Superstars of Tomorrow

Great-Grandfather Fang Fang felt that among all his descendants, the one most like him was Fang Zhao. As for the others, who were they like? Great-Grandfather Fang Fang glanced at his old wife.

"In any case, they aren’t like me," Great-Grandfather Fang Fang muttered to himself.

Online, even more people participated in the discussion about good luck charms. Some people felt that Fang Zhao’s good luck charm had brought him good fortune, and these people wanted a similar model, but at the same time, they were also worried. What if they became unlucky afterward?

"I think it’s better to wait first. Let’s wait and see how Fang Zhao does later before buying. It’s not like we need it immediately."

"Then let’s wait first? In any case, the second round of examinations is approaching. We can decide again after the results are out."

"My demands aren’t high. Furthermore, I have an examination coming up. I’ll buy it first."

At Qi’an City’s Cemetery of Martyrs, there were suddenly a lot of people buying protective amulets, and the protective amulets they wanted to but were the ones Fang Zhao had used. However, it just so happen that this version was out of stock. Previously, as there had been few people buying this, those in charge of the Cemetery had not kept much stock.

The rarer something was, the more valuable it tended to be. As stock was low and not many people managed to buy it, this protective amulet’s price was jacked up in a short time. As quantity was low while demand and prices were high, there were inevitably people blinded by greed that took an alternative path: counterfeiting.

In the eyes of those who made counterfeits, the paper quality was just slightly inferior and the painting looked exactly the same. How could they count as counterfeits?

But buyers did not approve of it.

In the Old Era, there was a word: "consecrate"!

An amulet that hadn’t gone through a consecration ritual or been created in the Cemetery was a fake! No matter how good quality of the materials used, it was still a fake!

Thus, relevant departments started combating counterfeits. The Cemetery also had their own countermeasures, so genuine and fake goods could still be differentiated.

As for Fang Zhao, who had given rise to this series of counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting, he had no time to be bothered about all this. After receiving the notification for the second stage of examinations, he was called over by Xue Jing to undergo a week of training. Afterward, he would head to Huangzhou to participate in the second round of exams.

More than 100,000 people had applied to take the examinations, and after going through three rounds of preliminary exams, the number of people with the qualifications to sit for the second stage was only 1000. Of the 90-plus from Yanzhou that had passed the preliminaries, Fang Zhao was the youngest.

This time, Fang Zhao did not let the company arrange any other assistants and, as before, brought along Zuo Yu and Yan Biao. These two took turns being a driver and an assistant.

"Boss, are we really not bringing Curly Hair along? Won’t he feel lonely if he is left alone at home?" Zuo Yu asked.

"He won’t," Fang Zhao answered firmly. With the gaming console around, Curly Hair would not find it boring.

Furthermore, if there was any danger, it would be more convenient for Curly Hair to handle it himself. If someone was dispatched to stay home and watch him, Curly Hair’s actions might be restricted.

After arriving in Huangzhou, Fang Zhao’s presence declined drastically. His influence here was a far cry from his influence in Yanzhou. However, since he had frequently been appearing online recently, Fang Zhao still wore a cap.

During this season, Huangzhou’s weather was slightly hotter. Inside Huangzhou Institute of Art, many students walking on campus were sporting hats too. Furthermore, Fang Zhao kept a low profile so he appeared less conspicuous.

"Hey, Boss, make the most of your time to study. Leave any errands to us," said Yan Biao.

This time, Yan Biao and Zuo Yu both had assignments. Silver Wing, Great-Grandfather Fang, Xue Jing, and others had all privately sought the two out to have them run more errands. This way, Fang Zhao would have time to adjust to the time difference and prepare for his examinations.

So after arriving at Huangzhou Institute of Art, Zuo Yu ran off to inquire about the necessary procedures for exam candidates and to learn how the school arranged its exam candidates room and board. Yan Biao followed by Fang Zhao’s side and towed the luggage and bags.

Fang Zhao had wanted to carry his own bags, but Yan Biao hadn’t let him.

