16:25 Wed, Nov 6 BGB.

Chapter 123

Shirley was brimming with confidence. She had quietly primped, eagerly awaiting worldwide applause.

The host announced, “The winner of the Golden Pinnacle Award goes to…”

At that moment, Shirley felt she had reached life's peak. She quickly rose and walked eagerly toward the podium. However, this peak lasted only a second.

“Cynthia Jones!” the host announced, revealing the Golden Pinnacle Award winner.

Shirley froze. Her smile vanished. Rooted to the spot, she felt dizzy. Then, she watched Cynthia ascend the stage again.

Stunned, Shirley exclaimed inwardly, "No way! How can it be Cynthia again? No designer has ever won two awards simultaneously. What makes Cynthia an exception? Besides, with my high overall score, it's impossible I couldn't win one category award! This can't be happening!"

When the host was about to present the award to Cynthia, Shirley rushed to the podium, seemingly distraught.

She loudly protested, "This is unfair! Cynthia and I have the same highest overall score of 95. How can she win two awards while I have none? There must be something shady going on! I strongly object to this result!"

Shirley's outburst, translated into several languages, was relayed to the judges' headsets. For a moment, everyone stared at her as if she were a bad joke, their gazes filled with disdain. They whispered amongst themselves in a language she didn't understand, but the disgust and contempt in their eyes were clear.

She couldn't understand the drastic change, considering the judges' earlier wonder and admiration for her "Four Seasons Garden" presentation just hours before.

The host approached Shirley and spoke in fluent Clusian. "Ms. Jones, your design is excellent and deserves a high score of 95."

Shirley thought, Maybe I'm being too impatient? Maybe there's a more impressive award waiting for me.

Alas, the host's expression turned solemn. "It's a shame your design is considered plagiarism."

The word "plagiarism" stunned Shirley. A momentary pang of guilt was quickly replaced by composure. She reasoned that no one could know she had plagiarized; the design book was an inherited treasure, unknown to outsiders. Furthermore, she'd thoroughly searched the internet and found no similar design online.

Though her fingers trembled, she held her head high. "Stop making baseless accusations! You must have evidence before accusing me of plagiarism!"

Meanwhile, a heated discussion had been unfolding in the live chat for the past five minutes.

[Evidence! It's on the internet. No wonder she doesn't know; she can't see her phone.] The original designer had already published the design.

Chapter 123

[I can't believe Shirley plagiarized Miss Y's design, created during her early years as a student.] [Who is Miss Y? Is she that impressive?] [Miss Y isn't famous for fashion design, but she's a renowned jewelry designer. She's one of the three chief designers of Queen Jewelry.] [Damn! What a talent! Even in a different industry.] [Miss Y just made her Instagram public. Many fashion designs are there, including one identical to Shirley's, created six years ago. Even the name, "Four Seasons Garden," is the same.] [Gosh, Shirley was bold enough to plagiarize and didn't even change the name! She's terribly foolish!] [Not only this, but some of Shirley's previous Velorix designs were also plagiarized from Miss Y. She only slightly altered them. But "Four Seasons Garden" was identical. Miss Y will sue Velorix for intellectual property infringement.] [Miss Y didn't make her designs public; her Instagram was private. She probably didn't mind before, but Shirley went too far this time. How outrageous!] [Since Miss Y didn't make her designs public, how did Shirley plagiarize?]

The live chat buzzed, and the hashtag "[Velorix plagiarizing]" quickly reached the top three trending topics.

Justin read the posts on his laptop. Feeling as if he'd fallen into an abyss, he smashed it to the floor, roaring, "What a shameless daughter!"

He'd expected two Velorix designs to win, propelling the brand to the top. Instead, Velorix was now associated with plagiarism, piracy, and trademark theft. His despair was immense.

"I told you she was a scourge! We should never have brought her back! This ungrateful brat will ruin our family and my life's work!" Justin exclaimed anxiously.

Selena was also surprised. As Shirley's mother (despite the birth switch), she felt responsible and had tolerated Shirley's past follies out of guilt. Shirley's design talent had been her only redeeming quality. Now, she wondered if even that was stolen.

Shirley continued to deny the accusations until the officials displayed Miss Y's designs on the stage screen. Each design showed a posting date; "Four Seasons Garden" was six years old, identical to Shirley's entry.

Shirley seemed stunned, dizzy, and unable to comprehend.