Chapter 528: Claire Yeats’s Score, the Ultimate Slap in the Face

Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Claire Yeats’s Score, the Ultimate Slap in the Face

As long as everyone saw the massive disparity in her scores, people would naturally get suspicious. For the exact same design, why would some judges give it a perfect score while others gave it a zero? Had the judges who gave zeros been bribed?

Yes, that had to be it. Estelle Lockwood must have tampered with the results!

Estelle raised an eyebrow. Claire Yeats really was... shameless. When she bribed the judges herself, it was just standard procedure. But the moment she suspected someone else of bribing the judges, it became an unforgivable sin.

It didn’t matter, though. Even though Estelle didn’t know the judges’ exact scores, any normal person wouldn’t give a high score to the design Claire had submitted.

Claire gritted her teeth hard. Ultimately, her eyes reddened as if she had suffered some monumental injustice. "Yes, I want Ms. Foster to make my judges’ scores public and give me the truth!

"If all the judges believe I don’t deserve the championship, I can accept that. But if there’s a massive discrepancy in the scores, I demand a re-evaluation!"

As her words fell, a hush descended upon the room.

Ms. Foster smiled. "Sure."

Sure? Claire hadn’t expected Ms. Foster to agree so readily. Her heart skipped a beat as a sudden chill of foreboding washed over her, nearly suffocating her. What was wrong? What was missing? Shouldn’t Ms. Foster be terrified right now? Why was she so calm?

It was fine, she needed to stay calm! Ms. Foster was definitely just trying to scare her.

She insisted, "Then please present the scores, Ms. Foster!"

"Alright," Ms. Foster said indifferently. "However, simply releasing your scores wouldn’t be very illustrative... Miss Lockwood, fellow contestants, would you all be willing to show your scores to the public?"

The crowd was stunned for a moment before pleasant surprise took over. In the past, these scores had always been kept strictly confidential. No one ever knew exactly how much of a point gap existed between them and the other competitors. Sometimes, the difference between second and third place was a mere 0.1 points, while other times, it could be a full point. Rankings might not say much on their own, but the average score from over thirty judges would absolutely be telling.

The contestants all wanted to improve and elevate their craft, so naturally, they had no objections and readily agreed.

Estelle also nodded. "That works for me."

"Good. I’ll inform the backstage staff to pull up your average scores, along with the individual scores from each judge."

Soon, the name of each contestant appeared on the large screen, starting with ninth place. After dropping the highest and lowest scores, the final average was 7.8 points. Next, the individual scores from the thirty-plus judges, including Ms. Foster’s score for ninth place, were displayed. The highest score of 8.5 and the lowest of 6.9 had been dropped, and the remaining scores generally fell between 7.5 and 8.1.

This breakdown helped everyone understand the scoring mechanics of the design competition. Then came eighth place... seventh place... fourth place... third place...

Second place: 9.4 points.

The second-place contestant was thrilled. In previous years, anyone who scored a 9.4 could basically take home the championship! Aside from the freakishly talented Ember, who had scored a perfect 10 in the last competition, the rest of the champions usually hovered around a 9.5.

Everyone turned to look at Estelle. They wondered just how many points the champion, Estelle, had received this time.

"Oh my god!"

"Is that real?"

Someone in the audience gasped. The contestants instinctively turned toward the screen, instantly left dumbfounded.

A 10! A 10?! It was actually a perfect 10!

"Another perfect-score champion!"

"My goodness, that’s incredible... I really want to see Estelle’s design now."

"They probably won’t reveal it right now, but the champion gets to collaborate with Aethel Group. We’ll see it then."

"Holy crap... Out of thirty judges, twenty-nine gave a perfect score. One judge gave a 9.7, and it was dropped as the lowest score... That’s terrifyingly good!"

"Are you serious? Is she really that amazing?"

"It might be just like Ember from the last competition. You all saw Ember’s piece—it definitely deserved a perfect score. Estelle’s work this time might be just as outstanding."

A perfect score. It was actually a perfect score!

The result left the entire crowd speechless. Could one suspect that Estelle had bribed the judges? Sure, it was possible to harbor suspicions. But if Estelle was capable of bribing the judges, wasn’t Claire even more likely to do so?

Everyone had witnessed the domineering and tyrannical behavior of Claire and the Yeats family. Estelle, on the other hand, had never once mobilized the influence of Star or Nathaniel Sloan to help her win the championship.

Besides, was it even remotely possible that Mr. Lynch would help Estelle cheat? Absolutely not. The champion’s work was slated for a collaboration with Aethel Group. If the winning design was subpar, Aethel Group wouldn’t just lose money; they would also face accusations of covertly aiding a contestant. The risks far outweighed any potential benefits.

Mr. Lynch had always been a smart man, and he rarely interfered in the affairs of the XM design competition. Therefore, this piece, which had earned unanimous praise from all the judges, truly deserved the championship title!

Claire’s expression had turned exceedingly ugly. She bit her lip fiercely, never in a million years expecting Estelle to score a perfect 10! How was this possible... Why? Why! WHY!!! That perfect score was supposed to be hers!

"Alright, please direct your attention to Miss Yeats’s score," Ms. Foster said with a faint scoff. Her gaze casually drifted toward the Yeats family. Seeing Old Mrs. Yeats seething with rage and Zion flushed red in the face, she found it utterly laughable.

Claire’s hands trembled. Why wasn’t Ms. Foster scared at all? She had clearly tampered with the results, she had clearly—

4.9 points.

The crowd was utterly floored.

[Wait a minute, am I still dreaming? What score is that?]

[No way, is that a typo? 9.4 would make sense, but 4.9? Who got a 4.9? Claire Yeats?? She didn’t even pass??]

[Hold on, ninth place got a 7.8, and tenth place, Claire Yeats, got a 4.9...]

[It has to be rigged!! It’s rigged!!]

[Can the fans crying ’rigged’ open their eyes and look closely? Out of thirty judges, the highest score was a 5.6, and the lowest was a 3.2. All the other scores hovered between 4.5 and 5.4.]

[So bribing one judge isn’t enough, you’re saying Estelle managed to bribe over thirty judges?]

[Besides, isn’t the Yeats family the best at bribing judges? After all, Old Mrs. Yeats has a track record. You’re telling me Estelle managed to bribe the judges that your Yeats family couldn’t? Can you fans use your brains before you speak?]

The entire venue fell dead silent. People rubbed their eyes, closing and opening them again to confirm they hadn’t seen things. 4.9 points... Seriously? Ember, the champion from the previous competition? Getting this kind of score?

Zion stumbled and collapsed back into his chair, shaking his head frantically. No, it was impossible. There had to be a mistake...

Old Mrs. Yeats shrieked sharply, "You’re bullying Claire!!! I refuse to accept this score! I won’t accept it! Your judges are all dirty! They’ve all been bribed!!"

Ms. Foster wasn’t angered. She scoffed and replied, "Old Mrs. Yeats, what a thing to say. Before seeing the scores, the Yeats family accused us of tampering with the results. Now that you’ve seen the scores, you’re claiming someone bribed the judges. You certainly are stubborn.

"Very well, Miss Yeats. I will explain in detail why your score is only a 4.9. If my words are too harsh, don’t blame me. Blame your grandmother for refusing to let it go and insisting on getting to the bottom of this."

Claire trembled all over.