Chapter 67 Thrill
When the alarm went off, sunlight was streaming through the windows. Jennifer rubbed her eyes and turned off the alarm. As she picked up her phone, her foggy mind instantly snapped awake. Today was the day to submit her preliminary design! Contestants needed to go to the designated location to draw their competition numbers, then submit their paper drafts in order and explain their design concepts on the spot. This was to prevent ghostwriting. In the finals, participants would be given topics on the spot and required to design in real time.
It was now 9 AM, and the deadline for drawing numbers was 10 o'clock—only one hour left. The competition venue was a forty-minute drive away, and she still needed to wash up, change clothes, and pack her things. There was barely enough time. But Francis was still sick. Jennifer looked at Francis in bed, feeling torn. His face looked much better than last night. She touched his forehead—it seemed the fever had broken. But was it okay to leave him like this?
While Jennifer was struggling with this decision, Francis slowly opened his eyes. The alarm had woken him, too. He grabbed Jennifer's hand and rubbed it against his face, saying, "Thank you."
Jennifer managed a smile, "It's okay, taking care of you is what I should do."
Francis noticed her anxious expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jennifer bit her lip and said with difficulty, "Today is the preliminary round of the jewelry design competition, and the deadline is coming up soon. If I can't get there right away, I'll be eliminated today. Can you manage at home by yourself?" Finally, she had said it.
Francis frowned. He had just made up with Jennifer and wanted to spend more time with her. But he was someone who put his career first, so he understood Jennifer's anxiety. He said calmly, "It's fine, I'm better now. You should go."
"Okay." Jennifer's face lit up with a smile. She quickly rushed into the bathroom to wash up and put on light makeup. When she came out to get her design draft, Francis was already up, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with a cup of black coffee. Jennifer checked her phone—only forty minutes left, and her ride-hailing car hadn't arrived yet. It was rush hour, so there was a queue for cars, and with the rainy weather today, she had to pay extra to get one. The car would take another eight minutes to arrive. Jennifer stood in the entryway, worrying—at this rate, she would definitely be late.
Francis had turned around at some point and saw her standing in the entryway looking at her phone anxiously, having forgotten to put away the shoes she'd changed out of. His voice was still hoarse, "Hard to get a car? If you can drive, take mine. The keys are in the cabinet on your left." Actually, if he weren't in such bad shape right now, he could drive her there himself.
Jennifer was stunned for a moment before answering, "Okay, thank you." She opened the drawer and picked out a Bentley key from the pile of luxury car keys—it looked somewhat familiar—then opened the door and quickly walked out. Actually, she had been living with Francis for a while now, but when she didn't go out with him, Jennifer always took her own rides. There always seemed to be some distance between them. This time, Francis's offering to lend her his car seemed to bring them closer. Was it because of last night's care? Or did last night's nightmare remind him of something?
Jennifer thought randomly while starting the car. She had seen Francis drive this car many times, so it wasn't unfamiliar. She soon smoothly drove out of the garage. Thirty-five minutes left—as long as there was no traffic and she drove fast enough, she could still make it.
The first half of the journey went smoothly, with green lights all the way. The navigation showed she would arrive five minutes early, and Jennifer felt relieved. However, with only ten minutes left until the deadline, the navigation announced that there was an accident ahead, with an expected fifteen-minute delay. Jennifer immediately searched for alternative routes, only to find that any detour would make her at least ten minutes late. She stopped at the intersection, looking at the cars jammed together ahead, constantly checking the time. She wouldn't make it!
If she hadn't stayed up all night with Francis, she wouldn't be running late. She would have arrived at the competition venue early. In fact, she had already booked a hotel near the venue last night. It was because Francis suddenly came home that she didn't stay there as planned. But she didn't regret her choice. Although Francis wouldn't be her lifelong partner, he had helped her a lot, and she couldn't just ignore him when he was sick. Still, being eliminated for being late was a result she couldn't accept either. Jennifer was on the verge of tears. She stared at the motionless traffic ahead, praying for the road to suddenly clear up.
With only five minutes left, she suddenly thought of someone who might also be at the competition venue right now! She immediately called Sandra, who fortunately answered after a while. "Sandra, this is Jennifer. Are you at Silverpeak Tower?" Jennifer quickly explained her situation, and after getting a positive answer, she immediately asked for help. "Sandra, the deadline for drawing numbers is almost here, and I'm still stuck in traffic. Could you draw a number for me? I promise I'll be there before the presentation time. Please, I'm begging you."
Sandra had brought her company's designers to compete today. Technically, she and Jennifer were competitors, and if she were selfish, she should take this opportunity to eliminate Jennifer as a strong rival. But fortunately, Sandra was upright and believed in fair play, and the two had a good personal relationship. After thinking for just a few seconds, she agreed. However, after hanging up, only two minutes remained. She quickly ran to the drawing area in her high heels. The staff had already started organizing the list and collecting the drawing box. Sandra called out loudly, "Wait, there's one more person who hasn't drawn yet!"
The person holding the drawing box was named Anne. She said with some displeasure, "Why are you coming so late? Time's up, you're eliminated."
Sandra, still catching her breath, put her hands on her hips and said forcefully, "I'm not late. There are still 30 seconds until ten o'clock. What gives you the right to not let me draw? Do you think you're the organizer? Let me see—your name is Anne, right? I'm going to complain about you to your manager!" Sandra had been a team leader for several years and had quite the presence. She immediately intimidated the staff members.
Another man tugged at Anne and said, "Forget it, Anne, let her draw."
Anne rolled her eyes and reluctantly put down the drawing box. "Go ahead and draw." There were always a few people who didn't show up for these competitions, so they hadn't waited for everyone on the list. There were still quite a few number tags left in the box. Sandra drew number 97. She smiled when she saw it—not too early in the order, giving Jennifer plenty of time to get there.
Anne said impatiently, "What's your name? I need to register it."
"Jennifer," Sandra reported Jennifer's name without hesitation. After all, there were no photos of the contestants here. If she told the truth, given this staff member's attitude, she would definitely make things difficult for them.
Although Anne was annoyed that Sandra had added to her workload, she honestly recorded it: Jennifer—Number 97.
On the other side, Jennifer anxiously looked at her phone. It was past ten o'clock, and she didn't know if Sandra had successfully gotten the number tag for her. It wasn't until Sandra's call came through that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.