Leng Yanmi wouldn't lose her temper with her nephew, at least not in public.
She glanced at Zhang Zhuo and asked, "Where's the contingency plan? Are you all just standing around watching?"
Leng Mingchuan's face turned pale as he silently took two steps back.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhuo let out a sigh of relief and took his place beside Leng Yanmi, briefly explaining, "Contestant Shen Lingling has doubts about the results of this round. I've already asked for a detailed breakdown of the scores."
He then turned to his secretary. "Is everything ready? Project the results onto the large screen."
The secretary, nervous, wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly typed a message on her phone. Afterward, she looked up and gave Leng Yanmi a respectful smile. "President Leng, the tech team is preparing the projection. It'll take five minutes."
Although Leng Mingchuan was technically in charge of the competition, once Leng Yanmi appeared, all the senior executives instinctively ignored him and deferred to her.
Leng Yanmi gave her incompetent nephew a dismissive glance, uttering only a soft "hmph" before walking toward the runway.
Shen Lingling was visibly agitated.
Thanks to Leng Mingchuan, she had known about the competition's first challenge ahead of time and had been able to gather information about the preferences of all M.Crush members earlier than the other six contestants. With such a significant advantage, she couldn't accept that her design had lost to Shi Yue's, which had only a week of preparation.
"Everyone else is here to compete, but you, Shi Yue, are just trying to climb the social ladder. Heh, still bitter about not marrying Mingchuan, so now you're using this competition to seduce Xi Chuanyu?" Her expression twisted in anger. "I wasn't going to expose your little tricks, but you had to use dirty methods to ruin the fairness of the competition."
Shi Yue no longer bothered arguing with her. No matter what she said, Shen Lingling wouldn't listen, instead remaining stuck in her own biases.
Her calm demeanor only enraged the already frantic Shen Lingling, who, seeing that none of her words could provoke Shi Yue, lost her temper completely and lunged at her, aiming to slap her face.
Just as Shen Lingling was about to strike, someone stepped onto the runway and firmly grabbed her wrist.
Shen Lingling turned back angrily. "Let go of me! Who dares—"
Her words stopped mid-sentence when she saw who it was. "President... President Leng..." Her rationality returned in an instant, and she nervously looked around the stage, searching for Leng Mingchuan. But all she saw was her boyfriend cowering behind the other staff members.
Leng Yanmi's eyes shifted to Shi Yue, her gaze lingering on the wound on her lip. Her expression softened for a brief moment.
At that point, everyone else noticed the similar scab on Leng Yanmi's lip. After the initial shock, they all instinctively lowered their heads, fearful of knowing too much.
Shi Yue, still standing with her arms crossed, looked at Leng Yanmi with disdain.
Her gaze asked the obvious question: Why are you here?
Leng Yanmi raised an eyebrow.
Without responding, she turned her attention to Xi Chuanyu and asked Shen Lingling, "Who's seducing whom?"
Shen Lingling, now a shadow of her former self, stammered, "Shi... Shi Yue seduced Xi Chuanyu."
"Where's your proof?"
Shen Lingling raised her phone.
The photo on the screen, due to an awkward angle, showed Shi Yue leaning into Xi Chuanyu's arms. Xi Chuanyu, trying to keep her balanced, had her arm half-raised, making it look as though the two were embracing on the stairs. In the dim lighting, their expressions were blurry, but the atmosphere appeared incredibly intimate.
A photo like this, in the hands of a paparazzo, could be spun into an even more scandalous story than Shen Lingling's accusations.
As expected, after Leng Yanmi saw the photo, her face darkened, and the surrounding atmosphere grew tense once more.
Thinking Leng Yanmi was on her side, Shen Lingling seized the moment to complain, "President Leng, you see? I'm not making this up. Look at the way Shi Yue and Xi Chuanyu are behaving. How could this be innocent?"
Leng Yanmi let out a cold laugh.
Shi Yue hadn't even reacted yet when Xi Chuanyu could no longer hold back.
Sweating, Xi Chuanyu stepped forward and stammered, "President Leng, no... it's not like that."
"I swear, at the time, I was only helping Miss Shi Yue up the stairs. There was absolutely no inappropriate behavior!"
That night, outside Shi Yue's room, Xi Chuanyu hadn't seen Leng Yanmi clearly, though she had her suspicions. Now, seeing Leng Yanmi standing here with a wound identical to Shi Yue's, all doubts vanished.
