Chapter 53 The Four Gentlemen of the Seasons
Anna smiled at the host and nodded. “I’m fine.” Then, she bowed and greeted everybody in all directions before finally turning her gaze to Olivia, shouting in a pitiful voice, “Olivia, please let me finish taking part in this competition. If there’s a problem, we can go home and talk, okay?”
Olivia glared at her with a cold expression. “Now, you want to go back and talk? When you stole my designs, why didn’t you say anything to me then?”
After that, the entire venue fell into an uproar.
Before they could even understand what was going on, or whether there would be any unfairness in a situation where one sister was taking part in the competition while the other was a member of the judges, the elder sister revealed that the younger sister had plagiarized her work!
What?! These stories are turning out to be more shocking than the next!
Meanwhile, the sponsors whispered among themselves, “This is interesting! A participant stole the designs of one of the judges?”
“That’s impossible! Who would dare to be so fearless?”
“Well, it can’t be that the judge is lying, right?”
“Don’t you think the injuries on that designer seem strange? In my opinion, there’s probably something else going on behind the scenes.”
Their voices were not soft, and Eugene could hear them very clearly. Thus, he looked back at them and said faintly, “The participant plagiarized those designs!”
Those people glanced at each other. Eugene Nolan is speaking to us!
Normally, there was no chance for them to even make contact with him. Now that they had a ready-made topic in front of them, somebody trying to weasel a relationship with him immediately leaned over and asked, “President Nolan, do you know something?”
“I saw these designs a long time ago,” he replied.
Curtis raised his brows secretly. It looks like the president favors Miss Maxwell quite a lot. I can’t believe he couldn’t even bear listening to a few comments from the people surrounding him. Since when has he ever been this chatty before?
The audience was buzzing, and the situation on the stage was also at a stalemate.
“Olivia—” Anna’s tears flowed freely without saying another word; she looked extremely pitiful. “Please don’t try to stop me anymore. For the sake of this grand competition, I’ve been working my butt off since September. All these years, I’ve always done whatever you asked me to. I’m begging you; please listen to me this time!”
Olivia pointed at the models and sneered, “Are you sure these are the designs you labored over since September?”
Anna nodded. “Of course. The staff at my studio can testify for me. Also, the judges of this grand competition are my witnesses too. They chose my designs out of thousands of others!”
The audience began whispering among themselves again. “Why wouldn’t Olivia allow Anna to enter the competition?”
“Maybe she’s afraid of her sister threatening her position.”
“Who is this Olivia Maxwell anyway? I’ve never heard of her.”
“I’ve never heard of her either. She probably came here because she couldn’t survive on her own anymore.”
“I remember back when the grand competition was promoting itself; didn’t they say they successfully invited the world-renowned fashion designer, Angel?”
“Who knows? It was probably a marketing gimmick!”
At the same time, Olivia stared at Anna. Then, a wicked smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she slowly took a seat. “Fine. Then, please explain to me the concept behind your designs; tell me what inspired you as well as the original motivation behind your collection!”
Anna saw Olivia sitting down, and her heart relaxed slightly. She had done a lot of preparation for these questions—so much so that she could recite them fluently from memory. Pointing to the outfit the model was wearing, she explained, “The plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo, and the chrysanthemum are referred to as the ‘Four Gentlemen of the Seasons’ in traditional art.
They have long been symbols of the feelings and ambitions of this country’s people, representing their fascination for the highest level of mankind’s character and nature. The plum blossom is graceful and proud, blooming in winter; the orchid is elegant, ethereal, and noble; the bamboo is modest, humble, and tenacious; the chrysanthemum is cold, chaste, simple, and elegant.
They carry the same theme—uprightness, purity, humility, and perseverance against harsh conditions. They are loved by all. Therefore, I wanted to convey my personal respect for them through my designs.”
Olivia nodded, laughing. “You did your homework. That design concept must have taken a lot of Googling on your part, huh?”
