“Then have you ever heard of Mr. Shang from North River City?” As they chatted, Gao Rui involuntarily talked about Shang Jinshen. She only knew more about him when she especially inquired about it.
When Gao Rui suddenly mentioned Shang Jinshen, Ji Yan was stunned for a moment. Gao Rui smiled and waved her hand. “Forget it. You certainly won’t know. That man is so mysterious.” Her tone indicated a deep intimacy between them, so Ji Yan didn’t say anything.
But in her heart, Ji Yan could not help guessing about the relationship between Gao Rui and Shang Jinshen. She then quickly mocked herself. Even if Shang Jinshen had a relationship with other women, it had nothing to do with her.
In high spirits, Gao Rui even wanted to invite Ji Yan to dinner but was rejected. Although Gao Rui intentionally wanted to get close to Ji Yan, Ji Yan felt that Gao Rui was not easy to get along with.
Speaking of Gao Rui, she would not be interested in Ji Yan at usual times. She was just shocked by Shang Jinshen and the other designers. At that moment, she felt superior in front of Ji Yan, so she slightly lowered her pride to befriend Ji Yan.
However, she did not expect that Ji Yan was rude enough to reject her invitation. Gao Rui suddenly looked a little cold.
Ji Yan was not stupid and the pleasure of being appreciated gradually faded. Sure enough, only someone like Li Wenjing was worth befriending.
In the evening, when Ji Yan talked about this matter with Li Wenjing in boredom, Li Wenjing even widened her eyes and said, “No wonder Gao Rui asked Shao Kai out to dinner tonight.”
Ji Yan smiled and said nothing. Gao Rui must have been looking to gain back her pride from Shao Kai.
Ji Yan was right. Gao Rui was satisfied with Shao Kai’s gentleness. It was a pity that Shao Kai broke the warm atmosphere with just one sentence after dinner.
“The dishes in this restaurant are good. I’ll pack some and bring them back for Ji Yan and Li Wenjing to taste.”
Gao Rui’s face was a little ugly. She thought that Shao Kai would be like those men in the past and spend the night with her. However, Shao Kai spoke another woman’s name instead.
In an instant, Gao Rui vented her anger on the most innocent, Ji Yan. She found Ji Yan more and more unpleasant to the eye.
Thus she caused Ji Yan’s work to have a fatal accident during the exhibition. Looking at the broken pieces of her work on the ground, Ji Yan’s body went stiff.
Li Wenjing immediately flew into a rage. “Hey, what’s the matter with you? You know that it’s valuable, so why weren’t you being careful?”
“I… I am sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean it. I am really sorry.” The staff responsible for transporting Ji Yan’s design apologized repeatedly.
Li Wenjing was out of breath and glanced worriedly at Ji Yan.
Pieces of their design were scattered all over the ground. Not to mention participating in the competition, not even a scrap collector would pick it up.
The judges looked at each other in dismay while Gao Rui stood in the corner and sneered. She dared to do so because she was confident that no one would speak up for a young and unknown designer.
Ji Yan took a deep breath and was in no mood to blame the staff. She squatted down to pick up the pieces. Seeing this, Li Wenjing also followed suit.
Ji Yan walked to the judges with fragments in her arms. Calmly, she asked politely, “Can you arrange for me to be the last participant?”
The last? There was not much time left and there was no way to remedy the situation. The judges looked at her with a conflicted expression.
Ji Yan bit her lip. “I will try my best. Please give me some more time.”
It was not following the rules of the competition. Although many designers did not care, they were unwilling to change the rules for others. They watched Ji Yan as if they were watching a play.
The judges discussed this in a low voice when finally, the chief judge said to Ji Yan, “I’m afraid this is not in line with our rules. Of course, if the last designer is willing to swap with you, it can be arranged.”
Immediately, the designers burst into an uproar. When talking about the last designer, everyone’s reaction was different. The last one to show up was always the big shot.
