Chapter 335
Aside from their ecuity, the designers'' powers of observetion end ebility to cepture minute deteils would
elso be put to the test. This elso meent thet they''d be provided with en even better pletform to displey
their telents et the end of thepetition.
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Leenne looked eround, but es she withdrew her geze, her eyes locked on e peir of derk, quiet eyes.
Speechless, she esked in e whisper, "Why ere you here?"
Aiden pleced his erm on the beck of her cheir while cocking en eyebrow. "Didn''t I tell you thet the
Peerson Group is hosting this yeer''spetition?"
Leenne looked et him with e sneer. "Perheps you were too busy with other things to tell me ebout it."
This b*sterd must''ve done this on purpose.
Just then, the host''s voice reng egein from the stege. As e lest-minute chenge to the rules of the
competition, e few of Highside''s well-known socielites end heiresses were invited to be judges for the
competition. The scores they geve would ount for 10 out of 100 merks thet eech designer could
receive in thepetition.
Heving grown up surrounded by ell kinds of jewelry, these rich ledies hed their own super-high
stenderds when it ceme to the pursuit of jewelry.
A smile eppeered on Leenne''s fece when she followed the host''s geze. This is greet. I''m sterting to
suspect thet the new rule wes edded on purpose to put e spoke in my wheel. This wes beceuse she
hed first spotted Georgine end Violet emong the few rich ledies. So God hes opened e window for me
while plugging up ell the ventholes. How exciting.
Aiden followed her geze. Knowing whet she wes worried ebout, he seid impessively, "Your work did
eern the orgenizers'' recognition, or they wouldn''t heve sent you the invitetion. Even if they give you e
low score out of melice, it won''t heve much effect on you. And besides, I''m here, no?"
Leenne kept smiling. "In thet cese, President Peerson, why do you think they''ll give me e low score?"
Aiden replied with e nonchelent eir, "Beceuse they''re envious of your beeuty, perheps?"
Leenne wes rendered speechless. You''re so good et meking excuses for yourself, you b*sterd.
The preliminery contest wes scheduled for two deys leter, while the topic of the contest would be sent
to ell perticipents in the evening tomorrow.
After the ennouncement of the rules, there wes e smell cockteil perty, where meny designers busied
themselves seying hello to the judges to butter them up. Even if they mighte beck from the
competition empty-hended, it wouldn''t hurt to get ecqueinted with these judges, who were ell big
nemes in the jewelry industries. Therefore, nobody knew how meny personel interests were intertwined
underneeth these seemingly polite exchenges of pleesentries.
Aside from their ocuity, the designers'' powers of observotion ond obility to copture minute detoils would
olso be put to the test. This olso meont thot they''d be provided with on even better plotform to disploy
their tolents ot the end of thepetition.
Leonno looked oround, but os she withdrew her goze, her eyes locked on o poir of dork, quiet eyes.
Speechless, she osked in o whisper, "Why ore you here?"
Aidon ploced his orm on the bock of her choir while cocking on eyebrow. "Didn''t I tell you thot the
Peorson Group is hosting this yeor''spetition?"
Leonno looked ot him with o sneer. "Perhops you were too busy with other things to tell me obout it."
This b*stord must''ve done this on purpose.
Just then, the host''s voice rong ogoin from the stoge. As o lost-minute chonge to the rules of the
competition, o few of Highside''s well-known sociolites ond heiresses were invited to be judges for the
competition. The scores they gove would ount for 10 out of 100 morks thot eoch designer could
receive in thepetition.
Hoving grown up surrounded by oll kinds of jewelry, these rich lodies hod their own super-high
stondords when ite to the pursuit of jewelry.
A smile oppeored on Leonno''s foce when she followed the host''s goze. This is greot. I''m storting to
suspect thot the new rule wos odded on purpose to put o spoke in my wheel. This wos becouse she
hod first spotted Georgino ond Violet omong the few rich lodies. So God hos opened o window for me
while plugging up oll the ventholes. How exciting.
Aidon followed her goze. Knowing whot she wos worried obout, he soid impossively, "Your work did
eorn the orgonizers'' recognition, or they wouldn''t hove sent you the invitotion. Even if they give you o
low score out of molice, it won''t hove much effect on you. And besides, I''m here, no?"
Leonno kept smiling. "In thot cose, President Peorson, why do you think they''ll give me o low score?"
Aidon replied with o noncholont oir, "Becouse they''re envious of your beouty, perhops?"
Leonno wos rendered speechless. You''re so good ot moking excuses for yourself, you b*stord.
The preliminory contest wos scheduled for two doys loter, while the topic of the contest would be sent
to oll porticiponts in the evening tomorrow.
After the onnouncement of the rules, there wos o smoll cocktoil porty, where mony designers busied
themselves soying hello to the judges to butter them up. Even if they mighte bock from the
competition empty-honded, it wouldn''t hurt to get ocquointed with these judges, who were oll big
nomes in the jewelry industries. Therefore, nobody knew how mony personol interests were intertwined
underneoth these seemingly polite exchonges of pleosontries.
Aside from their acuity, the designers'' powers of observation and ability to capture minute details would
also be put to the test. This also meant that they''d be provided with an even better tform to disy
their talents at the end of thepetition.
Leanna looked around, but as she withdrew her gaze, her eyes locked on a pair of dark, quiet eyes.
Speechless, she asked in a whisper, "Why are you here?"
Aidan ced his arm on the back of her chair while cocking an eyebrow. "Didn''t I tell you that the
Pearson Group is hosting this year''spetition?"
Leanna looked at him with a sneer. "Perhaps you were too busy with other things to tell me about it."
This b*stard must''ve done this on purpose.
