A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 1044: Examiner Feng Kun

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

One less competitor would always be good news.

Many remained motionless and were waiting for Xia Ling to be eliminated.

Even if there were several male candidates whose hearts ached for this beautiful young lady to be undergoing such distress, they did not dare to gamble away their future. In almost every competition, the first to go would most often be the one losing out. This was common sense.

Teacher Chen and the other examiners exchanged glances.

“Zhou Keke, eliminated.” She casually flipped through the name lists and called out a name.

“What?!” The one whose name was Zhou Keke was in disbelief and blurted out, “The one who should be eliminated is Xia Ling! This isn’t fair!”

“Luck is also included when we consider one’s capabilities. There’s nothing unfair about depending upon your capabilities.” Teacher Chen stated a famous saying from Imperial’s training guide.

Zhou Keke shook her head, unable to accept the outcome. “Why isn’t it Xia Ling? She clearly had a contradictory standpoint from you and is at odds with Miss Li Bingman!” A few minutes ago, she was still secretly mocking Xia Ling for being a dirt bun who wouldn’t know any better and would definitely be knocked out. Who knew that the first to be eliminated would be she herself!

Teacher Chen waved her hand impatiently. Immediately, two bodyguards appeared in front of her and courteously but firmly escorted Zhou Keke out. The entire classroom was submerged in silence, and nobody made a noise. It was then that they realized what it felt like to be at Imperial’s examination hall; the competition was too brutal, and each man lived for himself only.

Zhou Keke’s wails faded into the distance.

The main doors to the classroom were sealed up by the guards. Teacher Chen scanned the room and calmly said, “Do you think I would eliminate Xia Ling? My apologies. I will tell you upfront that in this round of competition, the only two who will not be eliminated due to chance are Li Bingman and Xia Ling!”

A sound of surprise rang across the classroom, as a slight commotion began.

“Why is this so?!” Some candidates were dissatisfied and burst out saying, “Li Bingman is the Diva’s sister, so we can understand why she is being protected. But why does Xia Ling enjoy the same privilege?!”

“Yes, why is that so?” The candidates asked one after another.

“Because you all aren’t as pretty as her.” Another male examiner spoke up. He was young and had a calm, graceful expression. He was the kind of person whom people felt comfortable being around. However, the words that left his mouth were brutally cold and harsh. “Have you heard of this line? Justice serves looks. For a beautiful girl like Xia Ling, her face is her ticket forward.”

The candidates descended into a state of silence once again, with many of them staring at her with complicated emotions. Regardless of how jealous they may be, they could not deny that this girl was indeed beautiful. She had the kind of beauty that stunned people, that nobody could resist.

“Even if she didn’t have strengths, she can live purely because of her looks. Can you?” The same male examiner stated the facts.

“I’m not someone without strengths.” Despite the fact that he was standing up for her, Xia Ling was not pleased. She was clearly good at singing.

“For goodness sake, is this girl crazy?” A commotion stirred up within the crowd of candidates.

Sitting right in the center of the panel of examiners was Feng Kun. At a young age, he was already deemed to be Imperial’s best music composer. Any piece of music that he composed always made it big.

Oh, Feng Kun!

The idol of many children who dreamed of being celebrities!

And today, this brat from the countryside actually dared to oppose him?

Of course, a feral child was a feral child indeed, one who had no exposure!

A bunch of candidates was complaining like crazy in their minds. Who could have guessed that Feng Kun would only look at Xia Ling, chuckling warmly without a word? Even Teacher Chen threw a rude glare in Xia Ling’s direction. “Don’t take advantage of the fact that you’re pretty. Good looks are only the first stepping stone into the entertainment world. Having nobody supporting you will bring about disastrous outcomes!”

After speaking, a cold expression fell across her face as she turned to face the candidates. “Whose turn is it to perform?”

Candidates turned to look at each other. At this point in time, they no longer held hopes for the possibility of Xia Ling being eliminated by chance. In order to prevent himself from being the next unfortunate victim of random elimination, a male candidate quickly stood up, announcing, “I’ll go.”

For the first examination, even though there were several disadvantages, there were also benefits, such as leaving the strongest impression in the minds of the examiners.

This male candidate held much confidence in his abilities. Thus, he took that step of courage.

He excitedly performed a short piece, and his skills were indeed remarkable.

Several examiners individually gave him scores. Excluding the highest and lowest score, the remaining four scores were averaged and that made up the final score for this candidate: 7.6 marks.

“Full marks being 10, getting a 7.6 is pretty good.” Candidates sitting among the audience started whispering, discussing how the selection baseline for the previous year was 7.6. If it remained the same this year, he would definitely be selected!

That particular candidate was rather satisfied with his own mark, yet also felt slightly uneasy. What if the selection baseline this year was higher than the previous year’s? He gave a polite bow to the examiners, before retreating to his seat to watch the rest of the performances, while waiting for the overall outcome of results.

With him kickstarting the process, the other candidates began taking their turn to go on stage.

There were high and low scores, with cheers and laughter and also disappointment.

“The examination this year seems really strict. Zhao Tian danced so well just now, but only got a score of 8.1. They’re making it so hard!” Some candidates were heard saying this.

“Who says this isn’t strict. Over 60 candidates have gone, but the highest score is only 8.4 when the highest last year was 9.2!” Another candidate mentioned.

“9.2? There’s no hope left for us. Let’s see if Li Bingman can break the record this year. Just look at her, sitting there so calm and composed, looking full of confidence.”

Sitting at a corner of the classroom, Li Bingman was sipping tea in a lady-like manner while looking towards the stage.

Her steady, unwavering demeanor was disconcerting for many. Thinking about it, no wonder she was the Diva’s sister. Probably due to genetics, she possessed the demeanor of a celebrity.

On the contrary, Xia Ling just couldn’t sit still and impatiently shifted around.

Even though she had also learned etiquette, Ms. Sophia’s etiquette class was never about teaching her how to be a lady who followed the rules but about designing a set of unique etiquette rules to suit her lively character, causing her to also come off as beautifully alluring even as she fidgeted.

This was one area in which Ms. Sophia was wiser and smarter than other etiquette teachers.

Beauty was never about following a particular set of rules, but about each individual revealing their own unique radiance.

But to the many who sat in the audience, even if they felt that the way this girl’s fidgeting was exceptionally pleasant to look at, they still saw her as a disobedient child, and it was a strange sight. “Just look at her,” someone said while pointing at Xia Ling. “Not even sitting in an appropriate way. And she thinks she can compete with Li Bingman. What a joke.”

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