Situ Junyan coldly glanced at Zhang Deqi and Hao Jian before saying, "Excuse me."
Once he had spoken, he went straight to the stage, waving to the audience.
"Qin Bing, your ex-boyfriend doesn't seem very impressive," Hao Jian said to Qin Bing.
Qin Bing glared fiercely at Hao Jian without speaking.
Zhao Yating and Zhang Jia were both shocked, they had just noticed that the relationship between Situ Junyan and Qin Bing was unusual, but they had not expected it to be .
"Forget it, everyone has moments of blindness. It's fine as long as you see him for what he really is now," Shu Ya also said.
Qin Bing also let out a slight sigh, "I never thought he would turn out ."
Qin Bing truly felt disappointed, or rather, emotionally conflicted. She had been waiting for Situ Junyan, but never expected such an outcome.
"Have you given up on him now?" Hao Jian asked with a smile.
"I have!" Qin Bing nodded emphatically.
Thinking about it, she should thank Situ Junyan for letting her see his true colors. That way, Qin Bing would not have any more wishful thinking about him.
"That's good. It looks like Situ Junyan's shamelessness has had some effect, after all," Hao Jian laughed heartily. As long as Qin Bing was no longer infatuated with that bastard, then everything he had done was worthwhile.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Situ Junyan was like a drawn bow, pointing at Zhang Deqi and saying:
"I've returned to the country mainly to integrate Chinese and Western pottery techniques, so I want to exchange skills with some of the country's outstanding pottery artists. Just now, Zhang Deqi has agreed to compete with me, and soon we will bring everyone a master-level pottery performance."
At these words, everyone exclaimed in surprise, clearly very excited.
"Zhang Deqi, shall we start?" Situ Junyan said to Zhang Deqi, addressing him by name in a rather impolite manner.
Zhang Deqi walked onto the stage with a sullen face. Various tools for pottery making had already been prepared on the stage, obviously Situ Junyan had been planning to challenge Zhang Deqi for some time.
Zhang Deqi stepped onto the stage, looking emotionlessly at Situ Junyan and asked, "How shall we compete?"
Situ Junyan pointed to a lottery wheel nearby and said with a wicked smile, "Draw lots, whatever comes up is what we'll make, how about it?"
"I have no problem with that," replied Zhang Deqi as he turned away.
Just then, Situ Junyan gave Tang Liya a look, and a sly smile flickered across her lips. She walked up to the wheel and started spinning it.
Soon, a piece of paper fell out, and Tang Liya picked it up and announced to everyone, "A bell!"
Hearing this, both Zhang Deqi and Zhang Jia frowned.
Seeing Zhang Jia's reaction, Zhao Yating immediately asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"My dad is the least skilled at making bells. He has made bells less than twenty times in his life. Is it a coincidence that Situ Junyan just happened to draw a bell? Do you think that's a coincidence?" Zhang Jia said through clenched teeth, convinced that Situ Junyan must have tampered with the wheel beforehand, aiming to beat his father at something he's not good at.
"Situ Junyan is that despicable?" Zhao Yating was also stunned.
Hearing everyone's comments, Qin Bing also felt her face burn with shame. It was embarrassing to have fancied such a man.
"Just with this kind of behavior, he doesn't deserve to be called a master," Hao Jian said, shaking his head with a faint smile.
And on the stage, Tang Liya continued to draw lots to select the materials she would refine.
"Black Pottery." Tang Liya picked up a piece of paper in her hand and showed it to the crowd, proving that she had not cheated.
"Damn it, shameless!" Zhang Jia finally couldn't hold back and cursed loudly.
"They've picked two skills my dad isn't good at in a row, if this isn't a setup, I'll chop off my own head for them!"
"Black Pottery is a traditional pottery craft, your dad can't possibly be unable to do it." Hao Jian couldn't understand, every Pottery Artist should know how to refine Black Pottery.
"Teacher, you don't know, my dad had a hand disease years ago, and since then his hands have always trembled. Black Pottery mostly requires a polished plain surface, and its styles often include cord-marked pattern, incised line, and perforation—three types that his hands simply can't handle now, and Situ Junyan has always known this."
Zhang Jia said with frustration as he could already see Zhang Deqi was going to lose.
Once Zhang Jia said this, everyone looked grave. They had not expected Situ Junyan to stoop so low. His previous efforts to provoke Zhang Deqi were actually part of such a sinister plot.
"Why not let your dad come back?" Zhao Yating suggested.
"If he backs out now after agreeing to compete with Situ Junyan, others will think he's making excuses, that he's scared of Situ Junyan, and it would impact his reputation." Hao Jian, however, shook his head.
Zhang Jia also sighed, knowing that what Hao Jian said was true; no matter what, his dad couldn't refuse now.
"So are we just going to watch them play dirty tricks?" Zhao Yating said angrily.
"Let's wait and see." Hao Jian raised his head, looking towards the stage, and said no more.
Because he knew no one could help Zhang Deqi now; Zhang Deqi could only rely on himself.
Zhang Deqi also knew his current situation; despite being annoyed by Situ Junyan's shamelessness, he was powerless to do anything about it.
"Any problems?" Tang Liya asked mockingly.
"No problem." Zhang Deqi gritted his teeth in response.
"Good, then let's start!" Situ Junyan didn't give Zhang Deqi any chance to back out, decisively said.
Then, both sides went to their respective stations and started refining their pottery.
About half an hour later, the pottery made by Situ Junyan and Zhang Deqi had taken shape, but even without evaluation, the audience could see that Situ Junyan's pottery seemed better.
"Now, please let us invite the nationally renowned first-class Pottery Artist appraiser, Old Master Sun Hong, for our appraisal," Tang Liya said with an extremely happy smile, for she knew Situ Junyan was certain to win.
Old Master Sun was an expert in the field of pottery, having studied pottery for nearly thirty years, so his role as a judge couldn't be more appropriate.
He looked at Situ Junyan's pottery, then at Zhang Deqi's, and then looked up at Zhang Deqi with a somewhat regretful shake of his head before turning back.
Seeing this, the audience had already anticipated what was coming.
"The winner of this round is Situ Junyan!" Sun Hong announced to the crowd.
Zhang Deqi's face was like still water; he lowered his head, unable to say a word.
He had done his best, but two consecutive fatal flaws were too much for him to handle.
Situ Junyan laughed heartily, pointing at Zhang Deqi: "Zhang Deqi, you shouldn't call yourself the best Pottery Artist in Hua City anymore because you're not worthy!"
From today on, the title of the best Pottery Artist in Hua City would officially change hands.