In the television broadcast, after the Northeast region’s contestants finished selecting their blind boxes, the competition in the Northeast region seemed to begin immediately. However, many people were unaware that after the Northeast region’s selection, contestants from other regions had also completed their recording sessions for selecting partner celebrities.
After all, gathering sixty-four celebrities together was no easy feat. Huang He was not some magical being who could make so many celebrities come and cooperate with filming every single episode without fail.
Therefore, it was natural to take advantage of the opportunity when sixty-four celebrities were gathered to complete the blind box selections for all participating contestants and find their partners.
At this moment, the celebrities sitting in the stands couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Just as the contestants hoped to find celebrities who could suit their design styles, the celebrities also desperately hoped to find someone who looked like a promising candidate for an award, thereby helping them secure the angel investment of one hundred million US dollars.
Indeed, the celebrities themselves understood very well that the outcome of this competition did not solely rely on them. The key still lay with the participating contestants; their designed clothing was the crucial factor for victory.
Of course, considering that the final results were determined by audience votes, the celebrities themselves were also quite important. After all, top-tier celebrities like Long Ge or Liu Hua could naturally bring tens of millions of votes. If they were paired with an excellent designer, they would undoubtedly be champions.
Therefore, they were also very eager to be paired with an outstanding designer.
However, these celebrities, who might not always have perfect acting skills in their daily lives, were even less capable of discerning which designer was more talented. They could primarily only judge a designer’s standard based on their self-introduction videos and past designs.
Soon, the first designer who garnered significant attention from many celebrities, considered highly promising, emerged. His name was Shi Minghua, twenty-three years old, and a recent university graduate.
Despite his age, he had already achieved incredibly astonishing accomplishments, having basically swept all domestic awards for young designers. He had also participated in last year’s Paris Fashion Week and had a photo taken with Qu Wei.
In fact, unlike Qu Wei’s entry into Paris Fashion Week through Mr. Huang’s strong intervention, Shi Minghua was directly invited by the Paris Fashion Week organizing committee.
Furthermore, four or five of his works had either been collected by collectors or directly entered museums. His most outstanding achievement was his collaboration with Disney, where he participated in the Disney anniversary event and designed an anniversary gown for Mulan, a unique accomplishment throughout China.
Therefore, in the eyes of many celebrities, this Shi Minghua was definitely a contender for victory. Many celebrities wished for him to draw their names. Unfortunately, Shi Minghua ultimately drew Bingbing, who considered herself part of a wealthy family, much to the disappointment of many celebrities.
However, Shi Minghua himself was quite satisfied. His specialty was designing clothing for women, and frankly, Bingbing was indeed very beautiful and had a great figure, which met Shi Minghua’s requirements. Shi Minghua felt that victory was already within his grasp.
Next was Xiao Chenyu, a contestant from the Southwest region. He was also very eye-catching because he was deaf and mute. He could not hear or speak, but he possessed incredibly nimble hands. With just one glance, he could sketch a garment design, and using only scissors and needles, he could complete the creation of an outfit.
During his self-introduction, he demonstrated his skill by transforming a piece of cloth into a shirt in just five minutes. Technically, he was impeccable, arguably the best on stage.
This also caught the attention of many celebrities. Although this contestant had not won any major awards, and his designs weren't particularly attractive, he possessed an absolute advantage in craftsmanship. Most importantly, being deaf and mute was definitely a plus point!
After all, everyone was in the industry and knew well that many programs nowadays loved to utilize individuals with disadvantages for dramatic effect, and audiences were very receptive to this.
A little emotional appeal could easily evoke tears from many viewers. Especially for a competition decided by audience votes, this could attract a significant number of votes. Therefore, many were very optimistic about Xiao Chenyu and hoped to be his partner.
He had at least a strong chance of making it into the top sixteen.
Unfortunately, this good fortune ultimately fell to Huang Ming, which even made Long Ge a bit jealous.
“How is it, did you get drawn?” Huang Ming, who was very excited, couldn’t help but ask Hu Shuai Ge beside him.
Well, this question was rather annoying. You’ve been sitting next to Hu Shuai Ge all along, wouldn’t you know if he had been drawn? This was clearly showing off that he had found a good partner, at least a contender for the top sixteen!
“Not yet!” Hu Shuai Ge shook his head. He was also a little anxious, as six competition regions had already passed, leaving only two regions whose contestants had yet to appear. And it seemed there weren't many outstanding contestants left.
