Chapter 134

Chapter 134

The first two rounds of the competition were thrilling After the judges’ scores and the audience’s ratings were combined, the top 20 contestants were

selected.

Starlight Design Studio firmly held the first position, while Dream Design Studio ranked H.

Stephanie’s dressing room was echoing with cheers. All the designers chattered excitedly and brimmed with joy.

“Ms. Hayes, Ms. Saunders, we are so happy and excited!” someone cheered.

“Although other teams didn’t show their trump card, we’ve already outshone many teams!” another chimed in.

“We’re so excited that we could cry,” one commented.

With that said, everyone couldn’t hold back their tears.

Julianna comforted them, “it’s not a sin to cry. It’s all the result of our hard work and tears. Thank you for your hard work these days! Stephie and I have decided that starting this month, we’ll double your salaries!”

The excitement of the group soared. They surrounded Julianna with various hugs and kisses.

Someone asked, “Hey, where’s Ms. Hayes?”

Julianna thought, “Of course, she’s gone to be a judge.”

Because Stephanie had never considered revealing her identity, she wore a white feather eye mask that perfectly complemented her white gown.

She took a deep breath and gently pushed open the double doors of the convention hall.

Jessica signaled to the host, and the host’s eyes lit up. “Let’s warmly welcome our fifth judge of the competition, Ms. Star!”

All the lights, cameras, and viewers’ eyes focused on her.

“Is this really Star?” someone asked.

“She’s so beautiful. She looks like a fairy!” another commented.

“Star used to wear an eye mask, too! It must be her! Oh, my goodness! I finally get to see Star again!” the other said.

Stephanie lifted her gown as she stepped onto the red carpet and the stage.

The host looked at the extremely beautiful Stephanie beside him with admiration. “Star, you’re finally here. You made us wait so long! it seems that the bridge has been crossed!”

Laughter erupted from the audience below.

Stephanie nodded slightly and said to the microphone handed over by the host, “I’m sorry for keeping everyone waiting. It’s an honor to be selected as a judge for this competition, especially since it was chosen by votes from netizens worldwide. I thank everyone for their great love and support. Due to personal reasons, I wasn’t present for the first two rounds, so I apologize. But I hope that in the upcoming third round, we can all witness the birth of the champion together.”

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Amidst the warm applause, Stephanie took her seat among the judges.

Jessica leaned in close and whispered lowly, “Star, did you see the audience’s faces when they heard you hadn’t arrived yet in the makeup room? They were so disappointed.”

“I saw it,” Stephanie answered.

“I think the whole world wants to see your true face. Are you really not going to take off the mask?” Jessica asked,

Stephanie shook her head. “Let Star be a thing of the past. From now on, let the world remember only Stephanie.”

Jessica nodded. “We all respect your decision.”

Stephanie smiled. “Thank you.”

At the host’s invitation, the person in charge of the 20 teams came on stage and drew numbers from a box to determine their presentation order.

Such a method was considered fair. After all, no one liked to go first due to the tendency for lower scores.

Julianna w

was the first to draw; surprisingly, she got number 20.

She winked at Stephanie to show that she had good luck.

When it was Lisa’s turn, placing fifth, she was also incredibly lucky and drew number 19.

The other person in charge drew their numbers in turn. Those who got number one looked disheartened.

Soon, the competition officially began.

As an international contest featuring top design teams from various countries, the level of competition was exceptionally high.

When the model for team number 19 took the stage, Stephanie immediately narrowed her eyes. The other four judges were equally shocked.

They had just seen Stephanie’s design at the gathering during the daytime.

Therefore, none of them doubted Stephanie’s integrity.

Jessica was angry. She whispered to Stephanie, “Star, has someone stolen your rough sketch? It’s the same!”

Stephanie pursed her lips tightly, and her mind raced through the events since she had started working on the rough sketches.

The condominium, the design studio, and the film set-of those, the only place her designs could possibly be stolen was the makeup room on the film

In addition to the actors, makeup artists and costume fitters could access the makeup room.

And Sabrina, with whom she had conflicts, was the most likely culprit.

Although Sabrina was only a pawn, it didn’t stop her from hating Stephanie, so the possibility of her stealing the latter’s rough sketches was quite high.

The only time Stephanie had left the makeup room unattended was on the day Madeline filmed the drowning scene.

All the surveillance footage from the film set had been destroyed, and therefore, there was no video evidence.

It was

hard to prove,

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Chapter 134

Stephanie said, “Someone must have taken photos of my rough sketch at the film set

you have any other evidence?” Jessica asked.

poy

“I do, but it will take some time,” Stephanie replied.

Then, she pulled out a phone and sent a message to Glovanni.

–

The latter was assigned to take care of Charlton at Harmony Healthcare Hub, hence he hadn’t traveled to Chueles with Stephanie.

At that moment, he and Charlton were lounging around, munching on some popcorn and watching a live stream.

He didn’t expect Stephanie to give him such a task.

He immediately stood up and headed out.

Charlton frowned. “Gio, where are you going?”

Giovanni shook his hair. “I’m off to handle something important. You’ll see soon enough!”

Charlton scoffed. “Important? What’s m

more important than Ms. Hayes? And what exactly am I supposed to see?”

