The other six eliminated contestants from the top ten donned in the designer"s latest spring-summer collection walked out simultaneously.Since they were no longer competing, they walked with ease and performed even better than before.
After they finished the runway walk alongside the designer"s designated models, it was the finals for the remaining four finalists.
In order to get to the finals, they did quite well in all aspects. The first to go on stage was the plain-looking w.a.n.g Jia, who was given the chance to walk on another show"s runway. Of course, she was only considered relatively unattractive based on the local standards of beauty; her squarish face with small eyes and a high nose bridge did not fit the mainstream local criteria of beauty. But the fact she was given an opportunity to walk on another show"s runway proved that she had met the overseas standard of beauty.
All the local foreign panellists were very pleased when she appeared.
w.a.n.g Jia"s stage charisma was quite stable. She gave off a very admiral, firm, and generous vibe.
The second finalist was Xu Lan. She had a small face with long arms and legs; her light steps made the softly pleated bell-bottom pants look like a skirt, and brought out the outfit"s comfort and qualities very well.
The third finalist was Wei Xiaoyan. Amongst the top ten contestants, she fit the local beauty standards the most. With an oval-shaped face and flawless skin, she was very lovely. However, her beauty did not stand out in particular. Of course, having secured a spot within the top ten was already quite an achievement.
The last finalist was Zhu Danqi, who was quite average in various aspects. Her looks, body line, charisma, and temperament were alright.
Overall, w.a.n.g Jia had left the deepest impression, next was Wei Xiaoyan, then came Zhu Danqi and lastly Xu Lan.
More often than not, those who left the greatest impression naturally got the highest scores.
After the four contestants completed their first round, Sheng Jiaoyang walked out and followed the rhythm of the finale track.
She wasn"t as tall as the finalists, but her charisma was ample. Her physical presence was comparable to a landscape, preventing others from looking away.
Donned in a sleeveless skirt with irregular length, the soft and light material was similar to the other designs that were featured earlier, giving off an ethereal and enchanting vibe. The skirt ended above the knees, exposing her thick white arms and long legs.
She slowly walked out, and when she arrived at the middle of the runway, she crossed her arms and untied the knots done at her shoulders with her long fingers. To everyone"s surprise, her skirt had transformed from a sleeveless to an off-shoulder tulle wide sleeves long fluttering dress.
It was as if she had transformed from a princess on holiday to the queen of a party. Her aura was unbelievable. After her transformation, the originally layered style skirt showed her upper body curves, and the thin material flowed with her steps. Her beauty was almost suffocating.
Everyone was stunned.
A foreign expert exclaimed in his mother tongue, “She"s such a beauty! Who is she? If she were one of the finalists, she"d definitely be the winner! There is no doubt!”
Watching the performance unfold through the monitor screen, the female designer backstage turned teary-eyed. The temporary fill-in model was so much better than her original model; she managed to completely show off the skirt"s characteristics and qualities and exceeded her expectations.
The designer"s a.s.sistant blurted out, “She"s very pretty!”
“Her appearance gave me a new concept idea. She"s totally my muse,” the designer added.
Everyone backstage was staring at the monitor screen, totally amazed.
All four finalists felt that the production team had invited Xu Jiaojiao to walk the runway to show them how mediocre they were. The four of them were originally the main leads, but with the twist of events, the leading role had changed.
As for the six eliminated contestants, they were quite relaxed since they no longer had to partake in the finals.
“She amazes everyone whenever she appears. I"ve replayed the two shows she walked on multiple times, and I never get tired of watching.”
“I must get an autograph and a photo with her, I adore her a lot.”
“I"ve watched her dramas too. I love the character she played, Zhen Xin. In the drama, she showed off many different styles. It was very refres.h.i.+ng to watch. I also saw the trailer for "Empress". She looks soooooo good in it!”
“As the saying goes, the ones we must fear most are those who look prettier and are more capable than ourselves.”
Although the contestants felt that they were incomparable to Sheng Jiaoyang after walking on the same stage, several of them were already her fans. Similar to a rookie who just made her debut and a world star appearing on the same stage, they wouldn"t feel depressed being neglected by the audience, but rather feel honoured.
Finally, all the models walked out in a single file and stood at their designated positions. Then, the designer walked out hand in hand with the last model.
Roaring applause rang out in the venue along with a standing ovation.
Without a doubt, the designer"s show was a huge success.
After exiting the stage, the four finalists walked out and stood on the runway once more, while off-stage sat Zhuo Yiyan, the designer, and Sheng Jiaoyang. Behind the three of them were the six eliminated finalists from the top ten.
The huge screen on stage was still playing clips of the fas.h.i.+on show from earlier.
