Love After Leaving: No Regret (Agnes and Raymond) novel Chapter 40

Love After Leaving: No Regret

Chapter 40 Who’s the Champion?

[Is the woman next to him in the black dress his wife? Ahhh! No! He’s married so young!]

+5 Pearls

[I’ve seen that woman before! She’s Hillary Young! She’s the founder of Y&N. I once watched her livestream promoting her brand. She said she’d bring her boyfriend to this year’s WOW Fashion Design Competition. Wow, so her boyfriend is the famous Raymond!]

[Amazing! The girlfriend enters the competition, and the heir of Grandridge’s richest family shows up to support her!]

[Wow! I’ll ship them!]

[With such a rich and powerful boyfriend backing her, what’s ever left to compete for? This year’s champion is definitely Ms. Young. I’m calling it now. If she doesn’t win, I’ll do a handstand and eat poop!]

[Are you insane? This is a live competition. How could it possibly be rigged?]

Standing not far away, Agnes also saw Raymond. He wore a custom–tailored black suit, broad–shouldered and narrow–waisted, tall and elegant.

His expression was as cold and aloof as ever, every gesture exuding refined nobility.

Beside him, Hillary wore a black body–hugging slit gown, her curled hair and red lips radiating seductive

charm.

She linked her arm intimately with Raymond as they entered the venue.

The judges and organizers immediately approached them with eager smiles, greeting them warmly.

Agnes curled her lips disdainfully. So that was what Raymond had been busy with those past few days. He was keeping Hillary company.

Rebecca followed Agnes’s gaze and saw the striking couple.

“Agnes, do you know them?”

“I don’t.”

The annual Grandridge WOW Fashion Design Competition officially began with the host’s enthusiastic opening remarks.

The host introduced the shortlisted designs one by one and invited each designer to present their work on

stage.

After several intense rounds of judging, three designs advanced to the final round.

One was from Y&N–Hillary’s asymmetrical lace petal dress, Nocturne White Rose.

One was from Tidewhisper Lily–Aurora’s embroidered classical–style dress, Brocade Bloom.

And the last was from Rose Hill, Chloe’s mesh cutout pleated dress, Ethereal Clouddream.

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Chapter 40 Who’s the Champion?

+5 Pearls

When it came time for voting, the livestream exploded with activity as viewers cast votes for their favorite designs.

After a while, the host walked onto the stage holding an envelope, standing there with visible excitement as she displayed it to the audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen, now we arrive at the most thrilling moment of tonight!

“Let’s guess–who will become the champion of this year’s WOW Fashion Design Competition?”

[Stop dragging it out–hurry up already!]

[She’s talking so slow! Throw her off the stage! I’ll host instead!]

[I think this year’s winner should be Ms. Aurora’s Brocade Bloom. That texture, those white floral embroideries… Wow, it looks stunning even through the screen. It looks real. I can’t imagine how amazing it must look in person.]

[Agreed! The other two designs are nice, but compared to Brocade Bloom, they feel a bit ordinary.]

[Exactly! Brocade Bloom feels both soft and feminine yet strong and masculine at the same time. It’s soft overcoming strength, strength restraining softness. That’s the unique essence of classic aesthetics. Absolutely incredible!]

Reading the comments on her phone, Hillary felt a twinge of jealousy.

She hadn’t taken anyone seriously this time, nor did she think Aurora’s Brocade Bloom was anything special.

But it seemed the online audience favored Brocade Bloom more.

Still, Hillary wasn’t worried at all. She was extremely confident–because she already knew in advance who this year’s champion would be.

She turned off her phone, smiled faintly, and smoothed her dress. Soon, she would step onto the stage once again in dazzling glory.

The host opened the envelope onstage and read the contents, announcing excitedly.

ľ

“Ladies and gentlemen, dear viewers watching online, please allow me to announce the voting results for this year’s WOW Fashion Design Competition.

“Ms. Young’s asymmetrical lace petal dress, Nocturne White Rose, received five judges‘ votes and 8,000 online votes.

“Ms. Aurora’s embroidered classical–style dress, Brocade Bloom, received one judge’s vote and 1,900 online votes.

“Ms. Chloe’s mesh cutout pleated dress, Ethereal Clouddream, received zero judges‘ votes and 100 online

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