Chapter 501: "Do I Need Your Approval When I Do Things?

Chapter 501: Chapter 501: "Do I Need Your Approval When I Do Things?

But before Benjamin Carter could figure it out, another punch rained down on him.

"Stop... stop hitting me! Help! Ahhh, what are you doing?!"

Benjamin was in a complete panic, but his mind was racing.

He couldn’t let this trip be for nothing!

If he didn’t fulfill Miss Yeats’s instructions, what if she held a grudge against him? She was the eldest daughter of the Yeats family, and he couldn’t afford to offend them!

As long as he ruined Estelle Lockwood’s reputation...

Benjamin suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.

So what if Estelle hadn’t seduced him? If he said she did, then she did!

As long as someone saw them together, people would talk, and they could say whatever they wanted!

Besides, his public image had always been stellar. Even if he liked sleeping with female contestants, so what? No one else knew!

As long as he claimed that Estelle had asked to meet him and insisted on seducing him, and he played the victim, everyone would definitely believe him!

So, as long as he created a misunderstanding and made others see Estelle as a promiscuous woman, that would be enough!

With this in mind, Benjamin violently broke free. "Estelle, I advise you to stop struggling. I can just treat those two hits of yours as foreplay!

"You’d better just lie down and be a good girl. Offend me and the Yeats family, and you can forget about ever gaining a foothold in this design competition. I’m telling you right now: if you don’t behave, there’s no way I’ll let you advance!"

He lunged forward, preparing to grab Estelle—

BANG!

The door was kicked open from the outside.

Nathaniel Sloan stood there, radiating hostility, his face utterly cold.

He was wearing the signature mask of Mr. Lynch. Benjamin didn’t recognize him and roared, "Who the hell are you?! Interrupting my good time—I’ll make you pay for this!"

"Mr. Carter is certainly throwing his weight around," Nathaniel said in a calm tone. "Do I need to ask for your permission before I do things?"

"Of course—"

"Unfortunately, I’m not here to reason with you."

With one punch, Nathaniel sent Benjamin crashing to the floor. He lifted his leather shoe and stomped hard on the man’s back. Benjamin instantly let out a pig-like squeal. "Ahhhh!"

"Threatening Estelle? Mr. Carter, I think your time as a judge has come to an end." Nathaniel leaned down. "You were so eager to curry favor with the Yeats family, but didn’t you ever stop to consider who I am?"

Who was he... who was this?

Someone wearing a mask, not daring to show his true face—who could it be?

Suddenly, Benjamin realized something.

The biggest sponsor of the design competition, Mr. Lynch!

Rumor had it that Mr. Lynch... always wore a mask...

Benjamin was promptly hauled away by Luke White. Nathaniel closed the door, his gaze sharp and cold as he looked at Estelle.

"Did you not know how dangerous that was?"

Estelle looked sheepish, her eyes darting around. "I just... I knew you would get here quickly."

Nathaniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed. "Even so, you shouldn’t have invited a wolf into your house! What if he had acted on his malicious intentions? What would you have done then?"

"He already acted on them," Estelle muttered quietly. "I just figured there was no way he could beat me in a fight..."

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "So, what does Mrs. Sloan plan to do about it? They schemed against you. Mrs. Sloan isn’t just going to let this go, is she?"

"Of course not..." Estelle flashed a sly smile. "Benjamin’s plan failed, but do you think he’ll tell Claire Yeats?"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "No."

"So, from Claire’s perspective, Benjamin succeeded.

"And since Benjamin ’succeeded,’ that means she can solidify the rumor that I ’seduced a judge.’ Tell me... what do you think she’ll do next?"

Nathaniel gave a slight nod. "Should I play along with you?"

Estelle tilted her head. "That could work, but Mr. Sloan, in what capacity will you be accompanying me?"

Nathaniel’s expression was meaningful as he slowly took off his mask. "As Mr. Lynch, it’s perfectly normal for me to care about a competition I’ve invested in.

"After all, the champion of this design competition will be signing a contract with my Aethel Group." He checked the time. "Benjamin won’t bother you anymore. It’s getting late, so I’ll get going. Shall I leave Luke with you?"

Estelle nodded. "Okay."

On the first day, most of the contestants were resting and acclimating.

By the second day, nearly everyone had started working on their designs.

A week later, everyone had finished their designs and submitted their works. The pieces were all sealed away, awaiting grading.

This round of scoring was another lengthy process that would take a full ten days. From two hundred contestants, they would be filtered and eliminated round by round down to twenty people. These twenty would then compete in the semifinals to select five, who would move on to the finals.

Many knew that this qualifying round was their last chance, so they took it extremely seriously. For seven whole days, the entire hotel was filled with a solemn atmosphere. Many contestants didn’t even step out of their rooms, opting to have their meals delivered instead.

After submitting her work, Estelle made sure to record a video of it.

A staff member’s mouth twitched. "Miss Lockwood, what... what are you doing?"

"Archiving," Estelle replied nonchalantly. "Last time, it was precisely because I had a video that I couldn’t be framed. I have to be careful this time around too, of course."

The onlookers instinctively looked toward Claire, who was walking over at that moment.

Claire’s expression was dark and gloomy, but the moment she met Estelle’s gaze, two tears squeezed out of her eyes. She lowered her head quietly, looking utterly aggrieved.

"That bitch!" Claire thought. "However, Benjamin has already succeeded. So what if Estelle advances? Won’t she still be eliminated for ’seducing a judge’?

"It doesn’t matter.

"Once the results are out, I’ll deal her a fatal blow!

"She will definitely be so happy and excited when she finds out she made it to the semifinals.

"And then she’ll be eliminated... Haha, just thinking about it makes me happy."

All the contestants returned to their respective homes to endure the ten-day wait.

Meanwhile, at the Yeats family residence.

The Yeats family had a guest over. The Rhodes family, who had once been on Capital City’s rich list, had relocated their headquarters to Crestfall a few years ago. Old Mrs. Yeats and Old Mrs. Rhodes hadn’t seen each other in five years.

Now that Old Mrs. Yeats was in Crestfall, Old Mrs. Rhodes naturally had to pay a visit to avoid people saying the Rhodes family lacked manners.

Old Mrs. Yeats paid lip service by welcoming her, but in reality, she was showing off. "Oh my, old friend, you’ve come at a bad time. Our Claire just happens to be out right now!"

Old Mrs. Rhodes’s granddaughter had already indignantly ranted to her about Claire, so she obviously knew that Claire had stolen Estelle’s work. However, as a guest, she could only say, "That is quite unfortunate. Claire must be very busy lately."

It was as if a floodgate of conversation had been opened for Old Mrs. Yeats. "Isn’t she just! She’s busy with the competition right now. Oh, you have no idea—it’s only the qualifying round, yet so many companies have already come knocking, wanting to collaborate with her.

"Among them is that famous one in the design world... Midnight Studio, and the Aethel Group!"

Old Mrs. Yeats beamed with joy. "The champion gets to collaborate with Aethel on a jewelry set, and Aethel has already approached our Claire in private. Even before the finals, everyone already considers Claire the champion. Oh my, what do you think of that?"

Old Mrs. Yeats believed that as long as Claire’s designs were put into production, the Yeats family would have an endless stream of money.

And this money would be coming from Claire, not earned by Quentin!