That famous designer had not yet appeared. Ji Yan was a little disappointed. She knew that they would definitely not want to swap with her. Did she have to give up just like that?
At this time, a low-profiled man dressed in black and wearing a hat came to the front. His drooping eyes hidden by his hat glanced at the broken pieces in Ji Yan’s arms.
He ignored everyone and stood in front of Ji Yan. Ji Yan couldn’t see his face clearly and she looked at the strange man with some confusion.
“There are still ten hours left. Will you be able to do it?” Unexpectedly, the man spoke. His voice sounded hoarse, but it was pleasant and soft.
Ji Yan’s heart skipped a beat as she realized that the man in front of her was the last contestant. She nodded firmly with a trace of nervousness.
The man pocketed his hands, turned around, and walked out casually, leaving a light sentence, “I will swap with her.”
The crowd fell silent, and then an excited voice burst out, “It’s Rio. The last designer turned out to be Rio!”
For a moment, everyone was talking about Rio. After all, Rio was a legendary level designer.
He went from a nobody to becoming a hit in Floraland and then internationally through his efforts. He was an inspirational legend in the designing world.
“I didn’t expect Rio to take part in GN’s competition. I can’t believe it.”
“I don’t think Rio still needs to compete. They probably invited him to liven things up.”
“Rio?” Ji Yan lowered her head and whispered. In any case, she thanked this famous designer who stood at the top of the pyramid.
No longer overthinking, Ji Yan nodded to show her respect to the panel of judges and then hurried back to the apartment with Li Wenjing and the broken pieces.
They didn’t notice Shao Kai walking to Gao Rui with a dark face. He whispered in her ear, “Did you do it?”
Gao Rui was frightened and pushed Shao Kai away. She didn’t dare to shout and glared at Shao Kai, “Are you sick? What does it have to do with me?”
Gao Rui probably felt guilty, so she walked past Shao Kai in her high heels and walked out of the hall.
Shao Kai had an ambiguous look on his face. He saw Gao Rui giving money to the staff. He didn’t care about it at that time, but things matched up now. Unfortunately, there was no evidence unless the staff admitted it.
Luckily, Ji Yan still had a chance. Otherwise, Shao Kai might have had to expose the matter, not to mention that he had some feelings for Ji Yan.
Ji Yan’s work represented their company. If Shao Kai didn’t give them results this time, he couldn’t go higher when he returned to the company. Therefore, he placed much importance on the competition.
It seemed necessary for him to keep an eye on Gao Rui these days. He had to prevent her from playing tricks in the dark.
“Ji Yan, what should we do now?” Looking at the pieces on the bed, Li Wenjing felt a headache.
Ji Yan was also a little powerless. Just now, she only wanted a chance, but as she was looking at those broken pieces now, she didn’t know how to start.
The two of them sat facing each other, sighing. Ji Yan fixed her gaze at the pieces. An hour later, her eyes lit up, and she cried out excitedly, “I have a solution!”
When Li Wenjing heard it, she immediately braced herself. Listening to Ji Yan speak out her thoughts, her eyes shone brighter.
“This inspiration is good! It’s the beauty of being broken. Although the cracks can’t be repaired, it has another kind of uniqueness.”
After that, Ji Yan and Li Wenjing began to work. No matter how optimistic their thoughts were, there would be many difficulties in practice. The girls were busy for nearly eight hours before successfully creating a beautiful work of art. They wiped the sweat from their foreheads and Ji Yan’s heart finally calmed down.
Li Wenjing constantly praised the piece in front of her. She couldn’t believe that she and Ji Yan had made it. “Wow, it’s beautiful. It’s even more shocking than before. Looking at it, it had more spirituality and charm.”
Ji Yan nodded as well. She was satisfied with this piece.
Li Wenjing looked at the time and jumped up from the bed. Ji Yan carefully adjusted the piece and looked at Li Wenjing with trepidation.
Li Wenjing stuck out her tongue, feeling a little embarrassed, and said, “Let’s hurry to the exhibition hall. We still have an hour.”
“Alright.”