Chapter 26: My Dream

After the initial buzz surrounding the first round of auditions and the second round of interviews subsided, discussions about this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant have temporarily quieted down.

Of course, this is only relative to the previous citywide attention.

Although everyone knows that the semi-finals at the end of May and the finals in early June are the real highlights, if something happens during the training period, it will be no less than a major entertainment news story, attracting all the citizens of Hong Kong to sit in line and watch the gossip.

For example, even though the TV station officially declared that the rumors about Huo Chuying and Lu Shian were just a misunderstanding, the newspapers and magazines that made unfounded accusations still managed to profit from the situation and sell far more copies than ever before.

With such a record, those gossip tabloids and magazines that wanted to take advantage of the Miss Hong Kong pageant's popularity during these months really dug deep and wanted to dig up every detail, even the ancestors of the contestants.

Thanks to the fierce competition among Hong Kong media outlets vying for headlines and popularity, they managed to dig up the story of Li Sishi's scumbag father who abandoned his wife and children when disaster struck.

Seeing the news in the newspaper that "Li Jinhuai, the biological father of contestant number 2 Li Sishi, died of a sudden heart attack in Xinxiang, America, half a year ago due to a second business failure," Zhou Jiaxian remained silent for a long time. In the end, she could only let out a long sigh as her final farewell to these years.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; all the grudges and grievances of the past seem to melt away into the past at this moment.

It's not that she didn't want to remember, but she felt it wasn't worth the effort to remember those things, as they would only bring her negative memories—after all, one must look forward in this world.

Instead of dwelling on the past and wallowing in sorrow, it's better to look to the future and strive for success.

“That’s right, you should have thought of that a long time ago!” Liang Shao’e was extremely satisfied when she heard that Zhou Jiaxian was going to listen to her and enroll in an adult education course. “You used to have such good grades and your English was first-rate. You should have continued your studies long ago instead of staying in the tea restaurant.”

Thinking of her niece Li Sishi, on whom she had placed high hopes, running off to a beauty pageant to pursue her dream, and now that Zhou Jiaxian had come to her senses and planned to "pay back her daughter's debts," Liang Shao'e certainly wouldn't refuse—no matter what, since she didn't have the opportunity to study, having a few college students from her family would be a way for her to fulfill her dream in a roundabout way!

However, Zhou Jiaxian, now relieved, seemed to have no intention of letting her sister-in-law fulfill her dream indirectly, but rather hoped that she herself would fulfill her dream.

So, in addition to expressing his desire to continue his studies, he also indicated that he would take time in the evenings to tutor Liang Shao'e.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huichang and Zhou Huiguang, who had just finished their high school entrance exams, immediately started shouting, as if they didn't want the world to be in chaos: "Mom, we support you with both hands and feet!"

“You two seem to be itching for a fight…” Liang Shao’e immediately turned around, startling Zhou Jiayun, who was doing the accounts, who quickly came over and pulled her away.

“Forget it, the kid needs to be taught slowly…” Zhou Jiayun advised. “Besides, your grades were pretty good before, so giving it a try won’t hurt.”

“I’m already in my forties, what’s the point of reading books?” Liang Shao’e retorted instinctively.

Ah E

"That's not right of you. I'm a year older than you, and I'm still planning to keep studying—I'm always learning!" Zhou Jiaxian said, mimicking Liang Shao'e's usual way of lecturing people.

The family laughed and joked until Liang Shao'e finally agreed to let her take some tutoring to see how she was doing before making any further decisions.

"It's a pity my cousin isn't home right now, otherwise she would be so happy to know," Zhou Huichang sighed.

"It's the same as watching it on TV! I asked all my friends to vote for my cousin Sishi. If she really gets lucky and makes it into the top three, I'll be rich!" Zhou Huiguang was eager to participate, thinking about the hundreds of thousands of yuan in prize money shown in the advertisement.

"Yes, yes, all I know is the prize money and awards. Didn't Brother Lok say that so many people will be splitting it up? You might not even get a hundred dollars left!" Zhou Huichang, who was also busy campaigning for Li Sishi, gave him a slap in annoyance.

Even his own cousin isn't as loyal as Luo Xuan, an outsider—ever since Luo Xuan went to the TV station, he unexpectedly got the opportunity to appear in a Miss Hong Kong promotional advertisement.

