Chapter 9: The Beauty Arrives

Dragging her suitcase out of the taxi, Sheng Jiaoyang looked up at the grand building ahead and obediently walked toward the security office to register for entry.

Yesterday morning, while she was still asleep, the production crew had called to tell her she was being summoned for training.

This training session was to be held alongside the other contestants who had passed the selection process, making a total of thirty people including herself.

When she arrived at the door of the contestants' waiting room, staff members came up to collect phones and luggage. The noisy sounds from inside the waiting room drifted through the ajar door, making Sheng Jiaoyang reluctant to even step inside.

"Another one has arrived." As Sheng Jiaoyang pushed the door open, the spacious room fell silent for a moment, and gazes swept toward her in rapid succession.

Sheng Jiaoyang didn't pay it any mind and went straight to find a seat.

"I heard that during training, contestants might be eliminated at any time. Only half of us will actually make it into the competition!"

"Really? That cruel?"

"How can a competition not be cruel?"

Listening to the conversations around her, Sheng Jiaoyang's expression remained unchanged. She merely raised her eyes to discreetly observe the other contestants in the room, unexpectedly spotting two somewhat familiar faces—they were the girls who had been ahead of her in line during the initial auditions.

Once all the contestants had arrived, someone from the organizers finally appeared.

"Alright, everyone follow the staff to change clothes. There is a runway show to perform today."

The newcomer's words were like a thunderclap, startling the contestants into an uproar.

"We have to do a runway show today? Weren't we here for training?"

"Are people being eliminated today?"

"Why didn't they say anything on the phone yesterday?"

...

The staff members ignored the contestants' complaints, remaining silent and simply performing their respective duties.

Sheng Jiaoyang was assigned a chiffon strapless floor-length gown. This type of dress was not easy to walk in; one moment of inattention and you would trip on the hem. Anyone who had never worn such a dress would certainly feel somewhat restricted.

She wasn't the only one assigned a floor-length gown; some contestants were given short skirts that made it easy to expose too much, while others received revealing cutout dresses. The entire changing room was filled with lamentations and continuous shrieks.

"Ladies, pay attention. You have now entered the competition phase. Your every word and action will be captured by the cameras, so please maintain your decorum, OK?" Someone from the staff, unable to stand the cacophony, came out to remind them.

Instantly, the changing room fell silent.

Sheng Jiaoyang breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally quiet.

They changed shoes, drew numbers, and then proceeded in order to the backstage of the runway, entering one by one under the guidance of the staff.

The number Sheng Jiaoyang drew was neither early nor late. It wasn't a particularly good position, but she wasn't nervous. Sufficient experience watching runway shows gave her the corresponding confidence, and since she wasn't in urgent need of money right now, she could approach the competition with a calm mindset.

When it was her turn, she walked onto the stage and stood at her designated position. She lowered the hem she was holding and, at the staff member's wave, stepped forward. As she walked, the lightweight fabric of the skirt fluttered slightly with her stride.

While a floor-length gown was troublesome for others, Sheng Jiaoyang handled it with incredible ease because she had worn them so many times. In the past, being relatively short, it was common for her to wear twenty-centimeter platform heels just to wear beautiful evening gowns; walking in these dresses with her current height was even easier.

The only thing that caused her trouble was her vision. One could not wear glasses on the runway. She had rushed to participate in the training before she had time to get vision correction, so with a visual range of only about one meter, she had to focus her attention entirely on her feet.

Consequently, in the eyes of others, although this girl didn't seem restricted, she walked too earnestly, which actually robbed the dress of the lightness and leisure it required.

"Yi Yan, I heard you specifically noted this contestant, but I don't think she's all that!" In the front row seats below the stage, a woman wearing an exaggerated headpiece sat on the left. Her face was heavily made up, making her features appear quite sharp, yet the fine lines at the corners of her eyes exposed the fact that she was not young.

Zhuo Yiyan, who had previously given Sheng Jiaoyang a pass, was sitting next to the woman. He looked at the girl walking meticulously on stage, smiled, and said, "It's still early. Some people need to go through more experiences before they can undergo a complete transformation."

"Even though today's show is just the opening act, it's enough to see a person's potential. That girl Xiao Yang who went out earlier was quite good. She's also a novice without runway experience, but the tension and stage presence she displayed were better than many veteran models who have been in this industry for years. Even if she lacks runway experience, that's something you gain by doing it more often. But this Xu Jiaojiao is too conventional, and her features are too delicate without any sharp edges. Even if she were to become a print model, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to pull off high-end photos."

Before Zhuo Yiyan could speak further, a young woman with a somewhat mixed-race appearance sitting to his right suddenly spoke up: "She looks a lot like how I used to be."

The heavily made-up woman immediately fell silent.

The corners of Zhuo Yiyan's mouth curled upward. When a faded veteran meets an international supermodel in her prime, the veteran is bound to lose the argument immediately.

"Lina, this is the first thing you've said after half the show has passed. It seems this contestant is quite capable of touching you." Zhuo Yiyan turned to look at the young woman beside him.

