Chapter 59 I didn't expect you to be so stupid

In the car, Lin Na asked Sheng Jiaoyang, "How did you feel when you saw Lin Yan just now?"

Sheng Jiaoyang leaned back in her seat, watching the scenery flash by outside the window. She raised her hand to her chest and said, "I didn't feel that heart-stopping feeling anymore."

Lin Na turned to look at Sheng Jiaoyang. "It's because your heart is strong!"

"..." Sheng Jiaoyang.

"But I can tell you're much calmer when you see Lin Yan now."

"Wasn't I calm before?" Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at her sideways.

"Before, you were calm on the surface, but your heart was burning." "

And you're talking about me, when you saw George..." Upon hearing that name, Sheng Jiaoyang realized.

The car suddenly became eerily quiet.

"Jiaojiao, do you think there's still a chance for George and me?" Lin Na broke the silence and asked.

Instead of answering, Sheng Jiaoyang asked, "Then are you still willing to lower yourself to win him back?"

Lin Na thought for a moment and said, "Once is enough. I don't want to compromise with him every time."

"I think it's fine not to be in a relationship now. I don't have to worry about heartbreak." Sheng Jiaoyang felt a bit like she was talking without understanding the situation, but that was indeed what she thought.

If a relationship either falls apart or ends in disaster, why bother? Why torture yourself?

"Then if I don't date, you have to come with me to go skiing, surfing, skydiving, and all the things I haven't thought of yet but want to do," Lin Na said.

Sheng Jiaoyang's lips curled up. "Okay!"

Lin Na smiled too.

Finding a friend who will always be there for you no matter what is truly the luckiest thing in life.

When they found the production team, the contestants were coming out of a breakfast shop.

Seeing Sheng Jiaoyang get out of Lin Na's car, the others were envious. They wished they could find such an awesome friend.

Lin Na watched Sheng Jiaoyang return to the contestants, then went to Yu Jing and said she wanted to watch the finals.

"Ms. Lin," Yu Jing said, "you know that for competition shows like ours, judges can't get too close to the contestants during the competition, otherwise the audience might be misled into thinking our show is unfair. So we can't have you as a judge. If you don't mind, I'd like to invite you to be our special guest, accompanying and guiding the contestants all the way to the finals. What do you think?" Yu Jing, a seasoned professional, spoke very eloquently.

She knew how to be diplomatic and adaptable; she understood that even without inviting Lin Na as a guest, Lin Na would still be with the production team. That's why she said all this, hoping to gain a favor from Lin Na and also provide the contestants with a free mentor—a win-win situation.

It's always good to leave room for future interactions!

Lin Na naturally agreed. Being a mentor was great; she could give Sheng Jiaoyang extra help, ensuring he won the championship.

But plans never keep up with changes. One moment Linna was fully prepared to accompany her little ray of sunshine to the finals, the next she received a call saying there was a problem with a batch of products and she had to rush back to France.

As soon as Linna left, the contestants surrounded Sheng Jiaoyang.

"Tell me honestly, where did you and Lina go last night?"

"Are you really just friends?"

"Jiaojiao, does your mom know how amazing you are?"

Sheng Jiaoyang let them ask, but she wouldn't say, at most giving a mysterious smile, leaving everyone wondering what was going on.

The production team didn't give them much time to chat, as every day the filming schedule was delayed meant more money spent.

This time the competition format had changed slightly; the six contestants were divided into three groups of two, but two would be eliminated.

That meant it was a direct 6-to-4 elimination round.

Whether they could enter the semi-finals depended on this match.

Each group stage was anything but easy. The production team contacted five designers who were about to hold mini-shows, and the contestants had to audition to become runway models. The final evaluation was based on the audition performances, with the weakest member of the lowest-performing group being eliminated.

Another group's elimination was determined by the quality of their street photography photos.

The grouping prop was still a string box with six ends; each person chose one, and the two who ended up with one end formed a group.

Wang Wei and Pu Mingyu were drawn into one group, Luo Yi and Xiao Yang into another, and Sheng Jiaoyang and Yin Meiling into yet another.

Upon receiving this grouping result, Pu Mingyu's heart sank. "Damn it, I'm so unlucky today! I've been drawn into a group with the weakest designer, Wang Wei. I feel like our group is doomed!"