The advertisement is about two white-collar men in Central who are secretly glancing at a white-collar woman next to them. At first glance, they seem to be good brothers who like the same girl and are secretly discussing and arguing about who the girl will choose. Then, Luo Xuan appears and holds up a Miss Hong Kong pageant advertisement, indicating that the girl has already signed it for him.

This is another kind of "nominator," which means calling in before the semi-finals and finals to nominate the number of your favorite contestant and participate in the prediction contest. If you guess correctly, you can win a prize or bonus from the sponsor.

These awards look like they're featured in TV commercials.

The feast was so abundant that it resembled a Manchu Han Imperial Feast that would make one's mouth water.

However, after the random allocation, lucky people might get a big meal; unlucky people might get a small dish that doesn't even qualify as a "side dish"; and the unluckiest ones will not only not receive any prizes or awards, but will also lose a lot of money on phone bills...

These officially sponsored guessing games are mainly about getting a prize and having fun participating, so even though they involve "shared interests," there's usually not much controversy.

However, it's possible that some unlucky people might be willing to risk everything for a few dollars, their mentality being similar to that of someone trying to grab a lucky red envelope with a certain green app—why is it that when others receive at least 10.02 yuan in a 100 yuan red envelope in a group chat, but I always only get 0.01 yuan?!

Am I so bad at losing a few dollars? I just don't believe in this nonsense!

Anyway, as far as Zhou Huichang knows, the top spot on the list of black people circulating online is probably that bald guy who has been randomly selected to receive a set of brand-name shampoo for ten consecutive years...

This provided a lot of amusement for the gossip and conversation in their neighborhood.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the story, after the TV station initiated emergency procedures and finished filming the outdoor scenes, the contestants who returned to the villa to continue their training were indeed no longer harassed and their lives continued much as before.

Unlike the reality show-style talent shows that became popular later, which were ostensibly training camps but were actually drama camps where contestants had to perform and create personas at any time, the current Miss Hong Kong training camps don't offer many opportunities to be on camera. Most of the time is filled with courses and tasks, making them almost like closed schools.

The real drama of this city-wide beauty pageant lies in the semi-finals and finals, and all the training over the past two months has been for the sake of those two nights' performance.

Too many appearances can lead to aesthetic fatigue, while too few appearances make them easily forgotten by the forgetful Hong Kong people. Therefore, in order to ensure that the contestants have a certain level of exposure, in addition to regularly collaborating with Sun Hing Plaza to sell the contestants' photos every year, the TV station also looks for suitable events.

Take them out to "see the light".

For example, such goodwill activities, like visiting orphanages to care for orphans, are the best way to help the candidates create a beautiful, kind, and loving image.

In her past life, Li Sishi had participated in so many goodwill events—from Miss Hong Kong to a wealthy socialite—that she herself had lost count. However, this time, because it also included a seemingly insignificant little competition, she still arrived early.

We are ready.

It's not just about getting good results in the small competition, but also about making up for the little orphan girl who was assigned to her in her past life. This is a small competition with the theme of "environmental protection and dreams". Each contestant will be assigned a little orphan partner and an oversized cotton white T-shirt. The contestant is required to make a satisfactory new outfit for her partner within the time limit, which also symbolizes the way her partner wants to grow up in the future.

At first, she had nothing but her face. Instead of finishing her new clothes, she pricked herself several times. In the end, she could only let her little partner wear a tattered beggar's outfit with messy tailoring and terrible stitching. Luckily, the little girl named Shanshan was sensible and even comforted her in her childish voice, saying that it was quite cool to wear...

This time, during the two years she saved money, she also learned a lot from her cousin Zhou Huichang. The adult clothes she made might not be good enough, but the children's clothes were basically fine. After being reborn, she deeply understood that only what she learned would never betray her true self. So she was like a sponge, desperately absorbing all the knowledge she could.

Anyway, if I want to enter the entertainment industry in the future, learning a little needlework will definitely not be a loss. If there are any minor problems with the costumes or performance clothes, I can fix them myself immediately.

"How about I make you a pretty fishtail skirt? What color do you like?" Before the afternoon competition started, Li Sishi ate her boxed lunch while gently asking the little girl Shanshan sitting next to her.

