Chapter 463 - 459: Kindness, Shining

Cecilia clapped excitedly. "Mom, that’s you!"

Julian Summers cheered playfully from the side, "Go for it! You got this! If you win the Scarlett prize, they’ll donate fifty dollars in your name!"

Jasmine Sterling came to her senses and, under everyone’s gaze, stood up. Without any fuss, she made her way to the stage.

Julian Summers’s words had reminded her. ’That’s right,’ she thought. ’I’m here for a charity event. If I win, money gets donated. It’s for a good cause.’

In the audience, Randall Jennings clapped, his eyes locked on Jasmine Sterling as she walked onto the stage.

The crescent white qipao suited her perfectly. As the spotlight found her, the silver threads woven into the fabric glittered, making it seem as if she herself was glowing.

Just as Randall Jennings was focusing his attention, he heard the host announce, "Number 6, Ms. Megan Nash of the Jandon Group."

Because Megan Nash was attending as Randall Jennings’s date, she was also representing the Jandon Group.

Megan Nash stood up with a shy smile, and the applause that followed was the most thunderous of all. It was simply because she was Randall Jennings’s date for the evening, and many knew they had met on a blind date. She might very well be the future Mrs. Jennings.

"Good luck."

Randall Jennings stood up and gave Megan Nash a light hug. She was both excited and a little nervous. Despite her affluent background, she had never actually participated in an event like this before.

After a slight nod, she walked onto the stage.

The audience members also rose to their feet, trying to get a better look. Of the five women on stage, four wore evening gowns and elaborate jewelry.

Only Jasmine Sterling wore a qipao, and with no distracting jewelry, she was simply attired.

Being watched by so many people, the women on stage were all at least a little nervous, their minds racing.

As a lady of high society who was normally elegant and poised, Mrs. Lane, despite her overbearing and short-tempered personality, had a deeply ingrained sense of her own nobility. She cared immensely about appearances.

Megan Nash’s mind was in even more of a flurry. ’Randall is watching from the audience,’ she thought. ’I can’t possibly ruin my image. After all, in his eyes, I’m a woman of great poise and refinement.’

The other two contestants were thinking the same thing. ’I’ll just put on a show. Everyone must have their reservations. Who can really afford to completely disregard their image?’

Only Jasmine Sterling’s eyes were fixed on the three slices of watermelon in front of her. Her mind was already planning which slice to eat first, analyzing the shape and structure of the watermelon to figure out which side to start from to eat faster.

There was no concern for her image in her eyes, only the desire to win.

’Fifty dollars,’ she thought. ’For people who need help, that could do so much.’

An attendant thoughtfully handed each of them a large napkin, which they fastened at their collars to protect their clothes from splashing watermelon juice.

Seeing that everyone was ready, the host leaned forward in excitement. The live band struck up a tense drumroll, and the host shouted, "Three, two, one... GO!"

As soon as he spoke, all five women on stage sprang into action. They reached for the watermelon with swift, decisive movements, each looking determined to win.

But once they had the watermelon slices in hand, their approaches varied wildly.

Mrs. Lane opened her mouth wide, taking a huge bite, but she chewed slowly.

Megan Nash appeared to be eating quickly, but she was only moving slightly faster than usual. She put on a show of trying hard, but anyone could see she was holding back. The reason was Randall Jennings’s gaze.

The other two contestants were the same, both concerned with their image and only pretending to give it their all. In truth, devouring three watermelon slices, what with all the chewing and swallowing, wasn’t an easy task for them.

But Jasmine Sterling was the exception!

Suddenly, a roar of good-natured laughter erupted from the audience, and all eyes were instantly drawn to Jasmine Sterling.

She snatched up a slice of watermelon and attacked it like a starving wolf. She started from one end and plowed through it like a bulldozer, finishing the entire slice in a matter of seconds.

Then the second slice!

The third slice!

When she tossed the third rind onto the table and looked up, her mouth was stuffed completely full, her cheeks puffed out, and watermelon juice was dribbling from the corners of her lips.

All semblance of grace was gone!

Even the host was dumbfounded. It took him a moment to recover before he hurriedly announced, "Ms. Jasmine Sterling is the winner!"

The sudden announcement startled Jasmine, and she choked on the watermelon in her mouth, her eyes watering from the effort.

She quickly covered her mouth to keep from spitting everything out, chewed with great difficulty for a moment, then managed to swallow the whole mouthful down.

Looking back at the other contestants, they had each only finished one slice. Seeing that Jasmine had won, they all gave up.

The white napkins at their collars were completely unstained. Only Jasmine’s was a mess, splattered with a large patch of pulp and juice. Her crescent white qipao hadn’t been spared either; it was dotted with splashes.

Her all-out, desperate effort first elicited a wave of laughter from the crowd, who were shocked by the contrast with her elegant appearance. But that laughter quickly gave way to a thunderous, tsunami-like round of applause.

The applause was even more fervent than when Megan Nash had been called to the stage, and it lasted for several minutes.

Watching her mother on stage, Cecilia’s eyes welled up. ’She’s always so earnest, so sincere, so kind, and so brilliant!’

Julian Summers was clapping the hardest. Beside him, Secretary Grant had started crying when she saw Jasmine choke on the watermelon.

Randall Jennings stood front and center before the stage, applauding. He watched Jasmine on stage, emotions swirling in his eyes, feeling deeply moved.

’She’s so real,’ he thought. ’So vibrant. So utterly unique.’

"This Ms. Jasmine Sterling, do you know her?"

At another table, a middle-aged man in a dark gray suit suddenly turned to the friend beside him and asked. As it happened, his friend was none other than Mr. Young, Cecilia’s friend from a different generation.

Before the event began, Cecilia had made a point of introducing her mother to him.

"We’ve just been introduced, you could say. I’m closer with her daughter," Mr. Young said as he clapped. Both were men of the world; he could easily read the other man’s intentions. He couldn’t help but ask with a curious smile, "Director Vance, is this a second spring for you?"

Director Vance laughed but didn’t deny it. "She has class and she has grit. I like that. Is she single?"

Romance for middle-aged men didn’t involve so much beating around the bush and testing the waters. After all, they had both seen it all. They knew whether they liked someone, whether they felt a spark, from the very first moment.

Mr. Young gave him a knowing look. He didn’t beat around the bush, simply lowering his voice to say, "As far as I know, Ms. Sterling has been single for over twenty years. She raised three exceptional children all on her own."

Director Vance nodded in understanding, the interest in his eyes deepening. "Then in a bit, would you mind doing a brother a favor and making an introduction?"