When Ye Li and her group arrived at the art museum early in the morning, they were all surprised.
There are even more people than yesterday.
The first few rows were empty, filled with contestants who had made it to the semi-finals.
In the back row were the eliminated contestants and industry colleagues who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
The huge art gallery was packed to capacity.
As the hosts and judges took the stage, the corridor steps were filled with people.
"After yesterday's fierce competition, congratulations to the 100 designers who made it to the semi-finals. Today, you will face even fiercer competition."
The large screen flashed, and 100 numbers shone like diamonds.
The host looked at the designers in the audience and said, "You can use the scoring devices under your seats to choose the designer number you want to challenge, or you can choose a color you like and it will be randomly matched."
"Now...begin!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the numbers disappeared one after another.
The number on the big screen decreased until the last number disappeared, meaning that all ten groups had been selected.
The stage and the audience fell silent instantly.
"Now, I'd like to interview Ms. Wan Mingyi, who ranked first in the preliminary round..."
The host looked at Wan Mingyi and asked, "Ms. Wan, would you mind revealing which studio and designer you chose?"
"I've left the choice to fate!"
Wan Mingyi smiled and showed the tablet in her hand, "I chose my lucky color!"
On the screen, there is a deep, dark ocean.
The host then interviewed several more people, some of whom chose their favorite designer, and others chose their idols in the industry.
Several of them chose Xie Chenlu.
"So, finally, I'd like to ask Xie Chenlu, who did you choose?"
The host asked.
Xie Chenlu stood up and showed his tablet.
No. 109.
"109? Who is 109?"
"Being challenged by the great designer Xie, he must be either a dark horse or a master, right?"
"Who is it? Show yourself!"
The audience erupted in commotion.
The contestants who were eliminated looked around, searching for the 109th contestant.
After a long while, a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses stood up in the second row.
"Isn't that the designer from Daien Studio? Xie Chenlu used to work at Daien too..."
"It seems like there's some grudge they're settling down over this competition."
"One is ranked 5th, and the other is ranked 10th. I wonder if Designer Xie has regressed or Designer Dane has improved. This is going to be interesting!"
There was a lot of discussion around.
The host smiled and looked at designer number 109, "Wei Chengran from Dai En Studio, the great designer Wei, how about it, are you surprised or not?"
Responding with a polite smile, Wei Chengran sat back down without saying a word.
The gaze fixed on Xie Chenlu's retreating figure was filled with indescribable complex emotions.
Whispers were going around, speculating about what grudge he had against Xie Chenlu.
Several seats away, the boss, Dai Qingzhou, glanced at him several times with a suspicious expression.
It was as if there was something fishy going on between him and Xie Chenlu.
Everyone assumed that Xie Chenlu chose him because of personal grudges.
But only Wei Chengran knew in his heart that Xie Chenlu was giving him a chance.
We interviewed together and entered the Dane Studio together back then, but we only had a few minutes of conversation at the front desk.
After joining the company, Xie Chenlu quickly rose through the ranks to become the chief designer of Diane, thanks to his talent that always amazed everyone.
He only reached the position of intermediate designer after Xie Chenlu left the company.
At the internal product selection meeting of Daien before the fire, Xie Chenlu slammed his fist on the table as soon as "Jiangnan Spring" and "Three Variations on Plum Blossom" appeared on the projector.
Dai Qingzhou said that Xie Chenlu provided the ideas at the time, but did not say that he would definitely implement them into the design plan. Other colleagues used them first, so it cannot be considered plagiarism.
At best, it's just something to learn from.
Xie Chenlu was naturally dissatisfied, so Dai Qingzhou initiated a vote.
The majority of people voted to learn from it.
Only he and a few others thought it was plagiarism.
Then, a fire destroyed Diane's jewelry exhibition, and Xie Chenlu left Diane and disappeared without a trace.
Of the designers who were initially accused of plagiarism, he either changed jobs or careers within five years, leaving only him at Diane.
Wei Chengran remembered it clearly.
The day Xie Chenlu left, he was dejected and lonely, and all the light in his eyes had disappeared.
"Chengran, thank you..."
Patting him on the shoulder, Xie Chenlu said in a low voice, "For that vote alone, I, Xie Chenlu, thank you! In the future..."
He gave a bitter smile, as if he felt there was no future for him, and Xie Chenlu's voice lowered, "If there is a future, then I will definitely repay this kindness!"
I used to take it as just a polite remark.
But the moment Xie Chenlu said he chose 109, Wei Chengran knew it was now.
With his abilities, 10th place in the preliminary round is probably the best result he can achieve.
However, because of Xie Chenlu, everyone present knew that there was a designer named Wei Chengran in Dai En Studio, who was being challenged by Xie Chenlu.
There is absolutely no chance of winning.
Of the 90 people who were eliminated in the semi-finals, he will be the only one that everyone remembers.
This is how Xie Chenlu repays his debt of gratitude.
Sure enough, the host on stage was giving a long and detailed introduction to the group assignments.
In the back row, designers were already handing out their business cards, their intention to make connections obvious.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
