After Bankruptcy, the Billionaire Asked Me to Marry Him!
Chapter 393: Youthful Arrogance is Real

Chapter 393: Chapter 393: Youthful Arrogance is Real

The screen froze.

Ye Li’s name appeared on the big screen.

Right there, the last one.

Staring blankly at the screen, Jiang Chengcheng couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

She glanced at Ye Li, who looked calm, and couldn’t help but curl her lips.

Dumb luck!

Though they say luck is also a part of one’s strength, Ye Li’s luck is a bit too good, isn’t it?

In school, Professor Zhao has always favored her.

She dumped Zhou Hecchen and then, next moment, climbed up to a big shot in the business circle.

Even Ye Li’s Studio, with only two people, got the qualification to come to Paris to compete, and now they’ve squeaked into the preliminaries.

Looking at herself...

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Jiang Chengcheng lowered her head and started photoshopping beautiful pictures to post on social media, ignoring whatever the host on stage was saying.

They say comparing oneself to others only leads to frustration. She couldn’t match Ye Li, but she was still way ahead of others!

Just as she was engrossed in editing, Xiao Qiao on her left gave her a hard nudge with her elbow.

Startled, she looked up angrily, only to meet Dai Qingzhou’s cold gaze full of disappointment.

Realizing what she had done, Jiang Chengcheng sheepishly put away her phone, sat up straight, and adopted a serious attitude, as if attending a lecture.

Glancing at Ye Li, who remained calm and collected throughout on her left.

Then at Jiang Chengcheng, who slumped the moment she wasn’t watched, on her right.

Dai Qingzhou let out a long sigh in his heart.

People really are different!

Was she picking up a hot potato here?

Upon hearing Dane’s name, Dai Qingzhou reined in her wandering thoughts and refocused on the stage.

Amidst thunderous applause, the ten judges invited from around the world made a grand entrance.

Miranda, a top jewelry master from the USA Jewelry Association.

Julia, a master jeweler for the French royal court.

Su Xi, head of Milan Jewelry Exhibition and chief designer at Forever.

...

The applause was deafening, with cheers echoing throughout the venue.

These master designers, any one of them, are gurus revered by designers everywhere.

Among them, several have their own independent brands.

Having their works noticed by any of them would be a tremendous honor.

"The preliminaries officially begin..."

With an imposing voice, the host began to explain the rules.

On the big screen, 316 entries shuffled and rolled. The judges called stop, and ten randomly selected entries appeared on the big screen, and the designers of those works went on stage.

The non-professionals watched for fun, the professionals for the skill.

Today, almost everyone present was a professional, so they skipped the basic steps of explaining the inspiration behind designs.

The judges asked questions, and the designers answered.

Once everyone answered, the designers began their self-assessment phase.

"If you can make even better adjustments based on the existing design of others, and the opponent acknowledges it, then you win. Conversely, if the opponent proves your adjustment is not viable and refutes it with sound reasoning, then the opponent wins. ... Moreover, if you defeat two designers in the same group, you advance directly to the semi-finals."

Isn’t this what they call... "Spot the Flaw"?

After a brief pause, the place erupted.

Who dares to claim their design is the best?

Learning is endless.

The same goes for design.

Even the masters on the judges’ panel wouldn’t dare say their work is the best, let alone us.

Designers eliminated from the preliminaries cheered, feeling that participating in this competition was worthwhile.

Not only did they experience the fiercest competition, but they also learned from the clash of ideas among designers, and with the judges’ assessments, they might even spark more creative ideas.

The 316 designers who had made it to the preliminaries were raring to go, with anxiety tagging closely behind.

"Rising stars, are you ready?"

With the host’s enthusiastic voice, the whole crowd responded with a resounding "Yes."

The preliminaries officially began.

Beep.

Beep!

Beep!!!

The second hand ticked, and 316 works shrank into a display on the big screen, like a colorful mosaic photo wall.

Brilliant spots of light flickered, dazzling the eyes.

As the final tick from the countdown sounded, the image froze.

One by one, designers recognized their work and stood up to head towards the stage.

"Mr. Dai..."

Lydia from Dane Studio didn’t expect her bad luck being picked in the first round. She hurriedly stood up and headed to the aisle.

Dai Qingzhou gave her a pat on the shoulder, "Good luck!"

Ten designers stood on one side of the stage, intensely focused on the other nine works on the big screen, each wanting to find the opponent’s biggest flaw and win as quickly as possible.

But to know this, those who stood here were already outstanding in the industry and not so easily defeated.

People spoke up one after another.

Some refuted.

Some sighed heavily on stage.

And some descended the stage with dejected expressions.

When only five people remained on stage, the host announced the time was up, ending the first round.

Exhaling lightly, Dai Qingzhou turned back to see Ye Li engrossed in tapping on her phone.

With a quick glance, it looked like a chat window with someone?

Pausing, a smile touched Dai Qingzhou’s eyes.

Truly young people.

It’s true that young bulls are not afraid of tigers.

Youthful arrogance is also true.

Is this confidence in herself?

Or has she already given up?

Second group.

Third group.

...

Groups of designers went on stage for their showdown one after another.

Dai Qingzhou looked at Ye Li, who occasionally lowered her head to chat, and taking advantage of a moment when she looked up, gently comforted, "Ye Li, you should be relaxed like this! Anyway, you’re still young, with plenty of opportunities for practice in the future. This time, just take it as familiarizing yourself with the competition environment."

???

Ye Li was taken aback, belatedly realizing that she was being consoled, and Ye Li laughed, "Well, thank you, Mr. Dai!"

A new round of ticking began, followed by an alert "Oh my God," Ye Li turned back just in time to see Xiao Qiao stomping nervously.

On the big screen, her name boldly appeared.

Dai Qingzhou had high hopes for Xiao Qiao, but the young girl was immediately treated as prey by the other nine mature and steady designers.

With ten works displayed on the big screen, the countdown had just begun when a designer raised a hand, indicating they could make some adjustments to the work by the designer from Hua Country, Jo.

Jo was Xiao Qiao.

A ring with sapphire as the main element, with facets nearly perfect.

In the design drawing, under the illumination of lights, the gently rotating photo emitted a charming romantic deep glow.

The designer who raised his hand suggested changing the cutting angle so that the intersecting light would create another pattern identical to the diamond’s silhouette.

Double the romance.

Instinctively turning to look at where Dai Qingzhou was seated below the stage.

Xiao Qiao’s expression subtly shifted.