Chapter 180

A crowd swarmed around Chione, all eager for an autograph. Samantha, on the other hand, sat quietly in her seat, perfectly composed with no intention of joining the frenzy. The contestants had been divided into multiple groups, and with over 20 judges present today, the whole setup was impressively grand. Still, judging everyone would take all day—probably well into the evening. Samantha had been waiting patiently since morning. The organizers provided lunch, a boxed meal consisting of braised chicken, tomato salad, and cream of mushroom—simple but everything that she liked. … Finally, sometime after 2:00 pm, her name was called. Samantha was a little nervous, but she kept her expression calm and steady as she walked in. "Hello, judges. My talent is singing." "Alright, go ahead." One of the judges waved a hand dismissively. They had already seen too many acts—singing, dancing, even someone walking on their hands and another doing contortion tricks. At this point, they wer