The woman's features were very sharp, her eyes deeper than those of most East Asians. Even with light makeup, she was exceptionally beautiful. Combined with her cold expression, this beauty felt somewhat imposing and full of presence.

She was a Eurasian; her mother was Chinese, and her Chinese name was Lin Na. This was her first time taking a domestic engagement.

She had wanted to return to her mother's hometown for a long time, but she had always been busy with work—busy pursuing her dreams before she became famous, and after becoming famous, busy opening a company and brand with her friends, even personally entering the lab to research new scents. Her schedule was always packed tight.

If it weren't because her best friend had run into trouble domestically, she wouldn't have canceled all her engagements just to accept this program's invitation. She wanted to use this as an excuse to come here and see just how good this place was that made her "Little Sun" so happy she forgot everything else.

Watching the girl named Xu Jiaojiao disappear from the runway, Lin Na lightly parted her red lips and replied to Zhuo Yiyan, "Her walk is very similar to mine, and her name is the same as my best friend's nickname." Unfortunately, her Little Sun did not have the same healthy body as this Jiaojiao.

"That is probably what they call fate," Zhuo Yiyan said with a smile.

Lin Na nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The show didn't take much time to complete. The audience in the seats had all formed some degree of impression of the contestants, especially the guests invited by the production crew, who certainly had their "seed contestants" in mind.

Next was the grouping of the contestants.

Those assigned long dresses formed one team, while those assigned short skirts formed another.

"In the upcoming half-month of intensive training, you will be trained in teams. Now, we must select two team captains. Following a unanimous decision by the judging panel, Xiao Yang will serve as the captain of the Long Dress Team, and Luo Yi will serve as the captain of the Short Skirt Team. Captains are responsible for assisting the training instructors in managing group discipline and other matters. Next, we grandly introduce our special instructor—"

"Lina!" The host pointed to the side.

The contestants all looked over. When they saw the tall, stunning beauty making her grand entrance, their expressions varied, but they were clearly all very surprised.

Lina was a rising star in the international supermodel world in recent years. With an angelic face and a devilish body, she had not only thrived in the modeling industry but had also successfully broken into the film and television industry. Furthermore, she had created her own brand in a very short time; her excellent taste had also secured her a place in the fashion world.

Her Chinese identity also made her a subject of great attention from her fellow countrymen. Even before she came to develop her career in China, she frequently appeared in entertainment headlines; there was no one present who did not know her.

Sheng Jiaoyang, who had been maintaining a calm expression, widened her eyes upon hearing the host's shout. She looked over abruptly and then clearly saw the approaching woman.

"Pretty girl!" It was almost a reflex.

The other contestants burst into laughter.

The host couldn't hold back a chuckle either, but immediately felt he had messed up and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Student, even if you see a beauty so stunning it's otherworldly, please try to stay calm, okay?"

Another burst of laughter followed.

Only two people in the room were not laughing: one was Sheng Jiaoyang, and the other was Lin Na.

When Lin Na heard that "Pretty girl," she almost thought she was hallucinating. She looked at the person who had called her; it was the girl named Xu Jiaojiao.

How did she know this nickname that was exclusive to her Little Sun? Or was it just a coincidence?

"Lina, please give us a self-introduction!" the host said.

Lin Na withdrew her gaze and said in a flat tone, "Hello everyone, I am Lin Na. For the rest of the time, I only have the afternoon to give to you. How much you can learn depends on yourselves."

She really is a pretty girl! Sheng Jiaoyang's heart was racing; she didn't hear a single word the host said afterward.

She desperately wanted to rush over regardless of everything, identify herself to the "pretty girl," and tell her about her own turbulent experiences lately. However, her rationality controlled her body; she could only watch helplessly as the pretty girl walked off the stage, and could only follow the other contestants to change clothes.

"Yang-bao, I really want to be in the same group as you!"

In the changing room, two best friends were acting as if they were being torn apart.

As the other contestants passed them, they couldn't help but look at them with strange expressions, thinking these two were being a bit dramatic. Although they were split into two groups, they weren't being sent to different training locations; why act as if they were facing a tragic parting?

"Alright, go change quickly. We'll still be training together in a bit. What does it matter if we aren't in the same group, right?" Xiao Yang comforted her friend with a hug.

"Fine, wait for me after you've changed. We'll go to the training room together."

"Okay."

Xiao Yang found her locker. She saw that the person next to her was the girl who had just caused the entire room to laugh, and she proactively greeted her: "Hi, I'm Xiao Yang. I feel like you look a bit familiar!"

"You were in front of me during the audition registration."

"Oh right, I remember now. You seem to really like Lina. You were staring at her the whole time while she was on stage. Is she your idol?"

"No." Sheng Jiaoyang quickly changed into her clothes and turned to leave the changing room.

Another girl nearby curled her lip and said, "Tch, what's with the attitude? Just a bumpkin, yet she dares to call Lina that."

Xiao Yang smiled and said, "Let's hurry up and change so we can go to the training room!"