Chapter 481: Mrs. Sloan, Do You Know What Time It Is?

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Mrs. Sloan, Do You Know What Time It Is?

Estelle Lockwood skimmed through the comments and glanced at the design draft again. "Yes," she said with a cold sneer, "this design draft was among the belongings Grandpa left for me."

Penelope Sullivan thought for a moment. "Do you know whose design this is?"

Estelle had already gone through the belongings her grandfather left behind. "It’s my mother’s."

"Does that mean Claire Yeats plagiarized your mother’s design?" Penelope’s voice trailed off as she realized the timeline didn’t add up. "But your mother left the Yeats family a long time ago. Where did Claire even get the draft?"

Estelle twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Exactly. That just proves someone gave it to her."

Penelope hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Actually, there’s another thing I find strange. You were the champion of the design competition three years ago. Even though you didn’t reveal your identity, the organizing committee could have found out if they really wanted to. How did Claire manage to impersonate you for three whole years without being exposed?"

Estelle smiled. "Right? Why is that? So, I’ve been wondering—who is targeting me?"

Penelope thought of a possibility. "Could it be Old Mrs. Yeats? What if she bribed the committee and stole your mother’s design draft? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve pulled something like this. Didn’t your father’s paintings become the stepping stones for Evan Yeats’s fame?

"Evan used your father’s work to get famous, and Claire stole your mother’s design. Are those two really not biological siblings?"

Estelle shook her head. "When I exposed Evan, Old Mrs. Yeats hated me for blowing the matter up. She hated me for exposing the truth and snatching away her grandson’s glory. That proves she knew all along that Evan was incompetent and exactly where those paintings came from.

"But when she brought up Claire, she looked genuinely proud. She didn’t act like someone who was in on a secret. Instead..."

Penelope suddenly understood. "Instead, she truly believed Claire was an outstanding prodigy, her pride and joy! The thought that Claire might have plagiarized and stolen someone else’s work never even crossed her mind!

"So even Old Mrs. Yeats didn’t know that Claire stole someone else’s championship title and plagiarized another person’s work!"

Estelle nodded. "Exactly."

Penelope fell silent, finding the whole situation unbelievable. "Are you going to participate this time, then?"

"Of course," Estelle said with a smile. "I don’t like others claiming my achievements, and Claire walked right into this one."

She wondered if she should participate. Of course she would. Setting aside the fact that this was a grand event every designer in the world scrambled to attend, she had to participate just to vent her frustration. Claire had been throwing her weight around using her title. Now that Estelle was here in person, what kind of expression would Claire make?

By the time registration for the design competition closed, a total of 42,800 people had signed up, but only two hundred would be selected from the preliminaries. Estelle had almost become a judge, so she knew the rules well.

The first round of the preliminaries would eliminate half of the participants. As for how the screening worked, the judging panel would divide the 42,800 contestants into pairs. They would be scored against their partners; the one with the higher score would stay, while the lower-scoring one would be immediately eliminated.

Although this method ran the risk of eliminating a strong competitor paired with another strong one, or advancing a weak competitor paired with an even weaker one—which was unfair to those in strong groups—the probability of that happening was relatively low. Since the sheer volume of work was too massive, the committee had ultimately settled on this format.

The second round would also follow the same elimination format. Only when the number of contestants dwindled to around ten thousand would new rules be introduced. Because of this, the scoring process for the preliminaries would take a very long time.

After registering, Estelle reviewed the rules. She needed to submit a piece that matched the theme within the stipulated time. The theme this time was "Building."

She wondered whether she should use architectural elements to create her jewelry. Estelle pondered for a few seconds before suddenly grabbing a pen and paper and diving into her work at the desk.

Ten hours later, a flawless piece of work was born.

Nathaniel Sloan walked past the study. He placed a glass of milk on the desk and looked at her expressionlessly. "Mrs. Sloan, do you know what time it is?"

Estelle, who always lost track of time once she started designing, fell silent.

She was still riding the high of her creative flow, her face beaming with the joy of having designed a piece she was fully satisfied with. "Huh? What time is it?"

Nathaniel glanced flatly at the clock.

Only then did Estelle realize with a shock that it was already four in the morning! Four in the morning! She had spoken to Penelope on the phone during dinner yesterday, registered for the competition, seen the theme, and then locked herself in the study...

"Ahem." Estelle felt a twinge of guilt. "Pulling an all-nighter once in a while is fine. Why aren’t you asleep either?"

Nathaniel looked at her softly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "I just finished a meeting."

Estelle instantly felt emboldened. "Then how do you have the nerve to lecture me?"

"You’re right. That’s why I won’t stay up this late in the future." Nathaniel handed her the milk. He waited until she finished drinking before saying, "Going on like this will ruin your health. I, for one, value my life."

"Is that so?" Estelle put away her design draft. "I couldn’t tell."

From childhood to adulthood, nothing about Nathaniel’s actions or behavior had ever suggested that he valued his life.

The man gave a faint smile. "I have no choice. Now that I have a family and Mrs. Sloan to worry about, I have to value my life. Otherwise, if something happens to me, who will protect—"

"Nathaniel Sloan!" Estelle interrupted him. "Don’t say such unlucky things."

"Alright." He chuckled. His gaze shifted to the papers in her hands, and a flash of amazement lit up his eyes. "Is this your design draft?"

"Yes." Estelle’s lips curved upward. "The theme for the competition is ’Building.’ Since this year’s XM is being hosted in Innerland, this ’building’ easily brings to mind the traditional pavilions and towers of Innerland. It’s completely different from the skyscrapers abroad and much more suitable for jewelry representation."

"It’s beautiful. What’s the name of this set?"

Estelle thought for a moment. "I haven’t decided yet."

"How about ’Cloud Sea Building’?" Nathaniel suggested in a calm tone.

Estelle blinked. It was indeed a very fitting name.

"Get some sleep. You can submit your work tomorrow," Nathaniel said. "I remember the XM preliminaries allow both online and offline submissions. Which one will you choose?"

There was no difference between the two submission methods, but Estelle thought about it and said, "Offline."

"Alright. Shall I go with you?"

"Mm."

The next afternoon.

Estelle opened her eyes in a daze. Had she actually slept until the afternoon?! Then again, she hadn’t stepped out of the study until past four in the morning. By the time she washed up, it was four-thirty, and it was already five by the time she finally fell asleep. Somewhere in between, she had been groggily dragged out of bed by Nathaniel for a meal, and then...

She reasoned that sleeping until one in the afternoon was completely normal.

The registration for the preliminaries had already closed, and today she had to submit her entry. There really was no difference between submitting it online or offline, but she wanted to...

Estelle stepped out the door and quietly finished the thought in her head with six words. "Lure the fish to the bait."

There were quite a few people outside the XM venue. Competitors bustled back and forth.

"The theme for the preliminaries is ’Building.’ That’s my weak point. I feel like I have no hope."