Let boss carry a bag? How could a salted fish fetching such a high salary have the cheek to allow that? This was such a rare opportunity to display his usefulness, so naturally, he couldn’t let it slip by.

The sun was extremely glaring. Fang Zhao pointed at a building with walls that seemed to be entirely made of transparent glass not too far away. "Let’s sit over there and wait."

The building that Fang Zhao had pointed out was a library mainly for guests. The first floor was primarily a rest area and was slightly more lively. The people seated on this floor were mostly people who had stopped on the way for a rest.

After finding a spot to sit down, Yan Biao put down all the bags and luggage. When he saw that Fang Zhao wanted to go buy a drink, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Let me, let me!"

Yan Biao ran to buy a drink while Fang Zhao sat on the chair and gazed out of the transparent glass at students that were walking by outside.

HuangArt students all had a sort of haughtiness. Even though they maintained their fundamental etiquette and did not spare any honorifics, one could sense haughtiness from their expressions and speech.

That was understandable. As top-notch institute seeped in artistic influences with many specially privileged people, this was very normal. Fortunately, they wouldn’t look down on people without any reason. This was also part of their upbringing.

Taking a further look at the interior, there were many green plant ornaments and wood-colored furniture all around. Even if that furniture wasn’t really manufactured out of wood and those lush green plants were merely man-made air purifiers, when put together, they gave off a very peaceful vibe. Upstairs was a small library collection open to the public. Paperback books could be borrowed here as well, but at a fee.

While Fang Zhao was taking the measure of his surroundings, Yan Biao returned from purchasing drinks. There were too many people today and he had even needed to queue up.

After drinking some water, Fang Zhao said, "I’ll be heading up to take a look."

"All right, I will just sit here. If you want to buy anything, you can send me a message straight away." Yan Biao indicated that he would not wander off and would be on standby at all times.

When Fang Zhao went up, Yan Biao sorted out some of the luggage and wiped the sweat off his forehead. While drinking some water, he thought about his performance in the morning. Seems all right, mhm. I can feel at ease and rest for a bit.

A person at the side watched him for a bit and then came over. "Hey, brother, you brought your son to enroll too?"

The mineral water in Yan Biao’s mouth all spurted out. "PFFFF!" Yan Biao was sweating all over from that scare and hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, no, that’s not it! You absolutely mustn’t misunderstand! That is my boss!"

As he said that, Yan Biao had some self-doubt. He was clearly still young and wasn’t much older than Fang Zhao. What had caused this person to have such a misunderstanding?

Where could Yan Biao find the gall to be his boss’s father?

Stroking his beard, Yan Biao found the reason that had caused this misunderstanding. He had originally thought that it would make him look more dignified and imposing, but he had never imagined that it would cause this sort of misunderstanding. Luckily, this hadn’t been heard by his boss. If his boss was annoyed in his heart... What would Yan Biao do if he got fired?

Stroking the beard he had grown, Yan Biao decided that he would shave it when they returned to the hotel later!

During this period, HuangArt’s other, more ordinary advanced courses were also enrolling, so it was a common sight to see other parents sending off their children for enrollment. Afterward, there were quite a few others who came over to talk to Yan Biao. Yan Biao had to explain clearly to them that he was just accompanying his boss. He really didn’t want any misunderstandings to arise.

There were also others that accompanied their family elders and came over. Yan Biao even met a person who was accompanying his father who would be taking the second round of examinations for HuangArt’s Twelve Tones. Hearing the other party bragging and flaunting, Yan Biao especially wanted to say, "My boss is also here to take the second round of examinations," but he chose to hold it in.

As a qualified bodyguard, it would be best if he didn’t randomly reveal information about his boss.

When Zuo Yu was done handling all the procedures, Fang Zhao checked into his dormitory.

Zuo Yu and Yan Biao wouldn’t need much afterward, so Fang Zhao let them return to the hotel and wait. The school had only prepared temporary dormitories for exam candidates; other people were not able to stay.

HuangArt’s Twelve Tones’s second round of examinations was even longer and required three continuous days of exams.

