Pei Jingyu and Pei Jingshan were out of luck.
Their fathers were arranged to go to a small, remote country where conditions were arduous for an on-the-spot investigation. There was even a danger of war. The two men went home and scolded their daughters fiercely. They not only forbade them to go out and punished them to copy down a whole book, but they also warned them not to provoke Xia Ling again.
Pei Jingyu and Pei Jingshan felt aggrieved but still accepted their punishments. They hated Xia Ling down to their bones.
Xia Ling did not have the slightest inkling about this. She prepared diligently for her trainee selection test. The exam was divided into several parts. It included an attractiveness index, a temperament assessment, an answering portion, and a talent examination where one could choose any one of the various forms of performing arts. Xia Ling chose to sing. She liked to sing and hoped to become a singer in the future.