The realization that she had nearly offended such a powerful figure made even the normally composed Xi Chuanyu's legs go weak.
Leng Yanmi ignored her and turned back to Shi Yue. "What about you?"
Shi Yue frowned. "What about me?"
Zhang Zhuo, standing behind Leng Yanmi, was shocked. He'd followed Leng Yanmi for a long time and had never seen anyone daring enough to question her in this situation.
Sneaking a glance, he marveled at how Shi Yue could stand so confidently under such pressure. In his mind, he gave her a thumbs-up.
Leng Yanmi asked, "Don't you have anything to explain?"
Shi Yue smirked. "I was drunk at the time, so I have no memory of it."
She shrugged. "Aren't there cameras all over the villa? Just pull up the footage, and it'll prove our innocence."
Leng Yanmi glanced at Zhang Zhuo.
With a pained expression, Zhang Zhuo hesitated before saying, "The villa's surveillance from early Tuesday morning..."
He looked at Leng Yanmi, his face twitching. "To ensure the contestants' privacy, the cameras automatically stop recording after 9 p.m."
Leng Yanmi, feigning indifference, asked, "But the footage of Xi Chuanyu entering and leaving the villa—is that also missing?"
"We have that," Zhang Zhuo straightened up. "Uh, I think we can find it."
He gestured for everyone to wait while he stepped aside to make a call.
Shen Lingling frowned.
Seeing how calm Xi Chuanyu and Shi Yue were, she began to suspect that nothing had really happened that night. Wanting to secure her advantage, she said, "What will the footage prove? Xi Chuanyu's close relationship with Shi Yue is evident in her giving Shi Yue an unfairly high score. That's unfair to the rest of us contestants."
Leng Yanmi's gaze shifted back to Xi Chuanyu.
Xi Chuanyu felt like she was about to faint.
Still, she forced herself to stand tall and quietly defended herself, "I graded according to my personal preferences. There was no favoritism involved."
Shen Lingling latched onto her words and sneered, "So you don't deny it—you did give Shi Yue a higher score, didn't you?"
Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Xi Chuanyu couldn't lie. She held her breath and gave a small nod.
But immediately, she gritted her teeth and argued, "Yes, I gave Shi Yue the highest score, but her design deserved it."
"It has nothing to do with favoritism."
"Hmph," Shen Lingling retorted, "Do you really think we'll believe you?"
Instantly, the looks from the crowd grew even more suggestive.
"So, Shen Lingling was telling the truth!"
"Did Xi Chuanyu really give Shi Yue a higher score? How can we trust these results now?"
"Of course she favored Shi Yue since they're close!"
"..."
The murmurs made Leng Yanmi frown. She silently stepped forward, positioning herself between Shi Yue and Xi Chuanyu.
Shi Yue immediately understood her intention.
Annoyed, she discreetly poked Leng Yanmi in the back, only to have her hand swiftly caught. Fearing someone would notice, she tried to pull back, but Leng Yanmi refused to let go.
Hidden under the cover of her broad jacket, Leng Yanmi held onto Shi Yue's hand, her thumb gently stroking the back of it.
Unable to struggle too much, Shi Yue had no choice but to let her continue her mischief.
Sensing the situation shifting in Shen Lingling's favor, Leng Mingchuan suddenly reappeared.
"Shen Lingling is right. the competition will not tolerate such behavior."
"I hereby declare that the award cannot be given."
As he spoke, he took the medal from Xi Chuanyu, the one originally meant for Shi Yue.
Shen Lingling's eyes gleamed as she stared at the gleaming medal, eagerly looking at Leng Mingchuan.
Just as Leng Mingchuan was about to hand the medal to her, Leng Yanmi frowned. "The matter hasn't been settled, and you've already decided Shen Lingling deserves first place?"
Leng Mingchuan, pouting, muttered, "Aunt... you shouldn't doubt Lingling's abilities."
Having just finished his phone call, Zhang Zhuo explained, "Young Master Leng, the M.Crush score is determined by averaging the scores given by all seven members after removing the highest and lowest scores."
"Even if Miss Xi Chuanyu gave Shi Yue a high score, it wouldn't affect the final result."
Leng Mingchuan scoffed and pointed at Xi Chuanyu. "She's the captain of M. Crush. If she wants someone to win, would the others dare to object?"
Host Li Yan, standing quietly nearby, spoke up, "Actually, on the first day of the competition, during the initial test, Miss Xi Chuanyu favored Shi Yue's design, but ultimately, she followed the group's overall evaluation and awarded first place to Shen Lingling."
