Mr And Mrs Huo

Chapter 21

On the judges' side, they had begun giving their evaluation. Fang Zhifei said, "This piece is truly unique. I've never seen a design that incorporated silver in this manner. Even the silver design doesn't distract one from the beauty of the combination of diamond and sapphires."

"When I look at it I can help but be reminded of the snow under a starry night. It's almost like I can see the snowflakes. I don't specialize in this area but I can tell that this is a very intricate work or what do you think Cao Min."

Cao Min was one of the judges. She was a designer who specialized in diamonds and emeralds. Her works also won many awards, and she was renowned in her field. Therefore, she was more than qualified to comment on this Blue Night.

Cao Min smiled. "Senior Fang, you are right. Embedding every piece of jewel in the silver strands has to be done with care and precision. One can't use too much or little strength for fear of subpar work. And it must have taken a lot of creativity to find a way to make that two layers of star-shaped pendant possible. This is a job that requires extreme patience."

"It reminds me of when I make jewelry for my husband and daughter. It's always a complicated and tiring process but I'm willing because I love them. I can only imagine that the person who created this jewelry had similar emotions."

Fang Zhifei nodded. Thereafter, other judges gave their evaluation, and then each of them announced the scores they awarded. Six judges gave full marks of 10. The difference was huge when compared to the previous contestants, whose highest individual score was 8.

Only one judge gave a different score, but the score he awarded was rather shocking. He gave zero marks. The audience was shocked.

The name of this judge was Austin Caide. Austin Caide was of mixed nationality. His mother was a native of Country A, while his father was a native of Country X. His father, Gregory Caide, was a renowned jewelry designer who loved to create designs from sapphires and diamonds.

Although Austin Caide inherited his father's jewelry design talents, his specialty area was quite different. Like Fang Zhifei, he specialized in jade.

Cao Min turned to Austin Caide. "Austin, I know that you don't pay much attention to diamond and sapphire designs but I can tell you that this piece deserves more than you are giving it."

Austin smiled sarcastically, "Is that so? In that case, I'm willing to revoke my score and not just that. I'll also sign a 5-year exclusive contract with Lustrous."

This time the audience was in an uproar. Unlike Fang Zhifei, Austin owned his own company and had connections with many influential people abroad. A contract with his company meant a bridge to this pool of connections.

If the reward for this competition was a branch, Austin's offer was akin to access to the whole tree. Only a fool wouldn't want it.

"But I have a condition," Austin followed up.

Cao Min raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What condition?"

"I want to know who designed this. As you mentioned earlier, a piece like this requires great patience and love to complete. I want to know the story behind this piece."

Cao Min turned to look a Fang Zhifei.

Fang Zhifei frowned. Asking about the designer wasn't common practice, but it wasn't against the rules. If anything, it allowed the judges to gain perspective on the thought process behind the design. This was another way of evaluating talent. Besides, the scores had already been announced, so a degree of fairness was already guaranteed.

Fang Zhifei was also reluctant to see this piece get a score that was lacking. He turned to where representatives from Lustrous were seated and inquired, "Can the designer responsible for this piece come up? We are very intrigued about the story behind it."

Where Yan Hui was seated, he turned his right. Another man was seated there. His name was Mao He, and he was the person Yan Hui had decided to push forward as the designer behind Blue Night.

Mao He was a talented designer. Otherwise, Yan Hui wouldn't be able to place him as the creator of Blue Night. But talent didn't equal a good personality.

Mao He was a cunning and shameless person who believed that the end justified the means. He would do anything to better his position in society. Something like taking underserved credit was minor to him.

Unfortunately, this pie that fell from heaven to hit Mao He would end up crushing him.

Mao He stepped forward full of confidence. "I am the designer who created Blue Night."

Fang Zhifei's eyes lit up. His gaze on Mao He became more genial. "Can you tell us the story behind it?"

Mao He nodded and began his spiel, "The inspiration behind this piece is my mother. I was born into a single-family home. My father had abandoned my mother for a better life before I was born. My mother's education was low and because of this she could only work menial jobs to take care of herself and me."

"With how little she earned, we could only live in the slums. Winter was always the hardest season for us but my mom always tried to give me a beautiful new year. Every new year's eve we would dress our best and go to see fireworks."

"My mom would wear some jewelry too. She loved jewelry but she couldn't afford it. The only jewelry she had was a fake silver chain with a star-shaped pendant but she would always wear it without fail every new years eve."

"The night would be cold and the stars always looked unfriendly but my mom always brought warmth. Since then I was fond of the starry nights of winter. I promised my mother that I would make her the most beautiful jewelry and bring her to the most scenic spot to watch fireworks on new year's eve."

" Unfortunately, my mom passed away while I was in university. She didn't live long enough for me to fulfill my promise to her. But I didn't forget my promise, so I made Blue Night in memory of mother. She would have been so happy to wear it."

While telling his story, Mao He's eyes had become red at some point, seemingly holding back tears. He had succeeded in gaining everyone's sympathy. But was this touching tale true? Well, it was half true, half false.

Mao He's mother didn't care about him as much as he portrayed. If anything, he was a burden to her. Still, she kept him because it was easier for a single mother to gain pity and extra benefits. She didn't have any jewelry either. To her, it was a waste of money, and it could easily attract trouble in the slums, whether it was real or fake. In the slums, how many people had discerning eyes?

What watching fireworks on new years eve? Mao He's mother sent him to those places to beg for alms. During periods like this, people usually felt extra charitable. It was easy for a malnourished child begging on a winter night to open their pockets. All these became touching stories from Mao He's mouth. Sadly, the people couldn't tell it was false and brought into his story.

As the feeling of sadness and sympathy was brewing, one person could no longer stand it. Austin Caide slapped a table, creating a loud noise, and yelled angrily, "Presumptuous! You are a thief, liar, and fraud!"

******
Author's Note
**I don't know much about the jewelry design industry, so there are bound to be some inconsistencies. If you find any, please do mention it. I'll try to correct it.

**You all might not know this, but I'm still a student. Some issues in my country caused studies to be suspended for a long time.

During that time, I got a job and started writing and translating. Now, my school is about to resume. My schedule will be very tight, and it might cause some changes to my writing.

I don't know what changes I'll have to make to adjust, but I want to give you a heads-up.

I'll give an announcement of any change that occurs.