After the groups were formed, the contestants were styled and dressed in trendy outfits, then posed for photos in groups. For group photos like these, one person's good performance wasn't enough; both people needed to have good chemistry for the photos to look good.

Pu Mingyu was particularly miserable when taking photos with Wang Wei. They were both wearing flowy outfits that day, and Pu Mingyu was quite happy when she first changed. Standing on a charming London street in her ethereal long dress, the wind billowing her skirt – what a beautiful scene! But then she encountered a terrible teammate. She was posing confidently, but the clueless young man next to her started acting up, spinning around and tossing his skirt around, making her stand there awkwardly, completely at a loss.

The most compatible pair was Luo Yi and Xiao Yang. They had worked together before and knew each other well, so the photos were ready quickly.

Although Sheng Jiaoyang and Yin Meiling's group wasn't as troublesome as Wang Wei and Pu Mingyu's, their teamwork wasn't great either. Yin Meiling harbored a deep resentment towards Sheng Jiaoyang. She felt she was prettier, had a more curvaceous figure, and looked better in photos, yet she never received compliments. Meanwhile, the girl next to her seemed to achieve everything effortlessly—how could she not feel?

During the afternoon's interview, Yin Meiling's dissatisfaction with Sheng Jiaoyang reached its peak. Although they were in the same group, her desire to surpass her remained unchanged. So, before the interview, she deliberately put on beautiful makeup, and even the designers praised her beauty. But—

it was all for naught!

After praising her, the designers said nothing more, not even letting her try on the clothes before declaring she wasn't suitable.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiaojiao, with her bare face, received considerable favor from the designers.

Were they all blind?!

On the way to the last show, Yin Meiling exploded.

"Xu Jiaojiao, did you bribe the designer?" Yin Meiling glared at Sheng Jiaoyang, her eyes red with anger.

"Go see a doctor if you're sick!" Sheng Jiaoyang almost rolled her eyes.

"You're the one who's sick! You and Lina are friends, it would be easy for her to put in a good word with the designer, can you honestly say you didn't?"

The cameraman following them was speechless, why did she suddenly turn hostile when they were just walking along peacefully?

"The designers are all contacted by the production team, are you questioning the fairness of the production team?"

"Who knows! Otherwise, why didn't they choose me even though they praised my beauty?"

Sheng Jiaoyang looked at Yin Meiling with a "Are you stupid?" look and said, "Didn't you do your homework before participating in the competition? Even Wang Wei knows to avoid makeup or wear light makeup when coming to the interview. Designers aren't in a beauty pageant, they want models who can highlight the strengths of their designs. What's the use of you being so beautiful with makeup if you leave the designers with no room for imagination?"

"Wang Wei is just too lazy to wear makeup!" Yin Meiling retorted, "Since you knew that, why didn't you remind me? Aren't we in the same group?"

"Because I didn't expect you to be so stupid."

I didn't expect you to be so stupid,

so stupid, so

stupid!

Even the thick foundation on Yin Meiling's face couldn't hide her sudden flush.

"Xu Jiaojiao, I've really had enough of you!!!"

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at Yin Meiling and said lightly, "Did I force you to put up with it?"

With that, she turned and continued walking towards the next location.

Yin Meiling was furious, but she didn't want to be eliminated. She soaked a tissue in mineral water to remove her makeup as she followed.

Unfortunately, her makeup was waterproof, and by the time she reached the last show, her makeup was still on. Because she had been rubbing it so vigorously with the tissue, her makeup was smudged, making her face look terrible. The last show was in a hotel. When she entered the hotel, she saw her grotesque reflection through the glass door, and two lines of tears streamed down her face.

As Yin Meiling hesitated at the entrance, she saw Xu Jiaojiao returning.

"Hey, hurry up and go to the restroom to wash your face." A bottle of makeup remover and several cotton pads were handed to her.

Yin Meiling took the items, glanced at the other woman, and quickly ran to the restroom to remove her makeup.

The cameraman turned the camera towards Sheng Jiaoyang, who winked in his direction.

The battery was a bit high…

The cameraman silently steadied the wobbling camera.