Stop There, Daddy

“The contest hasn’t started yet, so I think your mom’s making preparations. Be good. Don’t disturb your mom.”

He Siming, sitting on the side, pacified Wen Baobao who was getting restless. After a glance at his wristwatch, he instructed Guan Yue to keep an eye on Wen Baobao and then walked toward the area where the contests were sitting.

Surprisingly, for some reason, in the moment when Chang Ning said those aggressive words to her, Wen Shuyue felt that Chang Ning’s dislike for her had become less intense.

Wen Shuyue’s mind was wandering when He Siming walked to her side, stooped down and said lightly, “Don’t be afraid. I got your back.”

He Siming’s charming voice came to her ears as his warm breath fanned her neck. Wen Shuyue’s heart skipped a beat. She lifted her head to meet He Siming’s starry eyes which seemed to have the power to suck her in.

She swallowed hard in spite of herself. It wasn’t until she heard Chang Ning’s cold snort that she jerked out of her trance and nodded at He Siming.

“Chang Ning!” She broke into a trot, fell in beside Chang Ning and said graciously, “I’m looking forward to seeing your work.”

“Of course you are. My work is not some ubiquitous trash.”

Chang Ning’s lips curved in a thin smile. Wen Shuyue smiled, “Your smile is beautiful.”

Chang Ning’s face hardened in spite of herself as she halted and said coldly, “Don’t think you can get me to go easy on you by doing this. If you lose, you’ll sure as hell have to quit the fashion design industry.”

“I know.” Wen Shuyue didn’t kick up a stink. There was always a warm smile on her lips.

He Siming watched as the two of them walked toward the area for the contestants. He furrowed his brows slightly. His inscrutable eyes had been fixed on the person beside Wen Shuyue all along. Not until Wen Baobao called out to him did he turn around to walk toward the auditorium.

The contest was in full swing. The four contestants drew lots as requested. Wen Shuyue was the third. Chang Ning was the fourth. The other two contestants were the first and the second respectively.

In a fashion design contest, the first couple of contestants to display their works were at a disadvantage, because the visual stimuli was only temporary. Once the works of those going onto the stage later turned out to be better, the judges would forget what the works they had seen earlier looked like.

However, there were exceptions. The design that Chang Ning had displayed in the preliminary contest was an example.

The first two contestants signed repeatedly, but Wen Shuyue felt that it was a good thing that her number was next to Chang Ning’s.

“It seems we really got a chance to have a competition, Chang Ning.”

Chang Ning impassively slid Wen Shuyue a sideways glance. Then she turned around without a word and walked toward the preparation area.

“Mommy, go for it!” Wen Baobao excitedly yelled in that direction, waving his little fists.

Wen Shuyue gave him a big smile, blew him a kiss and then made for the preparation area as well.

Unsurprisingly, the other contestants who had reached the final were quite competitive. The moment the first contestant’s work was revealed, a gasp of amazement rippled through the crowd. The judges also looked radiant. It was obvious that they were very pleased with the first contestant’s work.

Wen Shuyue watched as the contest proceeded. She was very self-confident, and Chang Ning remained unaffected as well.

The two of them sat there quietly, which was a rare occurrence. Wen Shuyue suddenly brightened and let out a chuckle, but Chang Ning beside her gave her a dirty look. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy,” Wen Shuyue said, maintaining her smile.

“You’re soft in the head.” Chang Ning really rolled her eyes at Wen Shuyue this time.

Soon the second contestant went onto the stage.

But the second contestant’s work was just average. It was not as characteristic as the first contestant’s work. The only upside was that it contained more elements, but that feature also gave people the impression that the tail was wagging the dog.

As Wen Shuyue had expected, the judges gave the second contestant’s work a relatively low score. It was much lower than the first contestant’s.

‘Soon it’ll be my turn!’

Wen Shuyue took a deep breath and made sure she was in a normal state before she walked slowly toward the stage.

This was her third time walking toward the stage. Unlike her previous two experiences, this time around she must give it her best shot, but she was positive that she was the best!

Wen Shuyue was oozing confidence and poise as if she were glowing. He Siming, sitting in the auditorium, was fascinated.

Some people were destined to be extraordinary and were destined to stand on stage and shine. He Siming believed that Wen Shuyue was among them.

She was confident and tenacious. No matter how difficult the situation was, she would always figure out a way to achieve what she set out to achieve. That was why He Siming could not stop himself from wanting to get close to her and to cherish her. How could he not love a woman so charming?

Wen Shuyue walked to the center of the stage and bowed to the judges and the audience. Then she gave a smile and pulled off the white cloth to reveal the garment she’d designed.

“Wow!”

The instant the cloth was removed, mouth of everybody in the auditorium fell open in awe.

Having noticed the amazement on the faces of the judges and the audience, Wen Shuyue gave a faint smile, walked closer to her design and began to give a presentation attentively.

“This dress is called ‘Angel Wings’. The theme is Amusement Park and Love,” Wen Shuyue said unhurriedly. “Maybe some of you are wondering how amusement parks and love can be combined together, but please look at my design. The collar is set off by the pattern of a carousel. Below it are a family of three representing warmth and love. The back of the dress is adorned with floral hollowed-out stripes representing the spring. On the lower part of the dress, as you can see, there are dominant colors of the other three seasons: autumn, winter and summer. ‘Till death do us apart.’ That’s what I’m trying to convey with this design. That’s all. Thank you.”

With that Wen Shuyue bowed deeply to the auditorium again.

The audience broke into even more rapturous applause. The beauty of the design blew their minds.

They had firmly believed that Wen Shuyue had entered the contest through the back door, and that the reason why she reached the final was probably because of her backer’s help as well, but in this instant, they saw a different side of Wen Shuyue and her work.

A smile touched Chang Ning’s mouth as she watched Wen Shuyue displaying her design on the stage.

She found Wen Shuyue fairly interesting.

She had to admit Wen Shuyue was a worthy opponent, that the latter had a decent grasp over clothing and knew how to set off her model’s slenderness. Moreover, her theme was very interesting.

When Wen Shuyue came down from the stage, Chang Ning walked past her and said in a voice audible only to the two of them, “Your garment’s pretty good. Now let’s see which one of our designs the judges like better.”

With that Chang Ning strode forward.Property © 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.

Wen Shuyue looked at her receding back. Chang Ning’s short fine hair was flying as she walked. Her raffish air made Wen Shuyue stiffen momentarily.

“Maybe I’ll really have to bid farewell to the fashion industry this time,” she murmured to herself inwardly, but she wasn’t sad. If she was defeated by an opponent like Chang Ning, she would feel honored.