Chapter 58: Successfully Entering the Written Exam
Jiang Xiaoyuan never expected that she would become the center of such a storm. She stared at that Weibo post for a long time, feeling like the sheer volume of opinions would overwhelm her.
The person who stood up for her had some impressive and elusive Photoshop skills, making the images both dreamy and refined. As a result, many unrelated bystanders, unaware of what was happening, simply retweeted the images because they looked good.
In just a few days, the fan count of “Nirvana Studio” had nearly doubled!
The call just now was from a local media outlet. The local satellite TV channel couldn’t possibly broadcast national news all day, but being so far from the center of power, there wasn’t much national policy to promote. Even the crimes in the area were mostly petty thefts and lock-picking; it could take three to five years for a major case to occur. The TV station, bored out of its mind, would report on trivial matters, like “three mice and four eyes” gossip[mfn]”Three mice and four eyes” gossip is a Chinese idiom that refers to idle chatter or gossip. Three mice represents the idea of a small group of people, and four eyesrefers to the combined vision of these three people, suggesting that they are closely observing and discussing others. Together, the phrase implies that a small group of people are gossiping or discussing others, often in a trivial or unimportant way. It’s a common expression used to describe idle chatter or gossip, especially when it’s negative or harmful.[/mfn].
This stylist competition originally had little attention, but as soon as the word “scandal” was mentioned, everyone from the station manager to the directors jumped in to follow up.
Of course, the preliminary competition entries released by the committee didn’t help their case. In the hairstyling industry of late, there had been a trend where stylists focused more on being avant-garde than creating beauty. What was supposed to be a simple bridal style turned into chaotic monstrosities, as if the goal was to scare the groom away.
The general audience didn’t care about these “artistic expressions”—they just found them ugly.
That afternoon, the issue reached a climax. A verified influencer, identified as the “Vice President of the National Hairstyling Competition Committee,” reposted the long Weibo post and commented: “Keeping an eye on this.”
Involving someone from the official committee made it hard to resolve. The regional organizers scrambled to both smooth things over and release a statement online, claiming that “the results of the preliminary interview selections haven’t been finalized yet, so how could there be a scandal? Some contestants are very talented and should have more confidence in themselves. The judges’ harsh critiques are actually a form of appreciation.”
That evening, Jiang Xiaoyuan received the notice that she had passed to the written exam.
One of the judges even personally called her, praising her from head to toe and asking her to help clarify things online.
If Jiang Xiaoyuan hadn’t seen the drafts from Teacher Jiang earlier, she might have felt proud for half a year after such a turn of events.
But after truly experiencing the huge gap in skills, even the thick-skinned Jiang Xiaoyuan couldn’t bring herself to feel complacent. She tamped down any pride and refocused on the task at hand.
She thought to herself: If she were as skilled as Teacher Jiang, the person who edited her photos probably wouldn’t have had to use such heavy Photoshop.
With this newfound humility, Jiang Xiaoyuan didn’t act smug. She followed the committee’s request and posted a sincere clarification online.
After handling the matter, Jiang Xiaoyuan picked up the phone and called Qi Lian—there was no need to say it; she already knew who was behind it. Who else could know so many media people and have such good photo editing skills?
Jiang Xiaoyuan didn’t waste any words. She directly said: “Thank you for helping with the preliminaries.”
Qi Lian wasn’t surprised that she had guessed it. “No need to thank me. Even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice—if there really wasn’t any scandal, no one could have made a fuss about it, right?”
When she first arrived in this world, with no one to rely on, it was Qi Lian who had lent her money to help her through a rough time.
When she had no place to stay and nothing to her name, Qi Lian had introduced her to Mr. Chen’s hair salon, giving her a foothold.
When she was at her lowest, Qi Lian had even bought her a winter outfit. While his fashion sense was questionable, at least it kept her from freezing during that harsh winter.
When she was struggling to transition into a new career, running around aimlessly at the behest of Empress Dowager Jiang, it was Qi Lian who painstakingly taught her how to use office software, step by step.
“Why are you so good to me?” Jiang Xiaoyuan wondered, feeling a sudden pang of emotion.
She stayed silent for a while, and Qi Lian asked: “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan said, “You’re the investor Teacher Jiang mentioned, aren’t you?”
Since she had already said it, Qi Lian didn’t bother pretending and admitted, “Yes, didn’t we agree on that before?”
It had been a joke.
Qi Lian: “You won’t make me lose my investment, right?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan didn’t have much faith in herself. The difficulties she faced were far greater than she had ever anticipated.
Qi Lian suddenly sighed: “It’s been nearly two years. I’ve always wanted to be proud of you, but I haven’t really had the chance. Can’t you give me something to truly be proud of?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan’s heart melted, leaving her at a loss for words.
