During the long night, on the way to Jiangbian, Jiang Xue deliberately opened the car window a little wider, allowing the cold wind to hit her face.

She was facing me sideways, and although I couldn't tell what the expression on her face was now, we didn't speak along the way, and I knew that she was definitely not in a good mood.

When I was also on the road, I sent a message to Lao Wei and Gao Hangfeng to explain that I had other things to do, so I wouldn't go back to the tavern for the time being.

Not long after my message was sent, the two of them directly questioned me in the group.

Old Wei: "Aren't you coming back to the tavern tonight?" So what are you going to do? ”

Gao Hangfeng: "Yes, although we are all busy, there are employees in the taverns on both sides, but don't we all say that when the evening is busy, let's spend Chinese New Year's Eve here in the tavern together?" ”

I took a deep breath and quietly took a picture of Jiang Xue sitting next to the car window, and then posted it to the group, typing an explanation and replying to them.

"Cher came looking for me, she came out of the competition area, and she ...... With her luggage, looking like this, it should have failed or something went wrong! She drank a lot of wine, and I went to pick her up...... I'll leave the activities of the tavern in the evening to you. ”

Gao Hangfeng: "Huh?! So, how is Cher doing now? ”

"There's nothing to do at the moment, it's okay, I'll accompany her tonight, and I'll go back to rest when it's almost over."

When I was chatting with the two of them in the WeChat group, I suddenly noticed that the speed of the car slowly stopped, and then the driver turned his head to look at us and said.

"It's here, scan the code and pay the fare."

I responded, and then took the lead in scanning the code with my mobile phone and paying the money, got out of the car and took Jiang Xue's luggage out of the trunk.

I looked around at the surroundings, a long riverside avenue, the night wind howling by, and the viewing trees on both sides rustled.

Even though the weather is so cold, because today is Chinese New Year's Eve, there are still quite a lot of people here on the riverside, and there are some loyal anglers standing on the railing of the riverside fishing.

"Let's go."

After Jiang Xue said softly, she took the lead and walked towards the riverside in front of her, and I dragged my suitcase and followed her footsteps.

The two of us walked side by side, but neither spoke, just walked aimlessly towards the front, until not far in front, there happened to be a square flower garden under the shade of the tree, Jiang Xue stopped, pointed over there, and whispered to me.

"Lao Xue, I'm tired, let's go sit there and rest for a while."

"Okay, I'll have to find a place to buy a bottle of water later, I'm a little thirsty."

Jiang Xue continued walking, glanced at the pocket of my clothes by the way, and said, "I think you don't have a cigarette, right?" ”

"It's out of smoke, and I'm thirsty, so I'll buy it by the way."

As we spoke, we all walked over to the flowerbed and sat down, and I turned to look across the road and happened to see a convenience store that was still open.

"You just sit here and wait for me for a while, I'll be back as soon as I'm done shopping, remember not to run around!"

Just as I turned around and was about to cross the street to go to the convenience store opposite, Jiang Xue suddenly called out to me, and I looked back.

She hesitated for a moment, and said to me in a consultative tone: "Lao Xue, I still want to drink, can you buy some more to drink with me?" ”

I was going to say "still drinking?!" But after thinking about it, he nodded to her and said, "Okay, then what do you want to drink?" Beer, or what? ”

"Don't drink beer anymore, it's too cold, you can see if there is any fruit wine, buy beer if you don't have it."

After I went to the convenience store and checked it, I was lucky, bought a few bottles of fruit wine, two cartons of warm milk, and a pack of Yuxi, which I often smoked, and then returned to the original flower garden.

"Let's drink some warm milk first." I took the lead in picking up a carton of milk, inserted a straw and handed it to Jiang Xue.

She nodded to me obediently, and then took the carton of milk and drank it silently, but her eyes looked at the river ahead, and not far from the river, there happened to be a flickering lighthouse.

After a long while, I took a sip of fruit wine, turned my head to look at Jiang Xue, and asked softly.

"Can you tell me now? Tonight...... What the hell happened that you took your luggage away from the area. As far as I know, the second round of qualifiers hasn't started yet, right? ”

"Yes, I haven't started yet, but I've given up on my own."

After Jiang Xue finished drinking the milk, when she picked up a bottle of fruit wine, opened the package and took a big sip, raised her head to look, her expression gradually became complicated.

"Because I've learned some of the inside stories, maybe...... Only the first round of the game is real, and when the second round of the qualifier begins, there are a lot of clearance relationships, and even ...... Privately, some 'deals' were made with the judges, and to be precise, the list of qualifiers, and even the final finalists, had already been decided. ”

Hearing Jiang Xue say this, I suddenly figured out that the "deals" between the models and the judges she said were actually nothing more than some unspoken rules, and I had heard too many similar things.

I hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about ...... How do you know this? ”

"There happened to be a dinner party in the competition area tonight, everyone drank a lot of wine, and when I went to the bathroom to go to the toilet, I overheard one of the models talking to a person in the bathroom, which roughly means, tonight's Chinese New Year's Eve, after the dinner, she will go to the judges for a night, thus getting a chance to advance to the finals."

Jiang Xue laughed bitterly and continued.

"After I learned about these things, I went out to find the teacher who had arranged the training for us, talked to her privately about the situation, and asked her if it was true...... You know, that's how straightforward my personality is, so I just asked her if what I heard in the bathroom was true. ”

"At first, the training teacher didn't want to pay attention to what I said, until I questioned her again later, and she admitted that the situation was true, either physical, or spending a lot of money, if the body is a little worse, then combine the two, and prolong the time period of 'being dived'."

Jiang Xue paused, her expression became disgusted, and said.

"In the words she said to me at the time, it was: 'According to your figure and appearance, you can extend the time period without spending money, and if you want, I can arrange for you to contact the judges', when she spoke, she looked my body up and down with a playful expression, which was really disgusting!"

"And then?"

Jiang Xue suddenly laughed, looked at me and asked, "Do you still need to ask?" Of course, I refused, and on the spot I made it my decision to give up the qualification for the second round of qualifiers and choose to withdraw. After completing the formalities, I packed my bags and left, and you know the rest of the rest. ”

When Jiang Xue took the bottle of fruit wine and drank several sips in a row, I couldn't help but light a cigarette and complained: "Your circle is really messy!" Your choice is right, and I support you. ”

"In our line of work, I have seen a lot of similar things before, and I have encountered them myself, of course, I have rejected them all, and I have missed a lot of opportunities to succeed because of this. But ......"

Jiang Xue suddenly turned to look at me, the expression on her face was a little excited, and tears rolled in her eyes without knowing when.

"However, it wasn't until tonight that I encountered something like this again, and I suddenly wondered in my heart, is it possible that a person like me, who has no background, no connections, and nothing, can only obey those unspoken rules if he wants to succeed in this industry?! Or do I have to be forced to change careers and pursue another career? ”

"Old Xue...... What do you think I'm going to choose? ”