The captain of the criminal police ignored the judges' comments and continued sternly, "Our investigation has revealed that after this judge sent the black-legged chicken away, two hundred thousand yuan appeared in his bank account within an hour. We will further investigate this matter."
Two hundred thousand? Exposing Su Liao resulted in money appearing in the account?
The students in the audience exchanged glances, their eyes filled with suspicion.
The judge's face suddenly turned cold, and he looked a bit flustered.
"I will continue to announce the second part of the investigation. Just now, the venue experienced a complete power outage. Our officers found a female student backstage who admitted to deliberately causing the power outage and revealed that it was instigated by Zheng Bifan..."
Wow...
The entire audience gasped.
Zheng Bifan instructed someone to cause a power outage? Directly affecting Wen Ling's performance?
Zheng Bifan was stunned for two seconds before she began to scream arrogantly, "I didn't! That's a false accusation! I demand my lawyer to clarify this matter! I absolutely did not cause the power outage! This is a false accusation! More unjust than Dou E's case! I swear on my character, I absolutely did not do this! It's a false accusation! If I did, I curse that I will be hit by a car as soon as I step out! Boohoo, false accusation, boohoo, this is a false accusation..."
Zheng Bifan swore vehemently, shaking her shoulders as she cried innocently.
Instantly, everyone began to feel sorry for Zheng Bifan.
She must have been wronged; otherwise, she wouldn't dare to swear like that—being hit by a car, after all...
Su Liao rolled her eyes and muttered, "Crying so convincingly, it's a shame she isn't an actress. Zheng Bifan, don't worry, when you step out, I will definitely hit you."
Zheng Bifan's pitifully crying back shivered suddenly.
Luo Yuan walked over to the judges and whispered a threat, "I'll give you a chance: either let Wen Ling continue in the competition, or I will have the police continue their investigation. I estimate that in the end, you judges will all be finished!"
Luo Yuan's words made the judges collectively shudder, and they immediately huddled together, chattering nervously.
In just half a minute, the judges reached a consensus. One of them said, "The school's disciplinary office and all of us judges unanimously decide that the two black-legged chickens given by Su Liao do not count as bribery, but rather as a display of affection from students to their teachers. As for the power outage incident, we cannot make a judgment at this time. Therefore, we announce that Meng Fang from the law department is eliminated, and Wen Ling from the Chinese department will continue to the semi-finals. Congratulations to the four students selected!"
Clap, clap, clap... Only a few judges clapped half-heartedly.
All the students in the audience were dumbfounded.
It was obvious that the school was trying to protect Zheng Bifan's reputation and results by muddling through with Wen Ling's competition.
Luo Yuan smirked triumphantly, glanced at Su Liao, and then left with the police officers.
Su Liao and Wen Ling stared at each other for a full minute before they realized what had happened. The two girls hugged each other, jumping and cheering, "Oh oh! We made it! Yay! We got selected!"
Zheng Bifan huffed and was helped off the stage by two women.
She had to continue pretending to be wronged and crying; if she wasn't helped off, it would be too fake.
Lan Qi happily did a beautiful backflip on the spot, raising his hands in a V sign, "Pretty! The jealous uncle is really awesome!"
Xiao Sa, Xiao Chun, and a few others ran up to the stage, embracing and congratulating Su Liao and Wen Ling.
It felt as if the biggest winner of this preliminary selection was Wen Ling.
The sense of victory was even stronger than that of an Olympic champion.
This small victory was so tumultuous and hard-won.
The students all filed out of the venue, leaving only Bai Haonan, Lian Kang, Wen Ling, and a few others in the large hall.
Wen Ling hugged Xiao Sa, cheered and high-fived with the musicians, and spun around in Lan Qi's embrace.
Su Liao shouted, "Lan Qi! Why don't you hug me? It's not fair!"
Lan Qi laughed, "Who told you to eat like a pig? You're too heavy to lift!"
Su Liao pushed and shoved Lan Qi, yelling, "Wow, I'm going to take you down! What did you say? Where am I fat? I'm only five pounds heavier than plain water, okay? You're just judging by appearances! You think I'm not as pretty as plain water, right? Let me tell you, I'm way sexier than her!"
Lan Qi stuck out his tongue childishly, "I won't hug you, I won't hug you..."
"Put her down!"
Two men simultaneously growled ominously.
Lan Qi was startled, his hand slipped, and with a thud, he dropped Wen Ling onto the floor, almost causing her to fall hard.
"Ah! You dead Lan Qi, you won't sleep on the floor tonight! I'm punishing you to sleep in the hallway! Do you want to kill me?"
Wen Ling pouted, feeling aggrieved, but then noticed that two groups of men, both equally strong-willed, were glaring at her.
Uh, Uncle Hao... Cheng Ge...
Lian Kang glanced at Bai Haonan beside him, and coincidentally, Bai Haonan was also coldly glaring at him.
Bai Haonan's eyebrows twitched, his anger boiling, but he was trying hard to restrain himself.
Lian Kang smiled lightly, exuding a casual charm.
