The staff members began to tidy up the materials on their desks and discussed lunch choices in hushed tones, allowing the atmosphere to relax slightly.
Su Yuqing closed her last resume and prepared to stand, hoping to relieve the stiffness in her body for a moment.
Just then, a faint commotion drifted through the gap of the heavy, soundproof doors of the Audition Hall.
It sounded like a mix of staff members trying to block someone and a person explaining something in a low voice.
This sound felt particularly abrupt amidst the fading noise of the room.
Su Yuqing frowned and gestured for a staff member at the door to check the situation.
Soon, a young floor manager responsible for maintaining order ran over with an apologetic and confused expression.
He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Teacher Su, at the door… there is a girl.
She didn’t make an online appointment, but she said… she said she made an appointment with you last night to come directly for the interview today.
This… doesn’t follow the process.
I was going to ask her to leave or reschedule, but she insisted on seeing you…”
“No appointment?”
Su Yuqing’s frown deepened.
Her fatigue made her feel a hint of impatience toward such unconventional behavior.
She was about to wave her hand and tell him to follow the rules, but the words caught in her throat.
Last night… the appointment?
A scene flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning — the strange girl under the dim streetlamp, the vintage parasol, the silver-gray hair, the maid outfit that fused Renaissance and modern styles, and those pale red eyes that looked like they contained another world.
And, of course, that crumpled Interview Flyer she had shoved toward the girl in a moment of desperate gambling…
“Yes! Let her in!”
Su Yuqing blurted it out almost without thinking.
Her voice rose slightly due to a sudden surge of excitement and an indescribable premonition, drawing a surprised glance from the Assistant Examiner who was about to leave.
Su Yuqing realized her loss of composure, so she quickly suppressed her swirling emotions and added to the floor manager, “That’s right, it was a… temporary verbal invitation I made last night. Please let her in, it’s fine.”
Though the floor manager remained confused, he nodded and turned to lead the person in upon hearing the Chief Examiner’s confirmation.
Su Yuqing sat up straight again, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the pen on the desk.
She signaled for the two assistant examiners to wait, her gaze locked onto the door that was about to open again.
Her heart beat uncontrollably fast in her chest.
A mixture of faint hope, intense curiosity, and a sense of tension she didn’t want to admit to herself began to spread.
The door was pushed open gently.
The first thing to enter the room was an exquisite black lace parasol.
Then came a figure, walking slowly into the hall against the light of the corridor.
At first, it was just a silhouette, but as she stepped toward the performance area in the center of the room, all the light seemed to converge on her naturally.
The scattered attention of the room was instantly pulled toward her like a magnet.
The whispering stopped, and even the flow of air seemed to slow down.
Standing there was a girl whom no one could ignore.
She wore a distinctive modern maid outfit in a British style.
This attire made her look like a head maid who had stepped out of a rigorous, elegant, and ancient manor, yet she carried a quiet temperament that transcended time.
The dress was made of high-quality black matte fabric with an extremely sophisticated cut.
It discarded the puffiness of traditional maid outfits, favoring smooth straight lines and a sharp H-line silhouette that aligned with modern fashion aesthetics.
The small stand-up collar was strictly fastened under her neck, accentuating her long and fair throat.
The neckline and the slightly puffed leg-of-mutton sleeves were adorned with simplified, exquisite white lace.
It was no longer a cluttered mess but acted as a perfect decoration, adding a touch of classical feminine beauty.
A pure white knee-length apron was tied over the dress.
Its fabric was light, creating a sharp color contrast with the black garment.
The lace on the edge of the apron echoed the sleeves, but the most eye-catching detail was on the upper left of the apron — a highly stylized silhouette of a cat embroidered with silver-gray silk thread.
This small embroidery acted like a secret signature, injecting an indescribable spirituality and mystery into her rigorous and restrained clothing.
Her silver-gray hair flowed like moonlight.
Part of it was gathered into a simple low bun at the back of her head, while the rest cascaded naturally to her waist, the strands shimmering softly under the lights.
