The judges began clapping as Xia Lan finished her performance, clearly impressed.
One of them leaned forward with a smile."You're a natural, aren't you?"
Another judge nodded thoughtfully."Did you study martial arts before? Your movements had great precision and power."
Xia Lan gave a slight nod."Yes, I learned a bit of martial arts in the past."
"Alright," the lead judge said. "We'll evaluate your performance and announce the results soon."
Xia Lan nodded politely and stepped down from the stage, calm and composed.
As Xia Lan exited the stage, the judges leaned in, whispering among themselves.
"We should select her—she has real potential. And we still need one more girl."
"Yeah, agreed. She could easily become popular with the right guidance."
"If she debuts, we'll get a lot of promotion buzz. The crowd loved her."
While most of the judges smiled with satisfaction, one of them wasn't so pleased. He sat stiffly, biting his nail discreetly, his eyes narrowed.
Tch. If they pick that girl… then Shao won't make it. And if Shao doesn't get selected, I don't get my payout. Damn it.
One of the judges turned to him."What about you? You agree she's good, right?"
He forced a smile to hide the irritation bubbling beneath the surface."Yeah… I guess she's decent."
Ugh. I can't stop it now. The others already made up their minds. What can I even do?
As Xia Lan stepped backstage, the girl who had mocked her earlier—Shao—stormed up with her arms crossed and a sneer on her face.
"Hmph! Even if you performed well, it doesn't change anything," she snapped. "You've already lost. I will be the one selected. Just accept it!"
Xia Lan blinked at her, her expression unreadable. Her brow twitched slightly, and she thought to herself:
What is this? Trying to stop someone with childish taunts? If she really didn't want me here, couldn't she just hire an assassin or place a bounty like a normal person? What a weird girl.
She turned away, too tired to argue with delusion.
Since the results wouldn't be announced until the day after tomorrow, all the audition participants had already gone home.
When Xia Lan returned and stepped into her house, she paused at the entrance.
There was a pair of shoes by the door that didn't belong to her.
As she walked into the living room, a rapid click-click-click of keyboard typing echoed from her room. A soft smile formed on Xia Lan's lips.
That must be Lu Zhi, huh.
Sure enough, as she approached the room, the typing suddenly stopped—and then came the shout.
"Xia Lan! You're finally back! Why were you so late?!"
Before Xia Lan could even answer, Lu Zhi burst out of the room and wrapped an arm tightly around hers, her eyes sparkling like stars.
"How was the audition?! Will you get selected?! You know, I was seriously shocked when you said you were going to audition to be an idol—my little scaredy-cat suddenly turned confident! Hehehe!"
Xia Lan chuckled softly at Lu Zhi's rambling and said with a calm smile, "The audition went great. I think I have a good chance—judging from the judges' faces, at least."
Lu Zhi's grin widened instantly.
"Should I hack their database to find out early if you got selected? Huh? Should I? Just say the word!"
Hearing Lu Zhi's words, Xia Lan sighed and replied,
"Zhi, I just did the audition. You can hack their system tomorrow—like the other participants probably will."
Lu Zhi narrowed her eyes and leaned closer, staring into Xia Lan's face with suspicion.
"Huuuh? Why would they hack the database? And more importantly, why are you supporting me hacking someone? This is... unusual."
Xia Lan froze for a moment as realization dawned on her.
Oh... right. Not everyone's an assassin. I really need to get rid of those habits...
She cleared her throat awkwardly and quickly backtracked, "Why would I support you? I was just joking!"
But Lu Zhi wasn't convinced. She leaned in even closer, their noses almost touching, her expression playful but sharp.
"Hmmm... I know you too well. That tone just now? That was your 'serious' tone."
Xia Lan averted her gaze, pretending to look elsewhere as a sudden sense of guilt and awkwardness crept in. She quickly changed the subject.
"Oh—Zhi, I think I'll be selected. I'm confident I can become an idol! Anyway... how's your studying going for the monthly exam?"
As soon as she mentioned exams, Lu Zhi slapped both of her cheeks with exaggerated despair.
"Ohhh nooo…"
She looked like a tragic heroine on the verge of collapse. But then her gaze shifted to her laptop, and her mood instantly flipped.
"Don't worry! I'll study when the exam's closer. And if I don't get a good grade, I'll just hack the school's website and change it! Simple, right?"
Xia Lan instinctively moved to nod—then stopped herself just in time.
"No," she said sharply. "You will study. Now."
Lu Zhi pouted dramatically, folding her arms.
Meanwhile, Xia Lan's inner thoughts grumbled:
Phew... if I nodded, Zhi would've started another round of questions. Was I really this innocent at 18?
Xia Lan quickly added,"You'll study after dinner, okay?"
Lu Zhi crossed her arms with a huff."Huh? Just me? What about you? Weren't you always the bookworm who couldn't stop studying?"
Xia Lan opened her mouth to come up with an excuse, but Lu Zhi cut her off with a dramatic wave of her hand, striking a theatrical pose.
"Yeah, yeah, no need to show off. You probably already practiced and aced everything, huh?"
Caught off guard, Xia Lan could only nod quickly, playing along.
Suddenly, a knock echoed from the door.
Lu Zhi glanced at her watch."It's already ten o'clock... Who could it be?"
Xia Lan shrugged, arms slightly raised."I don't know. I'll go check."
Before she could move, Lu Zhi darted to the corner and grabbed a baseball bat.
Seeing it, Xia Lan raised an eyebrow."What's that for?"
Lu Zhi swung the bat lightly and said with a heroic grin,"If it's a thief, I'll beat them up. Don't worry—I'm powerful!"
Xia Lan gave her a deadpan look."With those noodle arms? You'll be the one getting beaten."
Lu Zhi puffed out her cheeks, glaring with the fury of an angry kitten."Noodle arms!? Did you just call me noodle arms?!"
Before she could retaliate, Xia Lan was already at the front door, chuckling. She opened it—and immediately froze.
Standing outside were Officer Hua and a poised, mature woman in a sharp lawyer's suit.