中国第一位盲人模特王蕾蕾，失明生子，历经自杀，踏上创业之路一炮而红 | China's blind model

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Born in 1980, Wang Leilei used to be a famous model in China.

1980年出生的王蕾蕾，曾经是国内著名模特。

Fond of pretty clothes since childhood, she gave up the chance to enter a key high school for professional modelling trainings. From the age of 16 to 26, she was a shining star on the runway. The dazzling outfits endowed her with different appearances as an ambassador of beauty.

从小，她就特别喜欢漂亮衣服 。所以她放弃了去重点高中上学的机会，去接受专业的模特训练。从16岁到26岁的十年，是她在T台上最光彩的十年。百变的服装，让她觉得自己有百变的身份，是一个美的使者。

At that time, she wouldn't know what was in store for her.

但那时候，她还没有意识到自己面临的命运转折。

"I had night blindness since childhood. I thought the other children had the same vision in darkness. I'd always lose when we played hide-and-seek. I thought they were making me fool, so I wouldn't go out at night anymore," says Wang. "When we were at the backstage, some models would complain that it was too dark. I thought they were the same as me."

“我小的时候就是夜盲，但我以为别人和自己看到的黑暗是一样的。我和别人玩捉迷藏的时候抓不到其他小朋友，我以为他们欺负我，晚上就不出去玩了。”王蕾蕾说，“参加走秀的时候，我身边的模特伙伴会说，后台太黑了，我也以为他们眼睛里的黑和我眼睛里的黑是一样的。”

Because she couldn't follow the director's signal, Wang kept missing important shows. Only when her eyesight further deteriorated, she realized the severeness of the situation: "Actually I got retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that would result in blindness in the end."

因为看不清导演的指示，王蕾蕾失去过走大秀的机会。直到视力进一步下降，她才发现问题的严重性：“我得的其实是视网膜色素变性，它是一种退行性的病变，是一个视力逐渐消失的过程。”

Being informed of the illness, she didn't even think about leaving the stage at first. She would check the stage in advance on the pretext of high myopia. She would remember the place of every step, or walk with other models. In 2004, however, a specially designed runway made her give up this lifelong career.

但得知自己患病之初，王蕾蕾没有想过离开T台。每次走秀之前，她都会以高度近视为由，提前去舞台熟悉环境，记下每一个台阶的位置，或者和别的模特搭伴做一些动作。但2004年，一个设计非常特殊的T台，让她决定放弃自己曾计划走一辈子的模特舞台。

"The runway was a special design. So when I was close to the front end, my calculation went wrong. The heel was on it but half of my foot was off the edge. It was very dangerous." Wang remembered, "It may get worse in the future, and I couldn't ruin the show because of my own mistakes."

“那个舞台比较特殊，导致我走到T台前面的时候，没办法用脚丈量舞台边缘。所以当时我只有脚跟搭在舞台上，脚掌全都悬空，非常危险。”王蕾蕾回忆，“未来比它再特殊、再危险的情况还会出现，我不希望整个演出因为我的一次失误而毁掉。”

So she left the runway and worked as an auto show model and a still model for some time. At her lowest moment, she met her future husband Ai Shuyi, who brought her happiness and confidence. "I like wearing beautiful makeup. He would offer to try anything on me. When I did it myself and showed him, he would always say that I was so beautiful. Words couldn't describe what I felt."

所以，她退而求其次，作为车模和平面模特工作继续工作了几年。在人生的低谷，她遇到了爱人艾淑义，觉得自己重新焕发了生机。“我喜欢美，我喜欢化妆，他就帮我打粉底，画腮红，画眼线，画眼影，帮我涂口红。我自己涂完以后也会让他去看，他会告诉我，你真美。这种感受无法用言语去形容。”

After getting married, Ai quit his job and helped Wang establish a modeling agency and a modelling school. Wang worked hard with her remaining eyesight, and the company went smoothly. Unfortunately, the company became target of her rivals. They persuaded her customers to stop cooperating with the blind manager.

