Chapter 51 - Another Map
Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
The heroine of the scandal hadn’t the slightest idea that her popularity had exploded overnight on the Internet. This was because her phone had already been confiscated by the production crew the night before. Everyone’s phone would only be returned to them at the end of the competition.
When all the contestants gathered the next day, Sheng Jiaoyang noticed that Director Yu Jing was staring at her with a peculiar gaze. At first, she thought it was a misconception, but later, she realised that Yu Jing was paying a bit too much attention to her. She couldn’t help but wonder why.
In this world, everything happens for a reason. Something must’ve happened for Yu Jing to pay so much attention to her.
But, she currently had no way to look into the issue, so she could only wait and see.
The production crew didn’t make things difficult for the contestants today. They took the contestants to the city and let them enjoy their breakfast leisurely.
“It’s rare to see the production crew be so kind to us and let us enjoy our breakfast without having to complete a mission.”
“That day, when we had to eat instant noodles while watching others eat a sumptuous Italian meal, I nearly suffered an internal injury. That feeling was so awful…it was extremely awful!"
“Why do I have a feeling that the production crew has something else planned? I feel like something’s waiting for us.”
“It turns out that you feel the same way I do. I also think that the production crew has ulterior motives. They probably want to feed us a proper meal so that we have the energy to handle the next mission. I have a feeling that the next competition round will be like a marathon again.”
The contestants chatted as they slowly ate their breakfast.
The cameraman next to them wordlessly smiled. It looks like they understand Director Yu well.
When the contestants had finished eating, the production crew took them to board the sightseeing bus.
And then…everyone was handed a map…
“OMG! Not another map…I’m really afraid of seeing them now!”
“Teacher Zhuo, are you planning to make us travel all over Rome?!”
The contestants howled in grief. The loudest were those who couldn’t speak English nor Italian fluently, along with those with a poor sense of direction. They now hated maps with a passion.
The staff members kept trying to hold back their laughter as they watched the contestants anguished expressions with schadenfreude.
“This will be our last competition round in Rome, so please prepare yourselves for it.” Zhuo Yiyan didn’t care how aggrieved the contestants were. Besides, the competition rules were set by the production crew. He was merely announcing it to the contestants.
This round was also a team battle. The eight contestants were divided into two groups, but the groups were divided in a different manner. Before this, a team captain would be selected first, and then she could select three other members to form a group. However, this time, the production crew had prepared a prop to decide on the groups. It was a box with eight ropes sticking out of it, and each contestant had to choose one end of the rope. The contestants who managed to pull out the ropes would form one group, and those who didn’t would form the other group.
“Jiaojiao, if I can’t be in the same group with you this time, I’m dead meat,” Wang Wei nervously said.
Sheng Jiaoyang patted Wang Wei on the back and said, “Let’s take it a step at a time.”
Wang Wei nodded and reluctantly smiled. “Humans sure are greedy. Once they obtain good results, they want to get even better ones.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. You can only make progress if you strive for something better.”
“You have a good point!” Wang Wei encouraged herself and was about to walk forward to draw when she was pulled to a stop by Sheng Jiaoyang.
“Wait, let the others draw first.”
“Does it make a difference if we draw now or later?” Wang Wei asked, somewhat puzzled.
Of course it was different. Although the starting probability was fifty-fifty, as the number of people drawing decreases over time, the probability would change.
Sheng Jiaoyang didn’t explain and simply cast a meaningful glance at Wang Wei.
The other contestants went to draw, one after another. When there were only four ropes left, there were still three ropes that weren’t pulled out yet. At this time, Sheng Jiaoyang signalled for Wang Wei to move forward and draw the ropes together.
If Wang Wei still managed to draw a rope out based on a probability of 1 in 4, then she was really unlucky. Of course, the same could be said for Sheng Jiaoyang.
Fortunately, the Heavens blessed Wang Wei, and they both ended up in the same group.
“Yay! Jiaojiao, we’re in the same group again!” Wang Wei jumped for joy and hugged Sheng Jiaoyang enthusiastically.
Being in the same group as Jiaojiao gave her a sense of security!
