Chapter 324 - 311: You Can Stay as Long as You Want 2

Laura Chase was the third to present. As the competitor with the best chance of winning, she naturally had many people fawning over her.

The sounds from the stage could be heard perfectly backstage, and the remaining contestants waiting their turn were all tense to the extreme.

Georgia Thorne was no exception, though she appeared slightly calmer than the others.

’What’s coming is finally here.’

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the sixth contestant’s turn—Georgia Thorne.

As a staff member led her behind the curtain, her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. It was a text message from him.

It was just two short words: "Go for it!"

It was the first time he had ever sent her a text. Georgia didn’t have time to reply before she was led to her spot. "Miss Thorne, you can stand right here to present your design. Here is the microphone."

Georgia put her phone away. "Thank you."

Georgia stood in a dark corner behind the curtain, watching Chloe Gardner walk a lap on the T-stage, showing off the garment she was wearing.

Below the stage, besides the judges, were many reporters holding up their cameras and taking pictures.

This dark spot was a good thing. If she couldn’t see their expressions and gazes, she wouldn’t have to worry about whether they were pleased with her work or not.

Georgia quietly cleared her throat, tightened her grip on her phone, and began to describe the inspiration for her design.

On the dazzling, multicolored T-stage, Chloe Gardner showcased the outfit.

By the time the presentation was over, Chloe realized Georgia hadn’t mentioned the garment’s most unique and special feature, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

’What is she thinking? Did she forget the design’s biggest highlight?!’

"Thank you. That concludes my presentation."

As her voice faded, Georgia walked out from behind the curtain and onto the stage, stopping beside Chloe Gardner.

Chloe was just about to speak when Georgia whispered, "Keep smiling. Don’t say anything."

’I know what she wants to ask, but now is not the time.’

There were five judges on the panel in total, and she only recognized two of them.

She only knew two people: one was Erin Irving, and the other was the Akashima designer, Yulia Upton.

The host asked each judge to give their evaluation of her work. After the Tiana Underwood incident at Fashion Week, the public was filled with curiosity about Georgia Thorne’s designs.

If they hadn’t confirmed it multiple times, they would have assumed that the Georgia Thorne before them and the Georgia Thorne from Archetype Company were two different people who just happened to share the same name.

In this competition, Georgia’s overall performance was above average. It wasn’t outstanding, but it wasn’t bad either.

However, compared to her previous two designs, the outfit on the model today could be considered a drop in quality.

The garment was beautiful, but the style wasn’t innovative enough. The chances of it winning were slim.

The first three judges’ evaluations of Georgia’s work were not very good; they could only say the piece was barely satisfactory.

There were two judges left. Yulia Upton commented first.

Yulia Upton was a designer Erin Irving had specially invited from Akashima. She didn’t speak Sinean and had brought her own translator with her.

Yulia Upton gave a fitting evaluation of Georgia’s work. The male translator relayed her comments, which were more or less the same as the previous judges’.

Finally, it was Erin Irving’s turn. Georgia took a deep breath, her hands tightly clasped behind her back.

Erin Irving’s lips curled into a faint smile. "Miss Thorne, you should be familiar with Yulia Upton, who is sitting beside me. After all, one of your designs once ’drew inspiration’ from Designer Upton, didn’t it?"

"Does that ring a bell, Miss Thorne?"

"Mr. Irving, I don’t know what you’re talking about," Georgia denied.

"Miss Thorne, I don’t think you’re qualified to participate in this competition. Our competition is about originality, not plagiarizing others’ work. Take the outfit on this model, for example. I seem to recall Designer Upton publishing it in a magazine a few weeks ago. If you don’t believe me, everyone can just look at the big screen." Erin Irving leaned back leisurely in his chair, arms crossed over his chest.

Instantly, all the lights above the stage flared to life, illuminating the entire venue.

On the large LED screen at the center of the stage, an image appeared: Georgia’s design from the previous Archetype Company competition, placed side-by-side with a piece by Yulia Upton.

"The public has sharp eyes. Everyone, please take a look at the differences between Miss Thorne’s design and Designer Upton’s." Erin Irving gestured, and a second comparison photo was displayed.

Although the overall styles of the two pieces were different, a closer look revealed that many of the fine details were identical.

For instance, the same cherry blossoms, the same beading—even the stated concept was the same.

Everyone present was an expert in the field; they could tell at a glance that the two works were practically identical.

People immediately began snapping photos. Some reporters, eager to seize the story, even stood up to question Georgia directly.

"Miss Thorne, do you have anything to say about the similarity between these two pieces?"

"This is clearly plagiarism. Yulia Upton is standing right here in front of you. Do you really think you can deny it?"

"Miss Thorne, please answer my question."

"Miss Thorne..."

"..."

A design competition had suddenly turned into an interrogation of Georgia Thorne.

