"Do they know they'll lose if they stick to the same theme as us?" Zhou Yuan chuckled. "Then they really can't show any expression."

Qi Qiulin choked for a moment, but reacted quickly with a playful expression:

"Design is all about being unique, and having the same theme makes it even more interesting. I just can't resist watching the competition, and Mr. Zhou's confidence makes me even more excited!"

Zhou Yuan felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of her affectedly coquettish manner.

She's over 40 years old, and it's fine if she looks like a little girl, but she also has to pretend to be young and innocent. What kind of aloof and pure white lotus persona is she trying to create in this corrupt world?

For some reason, Zhou Yuan subconsciously felt that this woman's act was extremely awkward, as if she was deliberately imitating. From the beginning, Zhou Yuan had never had a good impression of Qi Qiulin.

“Okay, then Ranran and I are determined to win this gold medal.” Zhou Yuan stood up, striking a pose of getting into work, and pulled Mu Yiran towards the fitting room.

"Let's go, baby, let's get started!"

The host followed with the cameraman, while Qi Qiulin remained where she was. Her eyes, which had been smiling just a moment ago, instantly turned indifferent. She stared at the backs of the two women for a few seconds, then turned around and saw the cold-faced man.

Many models and staff members around him wanted to come up and ask if they could take a photo with him, but they didn't dare to move because of his appearance.

"What's wrong, Lack? You seem to be in a bad mood?"

Qi Qiulin's mind raced. "Is it because of Aorsa?"

She brushed her hair aside, took a step forward, and tentatively asked:

"Lack seems to be paying a lot of attention to Saorsa? But that's not surprising, considering how outstanding Saorsa is, and how well she's regarded abroad—"

The man took a large step back, looking down at her condescendingly, his voice not loud but very clear:

"I don't care, I don't know, don't come near me, I'm in a bad mood because you smell bad."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Qi Qiulin: "………………………"

Those secretly watching the commotion around them gasped in surprise. Noticing Qi Qiulin's gaze, they all turned away to do their own thing—they were all incredibly busy!

Hidden among the models, Ji Yunli quietly stared at the man's departing figure, her eyes filled with unconcealed disappointment.

Lack didn't even glance at her...

Ji Yunli absentmindedly gave the model a special hair accessory, which caused the model to groan softly when it pinched her scalp.

"Sorry, sorry! I'll go get a comb and loosen it for you!"

Ji Yunli ran to her bag and rummaged through it. She paused, took out a jewelry box, bit her lip and hesitated for a while. Then she stuffed the box into her pocket and squeezed through the crowd to chase after them.

On the other end.

In Helian Xin and Wen Qingyu's tent, Su Su and her hired team were busy tidying up each model according to their appearance order, keeping them extremely busy.

Behind her, Wen Qingyu sat in front of the vanity mirror, constantly adjusting her makeup until her phone rang. She then excitedly answered the call.

"Hey! Brother Tingyi, have you found out anything? Does this guy named Lack have any other background? Is he really from Liguo?"

Lu Tingyi: "Qingyu, I couldn't find any information about this person. The information I could find was all publicly available on the official website."

"What... How come even you can't find it?" Wen Qingyu said, her disappointment barely concealed.

"The time was too short, I'll send someone again—"

"It'll be too late if I go now! The fashion show is about to start! If I don't learn more about him before it begins, how will I…"

"What? Are you worried about this? I've already made arrangements. I'll guarantee you at least 60% of the votes from the audience. Besides, Aunt Qi even revised your design, right? There won't be any problems. Even if it's the worst, you'll only come in second place."

"And what about first place?" Wen Qingyu interrupted him with a sneer, "You think Mu Yiran is first place, right? As long as I don't come in last, that's fine, right!"

Lu Tingyi said helplessly, "Qingyu, you're at it again. Why do you always argue with Ranran? Ranking isn't important to you on this show. Gaining popularity is the most important thing, isn't it?"

"Oh! So all I need to do is be famous, while Mu Yiran has to gain both fame and fortune, right? Why should she?!"