“Well, I’m already aboard your pirate ship,” Qi Lian said seriously, “so from now on, you have to take responsibility for me.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”
It would have been better not to make that call. After hanging up, Jiang Xiaoyuan’s mind was even more muddled. It felt as if she had downed two taels of alcohol, and now her entire body was heating up, her blood rushing around wildly as if it were about to boil.
“Hopeless,” she muttered, chastising herself as she absentmindedly doodled on a piece of paper.
Within a few strokes, Qi Lian’s profile appeared on the page, perfectly capturing his essence.
After calming down, Jiang Xiaoyuan remembered to notify Jiang Bo that she had passed to the written exam. Jiang Bo was far away in the capital, busy with the new studio’s location scouting. It took him a while to respond casually: “I know.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan followed up with a text: “Do you think the written exam will be hard? Will I get eliminated?”
Empress Dowager Jiang fired back: “If you’re tired of living, go ahead and try.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”
Teacher Jiang had a special talent—whether it was good news or bad, he could deliver everything as a threat. He was born to be a debt collector.
With everyone silently supporting her behind the scenes, Jiang Xiaoyuan dared not slack off. She put aside her laziness and arrogance and focused wholeheartedly on preparing for the written exam.
During this time, while Teacher Jiang was absent, Qi Lian showed a strong sense of responsibility as the boss, frequently dropping by the studio to check in.
Whenever he came around, Jiang Xiaoyuan would get distracted, but she couldn’t bring herself to chase him away.
Qi Lian had solved a major problem for her during the preliminaries, but he had also created some difficulties.
Fortunately, apart from Qi Lian, there was nothing else to disturb her.
Before the competition, Jiang Xiaoyuan had been preparing for the advanced makeup exam coming next year. At work, she was constantly scolded by Teacher Jiang, which made her feel like an apprentice, but her foundational knowledge had become quite solid over time. Now, with her diving headfirst into the reference materials left by Teacher Jiang, determined to scrutinize even the punctuation, it’s easy to imagine that her results wouldn’t be too bad.
As a result, she passed the written exam with flying colors, securing first place with a perfect score.
This time, no amount of rumors could discredit her.
Meanwhile, Jiang Bo had swiftly settled on the new studio location. The renovation was straightforward, as he planned to keep it similar to the old one, and the studio was expected to open soon.
In a good mood, Teacher Jiang even cut back on his usual nitpicking.
“Although competition in a first-tier city is tough, there are also more opportunities,” Jiang Bo optimistically told Jiang Xiaoyuan. “I heard you gained some fame recently thanks to the preliminaries’ ‘scandal.’ The national finals will be broadcast on CCTV. If you make it to the finals, promoting the studio will be a breeze. Do well, and I’ll give you a raise.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan: “How much?”
Teacher Jiang: “Two thousand.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan’s ears perked up. What? Was this stingy Jiang finally growing a conscience?
Then Jiang Bo added: “Per year.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan promptly hung up the phone.
She was both encouraged and frustrated—she had been saving up money, working hard on side gigs, all with the goal of renting a place to bring her grandmother to live with her. She had almost saved enough, and planned to start looking for an apartment once the competition was over.
But now, thanks to Teacher Jiang’s decision to move to a more expensive city, her savings were no longer enough!
Jiang Xiaoyuan sighed. Opportunity always came hand in hand with challenges.
Amidst this chaos, the preliminary competition finally entered its last stage.
There were fifteen contestants left, and ten would be eliminated, leaving only five to represent the region in the national finals.
The contestants would face off head-to-head, and the process was as follows:
First, the opening round would be a themed creative runway show. The theme had already been announced to the contestants before the event, and they would be responsible for finding their own models.
During the show, clips from the contestants’ interview entries would be played while the models strutted down the runway, with live commentary and scoring. Seven contestants with the lowest scores would be eliminated in this round.
Next was an impromptu styling challenge. The committee would provide models, and the remaining eight contestants would have one hour to transform the models based on their features. The contestants would be paired off, and half of them would be eliminated.
The four eliminated contestants would then compete in a mystery bonus round, where the live audience would vote to revive one contestant. The five finalists would receive certificates and earn a spot in the national competition.
The “creative theme” for the fashion show, as expected, had no creativity—it was a stage costume inspired by “Edelweiss[mfn]Leontopodium nivale, commonly called edelweiss, is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae.[/mfn].”
The impromptu design challenge and the mysterious additional test, which were not announced in advance, were primarily aimed at testing the contestants’ ability to adapt on the spot.
Since Qi Lian often lingered around the Nirvana studio, he had the chance to get a close look at the behind-the-scenes work of the stylists, especially during the design phase. He gained quite a bit of insight.
The design was mainly done by Jiang Xiaoyuan, but it had to be reviewed by Teacher Jiang, who was in Beijing. After sending it to him, Jiang Xiaoyuan first showed it to Qi Lian, eagerly looking at him and asking: “How is it?”
