Gifts began to pour into Lu Mingming's livestream room, as if in response to the host's words.
— Jasmine gifted you a hot air balloon.
— General Pang Hu gifted you a sports car.
— Little Rabbit Everyone Loves gifted you a hundred roses.
...
Lu Mingming's popularity surged. It was easy to imagine how astonishing her popularity and fan base would be after the three rounds of competition.
Unfortunately, the screen was cleared at the moment, preventing viewers from expressing themselves freely. They could only convey their admiration for Lu Mingming through gifts.
However, Lu Mingming still noticed the support from her viewers.
Having received their affirmation, joy and pride welled up in Lu Mingming's heart.
Look, this is the cub I personally raised!
Hua Hua didn't know what she looked like now, but she vaguely knew she must be very beautiful from the praise she received.
She rather smugly spread her wings, revealing her plump body. With a flap of her wings, she landed steadily on Lu Mingming's shoulder.
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Lu Mingming naturally extended her arm to help the little one stabilize herself. Facing the camera, her eyes softened:
"Thank you, host, thank you, viewers, for your affirmation. I'm very happy to have your favor."
"So, is our number two streamer going to be scored now? Even I am almost becoming a fan of the number two streamer."
The host chuckled and stayed by Lu Mingming's side, darting around like a nimble monkey.
Lu Mingming nodded and pressed the button to end the competition.
"Yes, I'll trouble you."
A 'ding' announced the conclusion to the entire venue.
This time, the remaining streamers did not follow suit and end their matches like in the first round. Instead, they chose to continue with their own tasks, observing and calculating Lu Mingming's results from the side.
There was no other way. Even if they were allowed to end their competitions early, they couldn't possibly beat this monstrous talent, Lu Mingming!
"Alright. We invite the three top streamers from the Xingfu Star Parenting Zone to score Lu Mingming."
As soon as this was said, applause erupted throughout the venue. Even the seasoned experts in the media section, who were usually unmoving, all stood up and applauded.
The competing streamers began to whisper amongst themselves, discussing who the new judges might be.
In previous years, only the Star Chief judged the scores. Why were three streamers from the Parenting Zone judging today?
Of course, more people were guessing that these three might be the top-ranked streamers who had won their spots in previous sessions.
Lu Mingming's heart rate quickened noticeably with nervousness as she gazed intently at the main entrance.
Led by the elegant Star Chief, she was followed by two men and one woman, each wearing a name tag on their chest.
One of the men had a complexion as pale as a wall, dark circles under his eyes, a few small pimples on his face, and his hairline was subtly receding.
The woman in the middle had short, ear-length hair. Her features weren't exquisite, but they came together in a surprisingly pleasant way.
The last one wore black-rimmed glasses, with long, thick bangs covering most of his face, making it impossible to discern his appearance.
Lu Mingming glanced at them, reading their names one by one: Oscar, Xu Jiajia, Hua Xia.
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The three streamers were no strangers to large audiences. Facing the dazzling lights of the media, they showed no discomfort or panic, skillfully flashing a professional smile and waving at the cameras.
"Oh my gosh, isn't that Oscar, the winner from last year?"
"Do you guys remember the woman next to him? She's an expert in the Parenting Zone specializing in un-transformed cubs!"
"What you're saying is nothing compared to Hua Xia, a famous contestant who made it into the top thirty-two in the main planet competition!"
"Is the Star Chief preparing them to meet their teammates in advance?"
Speculation about the Star Chief's intentions ran wild, with no consensus.
The Star Chief remained unfazed, and the four of them took their seats at the judges' table.
The host quickly leaned in, bowing slightly and respectfully saying,
"Star Chief, this is the first streamer to finish the competition, streamer number two, Lu Mingming. Her assigned task was: to bathe a parrot."
Following that, he beckoned Lu Mingming forward.
"You are Lu Mingming?"
Upon seeing Lu Mingming approach the judges' table with Hua Hua, the man in the front row, Oscar, asked in a peculiar tone before the Star Chief could speak.
Lu Mingming casually glanced at his name tag, which read: Oscar.
"Yes."
She replied concisely and clearly.
She didn't understand how this previous champion streamer knew her or what he intended, but she was prepared to deal with whatever came her way.
Oscar let out a drawn-out "Oh," and said nothing further.
The host carefully placed Hua Hua on the table with his hands. Only after the little one was stable did he withdraw his hands.
"We invite the three judges to score Lu Mingming's competition results."
Hua Hua, who had served as a reserve contestant in previous rounds, was also participating in the second round for the first time. Standing frozen like a statue in the "wooden person" game, her large eyes clearly conveyed "So awkward, save me."
