Chapter 103 High Score

Chapter 103 High Score

After dropping that bombshell, Olivia ignored Isabella, which made Isabella so angry she trashed her room on the spot.

After venting her emotions, Isabella immediately went to find James.

Seeing her red and swollen eyes, clearly having just cried, James immediately asked with concern what happened, and even had a waiter bring two ice packs for her to reduce the swelling.

Isabella sniffled. "It's nothing, just feeling anxious about the competition and not in great shape. I had no one to talk to, so I told Olivia, who also made it to the finals."

James keenly caught the key point. "Did she bully you?"

"No." Isabella shook her head, and when she looked up again, her eyes were brimming with tears. "James, am I really that terrible?"

"Olivia said design wasn't for me, insisted I'd never win, and told me to find another job." As she spoke, her body trembled uncontrollably, but she bit her lip hard, forcing herself not to let the tears pooling in her eyes fall.

"She's talking nonsense!" Seeing Isabella looking so pitiful, James felt nothing but sympathy.

He moved to sit beside her, pulled her into his arms, gently patted her shoulder, and comforted her. "I know your abilities best, you can definitely do it."

"Even if you really run into difficulties, I'll help you."

Hearing this, Isabella cried even harder. She sobbed. "But... but Olivia said you'll only help her."

"She also said she's your fiancée and told me to stay away from you from now on."

She covered her face with both hands, tears flooding through her fingers. Even so, she still forced out a smile, pretending to be strong. "It's okay, I can do it on my own."

These words completely triggered James's protective instinct. He immediately promised to only help her, and told her not to take Olivia's words to heart. "After all these years of friendship between us, it's not her place to tell us what to do."

With James's comfort, Isabella's crying gradually subsided.

After her emotions gradually stabilized, she asked between sobs. "James, have you fallen for Olivia?"

Otherwise, why would he say he'd help that bitch find connections?

James wanted to deny it, but the image of Alexander leaving Olivia's place that morning stopped him.

Seeing James spacing out, Isabella felt both angry and anxious.

To make sure the plan was foolproof, Isabella had privately contacted two judges. Her request was quite unexpected: she didn't ask them to give her high scores, but they must give Olivia low scores.

Because she paid enough money, the two judges readily agreed.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the finals.

Olivia checked the time and walked quickly toward the venue.

"Stop right there!" Just as she was about to enter, Jonathan suddenly appeared and blocked her way.

Jonathan stood with his hands behind his back, looking stern, his tone full of disgust. "This isn't some ordinary competition. Stop making a scene here and get lost, before you embarrass the Harper family again."

He had already guessed she would come to the competition today, and for the sake of the Harper family's reputation, he absolutely couldn't let her in.

Olivia had no patience for his nonsense and said bluntly, "If you don't move, I'm calling security."

"You!" Sensing Olivia's terrible attitude, Jonathan felt his dignity was insulted. Feeling displeased, he raised his hand to teach her a lesson.

But before he could speak, another voice interrupted. "I'd like to see who dares to stop a contestant from participating in the competition."

"Ms. Scott." Seeing Layla, Olivia's attitude instantly softened, and her face showed more warmth.

"Don't be nervous, just perform like you normally do." Layla smiled warmly. She reached out and patted Olivia's shoulder. "Go on in, I'll handle things here."

Olivia glanced at Jonathan, whose face had turned bright red, still worried. "Please be careful."

Although Layla wasn't someone to be pushed around, who knew if Jonathan would lose it on the spot like Isabella - better to be cautious.

Layla acknowledged this and gave her an encouraging look. "Go ahead."

Because of Layla's status, Jonathan didn't dare block Olivia anymore, but his expression was extremely ugly.

Layla ignored him, and followed Olivia into the venue.

At nine in the morning, the contestants gradually arrived. The host brought out a lottery box for everyone to draw lots to determine their presentation order.

After drawing lots, Nina Griffin immediately came over to Olivia. "Olivia, I'm number eleven, what number are you?"

Olivia opened her paper slip and saw it was forty-five. Nina immediately panicked. "That's the worst position! You have to be really careful!"

Olivia knew she meant well, but things were what they were, and she could only accept it.

She smiled and instead comforted her colleague and new friend. "It's okay, I'm pretty confident in my work."

She changed the subject and asked. "What about you? Didn't you say yesterday you just finished your final draft? Is everything okay?"

Before Nina could answer, Isabella came over, covering her mouth with a snide tone. "Some people are just born unlucky. Instead of struggling here and wasting effort, they might as well get lost early, so they don't completely embarrass themselves later."

Pretending to pass by, she showed off the paper slip in her hand, with the number five particularly eye-catching.

Seeing Isabella acting up again, Nina was furious. "That psycho!" She lifted her leg to follow.

Olivia quickly grabbed her friend who was about to confront Isabella and shook her head slightly. "The competition's about to start, ignore her."

Nina was seething inside and bit her teeth hard. "Fine! I want to see what score she gets!"

The competition soon began, with contestants taking the stage one by one to present their works.

The first few contestants' scores were average, until the fourth contestant finally got the first high score of the event.

But unexpectedly, Isabella, who went up next, received an even higher score - a full twenty points higher than the previous contestant!

Seeing Isabella's average score, Nina stood up in anger. She said in disbelief. "No way? Are they kidding? 97.8? For her work?"

Her eyes widened. She stared at the screen for several seconds, then said with certainty. "If she didn't bribe the judges, I'll let lightning strike me!"

Olivia said nothing, but her expression was also quite grim. She stared at Isabella's design, lost in thought.

Isabella's work really wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't deserve such a high score. Compared to last year's excellent competition entries, the gap was quite obvious.

Unlike Olivia and Nina's shock, Jonathan in the audience was currently beaming as he accepted congratulations from people around him. Hearing them say the Harper family had produced a design genius who would definitely win first place this time, he couldn't be more pleased.

Jonathan was polite with his words, but the smile on his face never stopped.

After leaving the stage, Isabella immediately found Olivia and pretended to care. "Olivia, this competition is actually quite simple. You better do your best later."

"Don't be too nervous. Even if you perform at your absolute best, you still won't get a fraction of my score."