Chapter 58

Chapter 58 A Stain Things were just as hectic on the other end. Abigail seized the opportunity to pass another piece of paper to Luna while no one else was looking. Luna’s expression remained blank, but it was as if they had an unspoken agreement–she slipped the piece of paper into her pocket and covered her shirt over it. They both edged closer to one another and were about to exchange a conversation when they heard Joan’s high–pitched voice.

“I noticed that you finished all of your design drafts when I visited you earlier today, Luna. That’s impressive. I heard that the theme left a lot of the other designers stumped–they couldn’t come up with anything, even after working on it for up to one week.” Joan’s statement carried an implicit message that everyone else could understand. Yet, when Abigail glanced at Joan’s expression, she noticed that there wasn’t a hint of malice on her face. In fact, she seemed to have genuine admiration for the other woman.

The rest of the crowd no longer said much. The designers simply stared at Luna, who had a smile on her face. Everyone couldn’t help but recall what Joan had asked Luna the night before. Did she really contact Sean to ask him about the theme last night? Was she trying to come up with the drafts before us? Abigail could sense the suspicion and hostility in the rest of the designers‘ gaze, and she froze for a moment. Joan is obviously trying to tell everyone that this competition is rigged. She’s telling them that the winner has been pre–determined and that they wouldn’t be able to win the grand prize regardless of how hard they try.

Since Luna identified herself as Alana, she hadn’t visited Sean’s room, nor did she see a point in explaining herself to Joan. So, Luna simply lowered her cutlery before looking Joan in the eye. “You should provide some evidence for your statements, Miss Palmer. Otherwise, you’re just defaming me.”

The theme, ‘Sweet Whispers, was clear enough that any designer who had some experience in the industry would know how to get started with their work. If they hadn’t exchanged identities, Abigail would have still been able to produce an initial draft within one hour. All she would’ve had to do was to discard her other issues and focus hard for a while.

Joan’s eyes were bright with joy and awe. “You sure are one of my favorite designers! I went to visit Sean last night, and I accidentally stepped on a piece of paper that had been left on the floor beside his shoe rack. I saw a mark on your draft earlier today, and I thought that it was the same piece of paper I had stepped on... I felt really disappointed then.” Joan twisted her face into one of dejection as she continued speaking.

“I was worried that the designer I admired wasn’t actually all that talented. I only became a model because of your designs. I may not have any talent in your field, but I sure do look up to you, Miss Smith! Not only that, but I would be so shocked if you turned out to be a fake!”

Luna stared at Abigail without saying much. Abigail, on the other hand, seemed unfazed even after all that Joan had said. “When you met her today, the production crew for the designers had arrived as well. Logically speaking, she wouldn’t have had the chance to switch to a new draft, right?” Abigail asked.

Joan recalled the events of the morning before she nodded. “That’s right.” Abigail let out a slight chuckle. “That’s great, then.

Since there wasn’t any time for her to change her draft, the draft that gets aired would certainly have the mark that you were talking about, right, Miss Palmer? Wouldn’t the truth be out once we look at the recordings?”

Joan blinked a few times without much change in her expression. She carefully recalled the sequence of events earlier that morning and made sure that she hadn’t missed out on anything before she spoke once more. “Fine. However, since you claim that this isn’t the truth, then there’s nothing I have to worry about. I don’t have any ill intentions. I simply want this to be a fair competition, and I want to believe that my idol has genuine talent.” Joan’s tone was sincere and genuine–the crowd seemed to be fonder of her after hearing her words.

Abigail simply smirked at the other woman. “You’re a blessing to the design industry, Miss Palmer. You voiced out your concerns in order to ensure that everyone else’s efforts don’t go to waste, and you tried to make sure that this show proceeds in a rightful manner. I think that’s a fantastic move from your end.”

Meanwhile, the cameraman was beyond excited to capture the argument. These were the sort of scenes that would generate a lot of conversation. Joan turned around to look at Luna, who had been silent for a while. “I’m not overthinking the situation. I’m simply very fond of you, Miss Smith. I only got concerned after noticing the issue with the draft.”

“Miss Palmer” Luna got to her feet and came face–to–face with Joan while beaming at her. “I’m sorry. I’m not an idiot, and I’m able to distinguish women who are simply pretending to be innocent and well–intentioned. I’m fine if you’re targeting me as an individual, but your words are also impacting my reputation. I hope that I’ll be able to receive an apology from you once the program is aired and the truth is out.” Luna didn’t care about how other people perceived her, and she wasn’t afraid to offend Joan or the wealthy figure who was supporting Joan. So, Luna didn’t hesitate to expose the pretentious front that Joan was putting on. After that, she let out a scoff before she led Abigail out of the restaurant with a nonchalant look on her face.

The tension in the room was at its peak at that point. Everyone began to whisper among themselves as they all attempted to guess what Luna would do. Joan was fuming on the inside! Luna is the one who doesn’t know where she stands. How dare she act all righteous when she was the one who tried to seduce Sean? However, Joan knew that she couldn’t reveal her anger in front of the camera. Sabrina had already given her a warning earlier that day–that she had to contain her emotions and not lose her temper. If Joan lost her temper, she would be fulfilling Luna’s wishes! She would reveal the front that she had been putting on!

However, Joan also knew that her smile would only seem forced if she attempted to put one on then. Instead, she got to her feet before gazing at the camera with a look of hurt and sorrow on her face. “I can apologize right now if that’s what Miss Smith wants. I just really didn’t want my impression of my idol to be ruined. Furthermore, we’re all on the same team–I wouldn’t want to harm her in any way. I shouldn’t have addressed this in public, and I apologize for that. After all, I’m sure every design ever produced feels like a precious gem to the designers themselves.” Joan bowed to the camera, but there was a grim look in her eyes when she turned away from it.

I can’t believe how things turned south after Abigail’s statements. I hadn’t expected Luna to be so careless with her reputation, too. She didn’t hesitate to criticize me at all. Wouldn’t that just bring me more haters?

In the meantime, Luna’s expression darkened after both she and Abigail returned to Luna’s room.

“What should we do? I think there was really a mark on the draft that I submitted.” Luna had been worried that she would accidentally expose something if the filming crew took too much footage of her, so she had been quick to submit her draft earlier. Her ears were ringing then. We spoke so confidently earlier, but it just feels like we might have dug our own graves, she thought.

“What about the copy that I gave you after that?” Abigail tried her best to comfort Luna. Luna hurried off to look for the copy in the drawer, but she then looked up with a grimace on her face.

“We’re dead. That copy’s gone.”

Abigail was speechless for a while. “Don’t worry. I’ll come up with something. You shouldn’t panic.

If everything else fails, I’ll just have to admit that I’m Alana.” Abigail turned and left after that. She didn’t know if Sean was still in the private restaurant in the dining hall–all she knew then was that she had to find a way to contact him. The rest of the designers would probably develop a bad impression of Alana once the news spread, and this would come as a blow to L.Moon Studio.

Joan didn’t reach out to Sean. Instead, she allowed the suspicion and confusion to continue brewing among the designers. At the same time, Kevin curled his lips into a victorious smirk after he saw the clips that were aired that afternoon. “Aren’t you going to talk to Mr. Sean about what happened this morning?” Damon asked after some hesitation.

Kevin gave the other person a playful smirk. “There’s no need to talk about anything. Our job is just to produce the show, and these debatable issues are meant to fall into the hands of the netizens.

That’s how our program is going to get popular.” This show is getting more and more interesting, Kevin thought to himself.