Chapter 428 Claiming the Crown
Eric took to X to comment on the issue, stating, "Wine has never let me down."
Initially, Susan's comment about Eric being disappointed in Flora did not attract much attention. However, with Eric's statement, everyone ridiculed Susan.
The judges of the competition issued public apologies for their biased attitudes toward Flora, except for Fernando. Many people called for Fernando to apologize to Flora, questioning whether his unwavering support for Susan stemmed from some dubious relationship with her.
Rumors suggested that the other judges' trust in Susan was influenced by Fernando's initial decision to give Flora zero points. This sparked intense criticism of Fernando online, with comments such as:
[Wow, Fernando is such a big shot, but he still couldn’t recognize plagiarism!]
[Eric is as good as you, and yet, we don’t see him showing off like Fernando!]
[There's a reasonable doubt that Fernando is settling personal scores. He probably can’t stand that Flora is Eric's mentee.]
[Fernando, leave and stop causing trouble in the fashion industry!]
[Let's be honest. If it had not been for Flora and Natalie's ingenuity this time, their careers and dreams would have been ruined right here.]
Fernando chose to remain silent, hoping the scrutiny would soon pass. However, Eric, known for being protective, repeatedly brought up the incident to ridicule Fernando. This attention led many, including fashion insiders and high-society figures who were previously unaware of the competition, to learn about Fernando's unjust accusations against his junior without evidence and his misjudgment of Flora.
As a result, the reputation of Fernando's brand and his studio suffered greatly.
Fernando eventually decided to announce his retirement.
Following an analysis by several professionals, considering the styles and past work of Flora and Susan, the organizing committee of The Designer concluded that the zero points given to Flora were invalid. She was declared the rightful winner with a final score of 9.8!
The competitors who finished second and third remained silent.
As for Susan, the official statement did not mention Susan, nor did it explicitly accuse her of plagiarism. However, the outcome, with Flora replacing Susan as the champion, indicated Susan was the actual plagiarist.
Criticism toward Fernando for defending Susan began to mount.
Several individuals, claiming to be Susan's classmates, commented anonymously.
[Just as Natalie said, Susan truly doesn't know Assisi embroidery.]
The competition stipulated that contestants must complete everything from the design sketches to the final product independently. If Susan lacked understanding of Assisi embroidery, questions arose about how she managed to complete that segment of her garment.
The integrity of the competition, which was supposed to be fair and conducted in isolation, was called into question. It appeared some contestants managed to communicate with judges via email and complete Assisi embroidery with external assistance.
Furthermore, the influence of netizens unveiled more discrepancies. It was noticed that in the new system implemented for the finals, twenty-five percent of scores allocated from online voting significantly favored Susan, attributed to the pre-competition ‘hype’ she generated.
Susan capitalized on her birthday to boost her online popularity, attracting fans with her socialite status, the lavishness of her birthday celebration, and an art exhibition hosted at the event.
This surge in publicity provided her with a considerable advantage during the online voting phase.
Excluding the online votes, Susan would have placed third. The deductions were primarily due to the construction of her final product. The sponsor, who suggested the new competition format, was closely connected to the Hastings family. Bluntly put, the new competition format seemed designed to ensure Susan's victory, making it appear that even without plagiarism, her win was facilitated by manipulation.
Netizens began to comment.
[Some people are blindly supporting Susan. They probably don’t even know her work or her competitors. They just blindly chant, "Susan is the best!" How absurd!]
[She thinks because she’s slightly famous as a member of the Hastings family and has trended online a few times, she can manipulate the Internet to her advantage! Are those clueless netizens so gullible?]
Then, a famous socialite from Paykston suddenly spoke up, saying: [I have to say, Natalie had a much grander birthday than Susan, but did you see Natalie flaunting it?]
With that, a few socialites and residents of Paykston commented in a flurry.
[Do you remember the fireworks display a while back? It was above Rosewood Estate. Oliver obviously did that for a woman, and we all know who that woman is!]
[I attended Susan's birthday party. Natalie's dress was a custom-made silk masterpiece, handmade by a craftsman who claimed to have retired. It was so priceless that it could have been auctioned off. It seemed to be a birthday present for Natalie.]
[On the day of the fireworks display, Oliver personally made a birthday cake! A chairman, who bills by the minute, learned baking for half a month in advance and then spent half a day making it - can you believe it?! This couple is too sweet!]
The entire elite circle was astonished.
As it turned out, the fireworks display was indeed for Natalie! Also, Oliver baked a cake!
This was far from typical behavior for a wealthy couple!
Suddenly, everyone envied Natalie and Oliver.
In contrast, Susan's showy birthday party now seemed rather vulgar. Not only vulgar but also reeked of her trying to show off her wealth. Moreover, she was also scheming and creating hype for herself!
In comparison, Natalie behaved just like a real elite. She was lowkey, and her husband also privately showed his affection for her.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