Practically everyone wanted to be in Sheng Jiaoyang’s group. In the previous rounds, everyone had acknowledged Sheng Jiaoyang’s strength. It would be relatively easier for the group to win if they had an amazing teammate like her.
No matter what, this was still a team battle, so it was useless to rely solely on one person’s strength. The group must unite and work together by utilising everyone’s strengths in order to win the competition without a hitch.
This time, Luo Yi and Yin Meiling were in Sheng Jiaoyang’s group. Since they were working as a team, they had to choose a captain. In the end, Sheng Jiaoyang became the captain because she was the most familiar with this place. The other group recommended Pu Mingyu as team captain. However, Pu Mingyu, who finally got the chance to become a captain, didn’t feel happy in the least. After all, the opponents were Luo Yi and Sheng Jiaoyang this time!
Four scenic spots and five parking lots were marked on the map. The first parking lot was the place of departure, and this time it was a relay race. The contestant in charge of the first leg had to pick an outfit on the first floor of the sightseeing bus and change into it before hurriedly proceeding on foot to the first scenic spot. There, a photographer would be waiting to take pictures of the first leg’s contestant. After taking the picture, the contestant had to rush over to the second parking lot and get on the sightseeing bus to hand over the baton to the second leg’s contestant, and so on. The group whose anchor reached the finish line first would win this round of the competition.
At the same time, the best photo would be selected out of all the photos taken in this race, and the winner would earn immunity for the next round. The Overall Strength Ranking would only be evaluated during the elimination round. The contestant from the losing group with the lowest score would then be eliminated.
During their brainstorming session to strategise their next steps, the two groups stood far away from each other as they didn’t want the opposing team to hear their plans.
Sheng Jiaoyang evaluated everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Then, she analysed the distribution of the scenic spots and checked each spots’ characteristics to devise a plan. Wang Wei was assigned as the first leg’s runner, Luo Yi was second, Yin Meiling was third, and Sheng Jiaoyang herself was in charge of the anchor leg.
The duty of each team member was to reach the next member as fast as possible. No matter which leg of the race they were in, they had to be the first to reach the scenic spot to take pictures. Therefore, they’d create more chances of winning for the contestants in the next legs of the race.
Sheng Jiaoyang described the characteristics of each scenic spot and suggested for them to choose an outfit based on the characteristics of their respective scenic spots. In the process of choosing an outfit they mustn’t hesitate, because as soon as they did, they’d be doomed to lose the race. She repeatedly stressed that she’d rather take a bad picture than let the group lose the competition.
Wang Wei memorised Sheng Jiaoyang’s instructions. Upon hearing the command to start, Wang Wei instantly rushed downstairs. She quickly picked an outfit, not even bothering to check if it matched the characteristics of the scenic spot or if it looked nice on her. She simply chose a loose dress that was easy to wear and put it on before rushing out of the sightseeing bus with a pair of high heels in her hand. She followed the direction pointed out by Sheng Jiaoyang and dashed all the way to the scenic spot, leaving everyone’s astounded gazes behind her.
Only when Wang Wei was out of sight did Pu Mingyu’s first leg runner set out. Clearly, Sheng Jiaoyang’s group was currently in the lead.
Every member of Sheng Jiaoyang’s group did as planned, so their group was in the lead for the second and third leg. In the anchor leg match, Sheng Jiaoyang even had enough time to gracefully walk towards the finish line in her high heels. In terms of speed, they won this round of the competition by a large margin.
But, the course of events was…
When the judges looked at the photos taken by the four contestants in the Sheng Jiaoyang’s group, they were rendered speechless.
What the hell was this?!
In particular, Wang Wei had seemingly donned a maternity dress, and her shoes didn’t even match her outfit. She looked like a mere passer-by as she stood in front of the scenic spot and was completely outshone by the scenery.
The last three were much better, but none of them were above average, especially Luo Yi and Sheng Jiaoyang. The two the production crew were the most optimistic about, turned out mediocre in this round.
In the end, the person who earned the best photo was Xiao Yang.
It was also worth mentioning that rookie Wang Wei was lucky enough to advance to the top seven.