The examination venue was a building next to HuangArt Library. The examination venue was linked to the library by a passageway. The second round of examinations was open book, so materials could be referenced, be they physical copies of books or computer files. Other than being unable to communicate with the outside world, everything in the library could be used.

For the next three days, candidates would be confined to these two buildings. But candidates apparently didn’t seem indisposed, especially candidates with creative backgrounds. For them, shutting themselves in their own work studios for one or two months was common. There was no need to worry about food, water, or toilets; all they needed to do was concentrate on answering the questions.

On the first day, after Fang Zhao saw the questions, he left the exam venue and went over to the neighboring library to look through resources.

This library was different from the small library that catered to guests. It was truly a treasure trove of knowledge. Some resources that were reportedly not permitted to be converted to electronic files and disseminated could be found here.

There were monitoring systems for the exams. Monitoring teachers would observe the candidates’ actions through the monitoring system and would not appear and in front of candidates or disturb them.

As for meals, Fang Zhao did not let down his stomach. Solving questions and composing consumed mental strength. He had consumed quite a bit and needed to replenish his energy now so that he could move forward even better later on. While others ordered only one box lunch, Fang Zhao could order four! If the boxed meals had less inside, he might order five or six.

During these three days, Fang Zhao spent the first day visiting the library and researching resources, and he rested at night in his own examination room. There was a bed within the wall, and when it was brought down, it was sufficient for a single person.

The second day was spent solving questions, and Fang Zhao rested early after completing them.

On the third day, he once again went to the library to look through the resources in the morning, and he returned to his room in the afternoon to make amendments to his script. When time was almost up and other people in the examination venue started submitting their scripts and leaving, Fang Zhao submitted his as well.

Leaving the examination venue, Fang Zhao saw a group of students distributing HuangArt cultural commemorative gift boxes.

For people that could participate in the second round of examinations, the majority all had some reputation in their own domains. Thus, even though HuangArt students had their own air of arrogance, in front of candidates who took part in the second round of Twelve Tones’s examinations, they were even more courteous and had fitting smiles when they handed over the gift boxes.

When they saw Fang Zhao, some students’ eyes shone brighter, and they rushed over to hand over the gift box. "You have worked hard!"

Fang Zhao smiled as he accepted the gift box. "Thank you. It wasn’t that arduous."

Fang Zhao really had not found it that difficult. He had not needed to worry during the examinations. Food and drinks were provided and there were specially designated activity areas. Candidates could also roam freely in 60% of the levels of the library. Other than solving questions being somewhat mentally straining, the rest hadn’t been too tiring.

"Can we take a photo together? I’m a fan of yours!" a student asked.

"Me too, I really loved your acting in ’Founding Era’! Recently, I have been watching the early seasons of the Yanzhou chapter!"

"I’m a gaming fan!"

Students of a top-notch art institution would not get too excited when seeing celebrities and reputable artists and were just slightly more curious.

After Fang Zhao agreed, these few HuangArt students took a few group photos with Fang Zhao. After chatting with Fang Zhao for a bit, they went to post the photos up on their social platforms.

Following that, various people from entertainment media once again started to excessively interpret Fang Zhao’s expression in the photographs.

"Fang Zhao is smiling so happily. He probably did quite well for the examinations."

"I feel that Fang Zhao is actually forcing himself to smile. If you’ve seen the expressions of others that took the second round of examinations, it is quite safe to say that the difficulty was rather high."

"Three continuous days of examinations, but why does Fang Zhao seem to be in high spirits in the photo?"

"Perhaps he is pretending?"

"I wonder if he wore his good luck charm this time."

"Who has bought information from HuangArt’s side? Hurry up and speak."

"HuangArt rarely leaks information to the outside. Purchasing the monitoring system’s videos is even more difficult."

There were also some people who made inquiries with HuangArt monitoring teachers that they were close to. While concrete information about the situation at the examination venue could not be divulged, when asked about their impression of Fang Zhao, these monitors said: "He is very young and he can eat very well.