Chapter 525: Don’t Be So Narcissistic

Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Don’t Be So Narcissistic

[LMAO, how is that possible? Does our Claire really need to explain her skill level to netizens who know nothing about design?]

[Let’s just wait and see. If Claire doesn’t win the championship, I’ll report the competition for being rigged!]

[...Why are Claire Yeats’ fans acting so strangely?]

[Although I also think her fans are a bit extreme, let’s not question Claire Yeats’ professional abilities, okay?]

[The champion this time is definitely going to be Claire Yeats... Haven’t you noticed all the other contestants are just competing for second place?]

The crowd entered the awards hall together. The judges also arrived one after another. Ms. Foster and Mr. Lynch walked in together and took their designated seats. Mr. Lynch’s gaze met Estelle Lockwood’s from across the room. Estelle raised an eyebrow, and Nathaniel Sloan let out a soft chuckle.

"Mr. Lynch, is something wrong?" Ms. Foster asked in surprise from beside him.

Nathaniel shook his head slightly. "It’s nothing."

Ms. Foster didn’t press the issue and instead said, "There are rumors going around outside that Claire Yeats will be this year’s champion... What are your thoughts, Mr. Lynch?"

Nathaniel rubbed the tips of his thumb and index finger together, then replied coolly, "She’s flattering herself."

Ms. Foster fell silent. It was rare to see Mr. Lynch show such little respect to a contestant.

"Claire, why don’t you take the seat in the middle?" A voice drifted over, prompting Ms. Foster to turn her head.

The contestants’ seating area had a total of ten seats arranged in a single row. The two seats in the very middle were considered the center spots. Whether it was the audience’s gaze or the cameras, the people in the middle would undoubtedly draw the most attention.

Claire smiled faintly. "How could I? There are seniors among this year’s contestants. As a junior, how could I presume to sit in the middle?"

"You’re being too polite, Claire. Who doesn’t know you’re going to be this year’s champion? Of course you should sit in the middle."

Looking shy and hesitant, Claire subconsciously glanced at Estelle, appearing almost fearful. "But I don’t know if Estelle..."

Liza Shelby, who had just walked in, immediately curled her lip. "Why do you care about Estelle Lockwood? She isn’t the main character today. Does she even deserve to sit in the middle? You’re just too kind, Claire. You always think of her, and that’s why she pushes her luck."

Claire pursed her lips slightly and sat down with feigned reluctance.

Watching this, Ms. Foster found it both amusing and ridiculous. Past contestants had never cared about such things. The concept of a ’center spot’ wasn’t really appropriate for contestants anyway; everyone used to just sit wherever they pleased. She remembered that in the previous competition, Ember had simply picked a random seat, which seemed to be on the far left...

Right at that moment, Estelle took the seat on the far left. Ms. Foster was taken aback. Why did Estelle choose that specific seat? In the last competition, Ember had also been the first to enter and had chosen the seat on the far left. She figured it had to be a mere coincidence.

Once all the contestants were seated, the awards ceremony was about to begin. Before handing out the awards, the judges would announce everyone’s scores and placements. This meant they wouldn’t just announce the top three; everyone from first to tenth place would be ranked. Up in the stands, the more than two hundred contestants who had made the initial cut were also present, looking enviously at the ten finalists seated on stage. Even coming in tenth place was something they deeply envied.

However, according to the rules, the judges wouldn’t announce the names of the contestants who placed below eighth—namely, ninth and tenth place. They would only be awarded privately. Therefore, the judges would start announcing from eighth place and stop right before the top three, leaving the rest in suspense.

"We will now announce eighth place," a judge said with a smile, calling out a name. The person was overly excited, running up to the stage to give a flurry of thanks.

Then came seventh place, sixth place...

"Look at you, Estelle. Aren’t you anxious?" Liza sat behind Estelle, right next to the Yeats. At this moment, she couldn’t help but make snide, sarcastic remarks. "What was the point of trying so hard to steal my spot in the competition? Look, your name still hasn’t been called. What’s there to be happy about when you’re just going to get tenth place?"

Estelle replied calmly, "At least it’s better than Miss Shelby, who didn’t even make it to the semifinals."

"You!" Liza choked on her anger before letting out a cold sneer. "Claire is about to win the championship. Aren’t you jealous? Just admit it, you’re inferior to her!"

Hearing this, Estelle raised an eyebrow. She gave Liza a meaningful look before shifting her gaze to Zion Yeats. "Actually, I’m quite curious. Exactly how much money did the Yeats Family invest into buying this championship for Claire, to the point where it even affected the Yeats Group’s capital chain?"

Old Mrs. Yeats looked at Estelle as if she were looking at a country bumpkin.

Zion chuckled and explained, "Estelle, we all believe in Claire’s abilities. Of course, we went all out to support her."

Estelle let out a soft "Oh," before asking, "...Why didn’t any of you consider the possibility that she might not be the champion?"

"What a joke! If it’s not her, who else could it be?" Old Mrs. Yeats scoffed loudly.

Right then, the placements from fourth to eighth had been announced, and it was almost time for the top three.

"Some people only know how to compare themselves to Claire in every little thing. The moment she returned to the Yeats family, she wanted to usurp Claire’s status and position, without even looking in the mirror to see what kind of trash she is.

"You didn’t even make the top three, yet you have the nerve to speak to me? The nerve to return to the Yeats family? Hah, our family is not a trash dump!" Old Mrs. Yeats sneered.

Estelle replied evenly, "How do you know I didn’t make the top three, Old Mrs. Yeats?"

The judge on stage announced, "Now, please welcome our third-place winner—the second runner-up, Vera Sawyer, to the stage!"

The contestant named Vera Sawyer was so thrilled that her eyes filled with tears.

Old Mrs. Yeats burst into laughter. "You aren’t in third place, yet you still think you made the top three? Don’t tell me you’re the first runner-up. There should be a limit to your boasting, Estelle."

The judge announced again, "Now, please welcome our second-place winner, the first runner-up, Mason Miller, to the stage!"

The crowd subconsciously looked toward Estelle. The second-place winner was this contestant named Mason Miller... Wait, then what about Estelle Lockwood? Her name hadn’t been called at all. Could it be that Estelle was in ninth or tenth place?!

Before the competition, she had claimed she was aiming for the championship. She showed no respect to the Yeats Family or to Claire. Everyone thought she was so formidable, but after making it to the finals, she was still dead last. Then all those previous claims about Estelle’s design skills being on par with Ember’s, or even superior to Ember’s—were those all fake? It was probably just her hyping herself up. Tsk, tsk. Young people nowadays truly had no shame when it came to chasing clout and popularity.

Zion was also taken aback. He then looked at Estelle with disappointment and disbelief. "Estelle, your... your placement is actually..."

If she wasn’t third and wasn’t second, then she could only be at the bottom of the rankings. Zion had originally held high hopes for Estelle. After all, she was a part of the Yeats family. When Claire collaborated with major corporations in the future, if Estelle had gotten a decent placement, he could have had Claire take Estelle along with her.