Winter Fashion Competition  Part 4

"Uhm-" Kafi was fidgeting.

"Ms. Yue" she finally called.

"Yes?" Yue removed her attention from sketching and smiled brilliantly at the shy young lady.

"Are you sure you don't want to change your mind about me?" Kafi finally managed not to stammer and burst aloud her doubts.

"Hmm, wrong, the question is, do you trust me, Yue, to lead you on the stage?" for some reason Yue wanted to help this young lady so she was patient in interacting with her.

"Of course! But- it's me, I might let you lose this competition" Kafi slouched her shoulders worriedly.

Suddenly, she felt a little pain on her forehead which Yue flicked lightly.

"Stop! Don't ever think about it. Look at me" Yue didn't want Kafi to wallow in darkness. She knew how much pain it can cause and she didn't want it to turn for the worst.

Kafi automatically faced Yue and was mesmerized by her pair of determined and sincere eyes.

"Kafi, I chose you to come up with me not because of anything else but because I believe you're wonderful. Have confidence in yourself. If you do, you won't drag anyone down in this life, especially not yourself" Yue reached for Kafi's head and patted it gently then went back to working with the fabric.

"Ahh how can you drag me down, such a cute child" Yue was whispering to herself but Kafi was still able to hear those words and blushed furiously. Fortunately, her Ms. Yue wasn't able to see it.

Yue also seem to forget that she's only a few years older than Kafi acting all mature.

But her words inconspicuously broke through Kafi's barrier and will set the young lady's future path.

The first round is only given half an hour to finish the draft and judging.

There's not much for the judges to comment on this round but simply write and grade everything down.

This kind of competition is not a lively one but since most of the audience which are the company employees take it as an actual demonstration and learn along as the event progresses.

The second round followed immediately.

This round of the competition will realize their designs. All materials used in making the dress will be provided by the company.

Fabrics, threads, tools, accessories, and other related materials are presented one by one in the platform.

There are also old dress collections that can be recycled at will.

When other employees saw the collections, they weep in their hearts silently.

The rules were further elaborated.

Every material in the room can be used freely, but once discovered that the participants had used other items than those, or pre-fabricated materials then they can be disqualified.

Yue raised her brows when she heard the rule, but immediately shift her eyes on the myriads of materials presented before them and sorted all the things she needed to grab.

Individual rooms are also assigned to each participants so they can work independently.

All materials should be gathered before entering the room and once you set foot inside, participants are not allowed to leave the room unless they already finished the dress.

Snacks, drinks, and rest room is available inside.

They are given 2 hours to complete and fit their designs.

The judges and employees are given a break during this time and will come again for the presentation in the catwalk.

The host signaled the start of round 2 and every participant began to gather their materials.

When Yue was about to pick a fabric, a hand suddenly grabbed it away from her.

Yue saw Lia was standing beside her smirking then turned away.

Childish, Yue can't help but thought.

But the incident happened over and over again, this time, it was the other participants who did it.

Except for Kemara and Adrien, almost everyone tried to interfere.

However, what they did is not exactly against the rules so Yue didn't try to make a noise.

Besides, this level is not enough to hinder her resolve to win.

Kafi saw the blatant injustice in front of her but seeing Moon didn't do anything about it so she also kept her temper.

Zilian who usually disdain trickery didn't comment on anything at this moment either.

The judges stared silently at the proceedings.

In the end, it was the talent that they needed to judge, such personal issues are out of their business.

Yue decided to stop vying for the materials and just stood on one side and wait for all the participants to finish before she make her move.

Seeing that Yue is already disadvantaged, Lia and others leisurely picked their materials making sure to sweep all the favorable ones.

One by one the designers had entered their own room and a quarter of an hour had already passed before Yue moved to gather her share.

But she wasn't idle all through this time.

She kept tabs on all the materials she might use so when her chance came she didn't dawdle and decisively collected all the items she needed and entered her workspace.

Other participants had not seen what Yue had picked but those who were with her found themselves wondering why she had to make an extra effort to bring that thing.

Before she left, she made a detour on the corner and took something.

"Hey, isn't that against the rules?" one of the judges can't help but comment.

"Yes, we should we remind her?"

"That's going to be unfair for other contestants. Rules are rules, she should be disqualified"

"But isn't that a bit overboard for just that thing"

"How did she find that thing anyway"

"The focus of your attention is way off"

The judges looked at the organizers for confirmation.

"The lady didn't break any rules" Zilian who had been silent all this time had finally opened his mouth.

"Mr. Zilian is right" the organizer seconded.

Yue didn't know that her act almost made her disqualified in the competition; but right now, her focus lies on completing the dress she designed for Kafi.

Yue especially choose a pair of sharp scissors for this part.

She mercilessly salvaged the season collections of Alcane which lots of people are vying for.

Just kidding, she would give them a new life.

Time passed by so fast and the second round is almost up.

Yue submitted her work to one of the staff and left the room.

The judges will enter the room one by one to evaluate the way the dress was created.

Although they were supposed to gauge the needlework and other techniques used in putting up the dress, but seeing the complete work will let them determine the possible winner of the competition.

This round of judging may seem to finish the competition and lose taste for the last part of it but the value of the design can only be determined if it served its purpose.

So everyone held the expectations in their hearts.

For the last round of the competition, the venue was actually moved.

It was staged to be like the actual runway so a rehearsal is required.

This event shall be witnessed by not just the employees but also the clients and VIP costumers of Alcane.

When Kafi learned about the set-up, she was immediately consumed by fear.

She, who had been hiding all her life is now going to show herself to lots of people. And they're not just anyone, but important people.

"Everyone we don't have much time, let's get started!" the coordinator shouted to get the attention of the designers and their partners.

Yue was worried.

Sure enough, when she turned to Kafi, her face was pale and her hands are slightly shaking.

Yue placed her hand on Kafi's head.

She's not really good at comforting people but this way she can try to reassure her that she would be beside her in every step of the way.

"It's alright. Just do whatever you want"

"No, I-I can do it. I need to do this" Kafi misunderstood and thought that Yue is giving her a way out, but her response is still satisfactory. If she can't even take this one step, she will never be able to move forward in this life.

"Good. I'll be cheering on you" Yue patted her shoulder and gave Kafi a little push toward the stage.

Kafi didn't notice but her back began to straighten as she walks.

"Ohh, someone's dreaming that they can evolve into a swan but I tell you, an ugly duckling will remain ugly because it's really a duck" of course things just wouldn't go smoothly because of the villain.

Kafi froze when she heard that but when she heard the next words, she relaxed and proceed to practice.

"And you, you're not even a duck, you're just ugly. Inside and out" Yue can tolerate Lia throwing things at her because she has the ability to bear it, but destroying a different person is another matter.

If the woman had a grudge on her, she can understand her tricks, but inconsideration to others is already a matter of attitude.

"You're the one who's u-" Lia automatically retaliated but was utterly stopped by Yue's show of momentum.

"Who's what?" Yue like the moon, standing majestically, shinning luminously in the middle of the night, looking down at people. She, Yue Crest, made Lia feel that her existence can be meaningless in front of her.

Lia was suddenly lost for word, what, say that Yue is ugly. As much as she wanted to deny that fact she can't. Just Yue's temperament can utterly crush her.

She's jealous, jealous and helpless.

But that cause her to be more inclined to see Yue collapse in despair.