"Xin'er, today is your eighteenth birthday. Mom wants to give you this." With those words, she opened a mysterious wooden box. Inside lay a very unusual bracelet—crafted from pure gold, and even more striking, it was set with seven brightly colored gemstones: red, orange, yellow, green, white, blue, and purple, all dazzling and vivid.
"Mom, this is...?"
"This was passed down to me by your grandma, Xin'er. This bracelet has a beautiful name—it's called Happiness. Anyone who wears it will be happy for life. Our family has a rule: it only passes from mother to daughter, never to men. So today, I'm giving it to you."
"Ah, but it looks so precious..."
"Heh, of course! It's been in our family for generations. Xin'er, you have to take good care of it from now on."
"Mom, could you keep it for me for now? I'll wear it when I get married." For some reason, from the moment she first saw this bracelet, she fell deeply in love with it.
***
"You can sing? Do you realize this is a competition? Even if you know a song or two, there's no way you'll win." Adrian Night said coolly.
"No, I have to win," Ivy Shen said with determination. This was the only proof she had that she once existed in the 21st century, so she absolutely had to get it!
Seeing her so determined, Adrian glanced at the man on stage, his brows unconsciously knitting. "If you like this bonus prize so much, I'll just give him to you afterward." In that moment, the respect he'd started to feel for Ivy Shen faded again—she'd disappointed him once more.
"There are a lot of experts here today. I won't tolerate any slip-ups. You'd better keep Summer Bamboo and Winter Plum with you." With that, Ivy Shen, for the first time, walked off to the left without any jokes—and right behind her followed Summer Bamboo and Winter Plum.
"What's she showing off for? If she can enter, then so can I!" Clara Night huffed, then ran over. Hmph, that ugly freak must just want to show off in front of my brother, hoping for his praise. Dream on!
Crackling sounds—just as Ivy Shen was lost in thought, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind her. She turned around, instantly stunned.
"Caleb Miles? Weren't you down south? How did you end up here?" Ivy Shen was utterly shocked.
"I wrapped up my business down south, so now I'm here for the competition. Besides, why should only those two freaks get what they want? I, Caleb Miles, have my own goals too." For the first time, Ivy saw a sly, calculating smile on Caleb's face. That look sent a chill down her spine—he'd clearly been hiding his true cunning all along!
Up in the stands, Lucian Vane frowned. "Is that guy in blue the abacus man?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"Looks like his fox tail can't stay hidden anymore," Lucian said with a smirk, full of disdain.
"By the way, did you punish that flower thief?" Adrian Night asked coolly, still looking straight ahead.
"How did you know?" Lucian didn't even turn his head as he asked.
"Haven't you noticed the constant sunflower seed shells drifting down from above?" Adrian Night had just finished speaking when a shell floated lazily down from the sky.
Seeing this, Lucian Vane looked up. There, perched at the top of a tree, was Butterfly Rogue—cracking seeds with one hand and shooting him a dramatic eye-roll.
***
"This year's competition is still arranged by our mistress, but it's tougher than ever, so good luck, everyone!" The blue-robed announcer finished and returned to his seat. As he sat down, the pink-robed announcer stood and walked to center stage.
"The first challenge today is to sing a song so moving it makes everyone cry. If you can't move anyone within five lines, you're out!"
"What? Singing can actually make people cry?" The crowd erupted in chatter—everyone had learned plenty of songs this year, but none that could make people weep!
Of course, some people worried while others got excited. Everyone who could sing, or thought they could, rushed on stage to show off their pipes. But the results were brutal—whether life was just too comfortable or everyone was simply too happy, eight out of ten contestants belted out five lines and still failed to move the crowd. The audience couldn't help but gasp. Was it possible that this year, not a single person would make it through?