Chapter 37
Ning Wensong looked up at the time; there were still ten minutes left in the match.
The lark pulled its tail back from in front of Deng Ci, and just as it was about to raise its paw to lick the tail, it remembered that it was part of the competition and gently lowered it, pretending that nothing had happened.
"Meow~ Do you want to check me again?" Hibari wanted her sister to perform at her best, so she didn't miss a single detail.
"Okay." Ning Wensong agreed and began to reenact the steps of styling, checking the details one by one. She didn't realize until she looked that there were some small things that weren't done very well.
If it were someone else, they wouldn't want to make any changes, since it's too small, and the judges might not even look at it that closely.
But Ning Wensong wouldn't do that. Taking advantage of the last few minutes, she controlled her hands and steadily modified every little detail.
She didn't put down her tools until the end of the competition was announced.
"Perfect!" She was very satisfied, straightened up and looked at Chen Che outside the arena.
She gave him a big smile, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Shen Che released his sweaty hands from behind his back, made a big heart shape with his hands for Ning Wensong, and looked at her with a smile.
"Please have the designated judges score the contestants. Professional judges will come up one by one to score. During this stage, you must not whisper to each other, communicate with the contestants, or have any physical contact..."
As the sound rang out, five judges entered the room.
Of the five, Ning Wensong only knew Elder Huang; the other four included both young and old people.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that the young judge had glanced at her several times.
Deng Ci had already given the score of 100 points before the five people arrived here.
Throughout the entire process, his only thought was to be number one; his basic skills and innovation were both top-notch.
I don't know if others noticed, but the cat that Ning Wensong brought was a purebred, a high-quality breed, not an ordinary domestic cat.
As the judges approached, Deng Ci stood up to wait.
The first to arrive was Elder Huang. He smiled at Ning Wensong, nodded slightly, and then looked at the sparrow in front of her.
Knowing that these people were the judges, Lark maintained a proud and upright posture to best showcase his outfit.
After examining the cat from every angle, the five people scored it on their own rating boards and recorded its strengths and weaknesses.
Ning Wensong watched this scene quietly. In fact, she didn't feel anything about winning the award, because the top five in this competition could all enter the finals.
She only learned yesterday that the competition was divided into two regions, with the top ten from each region going to Beijing for the finals.
The final competition will be broadcast live in its entirety, taking into account both real-name opinions from netizens and a comprehensive ranking by the judges, ensuring a very fair process.
Ning Wensong is determined to secure a spot in the top five.
After the five judges had finished walking around all the seats, each contestant's personal judge had already compiled their scores together.
Now we're finally starting the real discussion and deliberating on the rankings.
Old Huang was the first to speak, "I don't know what you all think, but my opinion is that Ning Wensong should be ranked first, and the other rankings are up to you."
He walked around and saw that none of the other people's outfits were amazing, but Ning Wensong's dark little devil look really caught his eye.
This rare style can only be given new life in her hands.
The other judges each had their own ideas, and the four of them engaged in a heated discussion.
The young judge was named Xu Lin, Xu Lin's older brother. He listened patiently to the other judges' opinions.
Actually, he most agreed with Mr. Huang.
The judges were positioned to have a clear view of every contestant's work. Xu Lin glanced around and saw that they all painted white cats with paint, only the way each person did it was different.
Few in this group truly understand Ning Wensong's white cat design; they are all clumsy imitators.
"I think Ning Wensong should be first, Xu Lin second or third, and the others should be ranked according to everyone's opinion." Xu Lin looked at the four arguing people and spoke slowly and deliberately.
Old Huang nodded, agreeing with him.
Another judge's eyes flashed with a dark light. "How can you do this? Ning Wensong didn't do any better than the others, did she? Why are you so biased towards her? What, did you take bribes?"
?
Xu Lin wondered if he was hallucinating. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Try spreading another rumor."
"..." The judge who just spoke is named Liu Xiao. He seems to be very experienced in the industry, but his skills are actually terrible.
He fell silent after being rebuked by Xu Lin.
Those who have made it this far are simply top-ranked figures.
Old Huang, being the most senior, saw that everyone had fallen silent and immediately drew a conclusion.
"Ning Wensong is first, Xu Lin is second..."
The host, who was in charge of collecting the results, secretly switched the card that represented the final qualifying spot with another one.
The host walked to the front of the room, ready to announce the final results.
"I now announce the final rankings of the preliminary round of this Creative Creativity Competition:"
He glanced discreetly at the person standing to his right, cleared his throat, and read out the names on the "list," "First place: Xu Lin! Congratulations to this contestant for winning first place in the preliminary round!"
Sparse applause rang out in the venue, but Xu Lin himself did not react, only looking ahead with a half-smile.
He waited patiently until the host finished reading all the rankings before calmly walking up to the host.
"Hello everyone, I'm Xu Lin. Let's congratulate Ning Wensong once again on winning first place in this preliminary round!"
He scanned everyone's faces and spoke again.
"I voluntarily withdraw from the competition."
The moment the words were spoken, the entire audience erupted in excitement. The most excited person was the one who was in sixth place. If the first-place finisher withdrew from the competition, then he could enter the finals!
