Xylia was surprised. “You can tell that? Wow, that’s impressive.”
The girl with the round face smiled, “I’ve been through some tough times. I get it.”
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She put down her brush and extended a friendly hand to Xylia. “My name’s Josie Dunn. I’m a designer from Manedom. Honestly, I’m the real newbie here.
<b>Xylia </b>shook <b>Josie’s </b><b>hand </b>back, her surprise still lingering. “You’re from Manedom? But <b>you </b>don’t look like it.”
“I know, right? My grandpa’s from Jupiton. I guess I got his genes, Xylia smiled.
They chatted as they worked on their designs. Josie filled Xylia <b>in </b>on just how important this event really was.
<b>Quezada </b>& Co. Apparel Design and the Garcia Group were co–hosting, and a lot of famous designers were here hoping to get in good <b>with </b>the Garcia family.
“The Garcia family?” Xylia murmured. She’d heard of them before.
Back when Tessa hadn’t returned to the Schultz family yet, Yves was so desperate to get in with the Garcia family that he didn’t even care about her engagement to Qadir. He just wanted to marry Xylia off to the Garcia family.
Yves had always talked about the Garcia family as this mysterious, super–rich family. They were even more powerful than the Schultz Group or the Ford Group.
Xylia heard that the Carcia family’s heir had once been the target of some serious corporate retaliation, forced toy low overseas for a while. After they finally tracked him down and brought him back, the Garcia Group kept an even lower profile than before.
Xylia thought to herself, ‘Looks like the rewards for this contest must be seriously impressive.
Xylia took a deep breath, steadied her hand, and poured even more focus into her sketch.
Up on the second floor, leaning against the railing, Joshua’s gaze <b>was </b>fixed on Xylia.
She waspletely absorbed in her work. The soft light from themps above caught the loose strands of hair framing her face, making them look especially captivating.
Joshua’s eyes softened as he watched her. He decided to forgive her for being distant with him at the hospital.
Xavi stood beside Joshua, a hint of anxiety in his posture. “Joshua, don’t worry. I’ll have someone else mentor Ms. Schultz, he said quickly.
“Just someone else?” Joshua replied. His expression didn’t change, but his voice remained cold.
“Of course not. Xavi immediately threw his star designer under the bus. “There’s an overseas position that’s just right for Chase. I’ll <b>have </b>him sent out tomorrow.”
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Joshua didn’t respond. Xavi carefully studied his expression. Joshua’s face stayed nk–at least he didn’t lose
his <b>cool</b>.
Looks like that does the trick,‘ he wondered. Xavi let out a sigh of relief and finally looked down.
Xavi couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you worried about outing yourself by putting the Garcia Group in the spotlight like this?”
“She’ll find out sooner orter.” Joshua replied.
“I’m not talking about Ms. Schultz. I mean the ones with an agenda,” <b>Xavi </b>rified.
Joshua’s lips curled into a frosty smirk, his eyes glinting with pride and cold detachment. “Honestly, I’m just
afraid they won’t catch on, he said.
Xavi swallowed nervously. ‘Right, he’s not someone you <b>want </b>to mess with. Why am I even worrying about him?‘ he thought to himself.
Half an hourter, the room was buzzing; almost everyone had turned in their first drafts.
As Chase walked by Xylia, he couldn’t stop himself from sneaking a look at her sketchpad. Just that one nce, and he was blown away all over again.
Chase couldn’t deny <b>that </b>Xylia was born for design. But he couldn’t stand people who got ahead just because of their connections. That was just never his thing.
While they waited for the results, Josie enthusiastically dragged Xylia around, introducing her to a ton of amazing designers,
They swapped contact info, and Xylia made sure towork and chat with as many people as she could.
Ten minutester, the host took the stage to announce the top designs. Xylia’s design was front and center on the winners list.
“Every designer here brought their A–game tonight. Ms. Xylia Schultz’s work earned unanimous approval from all the judges,” the host dered.