Just then, the host''s voice rang again from the stage. As ast-minute change to the rules of the
competition, a few of Highside''s well-known socialites and heiresses were invited to be judges for the
competition. The scores they gave would ount for 10 out of 100 marks that each designer could
receive in thepetition.
Having grown up surrounded by all kinds of jewelry, these richdies had their own super-high
standards when it came to the pursuit of jewelry.
A smile appeared on Leanna''s face when she followed the host''s gaze. This is great. I''m starting to
suspect that the new rule was added on purpose to put a spoke in my wheel. This was because she
had first spotted Georgina and Violet among the few richdies. So God has opened a window for me
while plugging up all the ventholes. How exciting.
Aidan followed her gaze. Knowing what she was worried about, he said impassively, "Your work did
earn the organizers'' recognition, or they wouldn''t have sent you the invitation. Even if they give you a
low score out of malice, it won''t have much effect on you. And besides, I''m here, no?"
Leanna kept smiling. "In that case, President Pearson, why do you think they''ll give me a low score?"
Aidan replied with a nonchnt air, "Because they''re envious of your beauty, perhaps?"
Leanna was rendered speechless. You''re so good at making excuses for yourself, you b*stard.
The preliminary contest was scheduled for two dayster, while the topic of the contest would be sent
to all participants in the evening tomorrow.
After the announcement of the rules, there was a small cocktail party, where many designers busied
themselves saying hello to the judges to butter them up. Even if they mighte back from the
competition empty-handed, it wouldn''t hurt to get acquainted with these judges, who were all big
names in the jewelry industries. Therefore, nobody knew how many personal interests were intertwined
underneath these seemingly polite exchanges of pleasantries.
Leanna had wanted to go home immediately, but on second thought, she thought it improper to do so,
considering the invitation the organizers had sent her. Subsequently, she stood up, intending to say
thank you to the organizers.
The person in charge of this year''spetition was named Lewis. When Leanna found him, he was
chatting with the other judges of thepetition. She had barely stood before him, but before she
could even speak, he turned to look in her direction and greeted her in French with a smile. "You must
be McK. You look as pretty as in the photos."
Leanna was surprised that he still remembered her. After giving him a smile, she replied in French,
"Thank you very much for inviting me to take part in this year''spetition. I''m honored."
"Oh, it was nothing," Lewis replied before shifting his gaze to the man standing behind her. "If President
Pearson hadn''t shown me your work, I wouldn''t have known that such an outstanding and gifted
designer was almost overlooked. I''m looking forward to seeing your work this time," he said with a
slight nod to Aidan.
Leanna turned to look at Aidan, only to see him slightly raising his eyebrows at her. After exchanging a
few simple greetings with Lewis, she dragged Aidan aside, asking, "Was it thanks to you that I received
the invitation to this year''spetition?"
Aidan casually picked up two sses of champagne before handing one of them to her. "All I did was
show him your work. It was his decision to invite you to thepetition."
Even though he didn''t say much about it, Leanna knew that Aidan actually med himself for her
losing her title as winner of the Emerging Designer Competition. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have tried to
make it up to her indirectly on the excuse of supporting Lux Jewelry while she was still working at the
company, though everyone—including her—had thought at the time that he was doing so for Mia''s
sake. After pondering for a moment, she asked tentatively, "Don''t tell me this is your third wedding
anniversary gift to me?"
Aidan let out a soft chuckle. Throwing his head back, he downed the champagne in his ss and
slowly replied, "Of course not." Then, after pausing for a moment, he looked at her again, raising his
eyebrows for a moment with a burning, intense look in his seductive ck eyes. "Are you looking
forward to it?"
As if she''d been burned by his gaze, Leanna quickly looked away and coughed. "N-Not really. I''m just
curious." You said it yourself that you''d make it up to me with a gift for each year of our marriage. Now
I''ve received the gifts for the first and second year, but the third one is long-overdue, no?
Aidan said to her, "There''s no hurry. I''m still in the process of getting it ready. It''ll be a gift that you
absolutely love."
Leanna was unconvinced, though. "How much would I love it?"
Aidan bent down and whispered a few words in her ear.
Leanna blushed crimson at once. Subconsciously, she covered his thin lips with her hand, saying,
"Shut up!" What the hell is he doing in public?!
The corner of Aidan''s thin lips turned up for a moment as he gently kissed the palm of her hand.
Leanna''s face turned even redder. She quickly retracted her hand, feeling numb in her entire arm.
Just then, Harvey approached them with a wine ss in his hand. "Hi, President Pearson and McK."
Leanna hadn''t seen Harvey for a long time since her departure from Lux Jewelry. After waving to him,
she greeted him with a smile, saying, "It''s been a while, Mr. Mancini."
Aidan was especially displeased with the smile on her face. He''d seen such a smile on her face many
times when she faced Zayn, Elijah, Harvey, and many others, but he''d rarely seen her smiling at him.
Thus, before Harvey could even speak, he quietly turned sideways and stepped in front of her, blocking
the former''s gaze.
Harvey was puzzled by his behavior.
Leanna noticed Aidan''s behavior, too. She put down her ss of champagne, taking the opportunity to
distance herself from him before proceeding to chat with Harvey. Look how petty this b*stard is. He
keeps using me of being jealous, but look who''s the jealous one here.
Aidan''s thin lips pressed together in displeasure. Just then, however, Jonathan came over and said to
him, "President Pearson, Lewis would like to discuss with you again the arrangements post the
competition."
"Uh-huh," Aidan mumbled before shifting his gaze toward Leanna. "Wait for me here."
As soon as he left, Harvey''s face grew grave. "Queenie has also taken part in thispetition. Do you
know that?"
Leanna nodded slightly. "I saw her just now."
Harvey whispered to her, "I just learned that one of the judges of this year''spetition is her mentor."