Georgia was like honey to flies. All the reporters swarmed forward, breaking through the security guards’ blockade, and a sea of microphones engulfed her.

"Georgia!" Chloe Gardner cried out, about to step forward and defend her.

"Chloe, don’t say a word!" Georgia pulled her back, signaling for her not to speak.

The reporters hurled one question after another at Georgia. After Erin Irving’s speech, they had already branded her with the title of plagiarist.

Through it all, Georgia remained composed, her cool gaze shifting to Erin Irving on the judges’ panel. His smile was now tinged with a sinister chill.

"I’m sorry, but I did not plagiarize anyone’s work."

The reporters’ words were sharp. Georgia had barely gotten a sentence out before one interrupted, "If you didn’t plagiarize, then why did you apologize? Is it because you have a guilty conscience?"

"No!"

The reporters’ questions were so sharp and vicious that every one of them was designed to leave Georgia speechless.

In the end, she could only respond with silence.

Escorted by security, Georgia returned backstage. Everyone there had heard everything that happened on stage with perfect clarity.

Now, everyone’s eyes were filled with disdain and contempt as they looked at her.

Chloe Gardner clung to Georgia’s arm and roared at the others, "What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a person before?!"

’Seriously, are these people blind?!’

Laura Chase sneered. "Georgia Thorne, is it really that fun to just copy other people’s work? Can’t you come up with something of your own?"

"Who plagiarized anything? Stop spouting nonsense!" Chloe Gardner angrily retorted on Georgia’s behalf.

Laura Chase scoffed. "Looks like you’ll be tomorrow’s top headline!"

Georgia paid her no mind, calmly sitting down in her seat. Hannah Gardner, however, ran over. "Ms. Thorne, I believe you!"

On the matter of Georgia’s alleged plagiarism, the mother-daughter pair were in complete agreement: they both supported Georgia.

Georgia’s lips curved into a smile. "You’re so sweet, Hannah."

When the competition results were announced, Georgia Thorne had been disqualified and received no ranking.

All her meticulous preparations had gone to waste.

On the way back, Chloe Gardner was still muttering resentfully, "Why didn’t you let me say anything? You clearly didn’t plagiarize! Your design is so much better than that Akashima woman’s!"

Georgia massaged her forehead. "As long as you two know the truth, that’s enough. Don’t worry about the competition."

"How can I not worry about it? Do you know how many reporters there were? Their questions were like a minefield; you couldn’t even get a word in!"

Chloe was furious, and she understood even less what Georgia was trying to do.

Back at Byron Shaw’s apartment, Naomi Shaw was still waiting at home. She had cooked a table full of delicious food, hoping to strike while the iron was hot and build a good mother-daughter relationship with Georgia.

Georgia returned looking composed, though her good friend was chattering nonstop beside her.

"Dinner is ready. Would you like to eat now?"

Georgia looked exhausted. "No, thank you. You all go ahead and eat. I’m going to my room to sleep."

"Georgia, are you sure you won’t eat? I..." Naomi Shaw started to follow Georgia into her room, but stopped and sighed as the door closed.

Chloe said sympathetically, "Ms. Shaw, she’s in a bad mood today. She probably doesn’t have an appetite."

"What happened?"

"It was all that stupid competition this afternoon. I just don’t understand why Georgia..."

Chloe Gardner went on and on, recounting the events with some dramatic embellishment. "...There were so many reporters there. I bet this will be the top headline tomorrow!"

"How could this happen? And Georgia? Didn’t she try to explain?"

"You have no idea how fast those reporters were firing off questions. They didn’t give her any time to answer!" Chloe Gardner shook her head helplessly.

Just as Chloe had predicted, the next day, the news of Georgia Thorne’s plagiarism made the front-page headlines.

The video clip of Georgia’s "interview" surpassed ten million views, and the number of discussions exceeded one million.

It hadn’t been long, and Georgia Thorne was in the headlines once again.

The power of netizens was immense; they even managed to dig up Georgia’s social media profile.

In no time, she had thousands of private messages. Some were encouraging, others were full of insults.

They were too numerous to count.

Georgia read two of them. They basically called her a shameless plagiarist and told her to get out of the design world.

Even Tiana Underwood was dragged into it; she was asked about the issue during an interview with reporters.

Tiana’s answer was very official and vague.

In an instant, her quiet phone was flooded with calls and text messages.

There were messages of concern and comfort from friends like Justin Sullivan, Vivian Sawyer, and Nathan Rhodes, but also an interrogative one from Seth Shields.

She skimmed through the messages but didn’t reply to a single person.

Luckily, it was the weekend, so she didn’t have to go into the office. She could hide away for a day.

Byron Shaw stood at her bedroom door and knocked. "Georgia Thorne, it’s time for lunch."