From the judges' panel, the perpetually frowning Director Ye's eyes suddenly lit up.
The proliferation of the hugely successful cosmetic surgery industry had resulted in many women going under the knife and ending up looking like they had been cast from the same mold.
Having spent an entire afternoon looking at sculpted V-shaped faces that were heavily made up, he was finally able to see a pure, natural face.
A radiant smile on an exquisitely flawless face with a smooth complexion… Dewy eyes that shone like the most brilliant stars in the night sky…
Although her smile and poses did look a bit silly, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her perfectly proportioned facial features. She was so unpretentious and beautiful that an observer would be involuntarily dumbstruck.
Earlier, he had witnessed the entire incident unfolding in the corridor and concluded that this young lady was of good character and also quite smart.
Her natural and uncontrived presentation of herself simply enhanced his good opinion of her.
Director Ye glanced at the profile sheet on the table.
An Ziqi…
Even as he put a check mark on her profile sheet, he managed to sound like he was rebuking her.
"Do you think you are doing a selfie? Childish."
An Ziqi wanted to stick her tongue out.
Compared to the toxic remarks made to the others before her, this actually sounded gentle.
Sensing that something was different about this one, the other judges looked closer at An Ziqi.
Since Director Ye had approved of her, they would surely not have opposing opinions.
When she heard the judge seated in the center congratulating her, An Ziqi secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
That little rascal had told her that if she did not make it past the preliminary round, her contract would be extended to 10 years.
Those that were waiting in line behind her were filled with envy and hate.
Was that it? Did she make the mark with just that? Could the judges have issues with their eyesight?
After she had listened to the judges' instructions on the timing of the training session, An Ziqi thanked them with a smile and left the studio.
Just as she was leaving the main gate of the TV station, her phone rang.
Retrieving her phone, she noticed that Ningning's name was displayed on the screen.
But before she could accept the call, she bumped into someone.
An Ziqi was just about to apologize.
"An Ziqi, how dare you bump into me? Are you tired of living?"
Lin Kelan, together Xia Xiaotong, stood in her path, blocking her from moving forward.
She had originally assumed that An Ziqi was the cleaning lady and had not expected her to be taking part in the beauty contest.
What made it harder to swallow was that she had asked her father to call in many favors and get her a clear passage past the preliminary round.
But An Ziqi, with her shabby appearance, had made it through the preliminary round so easily.
"Move aside, Lin Kelan. I have something to attend to and have no time to put up with your nonsense."
An Ziqi frowned. Lin Kelan had completed her interview previously, so, obviously, she had been intentionally waiting for her here.
"What? Trying to escape after insulting me? If I cannot make you kneel before me and apologize now, I will not be the Lin Kelan that everyone knows," Lin Kelan declared angrily.
If not for An Ziqi, she would not have given Director Ye a bad impression of herself today or have been embarrassed in the presence of so many people, so publicly.
She raised her leg, wanting to give An Ziqi a good hard kick.
Brows raised, An Ziqi saw something behind Lin Kelan and stood firmly where she was, not moving.
Lin Kelan assumed gleefully that An Ziqi was too scared to move and had stayed where she was. Well, it was too late to be submissive.
Before she could reach An Ziqi, Lin Kelan felt herself being thrown to one side by a sudden force of immense strength.
Lin Kelan screamed and fell to the ground.
Looking up, she saw a man in black standing in front of her, a menacing look on his face.
He said respectfully to An Ziqi, "Miss An, the young master is waiting for you across the road."
An Ziqi nodded. Without even looking at Lin Kelan who was still on the ground, she turned and walked across the road to the black Porsche parked by the curb.
"An Ziqi, you trashy woman! Stop right there!" Lin Kelan shouted angrily when she saw that An Ziqi was about to leave.
She had barely finished her sentence when the crisp sound of two slaps rang clearly in the air.
Lin Kelan soothed her aching cheeks in disbelief. First, she was thrown unceremoniously to the ground, and now she had even been slapped. Since the day she was born, when had she ever suffered such insult?
All she wanted now was to tear An Ziqi into pieces. However, wary of the man with the menacing look standing in front of her, she could only glare fiercely at An Ziqi.
Number one pressed a button on his earpiece, as though listening to an instruction issued from the other end.
All he said was a respectful yes. After which, he looked down at Lin Kelan on the ground and said, "My young master wanted me to convey this message. In the future, if you ever utter those words again, you will find that you may never speak again."