Chapter 275 She Is L

Chapter 275 She Is L

Designer Sun was the first to react, suddenly grabbing Designer Zane's arm.

Designer Zane was pulled so hard he tilted to one side, but he didn't pull away. He stared blankly at the stage, as if he couldn't believe it.

Meanwhile, Royce actually jumped up from his chair and threw his arms around Designer Zane, who was closest to him.

"It's us! It's us! Second place! We got second place!"

Several other shortlisted designers nearby turned their heads, and someone started clapping. The applause rippled through the huge venue.

Although they weren't the champions, from today on, ECHO FASHION would no longer be just a local brand with some recognition in Starlight City.

It had now stepped onto the international stage, seen by the world's top fashion professionals.

All three of them had tears in their eyes.

They had finally lived up to all their hard work.

The host waited for the applause to die down a bit, then smiled and raised his hand to signal for quiet.

"Today, we're also very honored to have a special guest here to present the awards. This guest has a rather unique identity. Her brand has been in the top three of the global haute couture rankings for three consecutive years, and her designs have been rated by VOGUE as the most commercially valuable artistic expression of the past decade. But interestingly, she never appears in public, has never accepted any personal interviews, and the industry only knows her by a single letter. Today is the first time she's willing to appear publicly."

A low murmur immediately spread through the audience.

They all knew the host was talking about the internationally renowned designer L.

This person's name was legendary in the fashion world, yet she was as mysterious as a myth.

Her work appeared at major award ceremonies almost every year, but it was always her assistant who accepted the awards on her behalf.

Some said she was an artistic recluse living in the mountains, others said he was a middle-aged man who didn't dare show his true face, and still others guessed she wasn't one person at all, but a code name for a design team.

Now hearing that she was actually going to appear publicly, the designers, buyers, and media reporters in the venue almost simultaneously sat up straight, their eyes all turning toward the entrance on the side of the stage.

"Let's welcome the internationally renowned designer, L."

The spotlight swung to the side of the stage.

Music played, and the curtain in that direction was gently pushed aside from within. A woman in a black velvet gown walked out from behind the curtain.

Royce's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.

He mechanically turned his head to look at Designer Sun beside him. Designer Sun's expression was exactly the same as his. Designer Zane was completely frozen in his seat, then instinctively turned to look, only to discover that Catherine, who had been beside them just moments ago, had somehow suddenly disappeared and was now appearing on stage.

Catherine walked to the center of the stage, took the microphone from the host, bowed slightly to acknowledge the audience, then looked at her three petrified designers below and gave them a meaningful smile.

Even when going up to receive the award, all three designers were still in a daze, especially Royce.

Catherine took the trophy from the ceremony attendant and held it out to him with both hands. He didn't reach out to take it for a long time, just staring at her face for quite a while before squeezing out a sentence from his throat.

"Ms. Montgomery... L?... Is it really you? My all-time favorite designer is you?"

Catherine looked at his bewildered expression and finally couldn't help but curve her lips slightly. "Don't want the trophy? Then I'll have them take it back."

Royce suddenly snapped back to reality, immediately grabbed the trophy and hugged it to his chest, shaking his head like a rattle drum.

"Yes! Of course I want it! Ms. Montgomery... do you know, every single paper I wrote in my four years of college analyzed your work. I memorized all your publicly available information. I never dreamed that one day I'd be standing here, receiving a trophy from your hands! Wait, I made you coffee every day and you never told me you were L! That German magazine in your office drawer, the spine is completely worn out, and you told me it was for market analysis..."

"Royce." Catherine gently interrupted him.

"If you don't take that trophy and go down now, all three hundred-plus colleagues below are going to know what kind of coffee you make for your boss every morning. Let's keep that secret for now and talk about it later, okay?"

Only then did Royce realize he was still standing under the spotlight, with countless pairs of eyes below looking at him with amusement, and even the host was trying not to laugh.

His face turned bright red as he bowed ninety degrees to Catherine, then clutched the trophy and rushed off the stage.

After the award ceremony, a brief reception was held in the hall.

The three award-winning designers were surrounded by groups of buyers, critics, and peers. They received so many business cards that Hatty had to find an empty wine box to hold them all.

And Catherine was surrounded even more tightly.

The mysterious design director of W Label and the most famous yet mysterious designer internationally was making her first public appearance—this news alone was hot enough to overshadow any award from the ceremony.

And those fashion industry bigwigs who had previously given ECHO FASHION the cold shoulder due to conflicts of interest now seemed to have agreed beforehand, lining up to hand over business cards with smiles so sincere it was as if they had always been ECHO FASHION's most steadfast supporters.

Catherine held her champagne glass, maintaining just the right amount of politeness and distance throughout.

She politely accepted every business card handed to her, but only glanced at each one before passing it to Hatty behind her, without making any unnecessary small talk.

A critic who had once publicly mocked ECHO FASHION, saying "a contract manufacturer trying to do haute couture is just wishful thinking," pushed to the front with a face full of smiles and extended his hand.

"Ms. Montgomery! No, no, no, I should call you Teacher L! I never imagined you were L—this is the fashion world's biggest surprise! About those misunderstandings before, please don't take them to heart. We're all colleagues, let's communicate more in the future!"

"Thank you." Catherine shook his hand, holding it for less than a second before letting go, with no intention of continuing the conversation. "Excuse me."

She turned to leave, and a few more clueless people tried to follow. Charles had somehow appeared by her side, naturally extending his arm to gently guide her out of the crowd. With one hand, he blocked several people who were still trying to approach with business cards, and leaned down to whisper in her ear with a light laugh.

"Ms. Montgomery, you're off the clock tonight. Any business can wait until tomorrow."

The two quickly walked out of the opera house doors. Catherine let out a long breath and was about to speak when Charles had already taken her hand first, tilting his head to look at her.

"Teacher L, I've known you for so long—how did I not know you had this identity? Internationally renowned designer, top three in global haute couture for three consecutive years, never appears publicly. Cathy, just how many secrets are you keeping from me?"