“You don’t need to do this. Ranran’s fame and fortune are all earned by herself. She doesn’t owe you anything; on the contrary, we owe her! Last time, if I hadn’t trusted Yu Li’s words so easily, and if you hadn’t said you wanted to use Li Zhenrong to do Ranran a favor and ease tensions, I wouldn’t have—”

"So now you're blaming me?! Did I force you to do this?! What! You feel guilty for not saving your dear sister that day, so you're taking it out on me?! I meant well but messed things up! I deserve it! I shouldn't have pulled you away first that day! We should have stayed there, preferably died there with Mu Yiran to satisfy your self-righteous sentimentality!"

"Lu Tingyi, stop pretending to be a good brother and acting all sentimental! If you really cared about Mu Yiran, you would have stopped when you sensed something was wrong! You're blaming everything on me! Are you even a man? Can't you take some responsibility?!"

"Qingyu, you!"

Wen Qingyu said sarcastically, "Let me tell you, the reason Mu Yiran has suffered all this is because of you! To her, you are even more disgusting than Yu Li!"

"Enough!"

The call ended.

Lu Tingyi, standing opposite him, was filled with anger. He never expected Wen Qingyu to speak to him like that. After calming down, he wanted to fight back and have a proper conversation, but then he heard someone calling him from behind.

Lu Tingyi turned around and saw the man, and was very surprised.

"Li... Vice Mayor Li Bingcheng?"

Li Bingchen remained unfazed and didn't correct his form of address. He simply raised his chin towards the ward behind the two men and asked, "Are you here to see a patient here too?"

Lu Tingyi was taken aback. "Yes, Uncle Cong was Ranran's parents' driver before, and he was very good to me..."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Looking at the people following Li Bingcheng, they didn't seem like they were there to visit him in the hospital. He remembered that Li Bingcheng had been getting close to Mu Yiran recently, and a bad feeling crept over him.

"Are you looking for Uncle Cong because of Ranran, or... about Ranran's parents?"

“........”

——

Meanwhile, someone snatched his phone and hung up.

Wen Qingyu looked up and saw Helian Xin's angry expression, and scoffed, "Give me back my phone!"

"Are you out of your mind?! Damn it!" Helian Xin looked left and right, afraid that someone was recording them. "It's being broadcast live outside! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

Wen Qingyu hung up on Lu Tingyi and Jiang Wen one after another, stood up, and put on a peach-pink first love makeup. Her enlarged round eyes had the opposite of her mischievousness. Her gaze swept over the silent models and Su Su around her.

"Dare to film, dare to watch, dare to speak. If I get cyberbullied, I'll kill you all."

"But since you're following me, as long as you do your job honestly, you'll get your share of the benefits in the future."

She walked over and patted Su Su, who was directing the scene, "Junior, you know best, don't you? I'm the kind of person who loves everything about others and is very protective of my own people, and I hate betrayal the most."

"......."

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent. Su Su let out a breath almost imperceptibly. "Yes, I will make sure everyone does a good job on this show."

Wen Qingyu slightly raised her chin and stole a glance at Helian Xin, who was frowning. "Don't panic so much. This gold medal is definitely mine."

Helian Xin was almost driven mad by this living devil. "What makes you so confident? With those unfinished rags of yours?"

"Heh, what are you pretending for? Ragged clothes. What are you wearing now?" Wen Qingyu stood up, and the two faced each other. Wen Qingyu looked at Helian Xin's casually put-on clothes.

"You really think I didn't know you secretly asked Qi Qiulin to prepare a set for you?"

Helian Xin's expression remained unchanged. "Secretly? Letting her have a backup plan will only benefit you the most. If you had any strength, would I need to go through all this trouble?"

Wen Qingyu knew that Helian Xin looked down on her, but what right did someone who couldn't even draw a design have to say that her work was bad?

"What do you think Qi Qiulin has?! She's even more capable than me—"

Helian Xin frowned. "What else?"

Wen Qingyu coughed lightly, "It's nothing, she just improved upon what I made," then, remembering something, she smiled sheepishly.

"Besides, didn't those judges just say they have high hopes for our group?"

The person who spoke was still Lack, who had the most authority on the matter.

Helian Xin's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

Wen Qingyu didn't notice. She thought about the expectation the man had expressed. Even though two-thirds of the outfit wasn't her work, it was the first time Wen Qingyu had experienced the secret joy of being affirmed. That long-lost feeling of her heart racing and shyness was something she actually felt this time with this cold and unsmiling man.

This kind of professional support and shared mindset is something Lu Tingyi could never give her.

