American Life

Chapter 171 Make it clear, the new Miss World
The beauty opposite raised the goblet in her hand, drank it all in one gulp, and then showed the empty glass to Charlie.

"Do what you can." Charlie just took a sip and responded with a smile.

Inadvertently, like a light on his back, Charlie turned his head inadvertently, and then met Ivannie's blazing eyes.

Charlie reluctantly raised his glass and greeted her from a distance, already thinking about how to explain that night.

Afraid of what might happen, the Mexican beauty Carolina came over at this time, enthusiastically took Charlie's arm and asked her friends to take photos.

Ivanie at the next table slapped the table and stood up, angrily leaving the hall. She is still wrapped in a simple plaster on her leg, but it does not affect her walking.

"Where are you going?" Her father asked from behind, and it was obvious that old Maple still didn't know what was going on.

"I'm going to rest." Ivanie said immediately.

Since Ivanie left, Charlie has felt that the pressure has dropped sharply. It is a good thing that she can leave. Otherwise, if he continues to stare at him here, there is a high probability of his mentality exploding. Don't forget that Maple still doesn't know about his relationship with his daughter. something in between.

Soon Charlie received news from Ivanie.

"I'm going to the bathroom." He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and said to Douglas next to him, then stood up and walked out of the hall.

In the lobby on the first floor of the hotel, Charlie saw Ivanie crossing her legs from a distance, pressing her elbows on the armrests, and dragging her chin with her palms, looking a little depressed.

"Honey, this is also for work. Beauty pageants are a good way to discover new people." Charlie explained earnestly.

"I don't listen, I don't listen, I don't listen." Ivani shook her head like a rattle.

With no choice, Charlie had no choice but to hug her directly. Ivanie struggled a few times, then grabbed Charlie's hand and pinched, hit, scratched and bit her.

Just at this moment, Charlie saw Zhang Zilin walking into the hall out of the corner of his eye, with a middle-aged woman beside him.

Zhang Zilin also spotted Charlie. When he saw Charlie hugging a woman, he was obviously stunned.

Then he took his mother and walked towards Charlie.

"Mr. Charlie, this is my family, and this is..." She looked at Ivanie next to Charlie, observed her closely, and was immediately amazed by Ivanie's beauty.

This is a charming Western beauty with plump and round lips, and her brows are full of charm.

Her height is not much different from her own, and now wearing high heels, she looks even more graceful. To be fair, Zhang Zilin feels that if she were to participate in the beauty pageant, she might not be her opponent.

"This is...my girlfriend." Charlie said cautiously.

He doesn't want to expose his relationship with Ivani to outsiders now. After all, his father is here, and his father also holds shares in Miss Universe. This is the key to building his own beauty pageant empire in the future.

After just comforting Ivanie, Charlie didn't want to see her get angry again, so he could only tell the story about their relationship.

Ivanie shook hands with her generously, but the moment she looked at the young girl, she knew that she had won, and her face looked quite proud at the moment.

"Mr. Charlie, can I talk to you alone about what happened before?" After saying this, Zhang Zilin looked at Ivanie next to Charlie and added.

"Just the two of us."

So Charlie and Zhang Zilin came to the corner, leaving Zhang Zilin's mother and Ivani together.

"As for what you mentioned about going to Hollywood, my family doesn't want me to leave, so I have to say sorry." Zhang Zilin said as soon as she came up.

Regarding this answer, Charlie had actually been mentally prepared before and nodded without surprise.

"I see." He thought nothing of it. Except for Zhang Zilin, the remaining dozen or so beauties had already agreed to sign contracts with him. The absence of one Zhang Zilin did not affect the overall situation.

"Besides, you have to tell me, you obviously have a girlfriend, why are you still telling me that?" Zhang Zilin then said angrily.

"What did I tell you?" Charlie was a little confused.

"Why do you want to test my English level? Isn't this an opportunity for you and me to be alone together?" Zhang Zilin said reluctantly.

Charlie shook his head: "I think you misunderstood, madam. You are not the only one who learns English. I don't treat you any differently."

Zhang Zilin still didn't give up, and then asked: "Then did you really mean it when you held my hand before?"

