Chapter 153 The competition begins, number six...
Chapter 153
Her eyes were so clear, and they carried a sense of certainty and confidence.
This made Gu Xiaotang and Ning Lu momentarily dazed.
"Yingying, then we believe you."
No sooner had these words been spoken than the referee from the organizing committee began blowing his whistle, announcing, "Gather for the draw."
Five minutes are up.
As soon as the referee called, everyone rushed to the front of the stage. This draw was much more solemn this time.
It really was a lottery.
A square iron box contained many long bamboo skewers, but the serial numbers were all below the skewers, leaving the top blank.
This lottery is really fitting for the occasion.
The referee was Wu Yanzhou, whom Meng Yingying knew, because Wu Yanzhou was an outsider; her students weren't participating in the competition this time.
However, she wasn't the only referee.
There was also a white referee, who was from the Soviet Union. Meng Yingying looked at him for a while and realized that she did not recognize him.
Jane noticed that she was lost in thought, so she took the opportunity to explain, "Noel is Katya's teacher. He came back from Italy with her this time and happened to be elected as a referee."
In other words, Nor is now completely on the Soviet side, while Wu Yanzhou is on their side.
One on each side.
That is absolutely fair.
Meng Yingying knew what was going on and thanked Jian. Everyone else had already put their hands into the skewer.
Meng Yingying was no exception; she also drew a lot. Before she even opened it, Gu Xiaotang looked over nervously, "Senior sister, what number are you?"
Meng Yingying looked down and saw that the serial number was right below the slip of paper. She glanced at the number and saw it was a bean sprout.
May everything go smoothly.
not bad.
"How many?"
Seeing that she didn't speak, Gu Xiaotang became a little anxious. Meng Yingying held up her own lottery ticket for her to see, "Number six."
It's in a position that's neither high nor low, neither forward nor backward.
This time, each delegation will send three contestants, for a total of nine.
Meng Yingying ranked sixth, which is considered to be in the middle to lower position.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaotang immediately felt envious, "I'm fourth."
Ning Lu smiled wryly, "I'm number one."
In this kind of competition, the first player to go on is always under a lot of pressure.
Hearing her words, Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang were speechless.
"Oh well, I'll be working in the morning and at night anyway, and there are advantages to being number one."
"At least we don't have to suffer like we do. We're going to get stabbed whether we stick our necks out or not."
That's the truth.
Ning Lu thought about it and agreed.
Arkhipova and the others were also exchanging number tags. "I'm number three."
She spoke up on her own initiative.
Kim Soo-yeon said, "I am number two."
When it was Katya's turn, she looked at her number card, then glanced at Meng Yingying's, and said, "I'm number five."
That's great, the numbers for the six people were instantly revealed.
Meng Yingying glanced at Katya, who smiled and said, "I'll be in front of you, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."
It's clear that Katya is very confident in herself.
Meng Yingying said calmly, "I'll be the last one."
It wasn't everyone who was the grand finale, but rather these few.
Katya's expression changed slightly, but she held back. The referee blew the whistle again, "Everyone back to your seats and wait. Contestant number one, please prepare."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately dispersed. Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang went to their respective seats.
Ning Lu was the only one who had to go backstage to wait for the competition, and she was trembling all over. Especially when she saw the sea of heads outside, some with yellow skin and some with white skin, she couldn't stop shaking.
"Gu Xiaotang, Meng Yingying, I'm scared."
Seeing that Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang were about to leave, Ning Lu immediately grabbed them.
Now, Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang were at a loss. They exchanged a glance and tentatively asked, "Shall we go backstage with you?"
Ning Lu agreed without hesitation.
Now things are really messed up. Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang can't go to the front to wait either, so they can only accompany Ning Lu to the back.
With them around, Ninglu has indeed found things much more convenient.
Meng Yingying helped her touch up her makeup, Gu Xiaotang helped her tidy her clothes, and Zhou Lanxiang also came over and cleaned up the backstage area.
"Ning Lu, the path is ready; it's up to you to walk it."
Ning Lu took a deep breath and nodded to Meng Yingying, "Wait for me, I'll crush those foreigners."
After saying this, she stood like a female general at the bottom of the steps of the side curtain, took a deep breath, and listened to the announcements outside.
Ning Lu then lifted her skirt and followed him up.
Ning Lu went to the front desk, so Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang naturally couldn't stay there. They walked together from backstage to the audience seats.