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Giovanni sped to Stephanie’s condominium, entered the password, and went inside. He made his way to the study, opened a drawer, and found the rough sketch for the competition

He put on gloves and carefully placed the rough sketch into a brown envelope.

He then went to the police station and approached the police chief. I’m Stephanie’s assistant. She sent me to retrieve Sabrina’s fingerprints. It’s crucial for the investigation.”

The police chief didn’t dare delay and immediately took him to the forensic department.

Meanwhile, in the makeup room of the exhibition center at Chuoles, all the designers from Dream Design Studio were cheering in excitement.

“Did you see the audience’s reaction? They were amazed!” someone said.

“Yeah! Flora’s design is stunning!” another agreed.

“It looks like we’ll win the championship this time!” someone chimed in.

“Dream Design Studio is going to replace Starlight Design Studio!” the other said.

“But why do the judges look so serious?” another said.

“Maybe they’re just stunned by our amazing designs. They’ve never seen anything so innovative before!” the other replied.

In the other makeup room, everyone fell silent and clenched their fists.

“Ms. Saunders, what’s going on?” one asked.

“Yeah. Why do Dream Design Studio’s designs look just like ours?” another asked.

“We’re presenting after them, and everyone will think we copied them” someone commented.

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“Where’s Ms. Hayes? We need her to explain this!” the other said.

“That’s right. Although we trust her, the judges and audience don’t know that. This is really bad for us!” one said.

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Julianna crossed her arms, her expression cold and stern. “It must be Alicia’s doing. She looked so smug like she was sure she’d win. That’s suspicious.”

by copied us?” someone asked.

“What should we do? Do we have any evidence to prove we’re innocent and they o

“If we can’t prove it, the reputation of Starlight Design Studio will be ruined another said.

“Ms. Saunders, please do something?” someone pleaded.

Julianna took a deep breath. “Stephie will figure out something.”

“But we haven’t seen her so far,” someone said.

Julianna suddenly chuckled. “Actually, you’ve been looking at her all the time.”

Everyone was speechless.

“Has Ms. Saunders lost it under the pressure?” they wondered.

Julianna looked at the models and ordered, “Walk confidently and showcase the unique features of our designs. Just trust Stephie and me!”

“Okay!” the rest chorused.

When the models of Starlight Design Studio took the stage, it caused an immediate uproar.

While the five judges remained calm, the audience was abuzz with chatter.

Even the team from Dream Design Studio was in an uproar,

They all looked at Alicia and Flora.

Lisa voiced what everyone was thinking. “Flora, Alicia, as the designer of the rough sketch, can you explain this?”

Flora shook her head. “I don’t know why Starlight Design Studio’s designs are the same as ours.”

Alicia snorted. “Starlight Design Studio must have sent someone to steal our rough sketch. Think about how similar Stephanie’s style is to Star’s. She’s a habitual plagiarist! Flora and I have already applied for copyright from the Fashion Designer Association. We need to stand firm that Starlight Design Studio is copying us!”

Lisa found herself cornered. Despite not believing that Stephanie would plagiarize, the situation had escalated beyond her control.

If she showed any doubt, it

it would be seen as an admission of guilt.

No matter how she explained it, Flora and Alicia represented Dream Design Studio, and that would drag the studio to the abyss.

Lisa pursed her lips and said, “We are the original designers!”

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Chapter 134

“Where’s Ms. Hayes? We need her to explain this!” the other said,

“That’s right. Although we trust her, the judges and audience don’t know that. This is really bad for us!” one said.

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Julianna crossed her arms, her expression cold and stern. “It must be Alicia’s doing. She looked so smug like she was sure she’d win. That’s suspicious.”

“What should we do? Do we have any evidence to prove we’re innocent and they copied us?” someone asked,

“If we can’t prove it, the reputation of Starlight Design Studio will be ruined!” another said.

“Ms. Saunders, please do something?” someone pleaded.

Julianna took a deep breath. “Stephie will figure out something.”

“But we haven’t seen her so far,” someone said.

Julianna suddenly chuckled. “Actually, you’ve been looking at her all the time.”

Everyone was speechless.

‘Has Ms. Saunders lost it under the pressure?’ they wondered.

Julianna looked at the models and ordered, “Walk confidently and showcase the unique features of our designs. Just trust Stephie and me!”

“Okay!” the rest chorused.

When the models of Starlight Design Studio took the stage, it caused an immediate uproar.

While the five judges remained calm, the audience was abuzz with chatter.

Even the team from Dream Design Studio was in an uproar.

They all looked at Alicia and Flora.

Lisa voiced what everyone was thinking, “Flora, Alicia, as the designer of the rough sketch, can you explain this?”

Flora shook her head. “I don’t know why Starlight Design Studio’s designs are the same as ours.”

Alicia snorted. “Starlight Design Studio must have sent someone to steal our rough sketch. Think about how similar Stephanie’s style is to Star’s. She’s a habitual plagiarist! Flora and I have already applied for copyright from the Fashion Designer Association. We need to stand firm that Starlight Design Studio is copying us!”

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Lisa found herself cornered. Despite not believing that Stephanie would plagiarize, the situation had escalated beyond her control.

if she showed any

y doubt, it would be seen as an admission of guilt.

No matter how she explained it, Flora and Alicia represented Dream Design Studio, and that would drag the studio to the abyss.

Lisa pursed her lips and said, “We are the original designers!”