"Lighting, in position."

"Camera, in position."

"Props, in position."

"…" A little after six the next evening, Xu Ye checked the time from his seat at the monitor and called into his walkie-talkie, "Are the models backstage ready?"

"Almost!"

"Hurry it up. We're running it exactly to the rundown. The internet celebrities open with Gokuraku Jodo, and at the same time the models come out and walk all the way to the display area at the front. Each model gets about five seconds to strike a pose, then turns back."

"Copy."

Xu Ye had planned the whole event, and tonight he was directing it on-site too.

The event would be livestreamed on both Bilibili and Yingke, and afterward Youwei's official account would post the video of the whole runway show.

As the sky grew darker, the crew's countdown came over the walkie-talkie.

"Five minutes."

"Three minutes."

"One minute."

Xu Ye raised the megaphone. "All departments, stand by!"

The second the clock hit zero:

"ACTION!"

Upbeat music filled the venue, and three uploaders from Bilibili's dance section walked onstage to applause. As the unmistakable opening of Gokuraku Jodo kicked in, the three of them, all in Youwei swimsuits, launched into a bouncy anime dance cover.

Meanwhile the models came out onto the runway one after another.

The setup wasn't complicated. The runway ran between two rectangular pools, with the models' display area at the front end. On the 8th there would be a big audience and plenty of press, plus fans of the internet celebrities who were sure to show up on their own, so it would be a lot livelier than tonight.

There were eight camera positions in all: one close-up camera out front, four on jib arms along both sides of the runway, two on the audience, and a drone camera as backup.

Xu Ye had picked every model himself, and none of them wore the usual runway makeup. Each one had been styled to what he called an "Eastern aesthetic." So the moment the models stepped out, a lot of the male crew, and plenty of hotel guests…