Chapter 35: The Champion Returns Home
After the final gala on stage, the new Miss Hong Kong winners, first runner-up, and second runner-up, couldn't relax and take a proper rest as people might expect after more than two months of tension.
Conversely, the time that followed, which received little attention, was the most challenging for the three winners of the new Miss Hong Kong pageant – because they were about to meet Sir Zhao, the highest-ranking official at the television station, to receive their awards and to be interviewed by the media.
Before the awards ceremony began, Li Sishi secretly glanced at the two people beside her: Yu Xiaobao still had a stiff smile on her face, while Luo Heyin had an incredulous expression. In short, both of them seemed to be unable to believe that they had won the award.
However, the former was slightly resentful, while the latter was overjoyed and seemed unable to believe it.
No wonder, Yu Xiaobao was considered a favorite from the start of the training camp, and she always seemed very "ambitious" - anyone who really wanted to participate in the beauty pageant would at least have the ambition to win the title, but in the end she only won third place. It's already a miracle that she managed to maintain a stiff smile.
According to Li Sishi's recollection, during the award ceremonies of the two major beauty pageants in Hong Kong, "Miss Hong Kong" and "Miss Asia Pacific," the third-place winners were often the ones who "made the most faces" during the award ceremony.
A few years later, the Miss Asia Pacific pageant on the next station also had a top favorite who won awards one after another from the start of the competition. Everyone thought she had already won the championship. However, when it was announced in the final that she only won the third place, she was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses and went out to accept the award, which made everyone on and off the stage extremely embarrassed.
Of course, both the "Miss Asia Pacific" and "Miss Hong Kong" pageants were rife with scandals. The former was marred by a shocking incident shortly after the competition began, including a woman wearing a see-through cheongsam causing a scene in the bustling Central district; the winner was later exposed for secretly getting married and working as a hostess at a nightclub to raise funds for the competition; the fourth-place winner, after being eliminated, revealed that the third-place winner had added three breast pads during the final round and refused to be promoted after the winner's scandal. Finally, the organizers made an emergency announcement, removing the winner, promoting the first runner-up to winner, the second runner-up to first runner-up, and the fifth-place winner to second runner-up – a truly chaotic and messy affair…
Coincidentally, the Miss Hong Kong pageant that same year also erupted in the biggest "battle for a man" scandal in history, with the champion and runner-up causing a scene in the entertainment industry over a wealthy sponsor of that year's pageant. This not only destroyed the noble and elegant image that Miss Hong Kong had built up in the hearts of Hong Kong citizens over the years, but also forced TVB to spend all its resources that year on a less popular show.
The good third place winner, Xie Ziman.
Fortunately, Xie Ziman, who seemed unremarkable at the time and was even said to be ugly and had a chick-like voice, was actually a hard-working gem. She later became the leading actress of TBL and the first double TV Queen. When the media contacted her again later, they all said they didn't know how much trace of the past turmoil was left behind in that pioneering palace drama she filmed.
Compared to her chaotic performances in previous years, Yu Xiaobao, who is about to be dubbed "Black-faced Bao" by newspapers and magazines for her stiff smile and black face, doesn't seem so unacceptable anymore...
However, Li Sishi still didn't really like the third-place winner. This dislike stemmed not only from her friendship with Wan Jiamei, but also from a "secret" she vaguely guessed—why Wan Jiamei was blackmailed by her ex-boyfriend with photos just before the finals. She suspected there were some unknown twists and turns involved.
Considering Yu Xiaobao's recent performance and her status as Wan Jiamei's biggest rival, it's hard for Li Sishi not to suspect that Yu Xiaobao might be secretly involved in Wan Jiamei's affairs.
Although it's just suspicion, in this extremely murky circle, suspicion is basically equivalent to being presumed guilty, so it's best to be cautious.
Anyway, she's going to follow Miss Zhuang's path in the future. As long as she doesn't do anything stupid or have excessive bad luck, none of her classmates from this year's cohort will be able to match her subsequent development. Therefore, there's no need to maintain any relationship; it's enough to just get by on the surface.
As for Luo Heyin, the champion of the previous life and the runner-up of this life, she felt that she had gained something regardless of whether she was the champion or the runner-up: after all, she was harshly ridiculed by Hong Kong media from the beginning as one of the "top 20 who may or may not have gotten in by virtue of their academic qualifications", and she was a recognized underdog from the audition to the final.
Li Sishi estimates that the reason why she was able to pull off two upsets is largely because, whether in her past life or this one, most of the hot favorites in this year's pageant have been embroiled in scandals. So, she could only choose the best among the worst. Opinions on Luo Heyin's looks are subjective, but her master's degree and fluency in multiple languages were significant advantages in the 1990s Miss Hong Kong pageant, which placed great emphasis on academic qualifications.