Because she remembered that Shan Shan had suffered from rickets since childhood, which made it a little difficult for her to walk, and that she always carried a little mermaid princess doll, Li Sishi had carefully learned how to make a fishtail skirt, intending to make up for it to this well-behaved little sister who was so pitiful.

Hearing Li Sishi's words, Shanshan hugged her little doll tighter, nodded, and then whispered to the older sister who was as beautiful as a fairy in her eyes, "Sister, can I ask you a question?"

“Sure, go ahead and ask.” The time before the competition was meant for the contestants to bond with their partners, so Li Sishi certainly wouldn’t refuse.

"Thank you, sister. May I ask what '躝' means?" Shanshan looked up and asked very seriously.

Li Sishi's smile froze for a second, then she looked at Shanshan very seriously, making sure she wasn't teasing her, before saying with some distress, "This character '躝'... its original meaning is crawling on the ground, but many people use it to curse someone, telling them to '躝' out, so it also has the connotation of 'get lost'."

righteous. "

"If this word isn't good, then why does my brother call me '躝'?" Shanshan frowned, not waiting for Li Sishi to react.

Her eyes lit up immediately. "Brother!"

Seeing Shanshan shakily stand up and stumble towards a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, only to be coldly pushed away by him, Li Sishi immediately chased after her: "How can you, as someone's older brother, bully your younger sister?!"

Don't you even see how your sister is in this state? You still want to be close to her!

"You're so annoying! You clearly have uncles and aunts who want to adopt you, why won't you go with them instead of staying here and dragging me down!" The boy glared at Shan Shan, who had fallen to the ground, and walked away quickly without looking back.

Seeing Shanshan left behind, reaching out her hands and crying for her brother, Li Sishi quickly picked her up and comforted her as she walked away: "Okay, okay, Shanshan, don't cry. Sister will take you to find your brother..."

Holding Shanshan, who had stopped crying but was still sobbing in her arms, Li Sishi approached the staff member in charge of the matter to inquire about the situation of the siblings.

"Oh, you mean Yongzai and Shanshan?" The staff member in charge of this side was a cheerful-looking auntie who told Li Sishi the whole story about the "brother and sister": It turned out that the boy named Yongzai and Shanshan were not biological siblings, but step-siblings after their parents remarried.

Back then, Yong's father was so busy trying to save his wife, who was seriously ill due to a hereditary disease, that he lost his job and couldn't save her. So he had to take young Yong and do odd jobs to make a living. Meanwhile, Shan Shan's mother was a washed-up old singer. Her boyfriend thought she was old and unattractive and couldn't earn money, so one night he secretly ran away with her savings.

Two disillusioned people came together and supported each other to form a new family. Unfortunately, misfortune never comes singly. Yong's father and Shanshan's mother died in a car accident, and the two children they protected with their bodies were placed in this orphanage.

"Then are the two siblings not on good terms?" Li Sishi pressed.

“Yongzai used to dote on Shanshan and always helped us run errands to earn some pocket money. He kept saying he wanted to grow up quickly, work, and save money to treat Shanshan’s illness because it was curable.” The aunt sighed deeply as she said this. “But before he could even grow up, it was discovered that he had inherited his mother’s family’s genetic disease.”

"It's a disease that gets worse with age; it initially only causes weakness in the hands and feet."

"The coordination and such things become increasingly rigid, as if frozen stiff—at that point, the person is practically beyond saving..." The aunt glanced at Shan Shan, who seemed to understand but not quite. "Then, not long ago, a couple took a liking to Shan Shan, wanting to adopt her and help her get treatment, but Shan Shan didn't want to leave Yong Zai, so Yong Zai could only pretend like this, hoping Shan Shan would hate him so she could be adopted back."

"I understand now, so that's how it is... Thank you, Auntie." Li Sishi thanked the auntie who had cleared up her doubts, and then carried Shanshan back to where she had been sitting, gently guiding her through a conversation.

Hearing that only if she went with her new parents to get better could her brother return to his old self, Shanshan asked with a sad face, "Why do we have to do this? I like those two uncles and aunts who always bring me delicious food, but I also like my brother. Can't I go to the new house with my brother?"