Leng Mingchuan and Shen Lingling exchanged dumbfounded glances, temporarily speechless.
At that moment, Zhang Zhuo's secretary stepped forward. "The score comparisons have been prepared and projected onto the screen."
Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the large screen behind the stage.
Zhou Leya was the first to react, laughing when she saw the scores.
She shot a sidelong glance at Shen Lingling. "Is this what you meant by Xi Chuanyu giving Shi Yue a higher score?"
The final scores were broken down into four parts—three from professional judges and one from the M.Crush members, each accounting for one-quarter of the total.
The staff had placed Shi Yue and Shen Lingling's scores side by side for comparison. It was clear that Shen Lingling had received eight more points from M.Crush members than Shi Yue!
"Designer Shen Lingling used a traditional Bai Piao Xian theme, which is widely accepted and difficult to go wrong with. The entire M.Crush team gave it excellent scores."
"In contrast, Miss Shi Yue's performance outfit inspired by the mythical creature Bashe was eye-catching, but not everyone appreciated it. Of the seven members, one felt it didn't meet her expectations, and two thought it was just average. Additionally, the highest score Shi Yue received came from KK, which, along with the lowest score, was excluded from the final average."
"So, in fact, Miss Shi Yue only ranked third in M.Crush's evaluation."
Holding a printed copy of the score breakdown, Zhang Zhuo continued, "Miss Shi Yue won first place in this round because all three professional judges gave her design high praise."
"Senior designer Qi Kaiming believes that her bold challenge to traditional designs and her modern take on Chinese fashion made it the most innovative piece among all the performance outfits."
Shen Lingling, unwilling to accept the truth, shook her head. "No, I don't believe it... There's no way I could've lost to her..."
Zhang Zhuo replied, "Mr.Qi Kaiming is backstage. If you disagree with his score, would you like me to bring him out to explain?"
There was no way Shen Lingling would dare question such a legendary figure in the fashion world, so she shook her head, her face pale.
Zhang Zhuo narrowed his eyes. "Then, do you have any other concerns about this round's scoring?"
Shen Lingling looked up at Leng Mingchuan, her eyes filling with tears, looking pitiful and desperate.
Leng Mingchuan wanted to defend her, but as soon as he uttered "I think," Leng Yanmi's icy gaze silenced him.
Reluctantly, he returned the medal to Xi Chuanyu.
Zhang Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned to Leng Yanmi and respectfully asked, "President Leng, now that the issue is resolved, should we proceed with the awards ceremony?"
Leng Yanmi wasn't satisfied. "That's it?"
She directed her gaze toward Shen Lingling and began to settle the score. "So, anyone can question the first place winner and accuse the competition of being unfair based on their assumptions?"
Under the pressure, Shen Lingling broke down in tears. "I-I'm sorry, President Leng. I was wrong."
Leng Yanmi replied coldly, "You're apologizing to the wrong person."
"Huh?!" Shen Lingling understood what she meant but hesitated, casting an unwilling glance at Shi Yue.
After a moment, she tried to speak sweetly, "Miss Shi Yue, you understand, right? As a fellow designer, you must share my passion for the highest standards of craftsmanship and honor. I didn't mean to offend you..."
Shi Yue was having none of it. "I don't understand."
Shen Lingling's expression twisted in fury, barely able to maintain her composure. "Then what do you want? Do you want me to kneel and beg for your forgiveness in front of everyone?!"
Hearing this, Leng Mingchuan glared at Shi Yue. "Shi Yue! Don't push it!"
Shi Yue scoffed. "Hah."
She hadn't even spoken, and Shen Lingling was already making it seem like she was demanding an apology. This would only solidify the narrative that Shi Yue was bullying Shen Lingling.
"I've never asked you to kneel or beg. And now, you can't even muster a simple 'I'm sorry,' so what can I expect from you?"
"Miss Shen, is it really that hard to admit you were wrong?"
Covering her mouth with her hand, Shen Lingling muttered, "I was wrong. I misunderstood. Isn't that enough?" She quickly tried to shift the blame. "If you and Xi Chuanyu weren't acting so suspiciously in the villa, how could I have misunderstood your relationship?"
Shi Yue felt disgusted by her words, her lip twitching in disdain.
"Hold on," Zhang Zhuo interjected. "The surveillance footage from that night has been retrieved."