However, the rumor that "you are uglier than Miss Hong Kong" and the title of Hong Kong's first "ugliest Miss Hong Kong" originated from Lok Ho-yan...
But these are not the real reasons why Li Sishi didn't want to talk to her at all during the entire competition.
Thinking of this, Li Sishi couldn't help but glance back at Yu Xiaobao: although Yu Xiaobao might have some moral issues regarding smearing her opponents, Luo Heyin, based on just one point, had...
That's enough to make all other problems seem like "minor problems" in the face of her problems.
The thought of what she later revealed made Li Sishi feel unlucky. This was how she subtly distanced herself from that talented but immoral person who wrote articles criticizing his own country.
Even though I was born in Hong Kong and raised in a foreign country, I have always believed in my heart that I am a true descendant of the Yellow Emperor, without any falsehoods.
All these thoughts lingered for a short while before the staff, who had prepared everything, went to report to Sir Zhao that the awards could begin.
As Li Sishi received the prize check and a series of awards from Sir Zhao, she maintained her perfect smile, enduring countless flashes of light from solo photos to photos with Sir Zhao, and finally to a group photo of the top three winners holding their awards.
After the group photo and interviews were over, the runner-up and third-place winner, looking slightly tired, prepared to leave. Li Sishi, the champion, had to quickly return to the locker room to change her clothes.
Then they prepared to continue filming the "Champion's Homecoming" special segment for the TV program "Looking Left and Right".
This is truly the final step; as the runner-up in her previous life, she couldn't "enjoy" this sweet torment.
So even though her body was exhausted to the extreme, the immense psychological pleasure still kept her full of energy, waiting for the moment she would return home and see her family.
Just before getting on the bus, Li Sishi had already called her mother, Zhou Jiaxian, saying that because everyone had seen tonight's final and knew that she had won the Miss Hong Kong title, not only her family was extremely excited, but even the neighbors around were overjoyed and said they wanted to come and "visit" this Miss Hong Kong champion who came from their Liu Street... So her uncle Zhou Jiayun and aunt Liang Shao'e simply reopened the doors of the tea restaurant and selectively invited a group of old neighbors to come in and sit and wait.
"Wow, this really has a unique charm," the crew members exclaimed with laughter.
Although the reporters invited by the TV station had already completed their interviews, there were quite a few reporters who were not invited, or who wanted to ask more questions but didn't have time or couldn't ask in detail in a formal setting. The TV station went to such great lengths to film the "Champion's Homecoming" segment after the finals, partly to ensure exclusive news about their new Miss Hong Kong winner, and partly to protect the new champion's personal safety.
Li Sishi smiled and looked at the street scenes rushing past the window, feeling a little apprehensive about returning home.
But she was quickly dispelled by the warm hospitality of her family and neighbors.
All the unease was transformed into a foundation for being moved.
"Thank you, thank you! Thank you everyone..." The familiar smiling faces and the chaotic yet concise words of blessing and congratulations moved Li Sishi deeply. All the eloquence she had displayed during the competition seemed to vanish at this moment, leaving only her repeated thanks as the most sincere response to these blessings.
The production team also captured a lot of down-to-earth footage, and many of Li Sishi's new nicknames, such as "Ordinary Miss Hong Kong" and "Miss Hong Kong in Tent Buildings," came from media people who watched this special program.
Later, some people said that the fact that Li Sishi, a contestant from Liu Street, won the championship marked the beginning of the Miss Hong Kong pageant, which transitioned from the wealthy backgrounds of the Shu Ningning era to the "Li Sishi era" of ordinary people, making the pageant more down-to-earth and closer to the general public.
At this moment, Li Sishi had no idea that she, the butterfly that changed her destiny, would also mark the beginning of a new era. All she wanted to do was quickly remove her makeup, change her clothes, and then have a long, lazy sleep to compensate for the physical and mental exhaustion she had endured over the past two months.
After waking up from a lazy sleep
When Li Sishi heard from her younger cousin Zhou Huichang that both she and her brother had successfully progressed to preparatory courses, and that her mother Zhou Jiaxian and aunt Liang Shao'e were attending night school to further their education, she almost thought she was still half asleep and couldn't believe she was hearing so much good news all of a sudden...
Why does everyone seem to have become... become "better" after being away from home for just over two months?
Zhou Huichang solemnly stated that this was all due to the influence of her, the newly crowned Miss Hong Kong.
"Because you, my cousin, work so hard to pursue your dreams, we don't want to fall behind!" Zhou Huichang said, adding firmly, "It's because you bravely took the first step ahead that we're determined to work hard and keep up with you!"
After listening to her family's "change" and the reasons behind it, and feeling the warm sunshine streaming in during midsummer, Li Sishi felt that her smile should be even brighter than it was on the night of the finals.
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