Chapter 239 Impatient Bianca
Bianca was confident.
And determined to win.
The preliminary round had assigned topics.
Contestants had to create their work based on the given topic.
Bianca created according to the topic, and fortunately it had some overlap with the work from Emily's notebook.
Originally, she had planned to use it directly, but to fit the topic better, she made slight modifications to that piece and added some of her own ideas.
This was probably the most focused she'd ever been in all her design attempts.
So throughout the whole process she was completely immersed in designing, with no mind to look at other contestants, and certainly didn't notice Emily's presence.
Until she submitted her work.
While waiting for the results.
Someone came up to chat with Bianca.
This was someone from a small family in the circle who had heard of Bianca's reputation early on. Recently busy preparing for this competition, they hadn't been online much, so they only knew about Bianca's previous good reputation.
They didn't know that recent events had shattered Bianca's good image bit by bit.
"Bianca, I never thought we'd be competing together in this competition. Being able to compete alongside you makes me so happy. You have no idea - I've always seen you as my goal. You're my idol!"
The person was a girl with a cute appearance, a baby face, and sweet dimples when she smiled - Claire Murphy, daughter of the Murphy family.
Her eyes curved with joy, not holding back any praise.
And she spoke very sincerely.
Bianca was initially annoyed at being interrupted, but hearing the praise and admiration, she finally felt like she was back in those days of being surrounded by admirers and receiving compliments.
She smiled gently and modestly, "Thank you for your support. Being able to participate in this competition shows you're excellent too. No need to envy me - let's improve together."
Claire was so happy to talk with Bianca up close that her head felt dizzy.
Now that Bianca was being so approachable and modest, it made Claire admire Bianca even more.
She became even more enthusiastic, even asking proactively, "You must be confident about this competition, right Bianca? I found it a bit difficult. When that topic came out, my mind actually went blank. Can you tell me what you thought when you saw the topic? Do you always have inspiration?"
Claire was genuinely asking for advice.
A truly gentle and modest person wouldn't bear to refuse such sincerity.
But this person was Bianca.
The gentleness was fake!
The modesty was fake!
Even her design ability was fake.
The more Claire asked, the less Bianca could answer.
She even thought irritably to herself.
Are you stupid? You don't even know these things, why are you even entering this competition?
She didn't think about how her own real ability might not even match Claire's. If she called Claire stupid, then what did that make her, who was even worse?
"What's wrong? Am I asking too much? I just saw you being so approachable, I couldn't help but ask what was on my mind."
When Claire said this, she didn't think much of it. She had a simple nature and just said whatever came to mind.
But Bianca's thoughts were sensitive.
What was this?
If she didn't answer, would that make her not approachable in Claire's eyes?
Bianca's dislike for Claire grew even stronger. She forcefully suppressed her distaste and gave a perfunctory response. "Stop praising me like that. I'm not that great. When the topic was autumn, suburbs, and freedom, I just had images in my mind, then imagined myself as the female lead in the scene, combined with the colors of plants in the environment...
Sorry, look at me going on and on. I'm just talking off the top of my head. I'm afraid I might teach you wrong. By the way, how do you know me? Who are you?"
The only reason she held back her temper was in case the other person was a daughter from some major family studying abroad who hadn't shown her face yet. To avoid offending someone unintentionally, she asked.
She didn't want to keep dealing with Claire, unless Claire had value.
So after just a few sentences - using the method Emily had taught her back then - she found it came in handy now.
But Claire seemed to have an epiphany, her eyes bright as amber.
"That's not just random talk at all - it's so helpful! Thank you, Bianca. I just heard about you from one of my older sisters, then I followed you, and realized you're even more excellent than my sister said. I'm from the Murphy family."
The Murphy family.
Among the major families in the circle, there was no one with the Murphy surname.
Seems like the other person wasn't anyone important.
Vaguely, she seemed to have an impression that there was a small family with the Murphy surname.
Could it be her?
Thinking of this, Bianca lost her patience, and her attitude became even colder.
"I see. If you look at the topic and have no inspiration, then I think you might not have much talent. You might as well think carefully and find another path for yourself."
Bianca's words were already quite mocking.
But Claire was simple and well-protected, completely unaware that Bianca's words were mocking her.
Instead, she thought Bianca was kindly giving her suggestions.
Claire looked at Bianca with wide, curious eyes. "Bianca, what kind of path?"
This time, Bianca really thought Claire must be an idiot.
She actually thought she was showing her a path?
Her mind turned, and a nasty thought flashed through.
Bianca smiled strangely. "You look pretty good. While you're young, find a way to latch onto a good match. That way you won't have to worry about food and drink in the future, and you can contribute to your family."
"What?"
Claire looked shocked, even somewhat doubtful. How could Bianca have such thoughts, such ideas?
She looked Bianca over carefully. Why did it feel like the person from just now and the person now were so disconnected?
Like she had become a different person.
Clearly, she had been talking to the same person the whole time.
"Bianca, I don't quite understand. It's not what I'm thinking, is it? You're so excellent, how could you be telling me to depend on a man? I must be thinking wrong!"
Claire shook her head in disbelief.
Claire sneered, about to make it clear.
She suddenly felt that destroying the beliefs of a simple, optimistic person would be quite fun.
Just like Emily back then, when she came home, because of her longing for family affection, she was completely unguarded around her, even admiring her a bit.
Wasn't that simple, simply stupid!
At that time, she had gradually broken the person down, and it was quite entertaining.
"I mean..."
Before Bianca could finish, the host was back on stage.
This meant the preliminary results had been judged.
"Thank you all for participating in this New Talent Cup Design Competition. Those who made it to the preliminary round were selected from across the country and are already quite excellent. So regardless of the results of this competition, it's just one experience in life. Please continue to work hard and shine on your design path."
The host finished the opening remarks.
Next came announcing the results.
The rankings announced were the top twenty.
The finals would select the champion, runner-up, and third place from these twenty, with opportunities to collaborate with major brands afterward.
Due to time constraints, the top five would be invited on stage for special recognition.
The remaining fifteen would just have their names announced.
"Fourth place..."
"Third place..."
Bianca hadn't been nervous before, but as the names were called, she became afraid of hearing hers.
Because she wanted first place.
She was afraid of hearing her name, but also afraid of not hearing it at all, of not placing at all.
"Second place, Emily!"