Chapter 162 I Disagree
The moment the cameras shut off, the tense atmosphere on stage seemed to deflate by half, but the remaining half grew even heavier, suffocating everyone present.
Without the cameras' constraints, the contestants' expressions became more genuine.
Some looked anxious, others gloated, while some kept their heads down, afraid to meet anyone's eyes.
"Ms. Penrose, are you trying to completely destroy this competition?" Saul's face was ashen as he struggled to contain his anger.
"I'm not the one destroying the competition—your production team is," Isadora said fearlessly, arms crossed with a cold laugh. "I'm just protecting all our contestants' legitimate rights. Mr. Pena, it's simple now. Two options: either Amelia is out and the competition continues, or all of us walk together."
Isadora's attitude was extremely aggressive, positioning herself as the contestants' spokesperson.
Those she had dragged into this, though each had their own calculations, could only stand silently behind her now, inadvertently strengthening her position.
Saul was so angry his hands began to tremble. He knew what a brilliant masterpiece "Shattered Light" was, and how absurd it would be to eliminate Amelia, but facing the threat of a mass withdrawal, he as the director simply couldn't handle that kind of pressure.
He looked at Cecilia, his eyes full of apology and helplessness.
In this suffocating standoff, a lazy voice tinged with coldness came from the venue entrance.
"Quite the party?"
Everyone turned to look, and saw Stefan walking in slowly.
He still wore his well-tailored suit with his usual business smile, but his eyes held no trace of amusement—instead, they contained a layer of chilling darkness that made hearts skip.
Garth followed behind him, expression serious, steps hurried.
No one knew that just half an hour ago, Stefan had been in the group's highest-level emergency meeting. He spent fifteen minutes listening to the complete report on the factory accident, then ten minutes issuing over a dozen directives. From containing the news and reassuring clients, to activating backup production lines, to ordering the legal and technical departments to immediately investigate and track down whoever was behind it—every decision was shockingly swift and ruthlessly thorough.
He had forcibly suppressed what could have been a catastrophic disaster capable of overturning the group's entire strategy, using the most aggressive methods possible.
After handling the most urgent matters, without even catching his breath, he rushed straight to the competition venue.
He still couldn't rest easy.
That lunatic Rufus, having already struck at Stefan's factory, would never easily let Amelia go.
But Stefan was still a step too late.
Upon entering, he immediately saw Cecilia surrounded by everyone, her expression proud and isolated, and across from her stood Isadora, shouting with a detestable face.
A mix of anger and self-reproach instantly surged through him.
His person, on his turf, was being humiliated like this!
Stefan's gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Isadora. His smile remained unchanged, but his words made the air turn several degrees colder.
"Did I just hear someone threatening the production team?"
His gaze shifted to the contestants standing behind Isadora, and he spoke deliberately: "That's fine. I've always been democratic. Now, all contestants who think Amelia should be eliminated and are willing to use withdrawal as a threat, please step over here."
He pointed to where Isadora stood.
"Let me see who you all are."
The room fell deathly silent. Contestants looked at each other, and for a moment, no one dared move.
Isadora's expression changed. She hadn't expected Stefan to suddenly return and break the deadlock so directly.
She bit her lip and said loudly, "Mr. Hensley! This is between us contestants and the production team. You shouldn't interfere with the competition's fairness!"
"Fairness?" Stefan sounded like he'd heard a joke and laughed lightly. "A perfect piece nearly gets buried because of staff error. Now there's a chance to correct it, but someone in third place is leading a group threatening to force her elimination. You call that fairness?"
Isadora's face turned pale at these simple yet pointed words.
Stefan simply ignored her, his gaze returning to the hesitant contestants.
"What, no one dares step forward now? Where's that energy from before?"
Under his stare, finally a few people reluctantly moved, stepping behind Isadora.
Once one moved, there was a second, then a third.
Soon, out of the fifty contestants present, over thirty chose to stand on Isadora's side.
Some simply didn't dare offend Isadora, but more of them feared Amelia.
Her talent was like a mountain pressing down on everyone's heads. If they could use this opportunity to drive her away, their future paths would undoubtedly be much easier.
Stefan looked at those faces—fearful, greedy, jealous—his eyes growing colder.
Cecilia hadn't spoken the entire time.
She just quietly watched this farce, watched this ugly performance of human nature, her heart completely calm. She'd seen such scenes too many times in her previous life.
However, at that moment, a voice rang out that surprised everyone.
"I disagree!"
Verity, a young girl wearing black-framed glasses who still looked somewhat innocent, walked out from a corner of the crowd.
Verity walked straight to Cecilia's side. Though nervous enough that her palms were sweating, she still gathered her courage to face those thirty-plus hostile gazes.
"I think this is unfair to Amelia!" Verity's voice trembled slightly, but her words were clear. "Competitions are about design, about skill! Everyone saw Amelia's work—it's a piece worthy of going down in history! Eliminating her because of one mistake is itself the greatest injustice!"
Verity turned to Isadora, indignantly questioning: "What gives you the right to sacrifice her interests to protect the spots of those who shouldn't have advanced in the first place? You're not defending fairness—you're just selfish, just afraid of losing to her!"
Verity's words were blunt and sharp.
Cecilia looked at Verity beside her with some surprise.
From her appearance and dress, Verity was probably still a college student.
Cecilia hadn't expected that when everyone else chose silence or took sides, this seemingly timid Verity would be the only one to stand up for her.
A faint warmth quietly rippled across Cecilia's frozen heart.
Isadora, publicly accused by Verity, turned livid with anger. Just as she was about to lash out, Stefan impatiently waved his hand.
"Alright, since everyone's chosen sides, this is easy to handle." He announced flatly, "Now, I'm declaring that the competition's final results will be re-ranked including Amelia's work along with all others. Anyone who can't accept this result can leave the venue now, and the production team will process your withdrawal."
"Who do you think you are!" From behind Isadora, Parker, a male contestant with an inflated ego, finally couldn't hold back. He jumped out, pointing at Stefan's nose and demanding, "You say re-rank and we re-rank? Who the hell do you think you are!"