying a camera and a backpack.

Looking at Chadley's familiar manner, could it be that he had already scouted this place many times?

And it was fine for him to wander around people's doorsteps?

Damn! So it really is because their appearance makes them easier to bully here! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Chadley had no idea about Xiao He's internal complaints. Seeing Xiao He and the others come over, he first asked worriedly about the injuries on Xiao Chen and Liu Rulan's hands. Upon hearing they had been robbed, his face showed anger and he clenched his fists: "If I had known, I should have been with you then! Some guys nowadays have indeed reached a level of insanity!"

Then he also patted Xiao Chen's back and said seriously: "You should also exercise well and learn some self-defense later! We Photographers need to be strong!"

Xiao Chen was patted into a stumble, his face turning red from the effort of holding back, but he quickly maintained his expression and scratched his head awkwardly: "O-okay..."

Xiao He also heard the dull thud after the palm landed and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Looking at the foreigner in front of him with a full beard and a physique a head bulkier than Lao Qi's, he finally understood why Chadley dared to be a hiking street Photographer.

【If you insist on stopping me from recording a beautiful life, then I also happen to know a bit of martial arts...】

"Oh, the wall graffiti here is indeed quite interesting."

Liu Rulan didn't want to continue the topic of her hand injury, so she stood at the entrance of the alley and looked inside, a rare look of amazement appearing on her face.

The others also followed Liu Rulan's footsteps and looked into the alleyway here.

The shops on both sides of the alley were already closed, and one could tell at a glance that this place had been abandoned for a long time. As far as the eye could see, there were dust-covered rolling shutter doors. Some areas on the ground were piled with useless trash bags and scrap cardboard. Even the road was slightly narrow, with only some parts receiving scattered light spots from the top, making it look less dark and damp.

In an alley and road condition like this, let alone normal people not passing through, it didn't look like a suitable place for them to take photos at all.

But perhaps because the economy here was quite developed in the early years, the urban beautification of this abandoned alley was surprisingly well done.

The rolling shutter doors on both sides, which had already been lowered, were painted in various colors—red, yellow, blue, green... extending all the way down. Every stroke carried the unique wildness of the street culture here, and the mottled walls on both sides were also covered with various wall paintings.

Those images had wild lines and bold colors, echoing and connecting with the colors on the rolling shutter doors. It looked very harmonious, without any sense of chaotic conflict, instead highlighting a savage yet coordinated beauty.

In the past, Xiao He would never have stopped for such scenery because, compared to beauty, it was dilapidated and dirty, without any value for appreciation. Just standing there for a moment would have made him think about turning around and leaving.

However, such a hidden world of color was accidentally discovered by a street Photographer like Chadley passing by.

In his eyes, decay was the base color, brilliance was the soul, and even in the ruins, there was a hidden, broken romance.

Thus, after camping out and shooting for a few days, Chadley had the idea of inviting a celebrity model for the first time because of Xiao He's appearance.

Because when Xiao He was promoting on the first day, his outfit and styling were in a street hip-hop style, which unexpectedly fit the background here perfectly. So the first time Chadley saw him, he couldn't help but think of the scene here.

And that led to this invitation.

"Wow, Teacher, how did you find this place?"

Different from Xiao He's thoughts, Xiao Chen also liked the scene here very much. This kind of bright color background was very rare even in China. As long as it was paired with the right clothing, even if the surrounding environment wasn't that great, it would definitely produce great shots as long as the angles were right.

It inexplicably gave people a sense of a brilliant aesthetic that felt like a dream back to the millennium when economies everywhere were on the rise.

Chadley was clearly very proud of his discovery. He happily explained his state of mind when he first discovered it, but then sighed a little: "However, there are more and more homeless people and thugs around here lately. I think it won't be long before the peace here is broken by them."

Of course, Chadley didn't mean he loathed these poor people; it was just that as more and more people from the bottom of society gathered here, the environment would inevitably be affected.

Moreover, some low-quality people just couldn't stand beautiful things. Seeing the bright colors here, they would instead feel a desire to destroy. Some would layer vicious curses over the graffiti, or even intentionally use cigarette butts to burn and damage those walls, and some people even directly used this place as a toilet, relieving themselves wherever they pleased...

So after visiting a few times, Chadley cherished the scenes here more and more. Unfortunately, he also knew he had no way to change anything.

All he could do was record everything as it was now, permanently preserving its former colors.

This was also why he suddenly invited Xiao He on short notice.

By the time Xiao He came to the US next time, he wasn't sure what this place would have turned into.