Chapter Four Exemption and Re-selection

There was a machine in the testing area; people stood on it, and their weight, measurements, and height were automatically scanned into the computer—it couldn't be simpler.

When Sheng Jiaoyang entered the testing area, her registration information had already been transferred to the testing staff's computer. Then, Sheng Jiaoyang stood on the testing machine, and the data was stored in the computer; the staff only needed to import this body data, and that was it.

When she arrived at the interview area, there were many more people waiting. There were already about ten people standing in the corridor outside the interview room. Perhaps the staff had greeted them, as everyone was quiet.

Sheng Jiaoyang saw the two girls who had been ahead of her in line before. The taller girl looked more nervous, while Yang Bao stood beside her, holding her hand.

A dozen people wasn't a large number, but nearly half an hour had passed before it was Sheng Jiaoyang's turn.

"Xu Jiaojiao," called the staff member at the door.

Sheng Jiaoyang took a deep breath and walked into the testing room.

When Sheng Jiaoyang entered, a male and female interviewer were talking inside. They only turned to look at her when she got closer.

"Xu Jiaojiao?" The young male interviewer glanced down at the tablet screen in his hand, his voice tinged with surprise. "Wow, quite a change."

Compared to the male interviewer, the female interviewer was older, but her youthful attire made it difficult to accurately guess her actual age.

Sheng Jiaoyang subtly moved closer before she could see the nameplate on the table.

Zhuo Yiyan, Jiang Yi.

She didn't know who Jiang Yi was, but she had heard of Zhuo Yiyan, after all, he was a very popular fashion icon in the domestic entertainment industry recently.

Jiang Yi carefully examined Sheng Jiaoyang and nodded in agreement. The person in the ID photo had a ponytail, thick bangs, and wore glasses, looking like a complete bookworm, with no redeeming qualities. But the girl in front of her had a stylish short haircut, and her features were sharp even without makeup. Although she was only wearing an inexpensive white T-shirt and denim shorts, the small floral patterns on her clothes revealed her slender figure and youthful energy.

"You don't usually dress like this, do you?" Jiang Yi asked.

"Yes, my family is poor," Sheng Jiaoyang answered casually. Her tone was so flat, and her lack of self-consciousness caught the attention of both interviewers.

"Your outfit today is quite nice. The hairstyle and clothes match well. Did you choose them yourself?" Zhuo Yiyan rested his chin on his hand, his gaze sweeping over Sheng Jiaoyang from head to toe.

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced down at her clothes, fiddling with the short tassels at the hem, and calmly replied, "This is my first time using scissors. Please forgive me if it's not cut well!"

She had no choice but to wear the clothes she had washed and dried the night before. For someone who rarely wore the same clothes twice, it took a lot of patience to wear the same outfit two days in a row.

Since she was participating in the competition, she naturally wanted to find a way to get to the finals. She was already quite tall, but here she realized her height wasn't an advantage; in fact, compared to the dozen or so people before her, she was relatively short. She feared she wouldn't pass this interview without some other skill.

"Did you modify your clothes yourself?" Jiang Yi seemed very surprised.

"I couldn't find any suitable clothes in my closet, and I didn't have money to buy new ones, so I had to do it myself." Sheng Jiaoyang was actually quite helpless. She had originally wanted to paint on the clothes to make it more interesting, but she couldn't find any paintbrushes or paints, not even watercolors.

The two interviewers exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

Jiang Yi then asked, "Xu Jiaojiao, do you know anything about modeling?"

"A little. My best friend is a model."

"Then you should know that this industry isn't as glamorous as it seems. Are you prepared to face the hardships behind it?"

Hearing this, Sheng Jiaoyang raised an eyebrow slightly: "I'm just here to participate in the competition. Whether I enter this industry or not depends on whether I'm suitable."

Of course, the most important thing is whether she's willing.

Zhuo Yiyan, who found this answer somewhat interesting, asked, "Do you know how to walk the runway?"

"No." She had only watched from the sidelines and never thought that one day she would enter this industry.

