C29 Chapter 29

Xinyi was a little annoyed, but there was nothing she could really say, so she just sat up stiffly in silence.

Shijuan acted like he didn’t notice a thing, letting Yuxin lounge lazily in his arms.

Come to think of it, it was actually pretty rare for the kid to be this affectionate with him.

The lights suddenly dimmed, and the spotlights around the runway came alive with the music, sweeping in rhythm and making the entire stage sparkle.

A male and female host, dressed in formal evening wear, stepped out from backstage.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Ninth National Fashion Design Competition. This event is exclusively sponsored by Rongxin Group’s Lingchuang Clothing...”

As soon as the host finished the opening remarks, the competition began.

The four judges on the panel were Lily, editorial director of *VE* fashion magazine; Faang Qing, chief designer of Lingchuang Clothing; well-known fashion media personality Xu Qiaomei; and internationally renowned designer Ivan.

In front of each judge was a red and green light. Green meant approval of the designer’s work, while red meant disapproval.

As long as a designer received green lights from at least two judges, they would advance to the next round.

Groups of models walked the runway one after another. The judges nodded one moment and shook their heads the next as red and green lights flashed in turn, with designers constantly being eliminated or moving on.

Before long, it was Du Yawei’s turn to present her work.

Not far away, Lingchuang Clothing’s operations director, Hao Yun, was so nervous that his back was already damp with sweat.

They had already secured their own designer, Faang Qing, and fashion media figure Xu Qiaomei, both of whom would vote red against Du Yawei. But Lily, editorial director of *VE*, had not been persuaded.

After all, *VE* had just gone out of its way in the latest issue to praise Du Yawei. If Lily turned around and rejected her work now, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to the magazine itself?

Pressed for time, and with Hao Yun still having no idea why Xiaorou had called and told him to find a way to eliminate Du Yawei, he hadn’t spent much effort trying to sway Lily. Instead, he had gone to Ivan, hoping to convince him instead.

Who would’ve thought Hao Yun would run straight into a brick wall with Ivan?

Sure enough, Ivan was exactly like the rumors said—completely impossible to sway and focused only on the work.

The moment Ivan heard what Hao Yun said, he blew up. “Oh! I can’t stand this kind of backdoor dealing and name-dropping! I’ve said it from the start: if you’re paying top dollar to bring me in as a judge, then we do things by my rules. I judge the work, not the person. If you’re having second thoughts now, I can step down from the panel this second! ...”

“No, no, no, I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn...” Hao Yun apologized over and over, trying to calm Ivan down. By the time he finally got him settled, the competition was about to begin. There was no time left to go discuss it with Lily.

One by one, the models walked the runway, and Hao Yun anxiously scanned the judges’ expressions.

Now all he could do was hope that Lily strongly disliked Du Yawei’s collection, or that Ivan—who judged only the work—would reject it.

But either hope was filled with uneasy uncertainty.

Hao Yun’s fingertips curled tightly into his palms as he silently prayed that nothing would go wrong.

After the models finished their walk, Du Yawei, the designer, stepped out from backstage during the final curtain call. Smiling, she greeted the audience and the media, then walked to the front of the stage and introduced her work to the judges. “I’ve named this collection ‘Beijing in the Haze.’ I used a large number of qipao-inspired elements, blending them with modern fashion trends...”

As soon as Du Yawei finished speaking, Lily, editorial director of VE magazine, was the first to give her the green light.