"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed judges, on behalf of the organizers, I apologize for the issues caused by our oversight." Twenty minutes later, the host took the stage to restart the event. This time, he ditched the term "female contestants" and used "female guests" instead. The twenty-five women were seated directly opposite the male guests. Jill Young's seat remained the same—right in the center. So, Jill sat encircled by all the beauties, like the moon surrounded by stars.
"Alright, everyone, let's skip the small talk and get back to today's event." The host managed the crowd while sneaking a glance at Jill Young, relieved to see her expression was steady. He secretly breathed out: "For the next round, our three judges will announce the rules! Judge Xin, you're up!"
Judge Xin, the nerdy one, pushed his glasses up with a super serious air: "Ladies and gentlemen, since today's matchmaking is about picking the leading lady of your life, we have to judge by leading lady standards. In the next few rounds, we'll showcase each female guest's charms from every angle to help the guys make their choice."
Curly-haired Yin jumped in: "Whether it's in anime or real life, the so-called leading lady has to pass these tests: looks, personality, and talent! First up—looks. Like it or not, men are visual creatures. First impressions? Looks take up more than half the score. In our not-so-humble opinion: no way a plain Jane is making it as a goddess! So, round one—appearance!"
Appearance? Hearing that, all the girls couldn't help but glance at each other. Honestly, everyone here was at least above average. Competing on looks was basically just going through the motions—no one was way prettier than the rest.
"Don't look so smug. Sure, we gave high marks for your stunning entrances earlier, but that was just for fun. Now comes the real, serious screening stage." Judge Ma, with his sunglasses on, looked dead serious: "When we talk about appearance, we mean all the traits you can sense from the outside—face, figure, skin, even stuff like athlete's foot. All of it matters."
The guys all nodded. Crude as it sounded, Judge Ma's words hit home. He might look unreliable and talk rough, but somehow, the male guests totally related. If you're hunting for a goddess, of course you start with this stuff. Men, after all, like to cut through the nonsense and say it straight: forget 'inner beauty'—outer beauty is king! If she's hot enough, you can work on her personality later!
"Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch—the five senses all add up to what we call 'outer beauty,'" Curly-haired Yin added. "If she looks good, sounds sweet, and smells nice, that's the package! To get real blunt, even how she feels to the touch counts..."
Jill Young shot him a look, the kind that said, "Try saying one more word and see what happens." Danger vibes, loud and clear.
"Uh, haha, obviously we can't judge that part here!" Curly-haired Yin scratched his head, bowing and grinning awkwardly at Jill Young. "That one's strictly for after you tie the knot! Ahaha, haha!"