The biggest winner of the primary round of selection was none other than Qiao Ximin, who Yun Xi had anticipated. Her getting the highest score was no surprise, and she stole the spotlight. Yun Xi had seen it coming. During the assessment, Qiao Ximin’s selection of questions and answers were quite satisfactory, and her questions were not as tricky and deliberate. Because Qi Siyu had given her high marks, the other judges followed suit, so when the results were announced, she came out on top.

On top of that, the Qiao family had recently been the talk of the town in Jingdu. The daughters of other families who were trying to curry favor with Miss Qiao—all because her family had recently risen through the ranks and got into the Big Four—were kissing up to her too. No matter how fierce the competition was, the scores were all laid out in front of them. So long as it did not affect their interests, having more friends is always better than having more enemies.

Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo tried their best to keep their heads down. After all, their family background was indeed not as glamorous and flashy compared to Qiao Ximin’s newly-promoted prestigious family.

After breakfast, the hotel arranged chauffeured cars to escort all the qualified socialites to Luyi Villa, accompanied by the bodyguards and makeup teams brought along by the respective socialites.

Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo got into a car together. Before she had even settled down, Yun Xi opened the notebook in the car to check the satellite map and details regarding Luyi Villa. Although the security of the villa was comparable to that of the head of state, the Crocodile had been on the move lately, so she had to be extra careful at all times.

”Yun Xi, what are you looking at? We’ll be spending most of our time in the villa. I can tell you the details of the villa myself. I’ve been there a few times, and I know its layout pretty well.”

”Okay. After we arrive at the villa, let’s go out for a walk, just to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding environment. The final selection will be judged by the heads of the Three Noble Families and the Big Four Conglomerate Families, as well as several other judges, so I’m not too worried about Qi Siyu’s cheating in broad daylight.”

In the final selection, the noble and conglomerate families accounted for a bigger proportion in the overall scoring, while Qi Siyu was only one of the many judges. Even if she gave her the lowest score, it wouldn’t affect her too badly.

The only difference Qi Siyu would make was whether or not she could win the title of the first-class socialite. If she wasn’t aiming for this title, it wouldn’t matter how high her score was. After making it into the final banquet, the rest of it depended on how well she could make connections and expand her network.

It had only just stopped snowing at the top of the mountain when the car finally reached the designated parking lot of Luyi Villa. The place was crammed with cars of those attending the banquet, and all the security personnel were standing by.

Through the car window, Yun Xi looked at the lively groups of people outside. Almost every socialite was accompanied by more than four bodyguards, along with their makeup teams who had followed them up the mountain, and the parking lot was almost full to the brim.

Among the bunch of them, Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo were the only exceptions who shared a car here. They could not be any less ordinary.

Not long after getting out of the car, someone in the group of socialites spoke up, “Look, it’s Ling Jing! It’s really him!”

”I didn’t hear about him being one of the judges. I assume he’s probably here as a specially invited VIP?”

”Looking at the gift box in his hand, he is probably here to deliver a dress. He was the royally appointed chief stylist for the Young Commander and the first lady. Which wealthy heiress could have possibly spent so lavishly just to have him personally deliver the dress he designed?”

”Don’t tell me it was Miss Qiao? I don’t think she even brought a makeup team with her…”

Qiao Ximin was listening to the chatter around as she looked up at Ling Jing, who was standing right in front of her. For today’s banquet, she had specially requested her father to hire one of the best makeup teams in Jingdu, and she had also long made an appointment with Ling Jing to have him design her dress, but Ling Jing never agreed.

When she was about to head out today, she received a call from her father, saying that he had a surprise for her. Could that surprise be Ling Jing?

Thinking of that possibility being true, and given that the person who was supposed to send her dress hadn’t arrived yet, she presumed that Ling Jing’s surprise appearance was meant for her. Stepping on her high heels, she held her chin up high and walked toward him in front of the envious eyes of everyone around.