Thinking this, Hu Shuai Ge couldn’t help but glance towards a spot not far away, where a rather quiet and handsome man sat, who hadn't spoken at all.
“By the way, isn’t Leng Zhiwen also from your company? This person has become incredibly popular recently. Why have I never had a chance to meet him!” Huang Ming asked curiously.
“Chinese Paladin” had concluded more than two months ago, but its popularity had not waned. Eight television stations nationwide had re-aired it, and currently, four stations were broadcasting it simultaneously. The viewership ratings for each re-run station remained stable at over 4%, overshadowing many new big-budget productions. It seemed poised to replicate the legendary success of “Drawing the Sword” from the previous year, causing envy among industry insiders.
Leng Zhiwen had also become completely famous because he displayed extremely impressive sword skills in the television series, and all fight scenes were shot in one take, without any special effects added. Yet, even without special effects, he could still fly through the air. Although it all relied on various means of leverage, this kind of martial arts was already astonishing enough.
Furthermore, Leng Zhiwen was also incredibly handsome, especially when he had a sword on his back and a cool expression on his face, which was enough to captivate people to the core.
It was rumored that many girls slept hugging photos of Leng Zhiwen, and even peeled beans while looking at his pictures. Consequently, Leng Zhiwen gained fans at an astonishing rate, with hundreds of fans following him every time he appeared.
However, this newly famous celebrity was too low-key. Apart from promotional activities arranged by the company, he basically did not appear in any other occasions and did not have much contact with other celebrities. Even insiders in the industry knew less about him than his external fans.
For instance, Huang Ming had repeatedly wanted to see this newcomer but had never had the chance. It was only today, at this variety show, that he saw this remarkable person.
“He’s a bit special!” As an artist from the same company, Hu Shuai Ge knew a little about Leng Zhiwen’s situation. But precisely because he knew, Hu Shuai Ge absolutely guaranteed to keep it a secret and dared not utter an extra word.
Unable to get the truth from Hu Shuai Ge, Huang Ming felt a bit regretful. However, at that moment, a contestant who was drawing from the blind box drew number 43. Then Huang Ming excitedly patted Hu Shuai Ge’s shoulder, and Hu Shuai Ge had no choice but to turn his number plate. He was number 43.
The contestant who partnered with Hu Shuai Ge was named Yang Zhiyong. His self-introduction was very ordinary; he was someone who loved painting and design since childhood, studied related majors, and struggled in society for two to three years. He was twenty-five years old this year, a contestant who signed up just within the age limit. There was nothing about him that suggested he had the potential to win.
Therefore, seeing that the more handsome Hu Shuai Ge ended up with such a partner, Huang Ming was very happy.
Yang Zhiyong was the last contestant to draw from the blind box in the Hebei region. The second to last group of contestants to appear was the eight contestants from the Huaiyang region.
As soon as these eight contestants entered, they immediately attracted a lot of attention because among these eight contestants was a short, extremely thin little girl with a hint of fear in her eyes, yet exceptionally lively.
The appearance of this little girl instantly captured the attention of the entire venue. After all, the youngest among the other contestants was around eighteen years old, while this little girl looked at most twelve years old. Her age alone was enough to attract attention.
Soon, the videos of each contestant’s self-introduction began to play, and as this little girl’s segment aired, the attraction became even greater.
Firstly, this little girl was actually only fourteen years old and was named Xiao Yuan. Although she was two years older than predicted, who knew how such a thin fourteen-year-old girl could be? Of course, her age was still young enough. Did such a young girl truly have the ability to be a designer?
Then, the information revealed next was even more explosive: this little girl was actually from Fuyang, and her family was one of the victims of the shocking incident that had rocked China last year. Because her family’s situation was too tragic, she had to return to her hometown to attend school from Yanjing.
However, this little girl had loved design since she was young and dreamed of becoming a designer. The video also displayed dozens of notebooks. One side was her schoolwork, while the other side was filled with various clothing design sketches.
Originally, this little girl’s life was probably over. But fortunately, her grandfather loved listening to the radio very much. The little girl listened to the opportunity of this competition with her grandfather, used her few remaining coins to buy stamps, wrote her personal information and works to the registration address, and then these design works sketched on the back of her notebooks deeply moved the judges, who then gave this little girl the chance to participate in the competition.