The Steward’s house.
When Stella was about to go upstairs, Phoebe stopped her.
Stella looked back, “What’s the matter?”
“Ms. Radomil, I just want to remind you - Clarence casts covetous eyes on our Steward family. Since you believe you are one of our family, you’d better keep your distance from him.”
Upon hearing it, Stella was amused, “Ms. Steward, have you changed your approach?”
Phoebe said in a cold tone, “Listen or not, it’s up to you. If Dad knows it, he wouldn’t be happy.”
“Ms. Steward, I guess you might have misunderstood something,” Stella stood on the steps and said calmly, “I moved into the Steward’s because I want to get what I’m supposed to have. As for whom I’m with, it’s my own decision. I don’t need to listen to nobody else.”
“Ms. Radomil, before you moved in, I’ve told you. Since you are now staying in the Steward’s, you must obey our rules. It seems that you thought I was kidding with you.”
Stella retorted, “Who have made the rules? Ms. Steward, was it you? Or do you think what kind of identity made me move in the Steward’s?”
Phoebe looked annoyed, wondering if Stella implied that she didn’t have the right to make the rules in the Steward family.
Stella continued, “Since we don’t like each other, we don’t need to speak to each other when it’s unnecessary, and neither shall we fake caring or greeting. It will avoid us from a lot of trouble. Ms. Steward, what do you think?”
Phoebe sneered, “I hope you can be so self-confident in the contest as well.”
“Certainly.”
After finishing her words, Stella walked upstairs without looking back.
Watching her leave, Phoebe sneered. When she withdrew her gaze, she saw Charles standing not far away.
She asked, “Dad, have you overheard it?”
Charles hummed, “Come over.”
After arriving at the study, Charles closed the door and sat at the desk, “Phoebe, I know you hate her a lot, but you must tolerate it. When the right time comes, she will leave here naturally.”
Phoebe didn’t understand, “Is it because Mr. Thomas is her backer?”
“That’s not the most important.” Charles squinted, “The time hasn’t come yet. You’ll understand it in the future.”
Seeing that she was silent, Charles continued, “Don’t involve in the matter of the designer contest. I have my own plans.”
“I got it.”
Phoebe wasn’t that stupid. She knew that a lot of people were watching her now. How could she do something by herself?
Besides, so many people hated Stella. Even if she didn’t do anything, others wouldn’t wait.
...
In a blink, a week passed.
Stella finished the end product and sent over the jewelry according to the time and venue decided by the sponsor.
When she arrived at the door, she saw a group of designers bitching about something.
Stella answered indifferently, “I guessed.”
Modesty laughed, “You guessed? Who do you think we are? Since it’s not a responsible guess, why did you tell us?”
Seeing that Modest was questioning her, someone echoed, “Exactly. It’s such an important context. How can you make a guess? Besides, I don’t think the sponsor is so careless. How could they place a cabinet without a lock here? Shall we randomly choose a cell to put in? Besides, there’s no staff around. What if they are taken away?”
Modesty added, “I agree. However, since the sponsor has changed a lot of rules for this contest. We’re not certain what was exactly in their minds. How about this? Tell me honestly. Has Mr. Conrad told you about the sponsor’s requirements? If so, we’ll understand. Ms. Radomil, in that case, we’ll do whatever you say.”
Upon hearing it, others all kept silent. They looked at Stella in disdain and disgust.
Stella kept calm. She said, “Persecution complex is a kind of disease. You should cure it as early as possible. Wish you get better soon.”
As she spoke, she put the jewelry box of her work in a cell at random. Then she turned around to look at Modesty, “I hope you can have the basic legal knowledge. It’s a matter of spreading rumors and divulging trade secrets. If Conrad Group holds you accountable, you can get yourself a pair of silver bracelets for free.”
In an instant, Modesty looked extremely annoyed.
After Stella was gone, the group of designers exchanged glances with each other. Seeing that it had been almost twenty minutes later than the deadline decided by the sponsor, they believed that the staff shouldn’t be late.
No matter if Stella had obtained the contest rules from Mr. Conrad, at least she had a relationship with him. She couldn’t be kicked out during the preliminary contest. Hence, the designers believed that it wouldn’t be wrong if they followed her.
Then, they put their works into the cells of the cabinet and left.
They didn’t need to worry that things would happen to their works, because the design and end-product drafts were needed to be sent to the sponsor’s email inbox.
After all of them were gone, a few employees of the sponsor walked over. They put the work of each designer into a box and put it in a car, delivering it to the judges.
Hence, all the sequences of the works were messed up. Except for the sponsor, nobody knew which one belonged to which designer, and nor would the judge see the name of the designer. They could only mark based on the end-product itself so to avoid favoritism.
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