Even though the man only said one sentence to her from beginning to end.

But that doesn't stop Wen Qingyu from fantasizing that if she could win the gold medal in the end, then... wouldn't she be able to get in touch with that Lack?

Wen Qingyu was eager to know more about Lack. She had just turned on her phone when she accidentally answered a call, and Jiang Wen's voice immediately followed:

"Wen Qingyu! You think you're all grown up now! You haven't answered my calls! I told you to come back and see your dad, why won't you come back! Do you even know what he—"

"What do you mean, 'look at him'! You just want to trick me into going back to perform surgery on him!" Wen Qingyu was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment.

After two consecutive barrages of threatening phone calls, the workshop staff have learned to pretend not to hear.

Helian Xin found it noisy and left someone to watch over her before walking to the fire escape backstage.

She pulled a cigarette case from her pocket. She never smoked on set. To maintain her persona, she only dared to let her true self out in the dark when no one was around. But today, she couldn't resist.

She took out her lighter, but her hand trembled as she reached for the cigarette. The wisp of smoke rolled away, and she instinctively reached for it. The thing that was so easily within her grasp slipped through the gap, rolled down the steps, and disappeared completely from her sight.

"......."

Helian Xin's pupils widened, and after a few seconds, she finally couldn't help but scream as she violently threw the lighter away!

"ah!"

Helian Xin took deep breaths repeatedly, pacing irritably, her carefully styled hair falling into disarray.

It was a low-lying area at that time.

So Lack really was caught in a difficult situation!

Shi Youxi has regained her memories!

Why is he Lack?! Why is he here?!

Is he with Mu Yiran now? Yes!

So what? They're having a great time together! Are they here to get revenge on her?!

"What can I do... what can I do!" Helian Xin was on the verge of losing her mind. There was no way she could leave here now. No matter what the reason for quitting the performance was, it would not allow her to get away completely unscathed.

But what should she do? She had no idea how Shi Youxi and Mu Yiran were going to deal with her. Right now, she was like a frightened bird; if she didn't move, she would either die or be crippled; if she made a wrong move, she would die a horrible death.

But what can we do?! What can we do?!

Why does it always happen like this... Why is she always so unlucky?!

She can't escape... and she doesn't want to escape anymore!

The woman's eyes slowly reddened. She closed her eyes, and as if making a firm decision, she picked up her phone and made a call. She couldn't back down; she had to take the initiative!

"Hello!"

"Where are you?"

...

After being busy for a while, Mu Yiran finally had a chance to go to the restroom. The backstage area was crowded and stuffy, so she deliberately went to a restroom further away. When she returned, she saw a voice message Candice had sent her not long ago. She brought it close to her ear and opened it:

"Ran, I have five more hours to get to China. I hope I can make it to your show. I'll be cheering you on from the place closest to God!"

"I've done all the research you asked me to do. Can we meet when I arrive?"

Found it...

Mu Yiran unconsciously stopped in her tracks. Just as she was about to reply, footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

The staff brought over two men: Yang Zhenghua, one of the referees, and Lack.

“…”

Mu Yiran turned off her phone expressionlessly and walked back from the bathroom door. When the two bumped into each other, she nodded and smiled, "Hello, teachers," and stepped aside to pass.

"Gentlemen on the right, Ms. Yang, Mr. Lack, I'm waiting for you here... Oh?"

The assistant could only see Yang Zhenghua's hurried back, but Lack, who was originally behind him, had disappeared.

Hmm... Could it be that Lack was even more anxious than Teacher Yang, who had diarrhea, and rushed into the toilet first?

Just as the assistant was about to turn around to look, the walkie-talkie crackled with sound, the sonic boom filling his ears and drowning out the sound of the door lock closing in the unnoticed corner.

“…”

In the escape stairwell, Mu Yiran was pressed against the heavy fire door, her back was ice-cold, but her chest was burning hot.

The hair sprayed with hairspray was a bit prickly. Mu Yiran smoothed it down and touched the man's soft hair ends. She had noticed it last time she touched it; it was a bit long, long enough to grow into a wolf tail. She inserted her five fingers into the hair but before she could stroke it, she suddenly grabbed it tightly.

"Hiss, don't bite!"

"Why?"

Shi Youxi made a soft gurgling sound against her chest, raised her eyebrows, and gave her a seductive look.