偷窥闺房

On the other end of the line, a woman replied gently, “The last round will begin after seven days. We’ve officially invited experts in the art world to judge the artworks. The final results will be out after that.”

“I called you not only to announce your advancement to the next round, but to also inform you that the final round will be conducted live. The judging and the scores will be completely transparent to be fair. Do you have time to come to the venue?” the other party said before informing Lin Xiaowan about the time and location.

The venue was the studio of Shengjing Broadcasting Tower.

Lin Xiaowan thought about it for a moment. She said, not in a hurry to confirm her attendance, “1 can’t confirm it now. Can 1 let you know at a later date?”

“Alright. We’ll send you an e-invitation later. At that time, you can confirm your attendance. We’ll also have someone send you a physical invitation, the other party said, “Oh, right, you can also bring your family and friends. Just fill in the number of people you plan to bring at the bottom of the invitation before sending it back to us. However, the maximum number of people you can bring is only three.”

After the call ended, Lin Xiaowan quickly checked her e-mail. The Venus Hope Competition’s invitation for the finals was already in her inbox.

When Huo Zheng returned, Lin Xiaowan ran over impatiently.

“Huo Zheng!”

Huo Zheng opened his arms and hugged her tightly. Then, he tapped her forehead lightly as he said, “You didn’t wear your house slippers again.”

It was not too bad if they were at home, but there was no floor heating in the old residence. She would get cold whenever she walked around barefooted, but she never learned her lesson.

“Let me tell you something,” Lin Xiaowan said, showing him the e-mail, “Look, I advanced to the next round again. A staff member of the Venus Hope Competition called me today and asked if 1 could attend the final round.”

“That’s amazing,” Huo Zheng said. After taking a seat on the couch with Lin Xiaowan in his arms, he read the e-mail and said, “We don’t have much to do that day. Do you want to go?”

Lin Xiaowan shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen the other participants’ artworks. 1 don’t think I’ll win. It feels like there’s no point in going…” Then, she asked curiously, “What will it be like?”

“The judges will probably comment on the artworks since you said it’ll be broadcasted live. They’ll likely show the artworks along with the artists. If you don’t like it, then don’t go,” Huo Zheng said.

When Lin Xiaowan was reminded that it would be broadcasted live, she no longer wanted to go. “That’s right. They’ll definitely show the participants. I think 1 won’t go.”

There might be quite a number of people watching the live broadcast. Not many people might know her name, but her face had become quite recognizable. She did not like appearing in front of the camera.

After that, Lin Xiaowan typed out a short and polite reply before she declined the invitation.

Lin Xiaowan and Huo Zheng still had to wait for a while before they could move into the house in Xilin Imperial Garden. For this reason, they had been staying in the old residence for this period of time. She spent her days playing with Little Chestnut along with Huo Dabao and Huo Erbao.

The Lantern Festival was in two days.

The two children were given a task to complete during their winter vacation. They decided to make dumplings. As long as they took photos and wrote in their diary, this homework would be considered completed.

Lin Xiaowan recalled the years when her grandfather was still alive. Due to his weak digestive ability, he would mix millet flour with a little glutinous flour and brown sugar to make brown sugar glutinous balls. They were not very sweet, and the skin was soft. It might not be as delicious as ordinary glutinous balls, but the taste is very unique. She asked tentatively if she could make them.

Qiao You’an readily agreed and prepared the ingredients for Lin Xiaowan.

On the day of the Lanter Festival, Huo Zheng decided to work from home. When everyone was done with their work, they gathered to do this ‘homework’ together.

While they were chatting, Qiao You’an mentioned the engagement banquet.

She said, “When spring arrives, you should attend Fashion Week with me. It’s a good chance for you to look at new clothes. We need new clothes for the engagement banquet after all. You can pick the ones you like first. After all, it’ll take a while for them to send the clothes over.”

Lin Xiaowan could not find the recipe for the glutinous balls her grandfather made so she decided to go with her instincts. At this moment, she was filling a mixing bowl with water to make the dough. When she heard Qiao You’an’s words, she paused for a moment. She said, “Don’t we usually have banquets after the Lantern Festival? There’s no need to deliberately organize an engagement banquet. We can just announce it during one of those banquets.”

“You have to have an engagement banquet. We can’t do it so casually,” Qiao You’an said, worried that Lin Xiaowan would be wronged.

Lin Xiaowan did not pay much attention to this matter. In her mind, this was just a small matter. She said softly with a hint of pleading, “But I don’t want to, Sister-in-law. I don’t think it needs to be so grand. We can just simply announce it.”

Qiao You’an found it hard to refuse Lin Xiaowan so she turned to glare at Huo Zheng. “Why aren’t you making a sound?”

Huo Zheng helped Lin Xiaowan wipe off the flour on her hand. He did not seem to mind his sister-in-law pushing the matter to him. He said, “Let’s just do what Qingqing wants.”

Qiao You’an felt a little helpless when she heard this. Regarding matters like this, Huo Zheng usually followed Lin Xiaowan’s wish. As for Huo Cheng, she knew she would not be able to help her in this matter.

Qiao You’an thought about it for a moment. In the end, she could only say, “Let’s just get this matter done when spring comes. Don’t delay this matter.”

Lin Xiaowan nodded in agreement.

For wealthy families, an engagement or marriage was not so simple. There might be other factors involved such as their families’ interests and the like. However, Lin Xiaowan was alone. In her opinion, there was no need for her to have a grand engagement banquet.

The Sunday after the Lantern Festival was the final round of the Venus Hope Competition. The artworks that made it passed the first two rounds would be evaluated on the spot that day.

The event would start at 10 AM.

Lin Xiaowan clicked on the link to the live broadcast that was posted on the Venus Hope Competition’s official website.

The official website had a list of the artworks that had advanced to the final round. In total, there were 30 artworks. Lin Xiaowan was ranked 17th so she figured that her artwork would be evaluated sometime in the afternoon.

In the venue, apart from the judges and the participants, there was also the audience. Although their number was not high, there were still at least 100 of them..