The spokesperson for the judges cleared his throat and began to announce, "Dear contestants, today's performances were wonderful. On behalf of the judging panel, I would like to thank you all for your hard work. After careful, rigorous, serious, and earnest discussions, we have unanimously selected the following four contestants to advance to the next round of the semifinals. They are..."
Everyone, including the audience, the students below, as well as Bai Haonan and Lian Kang, couldn't help but hold their breath.
"They are... Zheng Bifan from the Art Department! Mi Yuan from the Electronic Engineering Department! Hu Jiao Jiao from the Journalism Department! And..."
Three contestants had already been announced, but Wen Ling was still not among them, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
Sweat unexpectedly appeared, and her fingers tightened nervously.
"And... Meng Fang from the Law Department!"
The audience erupted in an uproar.
Why wasn't Wen Ling chosen?
Her performance today was the most innovative, the most cheerful, and the most powerful. Moreover, she had the handsome Lan Qi's support. How could she not be selected?
Zheng Bifan smirked, waving to her fans in the audience and blowing kisses, while whispering to the dazed Wen Ling, "Xiao Wen Ling, you should admit defeat. Your level is too low; you simply can't be selected."
Wen Ling was in a daze, realizing at that moment how bitter and painful it felt to be eliminated in such a cruel manner.
"Wow, I want to kill you all, you bunch of bastards! Are you all blind? Why didn't our Wen Ling get selected? I question this! I refuse to accept it! I demand an explanation from the judges! An explanation!"
Su Liao was the first to jump onto the stage, gesturing wildly at the judges.
Under Lan Qi's direction, the girls in the audience echoed Su Liao's words, shouting, "Explanation! Explanation! Explanation!"
Bai Haonan watched the sudden turn of events and couldn't help but smirk slightly.
No one expected that some supporters of Zheng Bifan, the Zheng family army, had quietly started to like Wen Ling and were also shouting "Explanation, explanation..." in the audience.
Zheng Bifan was taken aback by Su Liao's boldness and even more surprised by the audience's strong reaction.
Her face turned a bit stiff and pale.
Wen Ling pouted, sighed, and looked around the audience in disappointment.
Just then, she spotted Lian Kang, who held up a sign that read: "My Wen Ling is the best!"
Lian Kang pointed to his chest, then gave a thumbs-up, and then pointed to Wen Ling.
Wen Ling was stunned for a second before she couldn't help but smile. It turned out that the father of the little rice grain was saying to her, "I support you!"
Oh, Cheng Ge's light red hair was so eye-catching wherever he went.
Was Bai Haonan also that eye-catching?
Hmm, this question unexpectedly popped into Wen Ling's mind at this critical moment, and she couldn't help but glance in the other direction.
No way?
Why was Bai Haonan's beautiful face so gloomy, his deep-set eyes so intense? When their gazes met, oh no, this bad uncle actually made a slapping gesture at her?
Was he going to hit her?
What was wrong with her? Why did he look so fierce?
She was most afraid of his domineering and unreasonable demeanor, which scared Wen Ling into quickly shifting her gaze to the judging panel.
Oh my, why did seeing Bai Haonan make her involuntarily think of the scene at night, with his hard abs?
Oh no, Wen Ling, you wouldn't be entering your puberty phase, would you?
Bai Haonan was secretly furious. Lian Kang held up a sign that said "My Wen Ling." Damn it, how could he say Wen Ling was his? Did he have some kind of relationship with her?
And why did Wen Ling just smile sweetly at Lian Kang? Don't say he was mistaken; his shooting accuracy was impeccable, and his eyesight was exceptionally good!
Wen Ling had clearly smiled at Lian Kang just now!!
Bai Haonan felt jealous, and the jealousy surged within him.
The judges discussed among themselves, and then one of them stood up to explain.
"The performance of Wen Ling from the Chinese Department was indeed very impressive and powerful. At that time, we judges unanimously gave her the highest score... but..."
He knew there would be a twist.
"But, the judging panel agreed that we do not support the bad practice of sending gifts behind the scenes..."
Wow—!
The audience erupted into even louder chaos!
Wen Ling actually sent gifts to the judges?
Oh no, how embarrassing!
It was hard to believe that the seemingly innocent and pure Wen Ling would do something so despicable!
The judges were pleased with the audience's reaction. "Ahem, this kind of bad practice absolutely cannot be tolerated on campus. We cannot turn a blind eye to it. Therefore, we judges, with heavy hearts, have stripped Wen Ling of her qualification to compete, allowing her to reflect and change her ways..."
Su Liao was stunned.
Wen Ling was even more stunned.
Even Lan Qi was momentarily taken aback, covering his handsome face with one beautiful hand.
It was over, it was all over...
The situation was hopeless...
Zheng Bifan shook her shoulders triumphantly, laughing loudly.
