At five in the afternoon, the day's tense, fiercely contested Preliminaries came to an end.
After tallying every contestant's score, the organizers announced the top sixty-four.
For a moment, every contestant's heart rose into their throat. Those who had performed well eagerly awaited their advancement, of course, but even those who had performed poorly looked up at the big screen, hoping against hope that they might scrape through to the next round.
Although some already had a rough idea of where they stood after learning their scores, there were so many contestants that they could hardly guarantee their calculations were correct. Until the actual results came out, how could they be certain?
This was an annual event, with honor, fame, and prize money at stake. If they failed, they would have to wait until next year to enter again. Everything hinged on this moment; they could not afford the slightest carelessness!
"Now, let's reveal the results!"
As Vivian's enthusiastic voice rang out, the image on the big screen changed, and sixty-four portraits and names appeared in sequence.
Robert stood at the very top with the highest score. Second place, however, belonged not to Drew, but to a woman with long, dark blue hair. Xia You and the others found this both unexpected and understandable. After all, three points separated Drew and Robert, and there was plenty of hidden talent among these contestants. Someone placing ahead of Drew was hardly inconceivable.
Their eyes swept down the list, and they soon spotted May's portrait in forty-eighth place.
May was delighted, and she also breathed a great sigh of relief.
Although she had expected to advance, only when the list actually appeared did her taut nerves finally relax.
"A feast! A feast!" Ash could not help shouting. "We have to celebrate May making