Chapter 45 Group Stage Again

To onlookers, all they saw was Xu Jiaojiao say something, and then the handsome Italian man clutched his heart, looking utterly devastated. Seeing such a vibrant and handsome young man so melancholic, the girls felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Wang Wei leaned closer to Sheng Jiaoyang and whispered, "Jiaojiao, what did you say? Why does he look so devastated?"

Sheng Jiaoyang looked innocent. "I said I'd seen people more handsome than him, and that's what happened."

Wang Wei was speechless. Why would she say something like that to a handsome guy for no reason?

She quickly leaned over and gave Henry, who was still reeling from the shock, a thumbs-up, praising him in broken English, saying he was the most handsome person she had ever seen.

Henry suddenly said "sorry," gave Sheng Jiaoyang a deep look, and then got up and left.

"What's wrong with him?" Wang Wei asked, bewildered.

"I don't know!" Sheng Jiaoyang continued with his innocent face.

At this moment, Luo Yi walked over and teased, "Jiaojiao, did you reject his confession? Look how you've hurt that handsome guy...tsk tsk!"

Wang Wei's eyes widened as she looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, her eyes questioning whether Luo Yi was telling the truth.

Sheng Jiaoyang shrugged and said helplessly, "I'm telling the truth, the person I like is indeed better looking than him."

"If you hadn't rejected his confession, you wouldn't have said that, right?" Luo Yi said.

"Who knew he would suddenly tell me he wanted to be my boyfriend? We've only known each other for a short time! That's why Italian men are so fickle; you can't believe their lies." She was actually playing a trick on her, haha!

"Them? Jiaojiao, have you met any other Italian men?" Luo Yi seized on the loophole in Sheng Jiaoyang's words.

Sheng Jiaoyang blinked, replying without batting an eye, "No."

"Then how do you know Italian men are so fickle, and you're so sure?"

"I heard it." Sheng Jiaoyang answered matter-of-factly.

Luo Yi and Wang Wei were speechless.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Yiyan called the contestants to gather outside.

Everyone walked out of the shop and lined up outside.

"This is still the group stage. Now everyone knows what to do, right?" Zhuo Yiyan said.

"Group formation!"

After several rounds, if they still didn't know the show's style, they must be out of their minds.

"As usual, the top-ranked contestant and the winner of the best photo will be the group leader. Xu Jiaojiao and Xiao Yang, step forward."

Hearing their names, the two stepped forward.

"You two play rock-paper-scissors, best two out of three. Whoever wins gets to choose their teammate first."

Xiao Yang was lucky and won the right to choose first. She immediately chose her friend Chen Han.

Sheng Jiaoyang chose Pu Mingyu.

Luo Yi looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, hoping she would choose her. With the three of them teaming up, their chances of winning the group stage would be much higher. She hadn't won an exemption in the previous round, so she hoped to advance safely this time. They

played rock-paper-scissors again, and Sheng Jiaoyang won. She glanced at Luo Yi and chose Wang Wei.

"Choose me?" Wang Wei was very surprised. She knew her own strength very well. Reaching this round was truly a stroke of luck. Unexpectedly, Xu Jiaojiao chose her at such a crucial time as team selection.

Luo Yi was also surprised; Xu Jiaojiao had chosen Pu Mingyu, and she thought she would be next, since she and Pu Mingyu had a good partnership. She never expected Xu Jiaojiao to choose someone with the lowest overall strength as a teammate.

Xiao Yang looked at the remaining people, hesitated for a moment, and chose Luo Yi, with whom he had never worked before, since Luo Yi had always been among the top three in overall strength.

The remaining group consisted of internet celebrity Yin Meiling and two other contestants with lower overall strength.

Their group was truly hopeless. Originally, Xiao Yang, Luo Yi, and Xu Jiaojiao could have been evenly matched, and Pu Mingyu was also quite strong. Now, with these three strong contenders, only the three of them—old, weak, and infirm—were left.

The competition hadn't even started, and they had already lost hope.

"Jiaojiao, I'll drag you down," Wang Wei said to Sheng Jiaoyang.

"I'm not afraid."

"That's right, you have an exemption this round, so you're not afraid of being dragged down by me." Wang Wei misunderstood Sheng Jiaoyang's meaning.

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at her but didn't explain. If she felt more at ease thinking that way, then let her think that way!

Pu Mingyu looked at Luo Yi, who had walked to Xiao Yang's side, then at Wang Wei and Sheng Jiaoyang. A thoughtful understanding flashed in her eyes, as if she understood something.

After the groups were divided, Zhuo Yiyan began to issue tasks.

The contestants had to go to five clothing stores in different locations to interview for advertising models. After all the interviews were completed, they had to return to the starting point. The group with the most successful interviews and the shortest time would win, and all members would advance. The group with the shortest time would have one member eliminated.

The owners of these five clothing stores were all designers of their own clothing, meaning that these five were all independent brand clothing stores, and they just happened to be short of poster models.

Each group was given a map, with the clothing stores marked with stars. From the map, the distances of these stores from the starting point varied, and how to plan the route to the interviews was up to the contestants themselves.

This time, the production team was humane and gave them some change for transportation, but it really was just a little, enough to cover the fare to the furthest clothing store.

As soon as Sheng Jiaoyang got the map and some change, she set off with Pu Mingyu and Wang Wei. She never needed to spend time planning; the moment she saw the map, the best route was already clear in her mind.

"Jiaojiao, shouldn't we figure out the route?" Pu Mingyu asked as she followed Sheng Jiaoyang.

"Don't worry, no one knows this place better than me," Sheng Jiaoyang said, hailing a taxi.

Once in the car, Sheng Jiaoyang used Italian to tell the driver which road to take and her destination.

Hearing her impeccably fluent Roman accent, the driver turned to look at Sheng Jiaoyang in surprise and asked if she grew up here.

Sheng Jiaoyang replied that she had lived there for a few years and then casually praised the city.

The driver was delighted and generously offered to take them to their destination free of charge.

Sheng Jiaoyang smiled.

"Jiaojiao, what are you talking about?" Wang Wei asked curiously when she saw her smile.

"The uncle said he'd take us there."

"Take us? For free?" Wang Wei asked in surprise.

“Yes.”

Wang Wei and Pu Mingyu smiled happily. Pu Mingyu thought to herself, “Following a top student really gives you different treatment; I can reap the benefits without lifting a finger.”

Sheng Jiaoyang continued chatting with the enthusiastic driver. By the time they arrived at their destination, the driver already considered her a friend. Knowing they were filming a competition program, he offered to help them, saying he'd take them wherever they wanted that day. He then stopped by the roadside to wait for them.

“Jiaojiao, tell the driver he’s so nice! I like him so much!” After hearing Sheng Jiaoyang’s translation, Wang Wei was so excited she almost jumped for joy.

Sheng Jiaoyang smiled, thanked the driver, and led Wang Wei and Pu Mingyu into the clothing store furthest from the starting point on the map.