“Try walking around and let us see your coordination.”

Sheng Jiaoyang stepped back to the doorway, recalling her friend’s practice of catwalking in front of her. Although it was a bit blurry, she remembered some details. After going through it in her mind, she took a step.

“A bit rusty, her steps aren’t firm enough, but her coordination is okay, and she understands the basic movements.” Jiang Yi looked at Sheng Jiaoyang as she walked over and whispered to Zhuo Yiyan, “Yiyan, what do you think of her?”

“Not bad, a good prospect,” Zhuo Yiyan smiled. “It’s normal to be rusty since you haven’t walked around before. As long as your coordination is good, that can be demonstrated. The key is that she’s not stage-frightened. Have you noticed? She hasn’t been nervous at all since she came in, like she’s walking into her own backyard.”

“People say they’re poor, so if they’re going to walk in, it’ll be into a vegetable garden!” Jiang Yi rarely joked.

Sheng Jiaoyang stopped and saw the two interviewers chatting and laughing. She wasn’t in a hurry and silently watched them.

"You listed drawing as one of your personal strengths, so you're an art student?" Zhuo Yiyan's smile faded, and she tapped the tablet screen.

"No, I just like drawing."

"Did you know I have an exemption card for the second round?"

"Yes, I've read the competition rules."

"The other contestants listed many strengths, and a significant portion of them are good singers and dancers. What advantages do you think you have over the other contestants to get this exemption card?" Zhuo Yiyan waved the card in her hand.

Sheng Jiaoyang blinked her big eyes, unintentionally giving a cute little look, and tilted her head to ask, "You're choosing supermodels, not singers. Is being able to sing and dance an advantage?"

Zhuo Yiyan chuckled, thinking that the girl in front of him looked a lot like his concubine when she blinked. Uh, Concubine was the name of a Garfield cat.

"Compared to being able to sing and dance, your drawing skills don't seem to be an advantage at all. At least people who can sing and dance have a better grasp of rhythm."

Jiang Yi turned to look at Zhuo Yiyan. The interview time given to this contestant had already been quite long, and Zhuo Yiyan, who was in charge of controlling the interview time, seemed to want to continue the conversation. This wouldn't do; there were still many contestants to come!

"Does having potential count as an advantage? Everyone else's strengths have been written out; mine are waiting for everyone to discover. Discovering the unknown is where the surprises come from, isn't it?" Sheng Jiaoyang's eyes darted around, and she cleverly replied to Zhuo Yiyan's words.

"Discovering the unknown is where the surprises come from," Zhuo Yiyan repeated, "Heh, you win."

Zhuo Yiyan handed the pass to Sheng Jiaoyang.

"Take this pass and wait for notification. The staff will inform you and the other contestants who passed the preliminary round about the training time and address."

"Thank you!" Sheng Jiaoyang was quite happy to have passed the preliminary round directly; she hadn't felt the sense of accomplishment of achieving something through her own abilities in a long time.

Watching Zhuo Yiyan add Xu Jiaojiao's name to the competition list, Jiang Yi asked curiously, "You only have one pass left. What did you find appealing about Xu Jiaojiao?" There were

only four passes in total. Zhuo Yiyan had two, and the other two were with the people conducting the video interviews, all to ensure his chosen contestants made it to the final round, in case they were eliminated in the preliminary rounds or pushed out by those with connections.

"I have a feeling she'll make it to the finals." Zhuo Yiyan smiled slightly. Although young, he had been in the industry for several years, seeing all sorts of people and developing a keen eye; otherwise, he wouldn't have his current reputation.

The finals? Jiang Yi neither confirmed nor denied it, but she didn't believe it. She'd seen many excellent contestants this year, some with naturally international looks and great physiques. But this delicate-looking Xu Jiaojiao, aside from the initial contrast, hadn't left much of an impression. She felt that such a contestant would probably be invisible in a crowd.

Zhuo Yiyan glanced at Jiang Yi, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Don't believe me? We'll see."