婚后，艾淑义辞了职，帮助王蕾蕾开办模特公司和模特学校。王蕾蕾用仅存的视力完成工作，公司得以顺利运转。然而，媒体的一篇报道给竞争对手落下口实。他们以王蕾蕾是盲人为由，游说她的客户，令客户纷纷与公司解约。

Wang felt that she'd hit rock bottom. To make things worse, her father passed away from liver cancer. Forty-eight days later, her grandmother died, too. "My career, my family, my dream, everything was gone. I felt so lonely." She'd tried everything, yet she failed every time. She decided to try the last outlet.

王蕾蕾觉得自己的人生真正触底了。祸不单行，不久王蕾蕾的父亲因肝癌离世。四十八天之后，奶奶也离开了。“事业离开我了，亲人离开我了，梦想也离开我了，我觉得很孤单。”王蕾蕾说。她尝试过正常的出口，但每个出口都是关闭的，所以她决定尝试最后一个出口。

"I stepped on the windowsill, and was taking another step." Fortunately, her husband saw it and pulled her back in. "He asked me: 'Don't you love us anymore?'" Eventually, it was love that encouraged Wang to start over again.

“我就一只脚踩上窗台，然后另外一只脚就跨出去了。”幸好，王蕾蕾的丈夫及时发现，一把将她从窗外拖了下来。“他问了我一句话，难道你不爱我们吗？”这个字，让王蕾蕾找到了重新开始的力量。

Wang Leilei lost her sight after 

giving birth to two children.

王蕾蕾因生孩子，双目彻底失明。

Wang Leilei on a show. 

王蕾蕾在节目中表演

Wang Leilei’s husband and two children.

王蕾蕾的丈夫和两个孩子。

Now, Wang is studying acting in Beijing Film Academy. Having gone through so many difficulties, she always loves the stage. Acting makes it possible to express herself and fulfill her dream: "It's like losing your favorite childhood toy, and getting it back after years."

现在，王蕾蕾在北京电影学院接受表演训练。虽然经历了许多坎坷，但她依然热爱舞台。表演让她再次找到了表达自己的方式和实现梦想的可能：“就像我们小时候丢了一个非常喜爱的玩具，你在这里又重新找到它。就是失而复得的那种感觉。”

Wang feels grateful for fate's intervention. Once lost her dream, she is so loved and have a happy family. Moreover, she gained another chance to continue her career.

对命运给自己的安排，王蕾蕾充满感恩。她曾经失去了自己的梦想，但感受到了另一个人带给她的爱，获得了幸福的家庭，而且后来她又得以继续自己的事业。

Wang and her husband are inseparable. Together they work, travel, and go to movies like any other loving couples. She uses screen readers to surf online and talks to friends on WeChat, "to keep up with the world."

平时，王蕾蕾和丈夫形影不离。不仅一起工作，还一起出国度假，一起看电影，和正常的甜蜜夫妻没有两样。她还自己用读屏软件上网看新闻，和别人用微信聊天，始终与世界一同进步。

"Some people may see differences in the disabled. In fact, there are people of different sizes and colors who are looking forward to change their appearance, I lost my sight, but I'm trying to make my life more comfortable. I don't think of it as a problem."

“可能外人眼里觉得残疾人和正常人不一样。但其实，外面有些高的或者矮的人，皮肤白的或者黑的人，都会想办法改变自己的形象。我失去了视力以后，也会去找一些方法让生活正常化。所以我不认为它是一个问题。”

"Acting and modeling are similar art forms. I will fulfill my dream as an actress," says Wang. She is blind, yet no one can take away the light from  her eyes.

“表演和模特是同一种艺术，我接下来会用演员这个职业来完成我的梦想。”王蕾蕾说。虽然是盲人，但没有什么能夺走她眼中的光。

Cameraman: Lv Jiabo

Film editor: Lv Jiabo

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Nadeem Gill

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