What incredible luck!
Ning Wensong stood still, showing no joy. She looked at Xu Lin in front of her with confusion. First place was great, why did he withdraw from the competition? Was it because of her?
Ning Wensong was in a state of confusion. Her sixth sense kept her from speaking, and she stood quietly in place.
She always felt that something else was going to happen.
Sure enough, apart from the few people caught in the storm, one judge and the host were visibly flustered.
Ning Wensong understood now; there was something going on.
But Xu Lin's actions still made her uneasy, as if something was beyond her control.
Not far from Ning Wensong, a contestant slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "This is unreasonable! There's no precedent for this. Finishing the competition and then withdrawing just to give first place to someone else? Don't be ridiculous!"
The speaker was Liu Zhi. He had meticulously planned for Ning Wensong to get second place and prepared a cyberbullying feast for her, but it was all ruined by a casual withdrawal from the competition.
We absolutely cannot let this go!
Xu Lin shifted his gaze to Liu Zhi, who had spoken up, and asked innocently, "I remember Article 77 of the competition rules states that contestants have the right to withdraw from the competition at any time. Have you even read the rules?"
The first sentence was spoken in a lighthearted tone, but the next sentence was laced with barbs: "Don't you have any legal awareness? You hypocritical Liu Zhi? You money-grubbing host? You sycophantic judge Liu Xiao?"
The sound echoed throughout the venue, and everyone was in an uproar.
"What? He means the rankings were arranged?"
"There must be some big news today!"
"Even though I didn't advance, I'm still having a great time. It's so satisfying to watch this drama unfold!"
...
The three people who were named turned pale. They were unsure whether Xu Lin had any other evidence, so they could only continue to argue their case.
But soon, they had no chance to argue anymore.
The sound of police cars rang out outside the venue, loud and repeated in everyone's ears.
Like a death warrant.
The three were now completely beyond saving. They slumped to the ground, letting the police rush in and handcuff them.
As the host was about to be taken away, Xu Lin gestured to the police and took out a card from his bag.
That was the real result.
After the police left, Xu Lin picked up the microphone and announced in front of everyone, "The real first place winner is—Ning Wensong!"
"Also, I will still withdraw from the competition. The brother who came in sixth place can now enter the finals."
He didn't originally want to go into this line of work; it was only to fulfill his family's wishes. Now that he has, it's time to pursue his own dreams.
Xu Lin was amused. If he hadn't found his sister, he might have continued the competition.
But now that Ning Wensong is back, Xu Lin looked into her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.
But Ning Wensong didn't look at him; she just kept her head down, lost in thought.
All eyes were subtly focused on her, especially on the contestants who hadn't made it to the finals.
The next part of the time was for the remaining four judges to comment on each person's work.
The preliminary round was completed in such a chaotic yet smooth manner.
Ning Wensong, still a little dazed, packed up her tools and walked over to Chen Che with Yun Que in her arms.
"Are you alright, baby?" Shen Che's eyes were full of heartache. In such a chaotic match, everyone was targeting his precious child.
"I'm tired, let's go back." Ning Wensong lowered her eyes, her voice low, and she held Chen Che without moving.
"good."
...
Ning Wensong and her cat were packed up and carried into the new hotel. She had already fallen asleep in the car.
They still had some luggage left at the hotel near the stadium, but Shen Che didn't want to pack it now; he just wanted to stay with Asong.
Today, he watched from the sidelines. It seemed that Ning Wensong didn't say anything and just stood in her own position, but the focus of everyone's conflict was her.
He had taken every precaution, but he never expected that this group would tamper with the competition. Fortunately, the problem has been resolved.
The person who will resolve this matter is self-evident.
Shen Che didn't want to ask, so he waited for Xu Lin to come to them.
He should apologize.
No matter what, we must protect Ning Wensong, instead of exposing her to overwhelming malice.
Ning Wensong has been troubled by the "sister" incident lately, practicing her styling every day. But what about today? It's probably all Xu Lin's doing, to wipe out all those people in one fell swoop.
But he did not consider others when he did it.
Ning Wensong transformed into a cat and nestled in Shen Che's arms, purring softly, seemingly sleeping very comfortably.
In reality, his whole body was trembling.
Ning Wensong's background will always be the saddest thing in her heart.
"Buzz buzz buzz." Chen Che's phone began to vibrate.
He gently covered Ning Wensong with the blanket, then tiptoed out of the room and answered the phone.
"Hello, is this Chen Che?"
"It's me."
"This is Xu Lin. I want to meet with Ning Wensong. I have a lot to tell her," he said with a laugh on the other end of the phone.
Shen Che closed his eyes briefly. "Ning Wensong is actually very strong at heart, but what you did today put her at the center of the conflict. She doesn't really care, but you made her very uncomfortable."
"..." Xu Lin remained silent for a long time. He hadn't thought of this. He only thought that his withdrawal from the competition would make Ning Wensong the winner.
He only thought that everything he did was for her own good, to let everyone see Ning Wensong's strength.
But now the situation is completely different; she has become the enemy of most people.
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