Once again, all eyes turned toward the large screen.
Despite the dim lighting, the villa's surveillance cameras provided clear footage. The video showed Xi Chuanyu helping the drunken Shi Yue walk from the villa entrance to the second floor, where they encountered Shen Lingling. Afterward, Xi Chuanyu took Shi Yue up to the third floor before quickly leaving the villa alone.
Throughout the entire process, their interactions were perfectly normal, with nothing ambiguous or inappropriate.
Shi Yue, having been too drunk to remember that night, had hesitated to refute Shen Lingling's accusations.
But seeing the footage now, anger flared in her chest. "It's one thing for others not to know, but you, Shen Lingling, were there on the second floor and saw everything clearly. So why did you fabricate lies about my relationship with Xi Chuanyu?"
Xi Chuanyu immediately followed up, "Miss Shen, when I asked you for directions on the second floor, you didn't act like this. If you had any doubts then, why didn't you speak up? Instead, you secretly took photos and smeared my reputation and Miss Shi Yue's?"
Shen Lingling was at a loss for words, collapsing onto Leng Mingchuan's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Leng Mingchuan didn't know how to comfort her, awkwardly standing there with his hands hanging uselessly at his sides.
Leng Yanmi, her frown deepening, couldn't stand watching Leng Mingchuan's pitiful display. Annoyed by Shen Lingling's incessant crying, she rubbed her temples and instructed Zhang Zhuo, "Have Shen Lingling withdraw from the competition. Everything else proceeds as planned."
Zhang Zhuo replied, "Understood."
Leng Mingchuan, knowing he could never defy Leng Yanmi, watched as Shen Lingling, realizing what was happening, collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to grab hold of Leng Yanmi's leg. But Leng Yanmi ruthlessly kicked her aside.
"President Leng, I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please, just this once, let me stay in the competition!"
Leng Yanmi didn't even bother to look at her.
In a last-ditch effort, Shen Lingling turned to Shi Yue, crying and begging, "I'm sorry, Miss Shi Yue! I made it all up! Please, forgive me. Please, ask Miss Xi Chuanyu to forgive me too..."
Shi Yue took two steps back. "..."
Fearing Shen Lingling might do something extreme, Zhang Zhuo directed the contestants and models to return backstage while they cleaned up the runway and prepared to resume the awards ceremony.
Naturally, Leng Yanmi followed Shi Yue into her dressing room.
"Why are you in here?" Shi Yue asked, puzzled.
Leng Yanmi confidently replied, "Is there anywhere I can't go?"
Shi Yue smirked.
Grabbing Leng Yanmi by the collar, she asked, "Why didn't the surveillance footage show what happened after Xi Chuanyu and I went to the third floor?"
Leng Yanmi hesitated. "That's not important."
"Not important?" Shi Yue looked at her, smiling slyly. "Did she see you on the third floor that night?"
Leng Yanmi casually responded with a soft "hmph."
"I'm curious what happened between you two," Shi Yue said, touching her lip. "It must've been intense for you to leave such a mark on me later that night."
Leng Yanmi's face turned red, and she awkwardly averted her gaze. "...Nothing happened."
"Nothing happened?" Shi Yue repeated, narrowing her eyes. "Then why were you so angry?"
Leng Yanmi raised her chin, indignant. "You mistook me for someone else. Shouldn't I be angry?"
Shi Yue, frustrated, pinched Leng Yanmi's cheek.
Instead of dodging, Leng Yanmi leaned down for a kiss. But Shi Yue, worried about her lipstick smudging, turned her head away. "Stop messing around."
Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Shi Yue said, "I need to talk to you about something serious."
"Hmm?"
"I don't think Shen Lingling should be disqualified. It's against the competition rules."
Leng Yanmi didn't understand. "You're speaking up for her?"
"No," Shi Yue shook her head. "If she's disqualified because of this, she'll never accept her loss and will always feel she was treated unfairly."
"Isn't she always proud of her abilities? I want to defeat her fair and square in the competition so she'll have to face reality."
"Tsk." Leng Yanmi gently touched the wound on Shi Yue's lip. "Can't you worry less about others?"
Shi Yue raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Leng Yanmi caressed her cheek. "Just focus on me."
"Look at me more. Only me."
As Leng Yanmi's voice grew soft and longing, Shi Yue's gaze became hazy. She hooked her arms around Leng Yanmi's neck and lifted her head, offering a deep kiss.