Chapter 292: Scandal


    Chapter 292: Scandal


    The next day, five hours before the program was taped.


    The director was so relieved that he stood up and thanked Leopoldo''s assistant.


    The assistant pursed his lips and continued to give instructions:


    -There is one more thing... for the contest format, I suggest changing it to live to make it fairer and


    more open.


    This decision caused the director to freeze and nod in response.


    -Yes, yes, Mr. Castro, you can be sure that I will take care of this.


    The change in thepetition format will make the designpetition more open and transparent.


    Any script, any theatricality, will be broken.


    But at the same time it makes it more difficult for all designers, because time is shorter and more


    urgent.


    Such a proposal would do nothing but good for the contest, so the director had no reason to reject it


    and did not dare to say no.


    -Besides, I don''t want anyone else to know about today''s events," the assistant continued in a low


    voice.


    As this assistant had been with Leopold for a long time, he also carried a powerful aura, which


    pressured all present not to dare say anything, and only nod repeatedly, before watching the man in


    front of him leave.


    Seeing his back disappear, the director finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Realizing that her back was already drenched in cold sweat, she no longer dared to underestimate


    Mariana and immediately changed her mind.


    -What are you waiting for? Send the notices, do what you have to do! -the director said in an


    exasperated voice.


    Some of those in the room were still unhappy and took the opportunity to express their displeasure with


    Mariana.


    -But what about all the bad press?


    -Yes. Besides, how can she stay after such a scandal? How are we going to exin this to the other


    contestants?


    The director scratched his hair with some annoyance and gestured to his assistant to take care of all


    this.


    He was too busy thinking about how he was going to fix the bad impression he had left on his


    superiors, so how was he going to worry about the grievances of these people?


    The assistant sighed and had to deal with the mess in front of him.


    -Do you know who that was a moment ago?


    Seeing someone shaking his head, he had to exin first, and when there were no more objections, he


    argued for a long time beforeing to a solution.


    -Director, what do you think of this? That Mariana be downgraded, to maintain equity and also to


    After learning Leopoldo''s identity, there were no more objections at the meeting. All fearful that if they


    offended those at the top, their lives would be ruined.


    The director sat back in his chair, rubbed his temples with both hands and nodded with his eyes closed,


    not looking as energetic as he did at the beginning of the meeting.


    -That''s it, go report to her to continue thepetition. Besides, this is the end of the matter and no one


    will be able to mention it anymore.


    Mr. Castro didn''t want anyone to know, and naturally, the director had to keep these men in line.


    He gave his forehead another pinch before getting up to leave.


    The assistant let out a long sigh and dialed Mariana''s number while envying that she had someone to


    watch her back.


    At that moment, Mariana, who was absent-mindedly eating breakfast, felt a little uneasy.


    The online news was still fermenting and she had already begun to specte that she would probably


    be eliminated from the program.


    She recalled the various online messages asking the director to remove her from the program.


    Suddenly, a message appeared.


    And Mariana got excited.


    Mariana was so happy to learn that she had been requalified that she got up from her stool and almost


    jumped up and down on the spot.


    He looked at his phone contacts in disbelief and checked again.


    -Really? Can I stillpete?


    There was a distinct sigh from the person on the other side of the table and the tone of voice was not


    entirely friendly but he answered a yes.


    -I hope you take advantage of this opportunity and don''t make any more negative news, or no one will


    be able to protect you.


    After a moment''s hesitation, the assistant director could not help but make a reminder to Mariana.


    -Okay, I will definitely treasure this opportunity.


    After hanging up the phone, Mariana was very euphoric. She was so excited that she didn''t even


    realize what her assistant was implying when she said "no one will be able to protect you," and took it


    as a sign that the program was giving her a chance.


    Half an hour before the recording of the program.


    Mariana, who had already prepared herself, arrived early to wait.


    With her left hand clenched into a fist, Mariana slowly opened the door to the contest venue and, for a


    moment, everyone looked in her direction.


    Not surprisingly, there was a gasp when she arrived on the scene.


    -Why is she still here? I can''t believe she hasn''t been disqualified.


    -Yes, after such a scandal, he still has the courage to continue in thepetition. If it were me, I''d find


    a hole to hide in.


    Within moments, the uninformed crowd was in an uproar, demanding an exnation.


    The presenter shouted into the microphone several times before the crowd remained silent and, after


    announcing the new live match format, began to answer questions about Mariana.


    -I''m sure you are all aware of the issue regarding a contestant "earning extra money", and after an


    intense discussion about the negative impact this has had, the program team has decided that it should


    not be condoned. However, considering that this is a first offense and that the contestant herself has a


    lot of potential, the program team has decided to give her another chance by relegating her to the


    alternate round and allowing her to stay if she can win this contest.


    There was still a lot of disapproval, but even if they didn''t agree, they couldn''t change the team''s


    decision, so they all looked at Mariana with contempt.


    Mariana herself took it in stride and ignored the stares.


    As for the presenter''s "first offense," he even found it a bit amusing.


    It was a false usation, and now it seemed that he was being given a chance, while the truth was


    buried in darkness, never to be seen again.


    -But the world isn''t fair, is it? If you want what you want, you have to prove you have what it takes.


    Quietly, she encouraged herself and became more determined to win this opportunity.


    Shaking his head, he pushed aside the distractions in his mind and focused on the new theme of his


    mentor''spetition: designing around the environment.


    The design theme of this edition was environmental protection.


    But the presenter''s next announcement gave the crowd the idea that they were watching a good show.


    -After many decisions, the contest has been changed to a live format. And Mariana will be relegated to


    the reserve section to fight with the new alternates!


    The news had the others crossing their fingers.


    As Mariana''s best friend, Ana was instantly upset.


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    -Mari, this thing is...


    Mariana shook her head to indicate that she was fine with that.