As soon as Yuan Meng agreed, the organizer was overjoyed and reported this great news in the group.
Before the competition, the organizer had pulled all the judges into a group. Although these accounts might not be the judges' main ones, it didn't prevent them from building rapport.
If Jake hadn't confessed his love to Yuan Meng, the judges might have readily accepted her. But after this incident...
They had no right to reject Yuan Meng's participation, but it didn't mean they couldn't isolate her!
So, before leaving the competition venue, the organizer asked everyone to take a group photo. Everyone subconsciously kept their distance from Yuan Meng.
Fortunately, the organizer was shrewd, and with Ling Qianchen around, Yuan Meng wasn't completely alone.
Jake wanted to get closer, but was held back by a good friend. The friend made an excuse to stand with him for the photo, saving him from being noted down by Ling Qianchen again.
Even if Jake was slow - witted, he finally realized something was wrong. So, before his friend could pull him into the car, he quickly withdrew his arm and ran towards Yuan Meng.
Some of the judges and contestants were waiting for the bus in one place. As Jake passed by, their gazes were drawn to him and followed his movement.
"Meng!"
True to the judges' "expectations", Jake ran directly to Yuan Meng's side, beaming a big smile.
"Meng, are you tired? Thirsty? Do you want me to run and buy you a glass of water?"
Jake was very enthusiastic, while Yuan Meng's attitude was rather perfunctory.
She hadn't forgotten what had happened an hour ago, and how many pairs of eyes were watching her and Jake's every move at the moment.
"I'm not tired, not thirsty, and I don't need it."
After saying that, she ignored Jake and directly found Yan Ke'er's contact information and made a call.
Yuan Meng's deliberate estrangement made Jake's eyes dim again.
Actually, making the call was just a pretext. Her real intention was to clarify that there was no improper relationship between her and Jake.
However, since she had agreed to go to the celebration banquet and there was this "Ling Qianchen" by her side, it was really not suitable for Yan Ke'er to follow anymore.
She didn't want to expose her true identity.
She had thought that Ling Qianchen seemed a bit dull - witted when he met Ai Yue, but in fact, he just didn't want to dig deeper.
Although her identity would be exposed sooner or later, she still wanted to hold on, at least to make sure she wasn't the first one to be exposed.
Yan Ke'er had already seen Ling Qianchen, so when she received Yuan Meng's call, all she could do was to tell her to be careful.
No one knew what crazy things Ling Qianchen would do after realizing he had been deceived!
Yuan Meng also took this into consideration, and she began to plan what else she could do before Ling Qianchen found out.
Not far away.
Just as Yuan Meng was about to leave, Ling Qianchen also wanted to follow. But on the way, he was intercepted by a judge who claimed to be the grandson of his grandfather's former business partner.
He could have just walked away, but he found that the other person had significant influence in the local area. Thinking that although the Ling Group was gradually getting on the right track, it was still affected by the intentional attacks of competitors, he stopped to talk for ten minutes.
However, as soon as he was away from Yuan Meng for a moment, that foreign man shamelessly got close to her again. He said something that made Yuan Meng cover her mouth and giggle...
This time, Ling Qianchen really couldn't bear it anymore. He directly left the person who wanted to discuss cooperation and strode towards Yuan Meng.
At first, Yuan Meng resisted Jake's approach, but she had a low laugh - point and couldn't resist Jake's teasing, which made Ling Qianchen jealous.
"Yueyue, what's so funny?"
Although Ling Qianchen asked with a smile, the pressure emanating from him was hard to ignore.
Yuan Meng didn't answer, while Jake sneered.
"Hey, the great president of a company is so free?"
Although he was a foreigner, he knew a thing or two about Yuan Meng's country.
Especially after realizing that Ling Qianchen was his strongest rival, he specifically did some research before daring to confront him.
Interrupted, Ling Qianchen frowned unhappily and retorted coldly.
"You, a young lad, meddling in the feelings of adults. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Who are you calling a young lad!?" Jake flared up. "I just look young. I'm actually the same age as you."
"Oh, then you're just wearing a face that deceives the world. Who knows if you've used this face to deceive many innocent girls?"
"You!"
These two men, who were almost sixty years old combined, were just like three - year - old kids fighting over a beloved toy. They were just childish and ridiculous.
Yuan Meng didn't want to be the center of attention again. Seeing the two of them arguing, she simply slipped away silently and let them fight it out.
Finally, the organizer stepped up under great pressure to act as a peacemaker, and the two of them stopped the fight.
By then, Yuan Meng had already gotten in the car and found a quiet place to close her eyes and rest.
After arriving at the destination, Yuan Meng quickly got away from the two of them and directly sat at the judges' table.
Among the judges of this competition, she wasn't the only female. There was also a foreign female judge.
When Yuan Meng sat down, this female judge first gave what she thought was the kindest smile and then introduced herself.
Strictly speaking, this was the first meeting between the two women. Since Yuan Meng wasn't the type to be overly friendly right away, she seemed a bit "cold" in the foreign woman's "enthusiasm".
The foreign woman almost lost her temper when she saw Yuan Meng's hand, clearly not willing to shake hers, still hanging in the air.
This Ai Yue was really arrogant!
There were at least seven or eight judges at this table. Seeing this, they all exchanged a knowing look with their companions.
Before Ai Yue came, this foreign female judge was like the sweetheart of the group because of her delicate appearance and sweet voice.
But after Ai Yue joined, in terms of both looks and temperament, the foreign woman was far inferior.
Even the foreign female judge herself was well aware of this!
It was understandable that some people valued good looks, but the way these men's eyes lit up when they saw Ai Yue made the foreign female judge feel a great sense of loss.
These attentions should have been hers!
"Is there something on my face?"
After being stared at for nearly five minutes, Yuan Meng almost lost her temper.
What was wrong with everyone today? Was her face really that good - looking?
She was annoyed.
"No, you're very beautiful, dear."
Yuan Meng was clearly a bit uncomfortable with the foreigner's enthusiasm, but thinking that it was their custom, she didn't say anything.
She thought this matter was over, but the foreign female judge said something else.
"Dear, can you tell me a secret? How did you manage to make the male judges and male contestants fall head - over - heels in love with you at first sight?"
After saying that, without waiting for Yuan Meng to respond, the foreign female judge seemed to realize she had said something wrong and "panicked" as she covered her mouth.
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything else."
In the entertainment industry, Yuan Meng had seen through such petty tricks long ago. Yet there were still people who, under the guise of joking, said such sarcastic things. Was it really interesting?
"Maybe it's because you're too ugly."