"Oh my God, such a hunk, I like you."
"Gosh, even more handsome than a celebrity."
"He’s just too handsome, totally my type—god of men, can I be your girlfriend?"
The beauties of Huacheng were really bold, openly declaring their love for Li Changlin in public.
Faced with this situation, Li Changlin also felt helpless and could only lift his hand to wave, which served as a greeting to the beauties below.
"I’m so happy; the god of men smiled at me—look, he smiled at me."
"Cut it out, he was greeting me, okay? Don’t flatter yourself."
"Hey, what do you mean by that, he’s mine."
Well, look at that—a single wave and a wry smile set off a quarrel amongst several beauties in the audience.
But none of this had anything to do with Li Changlin. He made his way to the center of the stage, greeted the two hosts and the five judges, and then calmly took a seat.
Although it was Li Changlin’s first time participating in such an event, he did have experience performing in front of hundreds of thousands in a live broadcast, so he wasn’t very nervous.
"The contestant is really handsome. I’ve heard many beauties in the audience asking if the contestant has a girlfriend," said the female host, momentarily starstruck by Li Changlin.
Honestly, Li Changlin was just too handsome and so full of charm.
If it weren’t for the fact that she was taken, the female host might even have asked Li Changlin out herself.
However, now was clearly not the time for such thoughts; the female host fought hard to suppress her impulses, "Handsome guy, I wonder if you could answer that question for the ladies. I believe many beauties in the audience really want to know."
"I already have a girlfriend, thank you," Li Changlin said, feeling awkward as he couldn’t help but lift his hand to touch his nose.
This was just pathetic—wasn’t this supposed to be a selection event? Asking me if I have a girlfriend, what’s the real meaning behind that!
Li Changlin felt quite frustrated, unaware that many beauties both on and off the stage were deeply disappointed and felt a sense of loss upon hearing his response.
Well, such a handsome guy must have plenty of girls chasing after him; they only blamed themselves for not having met him earlier!
Although the women felt a measure of regret, they couldn’t exactly rush the stage to fight over Li Changlin.
And so the matter came to a close. After getting Li Changlin’s answer, the female host ordered the drummer to begin.
The drums started, the sound louder than any before, much to the drummer’s chagrin.
Thinking to himself, I’m pretty good-looking too, so why does no one notice me!
"Stop!" Having observed the previous nine contestants, Li Changlin had gained some experience.
So, without waiting for the drummer to play a few beats, Li Changlin raised his hand and cried out.
As he spoke, the drummer stopped.
At that moment, the number above his head displayed eighteen.
"Eighteen?" Everyone was slightly taken aback; both hosts and the five judges looked at Li Changlin with interest.
Such was his luck—it was simply against the odds.
But it wasn’t necessarily good luck.
You see, the eighteenth question was particularly challenging; it was an "upper couplet" personally written by Elder Gu.
Even Elder Gu himself hadn’t come up with the "lower couplet" yet.
From this, one could tell just how difficult this couplet was.
However, Li Changlin didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care either.
Since he wasn’t very familiar with the traditional Chinese art of couplets, Li Changlin had placed all his hopes on Ling’er.
To be precise, he had entrusted his hopes to the System.
After all, Ling’er was just a sprite within the System, and she also needed to search for answers within it.
Once the topic was selected, the host walked to the edge of the stage and took down the wooden plaque marked eighteen.
Carrying the plaque, the hostess elegantly walked up to Li Changlin, flipped the plaque over, and was ready to read the question written on it.
"Wait a second." However, before the hostess could speak, a sudden deep voice bellowed, and then a burly man wearing sunglasses and a black suit quickly ran onto the platform.
"What’s going on?" Everyone turned their heads toward the newcomer.
Li Changlin also turned to look over.
At once, his gaze slightly hardened; he was somewhat familiar with this person—it seemed to be the bodyguard of Duan Jiahao, but he had no idea why this guy was coming up here or what for.
"Who are you, and what is the matter?" The male host didn’t seem to recognize the newcomer.
As the host, he had a duty to maintain order at the event.
So, seeing the man apparently causing trouble, he immediately extended his hand to block the burly man.
"I am President Duan’s assistant." The burly man stopped a meter in front of the male host and then said in a deep voice, "We have just received a report that a contestant has violated the rules by cheating. According to President Duan’s instructions, we request that you immediately disqualify him from the competition."
"President Duan’s assistant?" The male host paused briefly, then asked in astonishment, "Assistant, what do you mean by this? Which contestant has cheated?"
"No way, it’s just a couplet selection event; is there really a need to cheat?"
"Who is it? To dare to cheat in front of everyone, it’s simply preposterous."
"What kind of cheating are we talking about, plagiarism, or what exactly?"
Since the male host was holding a microphone, everyone on and off stage immediately became aware of the reason the burly man had run onto the platform.
For a moment, many began murmuring among themselves, the crowd abuzz with speculation.
"What’s going on? Who has cheated, do you have evidence?" At this point, several judges could no longer stay seated. After a brief consultation, they decided to send Elder Gu to understand the situation.
While speaking, Elder Gu stood up and approached the male host.
The implications of cheating during the couplet selection event could be big or small, and he did not dare to take it lightly.
"The one who cheated is contestant number ten." The burly man looked up, his gaze coldly fixed on Li Changlin, a hint of a mocking smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"Contestant number ten?"
"Impossible; my idol could never cheat!"
"Damn, it must be a mistake."
"Right, maybe they’re just jealous our idol is handsome, so they’re framing him."
The words of the burly man instantly drew the ire of many females in the audience.
The very same groups of girls that had been arguing noisily just a moment ago suddenly united against a common enemy, ready to take on the burly man.
However, they were just ordinary spectators below the stage and couldn’t influence the overall situation.
The burly man didn’t care at all about the condemnation from the crowd below.
Before coming up, he had already prepared himself, determined to make Li Changlin take a heavy fall this time.
"Contestant number ten, do you have anything to say?" Elder Gu frowned slightly, steadfastly looking at Li Changlin.