Chapter 469 I Can Explain to Everyone
Luna just stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights.
She stared at Richard, who was all respectful in front of Adeline, but her face was like a storm cloud.
"Ms. Jones," Richard said, looking all cool and indifferent. "I get you were trying to keep things steady in the jewelry design world by telling everyone to boycott my teacher. But you jumped the gun, accused her of plagiarism without knowing the full story, and called for a boycott. You owe her an apology."
Luna bit her lip hard and shot daggers at Richard. "But I only said that 'cause you brought up plagiarism first, right? You should be the one saying sorry, not me!"
She snorted, standing tall on the stage, looking down at Richard and Adeline like they were dirt. "I get it. You did this on purpose! One of you falsely accused her of plagiarism, making me, someone with integrity, call for a boycott of Adeline. The other one put misleading stuff in the design draft and kept your real identity hidden! You planned this whole thing! After I got everyone riled up, you revealed who you really are to make me look bad and force me to apologize!"
Luna crossed her arms, her face icy. "I’m not apologizing! Why should I? I’m the real victim here!"
Her words caused a stir in the crowd.
After a bit, Adeline, who had been ignoring her, finally smiled. She walked up to the stage, stood opposite Luna, took the mic from the host, and spoke coolly, "You say Richard and I set you up. Got any proof? According to you, I put misleading stuff in the design draft to frame you?"
Adeline laughed. "But Ms. Jones, my design draft was finalized three days before the competition started. Back then, I had no clue you’d accuse me of bullying or that I’d be replaced as the person in charge."
Adeline’s words made Luna’s face go pale.
Timothy, standing nearby, suddenly got it too. "Yeah!" He slapped his forehead. "When Ms. Jones replaced Adeline as the person in charge, our drafts were already done!"
Their chat made Richard frown. He’d been traveling for lectures and had just gotten to Radiance Springs. He only knew he was here to judge the competition and didn’t know the other details.
Hearing Timothy’s words, Richard finally got the picture. He turned to Jerry, the competition organizer. "Two days before the competition, Ms. Jones suddenly replaced Moon?"
Jerry looked scared. "Yes."
Master Moon was famous abroad but had never shown her true identity. Even though he’d been in the jewelry design world for years, he never knew the legendary genius designer Moon was actually Adeline! Thinking about how he’d demanded Jasper replace Adeline, Jerry started sweating bullets.
Richard asked, "What exactly happened?"
Hearing that Adeline was replaced two days before the competition, Richard’s face got even darker. "What did Moon do to deserve being replaced two days before the competition? Swapping out a key team member last minute is a killer move. Didn’t Mr. Stewart know that?"
Jerry bit his lip. "Well, two days before the competition, some news blew up online. It said Adeline was accused of bullying a newbie, not letting them work on core designs. And starting from half a month ago, she supposedly started targeting company newcomers, showing poor character, so we had to replace her."
Richard laughed. "Poor character? You’re saying Moon has poor character?"
Richard strode onto the stage. "I wanna ask, all of you here are big shots in the jewelry design world. Have any of you ever heard of Moon bullying newbies? When I started with Moon, I was a clueless college grad. Moon taught me everything, step by step, turning book smarts into real skills. Moon’s rep in the jewelry design world is rock solid. How did she suddenly become a bully with poor character in your eyes?"
Richard’s words left everyone speechless.
People might doubt Adeline’s character, but no one could question Master Moon’s. She became an icon in just a few years, not just because of her talent but also her integrity!
Seeing the crowd go quiet, Luna bit her lip hard. How could this be? Wasn't Adeline’s poor character already known to everyone when those videos dropped a few days ago? How could public opinion flip just because Richard showed up?
Luna bit her lip and signaled to Sienna behind her.
Sienna bit her lip and stepped forward. "So, just 'cause Adeline had a good rep as Moon, does that mean she’s still got good character now? Have you all forgotten what she did to Ms. Jones? Those videos online? She started bullying Ms. Jones half a month ago, not letting her join team designs, scalding her with hot coffee, and pushing her around. Are those all fake? Don’t get brainwashed by Richard’s sweet talk. Trust your own eyes!"
After Sienna finished, Luna quickly bit her lip, looking all sad as she grabbed Sienna’s arm. "Sienna, stop saying so much."
Tears welled up in Luna’s eyes. "No one will believe you now, even if you say these things. Ms. Wilson is indeed a good person. She didn’t bully me; everyone is right."
Luna sniffled, her voice choked as she took the mic. "Ms. Wilson, I’m sorry. You never bullied me or targeted me. I faked the videos and evidence. You’ve always been a good person. I’m the one with poor character. I shouldn’t have tried to uphold justice in the jewelry design world by thinking you plagiarized and calling for a boycott. I’m sorry!"
Her words made the venue fall silent instantly.
After a long pause, someone in the audience spoke in a low voice.
"But I saw those videos. Adeline really did bully people."
"Just because she’s Moon, does that mean we can’t question her character?"
As soon as someone spoke, more people began to agree.
Finally, someone in the audience spoke up, "Since Mr. Evans says Adeline’s character is fine, Mr. Evans, would you care to explain the incidents involving Adeline mistreating Ms. Jones? What exactly is going on?"
"This question doesn’t need Richard to explain." As soon as the person finished speaking, a cold voice came from the entrance of the venue. Mia smiled lightly. "I can explain to everyone."
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