Prelims

Lulu breathe a sigh of relief when she heard the door opened. "Young Miss, what happened?"

The sky was already dark when Ria Zhang went home. A stark difference from what she promised of two hours. "I got lost," she answered before slumping on the sofa. Her sense of direction has never improved.

"Lost? But are you alright, Young Miss?" Lulu walked closer to Ria Zhang, her eyes were wary. The other side of the city was unfamiliar to her and anything unfamiliar was dangerous.

"I'm fine," Ria Zhang insisted. Then, a growl from her stomach was heard. "But I'm hungry."

Lulu opened her mouth but no word came out. Here she was who almost suffered a cardiac arrest but her Young Miss cared about nothing except her stomach. She was reduced to a mere glutton. "Yes, Young Miss. I will reheat the food," she turned and took a step towards the kitchen.

-@-

That Saturday, Ria Zhang went to Feng's Royal Cultural Hall with Lulu in tow. The cultural hall was located at the outskirts of the city. Covering a thousand hectares of lands, it has a seating capacity of around ten thousand people. The building has a traditional design, blending with the nearby forest.

Ria Zhang wore a black hoodie, covering her hair. She paired it with washed jeans. The sun was reflected against her black-rimmed glasses that somewhat conceal her brown eyes.

Outside the building, Ria Zhang looked up and felt like an ant against the Royal Cultural Hall that towered over her. Before taking a step inside, she pulled her hoodie lower, almost covering half of her face.

Only the participants were allowed inside. Hence, Lulu waited at the nearby fountain which formed part of the landscape of the cultural hall. Most of the people waiting were relatives of the participants.

"I've heard that Master Feng will personally chose the winner for this year's competition," a woman commented.

"There was a rumor that he already made up his mind regarding the search for his disciple," another one added.

"So, what's the use of this prelims, then?"

"This must be just for formalities," a man remarked.

Lulu wrung her fingers when these conversations reached her ears. Her Young Miss joined this competition to win the money. If the winner has already been decided, what's the point of joining? Her eyes marred with worry turned towards the entrance.

You can do it, Young Miss! She cheered deep inside.

The preliminaries will determine those who will move to the finals. Half of the cultural hall were filled up. Ria Zhang sat near the wall. A pen and paper was placed in every seat.

On the stage was the podium and two boxes made from fiber glasses.

"Welcome to the Annual Literary Olympiad, aspiring participants," the voice of the host echoed throughout the venue. "As you know, it has been two decades since the competition has produced a grand prize winner. The Royal Literary House is sincerely hoping that among you, there would be the next winner."

A woman raised her hand. "May I ask a question?"

"Of course," the host acknowledged.

"There are rumors that Master Feng has already chosen his next disciple. So what's the point of this?"

Waves of murmur followed.

"Yes, what's the point if there's already a chosen winner?"

"Indeed, this was nothing but a sham," a man remarked.

The worries of the participants were not unfounded. A few days ago, news broke out that Master Feng ordered for the Phoenix Palace to be cleaned up. This was the first time in twenty years that the place was put in the limelight again after Dana Hu vacated the palace.

The host pursed his lips. "Rest assured, participants. There's no need to worry. Master Feng will not participate in the preliminaries so he would not be able to influence the results."

Most of people from the audience went stiff. The answer of the host only confirmed their worry. Master Feng has indeed chosen his next disciple!

They have joined because they wanted the position of being the disciple of Master Feng. The position alone was enough to bring unlimited opportunities to the winner.

Ria Zhang tilted her head. The disciple was already chosen? She doesn't care about it but the money was her main concern. She must get the grand prize.

Two assistants wheeled in a canvas covered with a white cloth. "Everyone, for this year's competition, the participants are going to write a poem using this painting," the host motioned for the assistant to pull over the white cloth.

The white cloth revealed an image of a couple with arms intertwined with each other's torso. The couple seemed oblivious to the surroundings.

"In fifteen words or under, make a poem about this photo. After you finish your work, drop the paper to these boxes," the host relayed the instructions.

The prelims was always the same since then. It was made that way because of huge number of interested people. The only difference was the subject. Last year, the subject was a tiger.

Compared to that, this year's competition seemed easier.

"The results will be released by midnight. Good luck, everyone!" the host exclaimed.

Ria Zhang shrugged before she lowered her head towards the paper. Her pen glided through the paper smoothly.

After a few moments, she folded the paper, stood up and took a step towards the front. People glanced at the woman who wore a black hoodie.

"She's already finished?" a woman whispered to no one in particular.

There was no time limit for the preliminaries. However, the boxes recorded the exact time a participant dropped the paper inside the box.

"Hmmmp. She's definitely here just for the experience," another person chimed in.

It was a common knowledge in Costa City that half of the participants of Literary Olympiad were only in for the experience. It was because this was the only time that the Feng Royal Cultural Hall was opened to ordinary people. On normal days, the gate of the Cultural Hall was closed and only opened during concerts. However, only famous people from literary and music industries performed in there.

But Ria Zhang doesn't really care. As long as she can get the prize money, then she was all good. All she need to do was wait for her results.