"There's no need to answer this question, it's all over." Charlie shook his head.

Charlie had put away the fishing rod, but found that the fish was biting the hook tightly.

"You must tell me clearly. If you don't answer, I will ask you clearly even if I catch up to the United States." Zhang Zilin gritted her teeth and looked like she would not give up until she achieved her goal.

"What are you two talking about? Can I listen?" At this time, Ivanie intervened.

"It's nothing, it's all about work." Zhang Zilin immediately shook her head and turned to leave.

Watching the mother and daughter go away, Ivani looked at Charlie.

"If I'm not mistaken, if you don't owe her money, then you owe another kind of debt."

"This question is more complicated. Why did you suddenly come here with Maple?"

"Can't I come and inspect your work? Also, after this recovery, you have to remove the plaster for me yourself." Ivanie said reluctantly.

"He..." Charlie asked pretentiously.

"He doesn't know. He thinks you are just a partner. But he doesn't know that you have silently become his son-in-law. You may become a grandfather in a while."

"I can already imagine his surprised expression at that time." Ivanie burst out laughing.

Is this my daughter?

The two of them were talking as they headed to the banquet hall. When they were about to reach the door of the banquet hall, Ivanie suddenly took back the hand holding Charlie's arm, and then she saw Mepp's tall figure quickly approaching the two of them. .

"When did you two get together?" Maple looked at the two of them carefully, hoping to detect some clues from their reactions.

"Dad, my boss and I are discussing some company-related matters. You also know that we launched a joint lipstick with TF not long ago, and the sales are not bad. We do not rule out the possibility of further cooperation in the future. I was injured before and was absent from work. Many days, of course, I have to ask Charlie about the situation." Ivanie put on a helpless posture.

She even changed the name of Charlie, which is half-truth and half-false, which can be said to be seamless.

Maple put on a slightly disdainful expression, and finally just said: "The injury on your leg hasn't healed yet, so please don't walk around in high heels, okay?"

Then he took Ivanie back, and Charlie followed him back to the banquet hall. When he sat down again, he saw Ivanie being pestered by her father and asking many questions.

Perhaps because she knew that she had done a major event without telling her father this time, Ivanie was no longer impatient as usual, and explained it to her father very patiently.

On the other side, Charlie found another blazing gaze looking at him.

The source of her gaze was Zhang Zilin from another direction. Obviously, she was still annoyed by the appearance of Charlie's real girlfriend.

This woman is really interesting. Doesn’t it mean that the family doesn’t accept foreigners?Now that your real girlfriend has appeared, what does it mean that you are angry again?
After the dinner, late that night, Ivanie sneaked out of her room and came to Charlie's room.

"He has never been so nervous and kept asking questions." Ivany said that her father's reaction was funny.

Charlie, who was buried deep in the mountains, raised his head at this time, with the fragrance of milk still lingering between his lips and teeth.

"If you keep talking about your father, I'm afraid I won't be able to..."

"Really? I want to see it for myself." Ivanie stretched out her hand to fumble.

The two people quickly rolled up the sheets. Ten minutes later, a rapid ringing interrupted the two of them.

"Hey, Dad, I'm here." Ivanie's face was flushed and she was breathing heavily.

"I'm... I'm running at night. I'm just recovering now. I need to run. You know this is my biggest hobby."

"How is that possible? I don't even know which room he lives in."

"That's it, I'm going to die."

Ivanie hurriedly hung up the phone and turned back to glare at Charlie.

"Destroyed."

·
The final night was held as scheduled. Accompanied by elegant and leisurely Western music, the 105 beauties were divided into 9 groups and showed off their evening gowns in turn.

Next to Charlie sat Maple on one side and Julia on the other. Except for the final winner, all the selection processes were over.

After the evening dress display, the Best Costume Design Award will be awarded to the country's top beauty, Lee Sung Hye.

Then came the announcement of the final winners of several shortcut races, from which the final top fifteen list was drawn.

Then there was the live Q&A session. When she heard the host asking her questions, Zhang Zilin's expression became a little stiff for a moment.