"The adult world is very complicated, but you must believe that the people who love you will never harm you." Li Sishi coaxed Shanshan gently for a while, and finally Shanshan nodded in agreement, indicating that she would participate seriously in the afternoon's competition and perform well in front of the uncles and aunts who came to watch the event. Many orphanages would arrange such events and invite couples who wanted to adopt orphans to come and watch and choose each other.

Furthermore, with the participation of a television station today, the number of people watching the event is naturally much greater than in the past.

Full of confidence, Li Sishi said with self-assurance after retrieving all the competition supplies: "Don't worry, I'll make you the most beautiful mermaid dress, making you the most beautiful princess in the entire arena! And leaving your brother with the most beautiful impression!"

Instead of the expected surprised reaction, Li Sishi noticed the hesitant expression on her partner Shan Shan's face and asked her curiously, "What's wrong?"

"I... I don't actually like the Little Mermaid, but I like this..." Shan Shan whispered, explaining that because of her leg problems, her friends always made her play the Little Mermaid. Then, she mustered her courage and handed over a crumpled piece of paper. "I want this dress..."

Li Sishi took the draft paper and looked at it. The gist of it was that Shanshan's mother used to love watching the Miss Hong Kong pageant, so Shanshan, as a result, also had a dream: to become one of those beautiful and glamorous Miss Hong Kong contestants when she grew up.

"My brother said that once he cures my illness, he will send me to participate in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, but I may have to leave him soon..."

Shanshan clutched the hem of her clothes tightly.

Li Sishi held the draft paper and remained silent for a moment. Her gaze swept over the oversized white T-shirt, various paints, and a large sheet of thick cardboard for pattern making on the table. Then, as the bell signaled the start of the competition, she gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll make this for you!"

Upon hearing the bell ring, the other beauties around them also began their intense collaborative production with their respective partners.

After simply cutting the oversized white T-shirt a few times, Li Sishi laid out several large pieces of fabric, then mixed a thick, dark red color and had Shanshan cover one side of all the fabric scraps with it—this required no skill and could be easily done by a child.

Next, Li Sishi mixed another silver-gray color and started fiddling with the thick cardboard.

After painting the paper laurel wreath and scepter with the base color, and then adding light and shadow with white and a darker gray, Li Sishi set the set aside to dry. Then, she took a needle and thread, approached the scraps of fabric that had been painted with a deep red base color, and began to assemble them.

After tucking the two sleeves into the cut-out cardboard to make a stand-up collar, and sewing on the two large pieces of fabric to make a deep red cape, it was immediately obvious that Shan Shan, who was standing next to her, had her eyes light up.

“It’s not finished yet!” Li Sishi smiled, then dipped the brush into a large blob of white and began to add countless “highlights” to the cloak, bit by bit.

The Miss Hong Kong outfits need to be dazzling on stage, and for little girls of this age, the shinier the clothes, the better they look...

Seeing Shan Shan staring intently at the nearly finished outfit, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, Li Sishi gently nudged her: "Hurry up and put it on. Our group was the slowest to finish and the last to appear. We really are 'late'."

Considering Shanshan's leg problems, her appearance order was scheduled last, so Li Sishi followed her partner's order.

Meanwhile, they watched the previous contestants "walk the runway" with children dressed in different dresses.

The future parents are also discussing it extensively.

Some people think princess dresses are pretty, some think casual wear is lively, some think dresses are elegant, and some think overalls are playful... But the only thing that is universally acknowledged is that this year's contestants are not only beautiful and kind-hearted, but also skillful, allowing these children to confidently and proudly show off their new clothes on stage.

"The last one—Gao Shanshan, and contestant number 2, Li Sishi, will present their work to us... As the guest host's voice fell, a soft humming drifted throughout the hall."

The voice was so clear, ethereal, and distant, as if it had traveled through the long road of time, bringing those unattainable dreams to the other side of reality, telling of the most touching fragrance in dreams and memories.

There was no introductory explanation of the production process as before, nor any cute or playful design narration. But seeing the little girl wearing a laurel wreath, holding a scepter, and dressed in a cloak slowly walking towards them, and the beauty beside her holding a microphone and softly humming a familiar tune they heard several times a year, was enough to let them know what this final work truly was.

That was the ultimate dream of every young woman in the port city during that turbulent era.