People who <b>knew </b>Xylia, and those who didn’t, were all stunned.
Everyone at this famousworking event was a big name in the industry.
Anyone who hadn’t heard of Xylia could tell she was new, and even the people who’d just met her knew she was a rookie.
When Xylia’s design was put on disy, one could feel the whole room shift; every designer’s eyes lit up.
She’d gone with a dress, but this was no ordinary one. Xylia had reimagined the ssic look, adding daring patterns and a fresh silhouette that made her piece stand out from the crowd.
Even the old–timers in the fashion world could spot something special, a kind of magic, in her sketch.
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“If Ms. Schultz keeps honing her craft for a few more years, she’ll be an internationally renowned designer for sure, one designer remarked.
“T’d have voted for her piece, too. It’s daring and has a real creative spark,” another chimed in.
“Xylia, you’re a natural. I absolutely love your design. Let’s keep in touch and share ideas more often,” Josie said with a bright smile.
Suddenly. Xylia found herself showered with praise from all sides. Her heart skipped a soft beat, warmth rising in her eyes.
After being looked down on by everyone in the Ford family, always told she wasn’t good enough, it felt almost unreal to suddenly be showered with praise from so many top designers.
She was genuinely touched.
Then, the grand prize jointly offered by Quezada & Co. Apparel Design and the Garcia Group was finally revealed. It turned out to be a 300–thousand–dor cash award.
The designers had all been expecting something a bit more special, maybe some exclusive opportunity or honor, but in the end, it was just money.
For these industry heavyweights, cash was hardly something theycked. But since it was only money, they actually felt a bit relieved.
Sure, they respected Xylia’s talent, but getting shown up by a rookie was still a blow to their pride.
Even if no one said it out loud, it still didn’t sit well with them. If the prize had been something truly irreceable, like a one–of–a–kind honor, they would’ve felt even more bitter about losing to a neer.
But in the end, it was just cash, so they could live with that.
Josie felt a little bad for Xylia; she honestly thought Xylia deserved more than just a cash prize.
“Honestly, I figured with the Garcia Group in the mix, the prize would be some kind of long–term partnership or something huge. But it’s just 300 thousand dors?” Josie said, a bit let down.
Xylia just grinned. “300 thousand dors is awesome.”
Right now, what she needed most was <b>cash</b>. With this money in hand, she could finally get things rolling.
After Xylia received her prize, many designers came over to greet her. She chatted with them, her smile <b>gracious </b><b>and </b>her attitude humble. The senior designers all spoke highly of her.
When praised, she handled it with poise, neither arrogant nor nervous in the spotlight.
Up on the second floor, Joshua watched her, his gaze softening even more.
Xavi clicked his tongue. “You really went all out for Ms. Schultz, <b>huh</b>?
“You used the Garcia Group to boost the prize, roped all these designers into your little game, and then toned
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down the reward at the end so no one would get jealous when she took first ce.”
Joshua, I’m honestly looking forward to seeing if Ms. Schultz will be so moved that she’ll offer herself to you when she finds out about all this, Xavi teased.
Joshua shot Xavi a cold look, his eyes sharp as knives. After a moment, he said quietly, “I don’t need her to be touched. I need her to <b>love </b>me.”
Xavi didn’t catch it. “What did you <b>say</b>?”
Joshua didn’t answer. He just kept his eyes locked on Xylia below, a look of lingering affection softening his gaze. Xylia, this time, I’m never letting you go again, he promised himself.
Feeling like someone was watching her. Xylia nced up, a little
wondered. But the second floor was totally empty, not a soul in siced. ‘It’s weird. Did I imagine that?‘ she
The whole event was truly enjoyable..
After the event wrapped up, Josie invited Xylia out for dinner, and Xylia happily agreed.
But just as they stepped out, Xylia bumped into Connor and Tessa, who wereing out of the venue next. door.
Connor frowned. “What are you doing here?”
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