As soon as she sat down, she saw Yang Jie from the judges' panel glance at her. Although she didn't say anything, the two of them understood each other at that moment.
Meng Yingying nodded to her, and Yang Jie knew that Ning Lu was fine.
The announcements on stage have already begun.
—Please welcome contestant number one, Ning Lu, to the stage. She will be performing Swan Lake.
As soon as she finished speaking, the lights came on, and Ning Lu emerged from behind the red curtain. Looking at the dense crowd of people, almost all of different skin colors, she felt a sudden unease.
Ning Lu tensed up and, as the music started, she reflexively began to dance along.
But her dancing was neither outstanding nor did she make any mistakes.
It was just an ordinary, unremarkable thing.
The moment Ning Lu stepped off the stage, she was somewhat overwhelmed with emotion. "I didn't dance well, but I wasn't bad either."
Meng Yingying patted her on the back, "Ning Lu, you danced very well. Look at all these people in the audience, but you didn't make a single mistake."
"That's already very impressive."
She was comforting Ning Lu, who breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't say anything, but she was a little disappointed in herself. "I thought I could perform exceptionally well."
Meng Yingying shook her head, "Ning Lu, it's already a passing grade to avoid making mistakes. Don't be too hard on yourself."
No sooner had he said that than the judges had already given their scores.
The scores given by the five judges were fairly standard. Yang Jie gave 9.5 points, Jian gave 9.4 points, and the rest gave 9.35 points.
Finally, Ning Lu's score was reduced by the highest score of 9.5 and the lowest score of 9.35, resulting in a final score of 9.41.
It's not a very high rating; it's just average.
Ning Lu lowered her head and didn't say anything. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had only gotten such a low score in her home arena.
It really embarrassed her.
"Okay, stop crying."
Meng Yingying wiped away her tears, and Gu Xiaotang comforted her, "Maybe I'll be worse off than you, but at least it's a start, isn't it? You didn't make any mistakes, which means that last place can't be yours."
In competitions like this, it's basically a huge makeshift team; just avoiding mistakes is already half the battle won.
How much you can win from the rest really depends on luck.
Ning Lu thought about it and realized it made sense. She was crying when the announcer came on stage again.
—Please welcome contestant number two, Kim Soo-ryun, to the stage.
She was dancing Sleeping Beauty and was the top contender for the day, so all eyes immediately turned to her.
Kim Soo-ryun lifted her skirt and took small steps, like a proud white swan, as she walked step by step toward the stage.
However, when she passed Meng Yingying and Ning Lu, she raised her head slightly, looking very arrogant.
Ning Lu even forgot to cry. She turned around and said to Meng Yingying, "Is she looking down on us?"
Meng Yingying nodded.
Ning Lu clenched her fist and said to Meng Yingying, "Yingying, go up there and take her down in a bit!"
Meng Yingying, "..."
Listen to how they've driven the elegant Ning Lu to this state!
However, Meng Yingying did not refuse, because she was indeed unhappy with Jin Xiulian. She nodded in agreement.
This made Ning Lu very happy.
As the narration began, the lights suddenly focused, and Kim Soo-ryun, standing on the side of the stage, took a deep breath, her skirt gently lifting, like a graceful swan stretching its neck, slowly emerging from behind the stage.
The scene fell silent instantly.
It can only be said that experts see the details, while laymen just watch the spectacle. Almost instantly, everyone's eyes were on Kim Soo-ryun.
Kim Soo-ryeon's entrance was much more professional than Ning Luxian's.
"She's got something."
When Yang Jie said those words, people couldn't help but sit up straighter, trying their best to see the stage more clearly.
All we could see was Kim Soo-ryun raising her back leg to a 90-degree angle, her upper body slightly leaning forward, her neck forming a long, thin arc, her toes lightly touching the ground, her whole body seemingly suspended in a mist, holding the position motionless for eight beats!
The audience immediately fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.
"Your basic skills are really solid."
Unlike Ning Lu, who relies entirely on skill, Jin Xiulian's movements are completely like a conditioned reflex, and her actions are also highly refined.
In the audience, Ning Lu gripped Meng Yingying's sleeve, her eyes wide, "She dances much better than me."
She possessed mechanical skills, while Kim Soo-ryun found them as simple as eating and drinking.
Meng Yingying remained silent, her gaze fixed on the stage.
Every jump and every movement of Kim Soo-ryun was as if measured with a ruler; her firm muscles were hidden within her softness, yet when they exploded, they were like a fully drawn bow.