"Little one, don't be nervous."
The first to step forward was Xu Jiajia.
Her voice was as sweet and docile as her demeanor. With remarkable gentleness, she began to pose the little one, examining Lu Mingming's performance results.
After a while, she reached her conclusion and slowly nodded, returning to her seat.
Subsequently, Xu Jiajia wrote a number on the scoring board, and the electronic screen in front of the judges' table immediately displayed her score.
The host's pupils visibly contracted, seemingly shocked:
"Wow! Congratulations to Lu Mingming for receiving a high score of 9.5!"
"Wow—"
Everyone in the venue opened their mouths into wide 'o' shapes, involuntarily exclaiming.
In past competitions judged by the non-professional Star Chief, the highest score was only 8.5!
At this moment, the host couldn't help but eagerly anticipate the next result.
"Please invite the next judge!"
The next judge was Hua Xia. He was remarkably fast. After a quick assessment of the little one, he silently sat down without uttering a word.
He finished so quickly that the host hadn't even reacted before the scoring was completed.
Hua Xia awarded a score of 9.0.
Another astonishingly high score.
"Will our number two streamer break the previous record today? Stay tuned!"
The host was skilled at building suspense. After a smile, he brought Hua Hua to Oscar.
Oscar let out a light laugh, pretentiously lifting the little parrot's foot, then cupping Hua Hua's head. His actions were completely lacking in care or gentleness.
The others did not intervene, appearing accustomed to it.
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Lu Mingming watched from the side, her brows furrowed into a tight "chuan" shape. She wondered if this person was truly an excellent streamer from previous years.
"I have my assessment."
Oscar casually sat back in his seat and wrote a 3 on the scoring board.
This again caused an uproar throughout the venue, but unlike before, this time everyone thought the score was too low!
After all, even the lowest score in the second round in previous years was a six, as the second round had a significant impact!
If Lu Mingming, who had scored above nine in the first two rounds, received a final score of 8.5 or higher, she would break the main planet record of 8.9!
The streamers exchanged glances, bewildered by this move.
Regardless of how low the score was, Lu Mingming was clearly destined to be Oscar's teammate in the future. Could they possibly be expecting Cheng Shiqin to rise? That streamer never seemed to have such aspirations for a spot!
If Lu Mingming couldn't understand Oscar's inexplicable targeting of her, then she wouldn't have deserved to live for so many years.
Considering that he was an excellent streamer and might become her teammate in the future, Lu Mingming suppressed her anger and spoke with only a slightly colder tone: "Could the judge please tell me my specific issues?"
To her surprise, Oscar was even more shameless, clearly having no intention of providing a proper reason.
"If I tell you just because you ask, wouldn't that make me lose face?"
Oscar intended to say more, but he glanced guiltily at the Star Chief's elegant profile beside him, swallowed his words, and then spoke again:
"Fine, it's not impossible for me to tell you. You didn't even use any bathing products, so how can it be called bathing? I think your skill level is still far from being able to participate in competitions!"
After saying this, he frowned darkly, as if Lu Mingming had asked an extremely childish question.
It was utterly unreasonable!
Those bathing products were very harmful to parrots. As a streamer in the Parenting Zone, even if he knew a little, he wouldn't use them!
How laughable!
Hua Hua disliked the other party's smug expression. With a flutter of its little wings, it tried to scratch the man's face with its claws, but Lu Mingming reached out and stopped it.
Lu Mingming intended to resolve her conflict with Oscar herself and did not want Hua Hua to be implicated.
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In fact, this matter was quite simple. The only streamer who had recently had a conflict with Lu Mingming was the Nine-Tailed Fox. It was obvious, without even thinking, that Oscar might have some connection with the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Lu Mingming maintained her composure and expressed her thoughts:
"Thank you for your guidance. If you had watched the replays of the main planet competition, you would know how parrots are bathed."
The implication was: you definitely didn't watch, did you?
Lu Mingming did not want to dwell on this topic with the other party.
Even if she was in the right, the score could not be changed. Moreover, given his large fanbase, there was no need to invite unnecessary trouble.
The host sighed faintly and reluctantly announced Lu Mingming's final score: "Streamer number two's scoring is complete. The final score is 7.1!"
It wasn't a remarkable score, but it wasn't extremely low either. It was the scores from the first two judges that had pulled Lu Mingming away from the danger of a low score.
This caused the gap between Lu Mingming and all the other contestants to suddenly shrink considerably.
For a moment, only Cheng Shiqin wore a distressed expression, worrying about how to control his score to ensure he remained in second place.