Sheng Jiaoyang had changed into her outfit. She was held up in a conversation with the designer, only when Zhuo Yiyan produced a small cough did they straighten their postures, to find the four finalists waiting on stage for the results.
Besides the scoring done by the previous ten experts, the three judges had the right to give five extra points to the finalist they liked. The highest and lowest score given to each contestant would be excluded from the calculation and the average would be taken from the remaining scores to generate the new score. After the new scores were announced, the judges could give five points to whoever they liked.
“Everyone"s performance was exceptional today, ” Zhuo Yiyan started his official speech.
The four finalists silently looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, who was seated next to the designer. No one could surpa.s.s her, no matter how exceptional they were. Such an overshadowing judge…
“Let us replay everyone"s performance.” Zhuo Yiyan held the laptop and played the four finalists" performance clip.
Sheng Jiaoyang took the opportunity to watch the finalists" performance as she had to vote later.
After the video had ended, Zhuo Yiyan picked up a file and opened it, “I have here in my hands the ten experts" scores. Do you want to guess how well you guys did?”
Wei Xiaoyan said, “90 points.”
“Oh? It seems that you"re quite confident in your results,” Zhou Yiyan replied with a smile.
Zhou Yiyan"s response made everyone feel uneasy. It felt as if the experts had given them poor evaluations.
Xu Lan said, “85 points for me.”
“Xu Lan, you"re belittling yourself now, ” Zhuo Yiyan said.
The finalists: …
If 90 is considered high and 85 not being confident, what about those between 85 and 90?
The remaining finalists guessed their grades within the range.
“Alright, I"ll stop teasing you. All of your scores were quite good.” Zhou Yiyan looked down at the doc.u.ment and announced the finalists" results. ”The results are out, Xu Lan"s average was 90; Zhu Danqi 91; Wei Xiaoyan 89; and w.a.n.g Jia 93.”
Wei Xiaoyan"s face froze as she hadn"t expected to receive the lowest grade; whereas w.a.n.g Jia looked more relaxed as she originally had extra points from the bonus round. Unless all the judges decided to vote for the same finalist unanimously, the crown would be hers.
“Jenny, who do you think performed the best today and portrayed the qualities nearest to your expectations?” Zhou Yiyan turned and looked at the designer.
Designer Jenny looked across all four finalists, and finally rested her eyes on Sheng Jiaoyang seated next to her. ”Can I choose Jiaojiao?”
“No, you have to decide amongst the four finalists. Your choice would ultimately mean that you would vote for her, increasing her chance of winning the crown,” Zhou Yiyan laughed.
Jenny"s eyes returned to the four finalists, and finally looked in Xu Lan"s direction and said, ”I"ll choose her.”
“Okay, five additional points for Xu Lan. Now her total is 95 points.” Zhou Yiyan turned and looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, “What about you, Jiaojiao?”
“Everyone did very well, but the finals must produce a winner. Today, I will give my vote to w.a.n.g Jia.”
“Okay. Now w.a.n.g Jia has an additional five points, which brings her total to 98 points.” Zhou Yiyan announced all four finalists" scores, and subsequently made his vote, but he had voted for Zhu Danqi.
Currently, w.a.n.g Jia had 108 points including the bonus round points, Xu Lan 95 points, Zhu Danqi 96 points, and Wei Xiaoyan had the lowest of 89 points.
The first, second and third place had been decided, and Wei Xiaoyan was in fourth place.
“Jiaojiao, as the last season"s winner, please announce the results,” Zhuo Yiyan said.
Sheng Jiaoyang nodded, and announced looking into the camera, “The third runner-up for National Supermodel Season 3 is Xu Lan, second runner-up is Zhu Danqi, and the winner is w.a.n.g Jia!”
The other six contestants all stood up, and rushed up to the stage to hug each other.
Sheng Jiaoyang watched them, and could not help but to reminisce about her days during the last season. Back then, she had the precious w.a.n.g Wei with her; those days were quite joyful.
Thinking of w.a.n.g Wei, Sheng Jiaoyang recalled that w.a.n.g Wei had given birth to a daughter two months back. At the time, she was busy filming and didn"t have the time to visit. So, she just sent a red packet over.
A lot of things had changed over the course of a year, and even Sheng Jiaoyang was no longer the same girl who only took things step by step in the face of adversities.
Zhuo Yiyan stood up and clapped to attract everyone"s attention. “I"d like to bring all of you to a place.”
“Teacher Zhuo, where are we going?”
“You"ll find out later.” Zhuo Yiyan showed his iconic smile.
Sheng Jiaoyang raised her eyebrows slightly. During the last season, Zhuo Yiyan had replied in the same manner. Based on her experience, nothing good was bound to happen.Previous ChapterNext Chapter