The competition was fierce; more than a thousand people were eliminated in an instant, leaving only a tiny fraction of 100.
When I entered the art museum again in the afternoon, the tense atmosphere of the morning had largely dissipated.
The seating arrangement had been rearranged, and although it was still based on the national teams, the Chinese and American teams, being the two countries with the most participants, inevitably sat next to each other.
Xie Chenlu was like the mascot of the Chinese team, surrounded by stars and placed in the center, with Ling Xiaohan, Xie Siyu, Morning Mai Xiaomi, and Yan Ziqing on his left and right.
They were separated by a few seats, or in front and behind each other.
Almost without raising their eyes, they could see Xie Chenlu and his disciples out of the corner of their eye; there was no way to avoid them.
Hu Jingyao and Cheng Yanxi felt like they were sitting on pins and needles.
You can't change your seat.
As the music began and the host took the stage, the semi-finals officially commenced.
"There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'Everyone has their own area of expertise...'"
Clearly, they had done their homework; as soon as the host opened his mouth, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.
The host pointed to the lit-up screen and said, "As decided by the judging panel, the semi-finals will be divided into 5 regions, with the top 4 from each region advancing to the finals. Ultimately, 20 people will advance to the finals."
On the big screen, the five competition areas are divided into gold and silver, diamond, colored gemstone, pearl, and others.
As the 100 finalists began to choose according to their rankings, the designers in the audience immediately started whispering among themselves.
"Fortunately, the selection process was from front to back, which allowed us to avoid those big names and try our luck in other tracks."
"That's what you think, and that's what the big shots think. The end result is that there are big shots in every field!"
"!!!"
Sure enough, when they looked up again, they saw that Ye Li had chosen diamonds, Xie Chenlu had chosen colored gemstones, and Ling Xiaohan had chosen gold and silver.
The fourth and fifth ranked designers chose pearls and other items, respectively.
The designers in the audience: ...
Hu Jingyao frowned slightly, staring at the five competition zones on the big screen, looking troubled.
Although jewelry designers each have their own preferences, Hu Jingyao is confident that he can handle all five competition areas at the moment.
Because of Ye Li, Hu Jingyao first ruled out diamonds.
Before he could eliminate other options using the process of elimination, the staff had already handed him the voting device.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hu Jingyao could sense Ling Xiaohan turning to look at him, and his eyes flickered slightly.
It's good if the student surpasses the teacher.
The Yangtze River's waves push the previous waves forward, and it doesn't matter if the previous waves die on the beach.
He was absolutely confident in dealing with Xie Chenlu and Ling Xiaohan.
Without Ye Li's assistance, he didn't believe Xie Chenlu could ever return to his former glory.
Xie Chenlu can't go back, so what kind of trouble can Ling Xiaohan and her friends, who play around with design and treat it like a game, possibly cause?
Winning against Ling Xiaohan only proves that he was highly skilled back then.
But winning against Xie Chenlu would further prove that his departure back then was the right thing to do.
Xie Chenlu was so determined not to let him graduate back then, was he afraid of this day?
Hu Jingyao decisively chose colored gemstones.
Looking up again, Hu Jingyao saw Ling Xiaohan looking completely dejected, and he immediately realized he had made the right choice.
The 100 designers were selected quickly.
When the staff announced that the competition area was ready, the 100 designers in the front row immediately got up and went to the next room.
Each person has their own workstation, complete with a computer drawing board and colored pencils.
Once all 100 designers were in place, a two-hour countdown began immediately in front of the big screen.
Inside the art gallery, 100 winning preliminary works appeared one by one on the big screen, and the professional judges on stage commented on the strengths and weaknesses of each work.
On one side was the competition venue filled with applause, and from time to time, one could hear people raising their voices to ask questions, to which the judges responded gently.
On one side was the completely silent competition area, so quiet that the only sounds were the clicking of the mouse and the scratching of the pen tip.
One is in motion, the other still; the contrast between the two is striking.
Time flies.
When the 10-minute countdown began, Hu Jingyao took a deep breath and put down his colored pencils.
Looking up again, I saw that the competition area was already mostly empty.
Looking around, neither Ye Li nor Xie Chenlu nor Morning Ling Xiaohan could be found.
Is this...giving up, or is the design finished?
On one hand, they felt it was impossible for the other party to be so fast.
On the one hand, I feel that the facts are right in front of me.
Hu Jingyao was still somewhat distracted and absent-minded when he returned to the arena and saw the other players already seated.
"Brother Yao, why didn't you wait for me?"
The sound of complaints rang in his ears. Hu Jingyao turned around and saw Cheng Yanxi looking aggrieved.
Cheng Yanxi chose pearls, which she is best at.
Pulling his thoughts back from their wanderings, Hu Jingyao asked with concern, "How is it? Are you satisfied?"
"not bad……"
Cheng Yanxi looked delighted and eager for praise. "Brother Yao, if this piece of my work wins an award, I want to keep it for myself. Then, you can make one for me yourself, and I'll wear it on my wedding day, okay?"
The feeling of being irritable and frantic surged back, but Hu Jingyao didn't even have the mood to give a perfunctory answer. "We'll talk about it later."
He could sense that Cheng Yanxi was unhappy, and she quickly withdrew her hand from his arm.
Hu Jingyao pretended not to know and looked up at the host who walked onto the stage.
"The first round of the semi-finals has officially concluded. Let's unveil the 20 works from the gold and silver competition zones..."
Applause erupted.
All 20 works were displayed on the big screen.
Whether it's a drawing or a floor plan, the specifications and proportions are the same, and even the designer's name or signature is well covered up, with only a number noted on it.
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