The questions asked by the on-site host were exactly the same as the questions Charlie asked himself before!
She couldn't help but look at Charlie who was sitting in the audience. Perhaps because she was too nervous, she stumbled a bit on her lips for a moment.

After stumbling and stumbling, she finally finished answering the questions. When the host left, she said to herself: "Oops."

After the top fifteen, there will be the final top five list.

A total of five people entered: Carolina Moran from Mexico, Vasle Casabo from Ecuador, Claudia Suarez from Venezuela, Ekaterini Evangelinu from Greece, and Zhang Zilin from China. The final five.

Then the judges voted on site to select the final Miss World 2007 crown.

At this point, Charlie couldn't interfere too much, or in other words, he didn't want to interfere.

Even if Zhang Zilin wins among these five people, it is still acceptable to him, but looking back on her on-the-spot performance just now, it is very likely that the final champion will go to someone else.

"Who did you vote for?" Maple asked quietly.

"Vote for my favorite."

As organizing committee chairwoman Julia took the stage, she began to announce the final winner.

"The crowned Miss World 2007 is... Ekaterina Evangelinou from Greece, Congratulations!"

There were colorful ribbons flying in the sky. Linni, who was standing at the edge of the five people, couldn't even believe the result for a moment. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth wide with a look of disbelief. She hurriedly raised her hands to cover the lower half of her face. Oh, obviously she was so excited that she was about to cry.

Then she was invited to the center of the stage by the staff, where she sat personally on the championship throne that symbolized the throne. She then received the diamond scepter and was finally crowned with a diamond laurel crown. This diamond laurel crown was specially made by the jewelry sponsor. , the cost is said to be over $50, and will be given directly as a prize to the final winner.

Some of the remaining people couldn't hide their disappointment, and the saddest one was Zhang Zilin.

She knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but because of her abnormal performance, the championship slipped through her fingers.

everything is over.

She was not willing to do so, but she had to swallow the bitter fruit of her own creation.

Seeing that Lin Ni was surrounded by all the beauties, and everyone embraced and congratulated her enthusiastically, Zhang Zilin had no choice but to walk over.

After the finals, all the beauties took off their high heels and returned to the hotel. For most of them, they will return to their usual lives, and for a few others, their lives will change. An earth-shaking change, especially for Linnie. When she first came to the hotel, she was just a marginal figure, but now, she has become the focus of everyone.

Looking back, the turning point in her life occurred the moment she boarded the yacht.

Away from the celebrating crowd, Zhang Zilin returned to her room alone.

My mother came back early and stepped forward to comfort her.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Zhang Zilin opened the door, it was Charlie.

"I'll come see you."

"Sorry, sir, I messed everything up." Zhang Zilin shook her head.

“Life is not just about beauty pageants, you can do many things.”

"I know. Anyway, thank you for your help. The experience during this period is very rare for me. I will remember it. In addition, if one day you come to China again, don't forget to contact me. I will bring you You eat the food from your hometown.”

"No ifs, I'll be here next year."

For a major event like the Olympics, he had to be there to watch it in person.

"Then it's settled. I will wait for you." Zhang Zilin nodded and said the second half of the sentence in English.

"See you then." Seeing that Zhang Zilin was not too sad, Charlie felt relieved.

Before officially attending Linnie's victory party, Charlie still needs to meet Mr. Map.

"How were the ratings?"

"There hasn't been much growth, but realistically the Miss World pageant has stopped the decline and there's been an increase in discussion online."

"I only participated in the production of the finals, including sponsorship and auditions. I didn't participate in any of these. If I could be completely in charge, maybe there would be better results."

"Julia will agree to this condition." Maple nodded.

"No, I'm not talking about Miss World, but your Miss Universe."

Miss World requires internationality, and enough countries must participate in the finals each time to ensure ratings.

However, the economic development levels of countries in the world are not the same. Obviously, too much commercial value has been compromised in order to be sufficiently "international".

Compared to before, Miss Universe no longer has this concern. The number and scale of sponsors are several times that of Miss World.

This is the "fat" that Charlie is really eyeing!
(End of this chapter)