Qi Lian, who couldn’t really understand anything, blindly expressed his support: “It looks great! Flawless.”
His words and expression were equally sincere, which touched Jiang Xiaoyuan deeply.
Before she could finish being moved, a call from Jiang Bo came.
Qi Lian then saw the two start the conversation civilly, but three minutes later, they were arguing over the phone.
Qi Lian could still hear Teacher Jiang’s roar from a meter away: “What is ‘Edelweiss’? You think as long as it’s white, light, and thin, it’ll work? How am I supposed to know if you’re portraying ‘Edelweiss’ and not dandruff?”
Qi Lian: “…”
He realized that Jiang Bo, despite being a weak chicken, was quite witty.
Jiang Xiaoyuan: “I added a cute element. Are you blind?”
Jiang Bo: “How many times have I told you, don’t just list elements. Don’t list elements! Just because you add a little cute element, does that make it cute? If it doesn’t fit into the overall style, it’s not cute, it’s ‘trying too hard!’[mfn]The English translation of the Chinese word “卖萌” (mài méng) can vary depending on the context in which it is used. In some contexts, “卖萌” can be translated as “trying too hard to be cute.” This interpretation suggests that someone is excessively attempting to be adorable or endearing, often in a way that is perceived as artificial or insincere. In other contexts, “卖萌” can simply be translated as “being cute.” This interpretation suggests that someone is naturally charming, adorable, or endearing.[/mfn] Dandruff isn’t cute, is it?”
Jiang Xiaoyuan hung up the phone: “Bastard!”
Qi Lian: “…”
Jiang Xiaoyuan had no time to comfort a startled Qi Lian. She grabbed her long hair in frustration, messily tossed it behind her shoulders, and silently began revising her design.
And so, Jiang Xiaoyuan completed her creative theme presentation in a world of contrasts—praised blindly by an ignorant fanboy like Qi Lian, while constantly nitpicked by Teacher Jiang.
The final effect of the model’s look was the most direct. When the ordinary-looking female model appeared on stage, she almost dazzled the audience. Jiang Xiaoyuan seemed to have developed the ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Nervously, Jiang Xiaoyuan asked, “How is it?”
Qi Lian: “If this doesn’t get high marks, then there’s no justice in the world.”
Jiang Bo: “It’s passable, barely enough for a competition of this caliber.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan finally felt some relief.
However, plans rarely keep up with changes. On the day of the pre-final competition, after learning who would be scoring and the scoring rules, Jiang Xiaoyuan’s heart sank.
Aside from the four judges forming the jury, three “special guest judges” had also been invited.
Unfortunately, among the guest judges was a familiar face with whom she had a long-standing grudge—Fan Xiaoxiao.
Fan Xiaoxiao spotted Jiang Xiaoyuan early on. She took a makeup compact from her bag, patted her face, pressed her lips together, and shot Jiang Xiaoyuan a cryptic smile from afar before turning away, chatting coquettishly with the guest judge beside her.
Jiang Xiaoyuan quickly calculated the score distribution for the entire competition in her mind—the four official judges each had ten points, making a total of forty points. The three guest judges shared thirty points, and the public vote also accounted for thirty points…
Jiang Xiaoyuan already had a good sense of what the official judges thought of her after the initial round. After all the commotion, the organizing committee would love to eliminate her as soon as possible, so it would be tough to get those forty points.
As for the guest judges, there was no need to mention it. With Fan Xiaoxiao leading the group, and the other two being strangers to Jiang Xiaoyuan, they had no reason to offend that woman for the sake of an unknown contestant. Those thirty points couldn’t be relied on either.
The public vote was the only hope left, but unfortunately, the guest judges had “commenting rights.”
Most of the public audience were amateurs and often swayed by the judges’ opinions. If the guest judges gave a little nudge, the public’s opinion would naturally follow.
No wonder Jiang Bo was determined to leave this place for broader horizons. Being stuck in a small place like this, even a mere pre-final could clip her wings.
Even if she managed to scrape through the first hurdle using some small tricks, there would be enough obstacles ahead to bring her down at any moment.
Yet, no matter how desperate Jiang Xiaoyuan felt, the competition had to start on time. After the music played, the cameras from the media outlets buzzed into action, and the host appeared on stage to announce the start.
In the backstage area, Jiang Xiaoyuan was filled with dread. With nothing better to do, she glanced out through a crack. Suddenly, she saw the doors to the venue open, and in walked Qi Lian, along with Jiang Bo, who had returned at some point. They casually found seats and sat down.
Just then, the big screen began playing Jiang Xiaoyuan’s VCR. Her “Edelweiss” model gracefully stepped onto the stage, met with thunderous applause from the audience.
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