Chapter 165 She Should Not Have Any Illusions About Isabella
Media reporters stood at the outermost position behind the barrier, constantly raising their cameras to take shots.
"Number 01, Isaac Franklin's work, final score 76.5. Number 02, Otto Fields' work, final score 71.1..."
The judging process proceeded in an orderly manner. The first round of works was quickly evaluated, with the highest score not exceeding 80 points.
Olivia was also sitting in the audience watching.
"Bianca, what's your number?"
"I'm in the third group," Bianca said.
"Then it should be soon."
The screen in front was very clear. Each work displayed on the screen would stay for about a minute, long enough for people below to see it clearly.
"Next, number 031, Bianca Taylor's work."
As soon as Bianca's work appeared, it immediately caused quite a stir.
"This is so much better than the previous ones!"
"I heard this Bianca is Alaric's student. She really is different. When her calligraphy came up, all the ones we saw before instantly paled in comparison!"
All were sounds of praise.
Finally, Bianca's score came out. Living up to expectations, she got an average score of 83.1.
It was the current highest score on site.
The venue erupted in cheers.
"Alaric's student is really impressive. It's rare to see such outstanding work in the youth category!"
"Indeed, having the right teacher is very important when learning calligraphy. My daughter is also learning. I spent a lot of money on teachers, but it was completely useless. She didn't even qualify for the competition."
Violet looked at Bianca's work displayed on the screen with disdain.
"This is considered good? It's not even half as good as my Isabella's."
The English that Isabella wrote was a hundred times better looking than this.
When it's shown later, it will definitely blow their minds!
"Number 041, Miguel Jimenez. Number 042, Hugo Graves. Number 043, Thalia Fairchild. Number 044, Isabella Taylor..."
Olivia had been standing in the audience for a long time and finally heard Isabella's name.
Ever since Olivia heard from Lucy that Isabella had gained Kellan's appreciation, she had been wanting to come see Isabella's work in person.
If Isabella really had talent in calligraphy, she wouldn't mind spending money to hire the best teacher for her.
In fact, her expectations for Isabella today far exceeded those for Bianca.
After the names of the fourth group were announced, works numbered 041 to 050 would be displayed and scored one by one.
"Number 041, Miguel Jimenez, 78.1 points."
"..."
"Number 042, Hugo Graves, 65.5 points."
"..."
"Number 043, Thalia Fairchild, 76 points."
"..."
The scores were not only announced but also directly recorded on the screen for everyone to see clearly.
The wait felt extremely long.
Olivia even felt a bit nervous, her eyes fixed intently on the screen.
"Number 044, Isabella Taylor..."
The screen flickered, and a piece of calligraphy was projected onto the screen, replacing number 043's work.
Olivia looked over without blinking.
The next second, her pupils suddenly contracted.
"What is this?"
"This calligraphy is way too ugly, isn't it?"
"No aesthetic appeal at all. With this level, how could she even enter the competition?"
"It's unbearable to look at!"
"Look, she only wrote half of this poem, and there's such a big ink stain on it. Forget about whether this contestant writes well or not, her attitude is clearly problematic!"
Discussions filled the air.
Everyone looking at the calligraphy work on the screen couldn't help but frown.
Even the judges present almost couldn't control their facial expressions, their lips twitching imperceptibly.
Olivia stared hard at Isabella's calligraphy work, her face looking terrible.
This is what Isabella submitted for the competition?
How embarrassing!
She had even made a special trip to see this, waiting to see her calligraphy, even thinking about hiring the best calligraphy teacher for her!
She shouldn't have... shouldn't have had any expectations for Isabella.
Bianca also saw the calligraphy work on the screen. Hearing people around discussing Isabella, she curved her lips slightly.
Other contestants' works were usually displayed for one to three minutes before scores came out.
But Isabella's work had been up there for several minutes, and the score still hadn't come out.
Clearly, this was the first time the judges had encountered such a work, and they didn't quite know how to score it.
The discussions grew louder.
When Isabella's calligraphy work came out, not only were some people from outside the school stunned, even the international class students were shocked.
Kellan would rather give the competition slot to Isabella than to Sofia. They had thought Isabella's calligraphy was amazing, but in the end, what she produced was this kind of thing?
"This is her level? How dare she take Sofia's slot?"
"Why did Mr. Hawthorne give the slot to Isabella? Isn't this embarrassing for our school?"
"If you ask me, the way she got the slot wasn't honorable. Mr. Hawthorne gave her the slot for no clear reason. Do you think she bribed Kellan in private?"
"What exactly did she give Mr. Hawthorne?"
"..."
"Why would you even enter a competition if your calligraphy looks like this? Having a death wish?"
"She probably just wanted to show off, thinking participating in a calligraphy competition was such a big deal. She didn't expect her ugly work would be displayed for so many people to see!"
"Really embarrassing."
Violet, hearing the discussions around her, was almost dying of anger.
"That's clearly not your competition entry! How could this happen? The competition piece I saw last time wasn't like this at all!"
Isabella looked at the stage and said calmly, "Someone switched my competition entry."
"What!"
Violet's eyes widened. "What kind of thing is this? How could someone switch your calligraphy? What's the point of having judges? How could they let this happen?"
"This is so unfair!"
"No way, we can't just let people bully us like this. I'm going up there to speak for you. I'll say your competition entry was replaced!"
Violet was about to charge forward aggressively.
Isabella pulled her back. "I'll go say it myself. You won't be able to explain it clearly."
With that, she lifted her foot and walked toward the stage.
By now, Isabella was already the focus of the entire venue.
However, the gazes focused on her were all scornful and disdainful.
"Look, why is Isabella walking that way? What's she going up there for?"
"What's this about? Shouldn't she be covering her face in this situation? Why is she still walking toward the stage?"
Isabella walked step by step toward the judges' table.
All the judges noticed her and looked at her with confusion.
The staff member maintaining order stopped her. "Student, this is the judges' table. You can't go up there."
Isabella explained, "I'm contestant number 044, Isabella. What's currently displayed on the screen is my competition entry. I have something I need to explain about this entry."
The staff member looked toward the stage, seeking the judges' opinion.
The judges looked at each other. Cillian, sitting in the center, spoke directly: "Let her come up."
Isabella walked onto the stage, faced the judges, and said very calmly: "Teachers, the calligraphy work up there is not the competition entry I submitted. I suspect someone switched my work."