Chapter 31 - Advance to the Top 15
The meeting point was in the large room where the contestants had first gathered.
By the time Sheng Jiaoyang arrived, almost all contestants were already there.
“Jiaojiao, over here!” Luo Yi shouted, calling her over.
The other girls stopped chatting and looked towards Sheng Jiaoyang.
She could feel everyone’s measuring stares directed at her body, but it wasn’t the same as the first time. This time, their gazes were like an examination.
Something’s happened! Sheng Jiaoyang’s heart shook, but her expression remained unchanged as she headed over to Luo Yi.
“Jiaojiao, congratulations~” A genuine smile was pasted on Pu Mingyu’s face while she winked playfully at Sheng Jiaoyang.
“What happened?”
Luo Yi nudged Sheng Jiaoyang lightly, and she laughed as she asked inquiringly, “No way! You didn’t see the voting poll in the last two days?”
“I watched it. I’m in sixth place,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied in a super flat tone.
“When did you last check it?” Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Sheng Jiaoyang tilted her head in thought. “Hmm, the night before yesterday.”
Several contestants rolled their eyes. This girl was too careless about the competition!
“Then, what were you doing yesterday?” Pu Mingyu asked her curiously.
“I went shopping with my mother.” And at night, she was kidnapped by two assholes and locked up for half the day. How could she have the spare time to pay attention to what the voting results were?
Sheng Jiaoyang looked around at everyone, and asked curiously, “What did you congratulate me for? Am I in fifth place now?”
“It’s better than that. You’re the biggest dark horse of the season! Yesterday afternoon, you beat out Qi Hua, and now you’re the contestant with the highest number of votes!” Wang Wei, who was initially talking to someone nearby, came over and said in a particularly excited tone.
Sheng Jiaoyang just blinked. She was also quite surprised by this result. “What exactly happened?”
“Yesterday, there was a person that specifically edited some of the footage from your live broadcast into a video and posted it up on Weibo, where many people then forwarded it. Most importantly, Xu Yinuo praised it! Jiaojiao, be honest, how did you get praise from a god-like man like Xu Yinuo?”
“As the saying goes: Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist! Quick, tell us!”
Everyone flock around Sheng Jiaoyang.
“Xu Yinuo? I met him at the party that time.” Sheng Jiaoyang didn’t know why either. They’d just talked for a while, and she wasn’t the only one who had a dance with Xu Yinuo. Weren't there some other girls too?
“There were several girls who danced with him, but why did he only praise you? Here, have a look at the prince’s comment!” Wang Wei quickly pulled out her phone.
“This little girl’s not bad. See, you see, the prince still remembers you!”
“Show me the video.” Sheng Jiaoyang reached out and took Wang Wei’s phone.
The video started with a sentence written in a fancy font: The Correct Ways To Entice Someone.
Then, the screen changed to that of a gorgeous piano where a beautiful girl with short hair was playing.
Shortly afterwards, the short-haired girl, who’d just corrected another girl, began to act as a bartender. Presumably due to the earnestness on her face, it was easy for people to ignore her gender as one would think that she was really handsome.
In the gym she was covered in sweat, resolutely completing the tasks set by the coach. Upon seeing a girl so tired that she almost fainted, she supported the girl and helped her to drink, even though she wasn’t in a much better condition than the girl.
Every question was answered with complete accuracy. Be it her innocent face as she tilted her head, her hooked lips that formed an evil smile, or her eyes that slanted upwards whenever she grinned; her eye-catching expressions swept past, one after another.
Then, there was the red carpet show where she made an appearance with that handsome outfit. She exuded an imposing aura as she walked under the dazzling spotlights. She was simply gorgeous!
In the last scene, she stood amongst the crowd as she faced the camera and smiled. Her eyes were bright and seductive.
Even if there were other girls in the video, her smile firmly captured everyone’s eyes, making the other girls blend into the background.
At the end of the video, a sentence in a fancy font appeared once again:
Please like if you’ve been enticed, and vote for our handsome Jiaojiao! [^_^]
There were links to the vote below the video.
On the National Supermodel official website, there were a lot of clips recorded during the live broadcast. However, this person was very attentive to be able to find such images from numerous clips and edit them without any traces to form this wonderful short video.
Clearly, the person who’d made this video was Sheng Jiaoyang’s die hard fan.
This was enough to make the other contestants envious. Not to mention, this video had brought popularity to Sheng Jiaoyang, causing her to bypass Qi Hua and become a well-deserved dark horse.
“How come no one made a video for me?” This is probably what all the other contestants were thinking.
