Li Yueling took a deep breath, then said seriously, "Mister Assistant, I'm barely convinced by the outcome of this audition! We need a proper explanation!"

The assistant looked helpless and feebly said, "Miss Lee, this is Director Cook's decision. I have no say in it!"

"Then, let me meet Director Cook. I want to talk to him face-to-face!" Li Yueling insisted.

Now the other female artistes were shocked as well and they were all suspicious of whether the assistant had made a mistake. Even Ling Zhizhi was taken aback by the results...

The assistant had no option but to say, "Okay, I will convey your message."

With the crowd anxiously waiting, the assistant disappeared into the hall and came out very quickly to announce to everyone, "Miss Lee, Director Cook told me to tell you and the other ladies present to wait for Noble's advertisement to be released, then everyone will naturally know that Miss Ning Xi is the perfect fit for the brand."

When he was done, he bowed like a proper gentleman and did not say anything further. He looked towards the corner of the room and questioned, "May I ask if you are Miss Ning's manager, Madam Ling Zhizhi? Director Cook has invited you to enter to discuss the collaboration details in concrete."

"Okay, thank you." Ling Zhizhi was stunned for a while, then she got up and followed the assistant into the audition hall.

Left in the waiting area were a flabbergasted Li Yueling and a group of outraged female artistes.

"Wow! Is it really Ning Xi? We actually lost to someone like her? This is such a joke!"

"Actually, I wanted to say earlier, setting aside the fact about what type of person Ning Xi is and how she dresses, she's an artiste under Ling Zhizhi, so how simple can she be? Ling Zhizhi would not be so stupid to make such a rookie mistake. Alas, they really came prepared! We were too careless!"

"Tsk tsk, it looks there's another black beauty in the entertainment circle!"

"Pfft, Li Yueling was really humiliated this time. Before this, she was overthrown by Leng Manyun, and now that Leng Manyun has finally left the scene, yet another one of Ling Zhizhi's artistes has knocked her off her pedestal again!"

...

After they finished discussing the collaboration.

On the way back, Ling Zhizhi looked at the girl beside her thoughtfully. The more time they spent together, the more she felt like she was unfathomable...

Before this, Ning Xi kept to herself and did not even have lunch or breakfast. Now, she was wolfing down at a hot dog. When she saw Ling Zhizhi watching her, she asked with stuffed cheeks, "Sis Zhizhi, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you feel lucky to have a smart partner like me?"

Ling Zhizhi laughed slightly, "Before this, I kept thinking that this way was very risky because Cook is very familiar with China. I was worried that your acting skills would reveal loopholes. Who knew that you could play the Guqin so well? To reach such mastery, you would need at least ten years of experience, but I don't recall seeing this skill in your portfolio..."

Ning Xi almost spit when she heard that, "Sis Zhizhi, you think too highly of me. Do I look like someone who would spend such a long time cultivating skills?"

She put up her index finger and said, "I'll tell you honestly, I only learnt it for a month. In fact, this is the only song I know! It's a good thing that I've got a pretty good memory. I tried very hard to memorize every single string and note. When I first learned it, my only thought was to use it to look cool!"

When she heard Ning Xi's answer, Ling Zhizhi blinked in surprise, then she giggled uncontrollably, "So that's the story behind the song..."

Ning Xi nodded, "Yeah, I like to learn a little bit of everything. I like to learn many complicated things, but actually, I'm not very good at any of it. If the skills can be achieved in a short time, that's fine, but I can only touch the surface level of those skills that need years and months to cultivate!"

She did not have time to be cultured...her only goal was survival.

From her experience in the Ning family before this, she felt like only if she could crazily learn every field and every bit of knowledge possible, then only would she feel a sense of security...