The audience was filled with disdainful voices directed at Wen Ling, jeering and booing her off the stage.
Su Liao, heartbroken, moved to Wen Ling's side, tightly grasping her hand, on the verge of tears, "Qing Bai, I'm sorry... I didn't expect to cause you harm... You can kill me... You can take all my assets, I won't mind... I'm sorry, dear Ling..."
Wen Ling's eyes turned red instantly, filled with infinite bitterness and a lot of unexplainable grievances and emotions.
This was the helpless fate of the poor!
The powerful and influential Zheng Bifan could always live so glamorously and honorably. She could hide a thousand times worse deeds and pretend to be a high and noble princess in front of others. And she... as a commoner at the bottom of society, without any background or connections, could only helplessly accept all the blame.
Wen Ling sniffed, holding back her tears, and hugged her good friend Su Liao, softly saying, "What's there to apologize for? Didn't you forget? I didn't want to continue competing anyway. This competition doesn't earn money; it's not as practical as my Jin Di..."
"Wah wah wah, woo woo woo... It's all my fault for being too clever..." Su Liao couldn't help but cry, burying her face in Wen Ling's shoulder, using Wen Ling's performance outfit as a tissue.
Lan Qi looked at the two good friends hugging on stage and couldn't help but feel teary-eyed.
"Damn, Su Liao, that shrew, has a weak side? I must be seeing things. This annoying girl is actually making me feel a bit emotional..."
Turning his head, Lan Qi was surprised.
Huh?
The brother in front...
Wasn't he the underling of the jealous uncle from Wen Ling's family?
Called... Luo Yuan, right?
What was he doing bringing a police officer onto the stage?
Oh my! Is something interesting about to happen?
Lan Qi immediately perked up, his mixed-race eyes wide open.
The judges were about to conclude today's event when the microphone was suddenly snatched away by someone forcefully, far exceeding the bad index of Su Liao.
Luo Yuan pushed a weak judge aside, almost knocking him off the stage, cursing, "Get the hell out of here! Everyone sit still! If anyone moves, I'll take them apart!"
What's going on?
When did such a non-mainstream dressed little punk jump onto the stage?
So young, cough, so handsome, cough, but so cold and scary!
Bai Haonan saw Wen Ling upset and felt her pain deeply.
He thought to himself, she was crying, and when she cried, he shouldn't be sitting here caring about those men's faces. He should be flying onto the stage, holding her tightly in his arms, kissing the tears on her cheeks.
However, he also knew that if he really did that, Wen Ling would probably punch him in the face. That shy and slightly timid girl was like a kindergarten student when it came to feelings.
Luo Yuan's pure underworld language made Bai Haonan frown slightly, muttering to himself, "Can't Luo Yuan be a bit more civilized? He walks around with 'I'm from the underworld, don't mess with me' written all over him. Sigh... Who can reform this kid Luo Yuan?"
Wen Ling and Su Liao were startled, looking at Luo Yuan, who was now confidently standing in the center of the stage.
Su Liao gasped, "My Yuan Yuan is so handsome... I love him..."
Wen Ling blinked, "What did you say? Liao Liao? What are you calling Luo Yuan?"
Su Liao quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head awkwardly.
Wen Ling pouted in confusion.
What was Luo Yuan doing bringing a police officer on stage?
Ah, a police officer!
OMG!
Wen Ling gasped sharply.
This police officer wouldn't be here to arrest Su Liao for sending gifts to the judges, would he?
Luo Yuan's appearance was like dropping an atomic bomb on the scene.
All the girls were instantly frozen in fear.
Just as Luo Yuan had threatened, no one dared to move, not even to blink.
You can imagine a young, post-modern cool youth, with a tuft of hair sticking up on his forehead, looking fierce and intimidating, wearing a short leather jacket that occasionally revealed a gun tucked into his waistband when he turned.
Could anyone still move?
In front of a police officer, someone who openly carried a gun could not be an ordinary gangster, right?
The entire venue was silent, quieter than a school assembly.
The police officer took the microphone and addressed everyone, "I am the captain of the criminal police team from the police station. Today, I have two matters to announce. First, last night, based on the evidence collected by our officers, it was discovered that Su Liao sent two black-legged chickens, already slaughtered, to one of the judges."
Wen Ling and Su Liao exchanged glances, cold sweat pouring down.
The captain of the criminal police team actually had people surveilling a small university girl sending two black-legged chickens to a teacher?
This was too absurd!
Two black-legged chickens?
Was that the gift Su Liao sent to the judges?
Damn... that was too low-level.
The police captain continued, "May I ask this judge, is this true?"
The judge was startled, coughed, and nodded, "Yes, this did happen. However, I have already sent those two black-legged chickens to the school's disciplinary office." He puffed out his chest proudly.