On her head sat a modernized and simplified Katyusha headpiece.
Tiny silver threads were woven into the black base like stars twinkling in the night sky, blending perfectly with her overall silver-gray palette.
She seemed a bit light-sensitive, or perhaps she simply disliked direct lighting, as she continued to hold her umbrella.
It wasn’t until she had fully entered the room and was signaled by the staff that she reacted a beat late, gently folding the parasol and cradling it against her chest.
However, the thing that made it impossible for anyone to look away was the pair of fluffy silver-gray cat ears atop her head, which could no longer be completely hidden by the headpiece.
They stood upright naturally, their tips sporting a small tuft of dark gray that matched her hair.
At that moment, they twitched sensitively as they felt the focused gaze of the entire room.
This was by no means a vitality or agility that any headband or decoration could simulate.
The room fell into a strange silence.
Everyone was awestruck by this sight that exceeded expectations — and even common sense.
This was not an outfit an ordinary idol trainee would choose, nor was it a deliberate attempt to be cute.
It was… almost an authentic presentation.
“Candidate.”
Su Yuqing took a deep breath, forcing down the stormy waves in her heart as she struggled to keep her voice professionally steady.
“Please face the examiners and give a simple self-introduction.”
Su Yuqing knew she needed to hear the other person’s voice to confirm that this wasn’t an illusion.
Hearing this, the girl tilted her head slightly.
Those pale red eyes, like the purest red crystals, looked quietly at Su Yuqing, and a faint hint of confusion seemed to pass through them.
She blinked gently, her long silver eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
Then, she slowly opened her pale pink lips and let out syllables that were raw and intermittent, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time or was struggling to organize an unfamiliar language:
“Self… intro… duction…?”
Her voice was very light, possessing a strange quality like a weak electric current passing through crystal — ethereal and detached.
An assistant examiner nearby frowned and leaned over to whisper, “Teacher Su, this… she looks like she didn’t prepare? She hasn’t even practiced a self-introduction.”
Su Yuqing raised her hand, gently stopping the assistant examiner’s further remarks.
Her gaze was locked onto the girl, as if trying to pierce through the strange attire to see the essence beneath.
She slowed her speaking pace, guiding the girl with a voice that was clearer and more patient than usual.
“It’s okay if you didn’t prepare in advance. Since we don’t have your resume on hand, we don’t know anything about you. So please at least tell us… what is your name?”
The girl listened quietly, her gaze never wavering for a second.
After a few seconds of silence, she opened her lips again.
Her pronunciation was clearer now, but there was still a subtle pause between each syllable:
“Bai… Wan… xue.”
Three words, clear and cool, like ice beads falling onto a jade plate, carrying a cold and pure quality that was untainted by the world.
However, just as the final sound of her name left her lips and before it could fully dissipate in the air —
“Meow.”
A very light, very soft sound — a guttural meow that clearly carried a hint of laziness and dependency —
spilled naturally from her slightly parted lips.
***
The audition hall fell into a deathly silence.
One could hear a pin drop.
The expressions on everyone’s faces froze.
Shock, confusion, and disbelief tangled together in the air.
Su Yuqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
She stood up abruptly from her seat, the legs of the chair screeching harshly against the floor.
Her eyes widened, and her mind was filled with roaring white noise.
Bai Wanxue.
Cat ears.
A meow.
These keywords exploded wildly in her brain.
That glimpse under the community streetlamp last night — that girl with the strange temperament holding a parasol — overlapped perfectly with the figure before her.
It wasn’t an illusion.
That absurd encounter… and the flyer she had shoved out in desperation…
had actually drawn in a completely unimaginable existence.
In the midst of this extreme silence and chaos, Bai Wanxue seemed completely unaware of the reactions around her.
She simply tilted her pale red eyes slightly.
Her gaze passed through the stunned crowd and landed precisely on the Chief Examiner’s seat —
on the only person standing there, pale-faced Su Yuqing.