The professor's words left Hailey utterly speechless.
Her mouth moved for a moment, but no sound came out.
Finally, under Dr. Kerrick's intense gaze, she lowered her head.
Dr. Kerrick looked away. His voice was steady. "Let's move on to the next designer's presentation."
Hailey's fingers tightened on the handle of the presentation cart. She bit her lip, unwilling to concede.
But after the verbal onslaught from the professors, her confidence was clearly shaken. She didn't dare say another word and could only retreat to her station, pushing her cart in disgrace.
The pride and triumph she had felt during the first round were now replaced by shame and humiliation.
She could feel the eyes of the audience on her... full of curiosity, contempt, and mockery.
Just a round ago, they had looked at her with admiration and envy.
Hailey was furious. If she had known the rules for the Rising Star competition were going to change, she never would have participated!
That Daphne... she must have done this on purpose!
After Hailey retreated, the other designers presented their work in numerical order.
For each piece, the judges offered constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement.
Once all ten designers had shown their finished pieces, the contrast was stark.
It only served to highlight Hailey's complete lack of professionalism.
Not every designer knew the entire fabrication process, but they all possessed the fundamental skills of a professional jeweler.
With the assistance of the craftsmen, they had all produced fairly impressive pieces.
At the very least, everyone demonstrated a strong grasp of the basics.
This made Hailey's expression grow even darker.
She dug her nails into her palms, thinking that for the third round... she would have
to present an even more stunning design to prove them all wrong!
So what if they thought her creative ideas were empty talk? As long as she could design it, someone could make it. Even if the final product
captured
only a fraction of her
vision, it would still be enough to become a bestseller!
Just then, the host stepped forward to announce the start of the third round.
Everyone was a little surprised.
They had assumed there would be a break for the designers after a grueling six- hour fabrication session.
They hadn't expected the third round to begin so quickly.
But when the rules for the third round were announced, the crowd was stunned once again.
"The third round: The Design
Concept Defense! We ask each designer to explain their design philosophy and elaborate on every detail of their work!"
Hailey was floored.
She stared at the judges' panel in disbelief.
Wasn't this a design competition?
Why wasn't the third round about designing again?
Explaining the concept?
What was the point of that?
What shocked Hailey even more was that right after the rules were announced, Daphne spoke up.
"Contestant Number Four, since are so confident that your own
creativity and design are of the ne
highest value, we invite you to be thề
first to present your concept."
"Please, use your words to tell everyone about this brilliant design idea that you
claim will satisfy everyone."
Every head in the room turned to look at Hailey.
In that instant, all the cameras focused on her.
Hailey's breath caught in her throat, and her face turned deathly pale.