She had to admit it.
The other party combined Aurora's naivety with her sharp edge, making her both a princess and a thorny character.
The music on stage was coming to an end.
Kim Soo-ryeon suddenly performed a nimble flip, her body as round as a full moon, with tremendous force.
The audience erupted in cheers.
Quiet cheers came from the Soviet athletes' stands, and Alkhipova whistled.
In the audience, Ning Lu's face was pale. She murmured to Meng Yingying, "She'll have to start at least at 9.7..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a round of applause erupted from the judges' panel.
I give Kim Soo-ryun a score of 9.8.
This is even higher than Ning Lu guessed.
Ning Lu fell silent instantly, and the other judges began to score. "I give it 9.6. It's not bad, but we can't give such a high score to the second contestant."
I'd give it 9.7.
"I'd give it 9.75."
As each score was given, the scorer quickly tallied the results: "After removing the highest score of 9.8 and the lowest score of 9.6, the final score is 9.73."
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
That's quite a high score.
Kim Soo-ryeon, however, was still not satisfied; she thought she could get a score of 9.8 or higher. After all, she was quite pleased with her performance.
Even the level of completion of the dance was quite high.
However, the other party only gave it 9.73.
Dissatisfied.
Very dissatisfied.
Kim Soo-ryun believes her dance was perfectly fine; she was simply disadvantaged by her early appearance in the competition. Because she entered the competition so early, the judges were hesitant to give her a high score.
I'm afraid that if we encounter even more amazing contestants later on, it will be difficult to give them higher scores.
"Yingying, she's still not satisfied."
Ning Lu clenched her hands, twisting the hem of her clothes into a pretzel shape. "She got such a high score, and she's still not satisfied."
This was truly ironic for Ning Lu, who had also performed on stage.
Meng Yingying didn't know how to comfort her, and after a while she said, "Everyone has different standards for themselves, Ning Lu. Don't use Jin Xiulian's standards to judge yourself. It's actually very unfair to you."
Ning Lu knew that, but she still felt terrible.
"What is she still not satisfied with?" Tears welled up in her eyes.
For Ning Lu, her previous rivals had always been Gu Xiaotang, and later Meng Yingying. But in reality, her only contact with Meng Yingying was that one Red Star Cup match.
But it was during this international competition that Ning Lu truly began to doubt herself.
She only got such a low score, while Kim Soo-ryun, who came in second, scored several points higher. Could she be at the bottom?
The thought of this made Ning Lu feel as if she were being publicly executed.
"Look ahead."
Meng Yingying was much more composed than her. "There are nine contestants in total, and you're only second now. This is nothing. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Ning Lu didn't speak; her eyes were lowered, clearly indicating that she was deeply hurt by this competition.
"The third person is coming up soon."
Who is the third person?
Gu Xiaotang asked a question, which was a way of forcibly diverting Ning Lu's attention.
"The third one seems to be Arkhipova."
Sitting next to her, Arkhipova nodded. "It is indeed me." Her face was a little pale.
Clearly, the pressure from Kim Soo-ryun wasn't just felt by Ning Lu, but also by Arsipova.
Moreover, as number three, Arkhipova faces even more pressure than Ning Lu. This is because Ning Lu represents the past, while Arkhipova represents the future.
Kim Soo-ryun's high score was like a knife hanging over Arkhipova's head.
"Meng, I'm nervous."
No one expected that Arkhipova would not seek relief from her companions, but instead went to Meng Yingying.
The moment she arrived, Ning Lu's sadness vanished, and Gu Xiaotang watched her with great vigilance.
Meng Yingying was both amused and exasperated. "Alright, alright, Bova is one of us."
Clearly, Meng Yingying and Arkhipova had developed a deep friendship during their years at the academy.
Gu Xiaotang finally relaxed a little.
Meng Yingying walked up to Alkhipova, patted her head, and said, "Pova, just focus on doing your best. Don't worry about whether other people are doing well or not. If you can surpass your previous performance, then you've won this competition."
Arsipova and she are both getting old, and for them, this is their last match.
Arkhipova hummed in agreement, as if she wanted to say something more.
The announcer on stage began.
Please welcome contestant number three, Arkhipova, to the stage. She will be performing Swan Lake for us.
-----------------------
Author's Note: I wanted to finish writing the chapter about the competition, but I didn't. I overestimated myself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
