26 Perfect Score at Prelims

A burp escaped Ria Zhang's mouth after eating the food served at the restaurant.

"Oops," she covered her mouth a second late.

Lulu widened her eyes as she heard it. "Young Miss, be careful of your image," she reminded Ria Zhang gently.

She pouted her lips at the remark. What image? It was not as if someone can recognize her. "Pay the bill, then let's get going," she ordered Lulu before standing up.

Lulu pursed her lips, worried that her Young Miss was slowly letting go the identity of Young Miss Co. She raised her hand and called on the waiter, asking for the bill politely.

The old man at the far corner of the restaurant observed the duo quietly. His brows were furrowed. Such arrogance can only be seen in the Young Misses of prominent families in Costa City. He rubbed his chin, thinking of which family the woman belonged to.

-@-

Days passed by rather slowly. But soon, it was the day of the finals. Ria Zhang strictly put her participation under wraps. Not even her brother knew that she joined the Literary Olympiad.

She made sure of that by collaborating with the anonymous person from the dark web. Her mouth twitched when she remembered the conversation.

'What do you want in exchange for hiding my activities from my brother?'

'I want money, nothing else.'

'I don't have money right now. But if you can give me six months, I can double your pay,' Ria Zhang continued to negotiate.

'Two million dollars. Take it or leave it,' the person told her.

As she sat inside the Feng Royal Cultural Hall, an exasperated sigh escaped her lips. Damn, why did she feel as if she just been cheated?

For this day, her outfit was somewhat the same during the prelims. She wore a black hoodie and black pants.

Almost everyone were already inside the hall, seating away from each other. But not a word can be heard. The host was yet to appear on the stage.

A while later, the entrance door opened. A woman wearing a green midi dress took a step inside. Her chin was slightly raised as she walked towards the vacant seat, unbothered of the gazes following her.

Ria Zhang didn't turn her head. She was looking straight to her front with an indifferent gaze. A few seconds later, someone poked her arm. Ria Zhang turned to the side.

She raised an eyebrow as soon as her eyesight landed on the person. It was a girl. Her chubby cheeks seemed to be made for pinching. In her previous life, Ria Zhang has always been at odds with children. But she doesn't really hate them. Dislike maybe but hate, nope.

"Hello! I'm Anna Ling," the girl introduced herself. She extended her arm towards Ria Zhang. "What's yours?" Two dimples appeared on the sides of her cheeks as her lips curved.

Ria Zhang found it hard to turn down the girl. "I'm Ria," she responded while smiling lightly. She gazed at the little hand in front of her before grasping it.

"Nice to meet you, Big Sister Ria," Anna Ling giggled before occupying the seat beside her.

Ria Zhang twisted her mouth. This child was so carefree. Didn't she understand that this was a competition? Also, the girl has a Ling surname. Was she from the Ling family? Previously, she tried to study the order of forces in Costa City. There were four families controlling the power inside Costa City with the Yun Family on the top followed by the Co, Feng and Ling Families.

"Why did you join?" Ria Zhang asked the little girl.

Anna Ling glanced at her. "My mother is a huge fan of Master Feng. She hopes that I can win the grand prize so that she can meet him," she explained.

"But do you like it? Writing?" Ria Zhang watched Anna Ling's facial expression.

Anna Ling opened her mouth to speak but no word came out. She then lowered down her head.

Ria Zhang pressed her lips as she stared at the ceiling. "You only have one life. If you don't want to do something, what's the point of doing it?"

Anna Ling thrust her head up. Her eyes were trained to Ria Zhang's face. "But my mom will be mad at me," she whispered.

"It's just my opinion," Ria Zhang shrugged. "Anyway, may the best woman wins."

The little girl nodded. "I will try my best to win for my mom, Big Sister Ria," she paused before leaning closer and whispered. "But if I don't win, I hope you can win. You don't need to be afraid of Lucia Feng."

Ria Zhang tilted her head. "Lucia Feng?"

"The woman who just came in. She is Master Feng's granddaughter. She's been winning literary competitions overseas since two years ago," Anna Ling informed her.

Ria Zhang just leaned back on the seat, her fingers tapped against the armrest lightly.

Suddenly, the lights on the stage went brighter. This time, the host was a woman who wore eyeglasses. She stood behind the podium before glancing around the crowd. Everyone sat straighter. The atmosphere became tense.

"Thank you for waiting, finalists," the host paused. "The finals of Literary Olympiad will be held at the Feng Royal Forest," she informed the crowd.

Murmurs floated in the air.

'What? Are they serious?'

'This is different from the tradition.'

'Yeah. The finals was always held inside the Feng Royal Cultural Hall since then.'

The host cleared her throat. "The algorithm has given a perfect score to one entry. Hence, the panel decided to conduct the finals inside the Feng Royal Forest."

Ria Zhang leaned forward, bringing lower her hoodie. Perfect score? There seemed to be a formidable competitor in this Olympiad. Her eyes landed on the woman in the green dress. No matter what, she needed the prize. The woman might had felt Ria Zhang's gaze because she turned her head towards the direction of Anna Ling.

"Oh no. We've been found out," Anna Ling hunched her posture.

Ria Zhang shrugged and patted the little girl's arm. "This is a fair game. We all have equal chances."

Anna Ling's lips broke into a smile. She nodded enthusiastically. "I believe you, Big Sister Ria."

'Damn, perfect score? What kind of monster is that?'

'Is that the chosen person?'

As if the crowd has its own life, it turned its attention to the woman in green dress. In the prelims, no one noticed her because of the large participants. But today, the finalists recognized Lucia Feng.

Lucia Feng was a familiar face in the literary world. Although she was the granddaughter of Master Feng, she also made her own name. She recently won first prize in a literary competition in South America.

Of course, Ria Zhang didn't know that. She only studied the order of forces, not the people who were involved.

Lucia Feng's expression remained passive even under the scrutiny of the crowd. She grew up as the Young Miss of Feng Family. She was used to it. But today, she will make sure that she will have another identity. As the new mistress of Phoenix Palace.