Chapter 12 Nothing But Trash


    ''Dream on, '' Emily cursed in her mind, ''Jacob must be full of himself.''


    "Earlier, Rose was nning to frame me, but luckily, she failed. I know that she won''t give up that


    easily. I am certain she''s having someone monitor this room. If you step out now, any fool would be


    able to tell what happened between you and me..."


    "What happened between you and me?" Jacob repeated, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting up,


    "You mean the secret affair between you and me?"


    Jacob had never thought that he would ever have anything to do with a "secret affair". ''Interesting, ''


    he thought.


    "I didn''t mean that," Emily blushed, but asserted, "Anyway, you can''t just walk out of here like that!


    Emily didn''t want to think what Jack and Rose would do, if they had found out that Jacob was in her


    room all along. One way or another, Emily wanted what happened today in her room to be a secret!


    Jacob looked at Emily for a while, amused by the troubled look on her face. Suddenly, he ran his


    hand through her hair and caressed it as if he was petting a kitten.


    "I see, but, I need you to listen to me too. I want you to break up with Jack and stay away from him."


    Emily was disconcerted to hear Jacob''s words. Judging from his tone, she knew there was a hidden


    meaning in the words. But what was it? She failed to figure it out.


    She did not catch it even after Jacob had left after making a phone call.


    The next day, it was the final round of the jewelry designpetition.


    Before the final roundmenced, all the contestants waited eagerly; talking to each other; trying


    to feel out theirpetitors.


    At first nce Emily saw Rose sitting there in her luxury dress, which made her look more attractive


    and striking. And she was not alone. A man sat next to her. It was Jack, who wore as a prince. A


    handsome man with a fairdy-what a perfect match in everyone''s eyes.


    But Emily only took a nce at the two and looked away. It was the final and she should focus on


    thepetition without any distraction.


    As a consequence, she didn''t notice that both Jack and Rose looked annoyed, even though they


    were upset forpletely different reasons. Jack was in bad mood because he had waited for


    hours in the coffee lounge yesterday but Jacob did not show up. All he got was just a message from


    Sam saying, "Something emergent came up and Mr. Jacob has to deal with it first, he won''t be able


    to make it".


    He should have ignored Sam and broken into Emily''s room yesterday. If so, he would have


    definitely caught Emily''s "paramour" after carefully searching her room.


    Rose was in low spirits too, but for a totally different reason. The person she had paid to monitor


    Emily''s room did not find anything unusual or substantive. Oddly enough, it was as if the man had


    disappeared into thin air and never contacted her again.


    Rose was hoping get credit for it by telling Jack what the man had uncovered, but her n was


    ruined. So she sat there next to Jack, depressed and disheartened.


    Thepetition was just about to start. More and more people came to take their seats, and the


    judges also followed suit one after another.


    Emily couldn''t calm her nerves down. When she took a random peek at the guest seats, she felt a


    bit short of breath.


    She found a man sitting there withmanding presence, and a sense of indifference and nobility.


    So Sam was speaking the truth? Jacob actually did have interest in jewelry? Otherwise, he would


    not be here.


    ''Anyway, I don''t think he came here to see me, '' Emily cleared her mind of all the strange ideas, ''I


    am nobody to him; just another girl he spent the night with.''


    Suddenly, she came upon a realization-she had not seen Leo since he was trying to rape her


    yesterday. Jacob must have taken care of it for her. Jacob, he seemed to always show up when she


    was in trouble...


    Emily felt grateful to Jacob. However, she wouldn''t forgive him for what he did to her yesterday.


    Every time Emily thought about what happened yesterday, she would be stricken with abination


    of anger and humiliation. Jacob not only took advantage of her but also abused her.


    ''Damn it!''


    Jacob noticed Emily staring at him from a distance. He abruptly shifted his nce to hers. Emily


    could clearly see the jocosity in his eyes.


    She suddenly felt a sharp difort in her back. She quickly shifted eyes from Jacob''s and looked


    elsewhere.


    There were five judges for this jewelry designpetition. Leo was reced by another judge.


    None of the other judges knew where Leo was. In fact, no one asked about his whereabouts as if


    they were all told not to do so. But some of the contestants felt curious about Leo''s absence.


    "Where is that judge? What''s his name? Leo? He should have been one of them?"


    "I heard that he is notoriouslyscivious. May be he is too busy dating some beautiful woman and


    forgot about thepetition."


    "I have long felt that Leo is very unprofessional. He should have never been made a judge of such a


    prestigiouspetition. The good news is, they have a great recement for him. Do you know


    that he got reced by Victor?"


    "Mr. Victor? You mean that Victor?"


    Those who heard the name were surprised and began to whisper in excitement.


    When Emily heard the contestants talking about Leo, she felt somewhat pressured by the secret


    she was keeping, but when she heard the name "Victor", her heart skipped a beat.


    She absolutely knew who Victor was.


    He won the championship of an international jewelry designpetition at the age of 15. In thest


    ten years, he had won numerous awards and prizes. Victor''s work was vibrant and vivid, as if they


    had a life of their own. Anyone who looked at his work would be astonished by its marvel. His


    creations were priceless; he was certainly a heavyweight champion in the jewelry circle. It was once


    Emily''s dream to be Victor''s assistant. However, as Victor obtained more and more achievements,


    Emily could not catch up with him anymore.


    She did not expect Victor to be one of the judges in thispetition.


    This made Emily even more nervous. She was afraid that she would make too many mistakes in


    competition. Thankfully, she had done a good job through out.


    All works were handed over to the judges. They scrutinized each of them in a heated discussion


    amongst themselves.


    "I really appreciate Kary''s idea in his design. He used colors in an expressive way—highly creative


    and romantic."


    "Look at Chou''s design. She was taught by the jewelry master Tiffany. Although you can find


    Tiffany''s influence in her design, shebines it fluently with her own style. Such an exquisite


    design..."


    "As far as I can see, these contestants are all very talented. They all did a great job. However, I still


    feel that there is something missing in their work..."


    The judges set out their opinions and tried to persuade each other.


    However, Victor kept a poker face in his seat. Despite the heated discussion of the judges, he did


    not participate.


    When the discussion was about toe to an end, a senior judge cleared his throat and asked


    Victor, "Mr. Victor, what do you think of these designs?"


    Victor raised his head; finally there was a change in his facial expression. It was, however, an


    expression of impatience on his face. He slowly opened his mouth and uttered only three words,


    "nothing but trash".


    A deep silence reigned around the judges.


    They felt like they had all been humiliated, but because it was Victor who had said so, they could do


    nothing but smile since they had to show him respect.


    Victor had no interest in these designs. If it were not for Jacob''s request, he would not havee


    here to be a judge for thepetition.


    Under the watchful eyes of the other judges, Victor started to leaf through the drawings of


    contestants in a calm manner. All of a sudden, he was attracted by a design.


    This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Soon the rest of he judges followed suit.


    Drawn on the paper was a design of a gemstone brooch. The gemstone was shaped irregrly, like


    something no one had ever imagined. A beautiful daisy bloomed in the center of the brooch. There


    was a new-born baby curling up and lying on the glittering central disc of the flower, as if he was


    sound asleep, but was just about to open his eyes at the next second.


    "Amazing, " the judge who spoke to Victor a moment ago was bedazzled by the brooch.


    All the other judges nodded in agreement.


    They were amazed, not only visually but also mentally, by the design. It gave a full expression to the


    glory of humanity and motherhood. When they looked at the paper, they felt like they had touched


    the purest soul in the world and that they were free from the dust of the world.


    til