The judges were all experienced, just a little surprised before asking her to start the performance.

Wen Jia Min was wearing a cream-colored down jacket, with no makeup on her face. In terms of looks, she wasn't particularly outstanding, scoring only about 86 points from Gu Bai's perspective, but she possessed a rare vigor among young people today. Her mere presence was enough to make people see her differently.

"If I were a bird,

...

...

Why are my eyes often full of tears?

Because I love this land so deeply..."

This brief poem of only 122 words, punctuation included, was recited by Wen Jia Min with such essence and clarity. Each word was powerful, and if one were to evaluate it, they could only say that Wen Jia Min put a lot of effort into the recitation, showcasing the sincere spirit in every possible way.

Even Gu Bai, who was initially playing with his phone, couldn't help but listen attentively.

By the end of the recitation, Gu Bai clearly knew that with her previous confident performance and the recitation of this poem, the preliminary test had already been secured for Wen Jia Min. Next, she should focus on preparing for the second round.

Sure enough, after Wen Jia Min finished her recitation, all four judges smiled and took notes. Introducing such an excellent candidate as the first for the initial test marked a good start for these school auditions.

The next was the most eliminating part of the initial test: body and vocal performance.

However, Wen Jia Min's level was evidently very high. Although her vocal presentation was rather ordinary, her body performance was flawless. A piece of the "Startled Swan Dance" made everyone applaud uncontrollably.

Even Gu Bai couldn't help but see this girl, who did not have a significant advantage in appearance, in a new light.

Looking at the panting Wen Jia Min in front, the judges, with satisfied expressions, said, "Alright, Wen Jia Min, please go to the side to rest a bit and prepare for the group performance exam later."

Wen Jia Min respectfully bowed to all the judges and then retreated to a seat at the back to rest.

The remaining nine candidates looked at her with admiration. Everyone understood that as long as the judges weren't blind, Wen Jia Min would surely pass the initial test.

The subsequent interviews of the other nine candidates were neither too bad nor too excellent, just average. Compared to Wen Jia Min, they were worlds apart.

Even Gu Bai lost interest in continuing to watch and started playing with his phone.

It wasn't until all nine candidates finished their interviews that the judges put down their pens.

"I believe you are all aware of your performances just now, so we won't say much more. However, in these performance department interviews, performance is naturally the most important. No matter how poor your earlier performance, if you do well at this stage, we will consider adding points. But similarly, if you perform poorly here, no matter how high our previous evaluation of you was, it's difficult to proceed to the next round. Understood?"

"Understood!"

The ten candidates stood straight in front of the judges' table, responding loudly.

One of the judges noticed Gu Bai sitting there playing on his phone and couldn't help but frown, saying, "Gu Bai!"

Gu Bai, who was reading a novel and had reached a crucial part, quickly put away his phone and raised his head upon hearing his name.

"Teacher He, did you call me?"

"That's right."

Gu Bai looked at him with confusion.

"As an advisory judge, you should also engage with these school auditions. Next, these ten candidates will perform a display, and you will assign the theme for them to perform."

Upon hearing Teacher He's words, Gu Bai hesitated, saying, "Me, come up with a theme?"

"That's right."

Gu Bai didn't make a fuss, immediately stood up, and walked in front of the ten candidates.

"Since Teacher He asked me to pick a theme, I will designate a performance theme. You should do your best to perform according to what I say."

"Understood!"

The ten candidates responded in unison.

"I believe that most of you know me and know of my online nickname, 'Principal Gu'. Therefore, the next performance theme is to portray yourselves as a poor student, who, with the help of kindhearted people, gets access to books. You have 5 minutes to think, and then the performance will start on time."

As soon as Gu Bai finished speaking, Hu Ge said, "Chairman Gu, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Not only Hu Ge, but the eyes of the four judges also showed signs of disagreement.

It is well known that there are several levels of performance, with imitation being the lowest level. For preliminary test candidates, it's typically enough to give them a skit theme and have them improvise a scene from it. The theme Gu Bai proposed, simply put, is too advanced and too challenging.

Portraying the demeanor of a poor student - this is already the most difficult "spiritual conveyance" level in performance. Compared to the traditional physical expressions, conveying spirit is something many professional actors ponder over. Many popular actors have been in numerous film and television works and still haven't touched this threshold, let alone these art students just attending an audition.

Gu Bai simply said, "Since it's performance, it shouldn't be confined to a simple structure. I think it's very appropriate."

Seeing Gu Bai had no intention of backing down, Hu Ge didn't persuade further. The four judges regretted letting Gu Bai choose the topic, feeling it was pure nonsense. However, since they already let Gu Bai decide, they couldn't oppose any further and could only relax their evaluation standards when the students performed.

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