Chapter 1943: Chapter 1879: The First Round

It doesn’t seem like they’re going to knock on the door.

Could it be that they’re embarrassed to ring the doorbell because they think they arrived too early?

But if that’s the case, why come so early in the first place?

Chiang Xiao walked over, “Arthur.”

Pheng Fei saw her and couldn’t help but be a bit startled, “Good morning, Miss Chiang. Did you go out this early? Is something the matter?”

“No, nothing significant, just that I’m used to getting up early and went out for a bit of exercise.”

“Oh, I see, that’s quite rare.” Pheng Fei gave her a thumbs up and said, “Impressive.”

“Why did you come so early as well?”

Upon hearing this, Pheng Fei looked a bit embarrassed. After thinking for a while, he said to her, “Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but last night I told you boldly that I would be at your beck and call if you needed anything. However, this morning I have an unavoidable reason to ask for half a day off.”

“Asking for leave?” Chiang Xiao was taken aback.

So could it be that just now he was hesitating at the door because he felt it was hard to bring up?

“Is there nothing related to the competition that we need to do today?” asked Chiang Xiao.

“Not exactly, but kind of,” Pheng Fei thought for a moment and said, “Today it’s about taking Miss Chiang around to get familiar with the surroundings and taking you to a park because the first round of the competition involves painting a scene from that park.”

“The first round of the competition?”

So is the competition process actually starting now?

She thought that at the very least, she would first meet Mr. Wen Li and the other contestants.

Apparently not.

The process of this competition feels a bit spontaneous.

“Yes, there’s no specific requirement on which area or scene of the park to draw, it’s their own choice. At that time, eighteen judges will vote, and the top five with the highest votes will proceed to the next round.”

“May I ask, how many participants are there in this competition?”

“A total of thirteen painters.”

Thirteen goes to five.

Eighteen judges.

“Then,” Chiang Xiao thought for a moment and asked, “are there any other rules for this competition? These eighteen judges…”

“No other rules for now. It’s said that the rules will only be established in the next round. The eighteen judges are composed of painters, critics, journalists from Country Y, and university professors, and they’re randomly selected from a list of those who volunteered to be judges just yesterday, so there’s no insider information.”

As Pheng Fei explained, he was a bit surprised at how calm and collected Chiang Xiao was at such a young age, even knowing to ask about any inside info on the judges.

She really didn’t seem like an inexperienced student from an ivory tower.

“Then just tell me the address of that park, and I can take a stroll there myself,” said Chiang Xiao. “Mr. Arthur’s matter seems important; I can go by myself.”

“No, no, no, what I mean is, if it’s convenient for you all, I can first drop you there, and after I’m done, I can pick you up, it just means you might have to spend a bit longer in the park.”

“Oh, that’s fine, sure, no problem.”

Pheng Fei breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you so much. Is it okay to leave in half an hour?”

Just as Chiang Xiao was about to press Liu Guoying’s doorbell, he opened the door himself.

“I’ve already washed up, ready to go anytime.”

Earlier, he had already heard their conversation inside.

Chiang Xiao moved quickly, ready in just ten minutes.