Everyone more or less had fans, whether they were family members, friends, or strangers. However, amongst them, no one thought to make a video.
“This video isn’t shabby!” Sheng Jiaoyang praised after watching the video.
She saw the girl reflected in the mirror every day, but at the moment, she almost didn’t recognise it as herself.
“Jiaojiao, what’s your weibo? You should forward the post too!”
“I haven’t made an account yet.” Sheng Jiaoyang shrugged.
“Why isn’t Qi Hua here yet?” someone asked.
“She must be upset. She was ranked first, and it seemed that her ranking was a sure thing.”
“However, it’s quite surprising that Qi Hua has such a high number of votes.”
“Yeah, I didn't think that someone like her had so many people who liked her.”
All of the girls discussed amongst themselves spiritedly.
Luo Yi leaned towards Sheng Jiaoyang, and she warned her in a soft whisper, “When I arrived, I saw Qi Hua. She was standing in front of a car, furious at the person inside it. I heard some of what she said. She wasn’t satisfied with the current results and wanted the person in the car to help her bring you down. You should be careful!”
Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at Luo Yi and nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.
So what if she knew though? Qi Hua had a backer while she didn’t have one. However, she didn’t have to worry about being kicked now. After all, the rankings were visible to everyone.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Qi Hua walked in with her high heels clicking.
As Qi Hua entered, she specifically glanced at Sheng Jiaoyang. She faintly showed the superiority of someone watching an ant, like Sheng Jiaoyang’s fate was already in her hands.
Sheng Jiaoyang slightly raised a corner of her lips. Ever since she was young, she was only ever afraid of Demon Shen. Even if she currently had no money or power, she could still handle Qi Hua.
After all the contestants had arrived, the program staff came out. As a host of National Supermodel, Zhuo Yiyan also slowly entered the room.
He got right to the point and announced the results of the online vote.
In fifth place was Pu Mingyu.
Fourth place went to Mei Ling.
Third place went to Luo Yi.
In second place was Qi Hua.
And, in first place, was Xu Jiaojiao.
When he read the last name, Zhuo Yiyan specially looked at Sheng Jiaoyang. Noticing her indifferent expression, he admired her even more.
As he expected, his hunch was right. After training, the girl had begun to transform from a pheasant to a phoenix. Her radiance would also gradually grow to become more and more dazzling.
“Congratulations to the top five advancing to the top 15!”
Applause sounded.
Xiao Yang, who applauded with the others, was currently feeling upset. She’d clearly been in fourth place on the first day of voting, but she was forced out of the top five for only one day and lost the opportunity to advance. Now, she had to cheer for other people. She felt stifled inside not knowing what to do. She was envious of Qi Hua, because even though Qi Hua wasn’t very likeable, she was still popular. However, she knew that Qi Hua’s family was well-off, so envying her was only natural. But, Xu Jiaojiao, who was ranked first, wasn’t the same. Obviously, Xu Jiaojiao lacked popularity, so how could she suddenly rise to the top? Why wasn’t anyone else jealous?
“I have a comprehensive list of your rankings in my hands. This is based on the combined scores of each of your results.”
Everyone wanted to look in the folder in Zhuo Yiyan’s hand as it determined the remaining ten places in the top 15.
“I’ll just get to the point and announce the rankings now.” Zhuo Yiyan opened the folder.
In first place was Luo Yi.
Second place went to Xu Jiaojiao.
Third place was Pu Mingyu.
Fourth place was Xiao Yang.
Fifth place was Zou Xueqi.
…
Fifteenth place was Wang Wei.
The five popular contestants were all on this list. Minus the five of them, the remaining ten names were candidates that could advance without a hitch.
Some were happy, and some were worried.
Some cried tears of joy, while others were weeping bitter tears.
“For the contestants whose names I didn’t read, you may return to the supermodel house to pack your luggage and leave,” Zhuo Yiyan was very calm when he said this. He often saw such situations that resulted in a separation, hence, he didn’t feel emotional.
“Whaa…” Someone burst into tears because their dream had to stop here.
But, the end is the end. After the fifteen eliminated girls had left, the room felt more spacious.
Looking at the new fifteen contestants, Zhuo Yiyan revealed a slight smile and said, “Congratulations on your promotion to the top 15! Next, you’ll face an intense elimination round.”
“So, ladies, I’ll kindly remind you to be prepared!”
xYuna's ThoughtsTL: Kakaoo | Editor: Purpledragon | TLC: Grace
Yuna's Corner:
Hi all, hope you like the story so far! Please enjoy :)