Chen Meili's entry was the first to be presented.
She changed the color and added embellishments to the design, and received unanimous praise from the judges as soon as she appeared, earning a score of eight.
Xiao Tingshen was also very happy, and a smile appeared on his tense face.
He asked the judges, and they said that this competition was out of ten points, and eight points was definitely a good score.
Of the dozen or so entries that were presented on stage, none scored more than eight points, with the highest score being seven and a half.
The entries that have finished participating will be displayed in the hall on the other side, waiting for the judging panel to examine the fabric and other details before conducting a second scoring.
If Chen Meili gets another eight points, she will definitely be in the top three.
The competition lasted for more than an hour. Apart from the entries from two fashion colleges that were somewhat outstanding and received scores of 8 and 8.5 respectively, the other entries received a lukewarm response.
Just as everyone was questioning whether the judges' scoring was harsh, the Dongfanghong series of works from the state-owned clothing factory appeared on the stage, and the first two works also received a good score of eight points.
Xu Qingning's Dongfanghong No. 1 was the last to perform. Zhao Jingyu then sat up straight and stared intently at the stage. Despite having rehearsed many times, seeing her on the dazzling stage was still quite a shock.
Xu Qingning's Four Seasons Story is both a set and a combination. Each piece of clothing is connected by a zipper, and each time you take off a piece of clothing, the remaining pieces still form a perfect set.
Before the models had even finished walking the runway, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Even a layman could see that, putting everything else aside, the creativity was absolutely top-notch.
Zhao Jingyu was overjoyed and stood up to lead the applause. His wife was amazing. If Xu Qingning were here, he would want to kiss her right now.
The others also stood up and applauded.
The judges discussed the matter amongst themselves and ultimately awarded the highest score of 9.5.
The match was still going on, but Zhao Jingyu couldn't stay still any longer, so he got up and went outside.
There were still more than a dozen entries, and they would definitely not surpass his wife's.
Xiao Tingshen assumed he had gone to the restroom and didn't pay any attention. He continued watching the models walk the runway. He believed in finishing what he started and finishing what he began. He wouldn't be like Zhao Jingyu, who started things but never finished them and lacked patience.
As soon as Zhao Jingyu stepped out of the lobby, he saw two police officers from the local police station standing outside. At the suggestion of the security guard, one of the officers approached him and asked, "Excuse me, are you Comrade Zhao Jingyu?"
“Yes, that’s right.” Zhao Jingyu understood. “Officer, did they confess?”
"Comrade Zhao, could you please take us to the crime scene?" another police officer said politely.
“Okay.” Zhao Jingyu immediately led them to the guesthouse and described in detail what had happened last night. Pointing to the dagger on the ground, he said, “This dagger belongs to them. I didn’t touch it.”
"Thank you for your cooperation." A police officer picked up the dagger and put it into the evidence bag. "Please come with us to the police station to make a statement."
“No problem,” Zhao Jingyu readily agreed.
After the competition, Liu Caixia excitedly went to the front desk to find Zhao Jingyu, but after searching for a long time, she couldn't find him. She thought to herself that the kid had slipped away again.
He didn't even say goodbye before leaving; he's so unreliable.
The afternoon was for the fabric detail evaluation. She didn't go back to the guesthouse, but ate at the gymnasium cafeteria and continued to follow up. She gave Xu Qingning a thumbs up in her heart. As long as she got eight points in the fabric assessment in the afternoon, first place was a sure thing.
In fact, in everyone's hearts, Xu Qingning's 'Four Seasons Story' is undoubtedly number one.
A fashion designer who can come up with such a great idea must have no problem using fabrics.
Liu Caixia asked the judging panel, and the current rankings are: Xu Qingning is first, Ludong Fashion Institute is second, and the Second Fashion Institute of the province and Chen Meili are tied for third.
The winners of the Excellence Award and the Participation Award will be announced after the top three winners are determined.
Chen Meili was very excited.
The third place prize is two hundred yuan, which is also a huge sum of money.
More importantly, if she can make a name for herself through this fashion competition, it will be easier for her to find a job in the future.
This is, after all, a provincial-level clothing competition, so it's quite prestigious.
Anyway, she's not going to look for work outside the province.
After careful review, the judging panel called Liu Caixia and Chen Meili into the office. After a close comparison, they found that apart from the different colors and fabrics, their designs were almost identical.
It is a serious case of plagiarism.
It's understandable for people to wear the same clothes, but if four of them are the same, then it involves the issue of plagiarism.
"I was the first one to go on stage, and I didn't plagiarize." Chen Meili was still basking in the joy of winning the two hundred yuan prize.
"What does it mean that you were the first to go on stage?" Liu Caixia looked at Chen Meili as if she were an idiot. "Do you think we were able to copy all your designs in just two hours? Or do you think the judging panel failed to properly supervise the competition rules?"
Chen Meili's face burned, but she still stubbornly insisted, "Anyway, this is my own design, I didn't plagiarize it."
"You're all from Jiaodong City, right?" the head of the judging panel asked. The head of the panel was a young woman, about thirty years old. Liu Caixia knew that she was Lu Ying, the older sister of Lu Qiang, a driver at the state-owned clothing factory.
On the day they arrived, Lu Qiang wanted to introduce them to his older sister, Liu Caixia, but Liu Caixia refused.
Lu Ying didn't recognize Liu Caixia and acted entirely in a businesslike manner.
“Yes.” Liu Caixia nodded in agreement and continued, “Moreover, during the process of making the sample garments, Chen Meili’s friend had some contact with our sample garments. Therefore, the patterns of these sample garments were archived in our garment factory in advance. If you don’t believe me, you can go to our factory to get the patterns.”
Su Zhe, the deputy head of the judging panel, is Xiao Tingshen's classmate.
Su Zhe had met Chen Meili and had seen her sample garments beforehand. He felt that Chen Meili was not that kind of person. He said to Liu Caixia expressionlessly, "We can't just say that Chen Meili plagiarized you based on your word alone. At least you need to provide evidence."
“Xu Qingning is a senior designer in our clothing factory. Would we plagiarize the idea of an amateur?” Liu Caixia sneered. “Why should I prove that we didn’t plagiarize? If anyone should prove it, it’s Chen Meili. It would be unbelievable if a librarian were more capable than our fashion designers.”
"Stop arguing, this is a serious matter, we will definitely investigate it thoroughly." Lu Ying was the first to give Four Seasons Story a high score, and now that it's involved in the plagiarism incident, she's very upset. "Why didn't Xu Qingning come in person?"
“She’s about to give birth, and the journey is long; she can’t afford the hassle,” Liu Caixia replied truthfully. Remembering what happened last night, she immediately told the judging panel, “By the way, there was a burglary at the guesthouse where we stayed last night, where two thieves were caught on the spot. Why don’t we go to the police station together to find out what happened?”
"What does this have to do with the similarity between our two entries?" Chen Meili refused to go, saying confidently, "Anyway, I didn't plagiarize, so you can investigate all you want."
"What? Are you scared?" Liu Caixia sneered and said to Lu Ying, "Team leader, I now suspect that Chen Meili hired someone to steal our sample garments so that she could participate in the competition without any worries."
"You're spouting nonsense!" Chen Meili said angrily, as if someone had stepped on her tail. "I don't know anyone here. Where am I supposed to find someone to steal your sample garments?"
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