"Wen Ling, congratulations on advancing successfully," Lian Kang said to Wen Ling.
"Uh, thank you, Cheng Ge. I didn't expect you to keep watching the show," Wen Ling said, glancing at Bai Haonan before smiling politely at Lian Kang.
That smile!
That innocent, silly smile!
She didn't know that her little mouse-like squint was incredibly charming.
Damn it!
Bai Haonan cursed Wen Ling in his heart.
His expression darkened further, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
A tense atmosphere filled the air.
His fists clenched, but he forced himself to remain calm, watching the situation unfold.
He wanted to see what Lian Kang was up to.
Lian Kang took out a delicate red box, clearly a high-end jewelry box. "Wen Ling, to celebrate your success, I specially chose a pearl necklace for you. Your skin is very fair, and it suits pearls perfectly. Here, try it on."
Before Wen Ling could react, Lian Kang had already jumped onto the stage and was putting the pearl necklace around her neck.
Su Liao pouted, watching him express his feelings for someone else, muttering, "My skin is also very fair! I also suit pearls!"
A strong hand suddenly pushed against her neck, scolding her, "What does it have to do with you? Trash girl!"
Su Liao turned around and saw that Luo Yuan had appeared behind her without her noticing.
Her eyes widened, and after two seconds, she finally reacted, quietly moving back to press against Luo Yuan, her small hand reaching for his.
She chuckled foolishly inside.
But Luo Yuan shook her hand off, "Get your dirty paws off me!"
Luo Yuan raised his chin arrogantly.
Su Liao didn't mind, playfully grabbing Luo Yuan's hand again. This time, Luo Yuan didn't refuse but scolded her quietly, "Shameless woman..." while secretly smiling.
With her light red fashionable bangs swaying, Wen Ling blinked foolishly, now adorned with a valuable pearl necklace.
Looking at Lian Kang, he seemed to declare, gripping Wen Ling's shoulders, clearly stating, "I like you, Wen Ling. I want to marry you and take you home to be my wife."
"Gah!" Wen Ling was so shocked she almost fainted.
No way... this game isn't fun at all.
Lian Kang smiled, "Of course, you don't have to respond to me right now. I will passionately pursue you until the day you agree to marry me."
"Cheng, Cheng Ge, I, I don't..." This was too unbelievable! How did the father of a little rice grain suddenly become so affectionate? It was unbearable! Wen Ling stammered, about to refuse Lian Kang when another tall figure appeared in front of her.
"She won't accept your proposal; she already has a man. Wen Ling is my fiancée, and the one who will hold her hand and walk into the church will be me, Bai Haonan. Lian Kang, thank you for your concern, but I see your gift is not very sincere. You gave me Bai Haonan's woman, such a worthless thing?"
Bai Haonan said coldly, pulling Wen Ling into his arms, then gripping the pearl necklace around her neck, applying pressure, crack... all four deep-sea pearls shattered into powder, followed by the sound of the broken pearls rolling on the floor.
Wen Ling let out a low moan, feeling heartbroken. What a waste! Hao Dazhu was purely a spendthrift; such a beautiful necklace, even if he didn't want it, he shouldn't have damaged it! He could have let Cheng Ge take it to sell and recover some money! So, Bai Haonan was just a top-tier spendthrift!
Wen Ling wanted to bend down to pick up the pearls, but Bai Haonan held her shoulder tightly, making it impossible for her to move.
Lian Kang frowned but quickly regained his usual nonchalant demeanor, brushing his bangs back casually, saying, "Oh? Isn't this Hao Nan? Fiancée? You're not joking, are you? I haven't heard any news about it, and the media hasn't announced anything about your engagement, right? Old Master Bai hasn't come forward to host any engagement ceremony for you, has he?"
Wen Ling sighed inwardly: Old Master Bai really disliked her! Asking him to host an engagement? Dream on!
Bai Haonan's eyes were filled with rage, "The engagement ceremony will be held soon!"
"Haha..." Lian Kang laughed heartily, "Yes, yes, I also heard that this morning, Old Master Bai invited the president of the Zheng Tong International Consortium to dinner, apparently to discuss your engagement with the only daughter of the Zheng family... Congratulations in advance, Hao Nan. This blessing from a brother is very sincere."
"What did you say!" Bai Haonan's body swayed slightly.
This morning? Grandpa and Zheng Tong International?
But he gritted his teeth to steady himself, coldly sneering, "Lian Kang, you must be mistaken. One day soon, you will witness the scene of my engagement with Wen Ling. So, please keep your distance from my woman in the future! Otherwise, I might misunderstand and feel compelled to deal with you harshly..."
The more he spoke, the more he gritted his teeth.
Lian Kang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, I will witness your engagement ceremony. I want to see who your fiancée really is. Also, I am everywhere; you better keep an eye on your woman. I will never let go of her in this lifetime. Wen Ling, take care of our son; big brother is leaving first."
Son?!
Wen Ling was stunned for a full five minutes before she could recover from Lian Kang's shocking words.