CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124: CHEATING

At first, her creation of the piano series was purely coincidental.

If it weren’t for that accident she loathed to mention, she wouldn’t have come up with such unique inspiration.

Serena Jennings thought, the phrase "unintentionally planting willows that form shade" must refer to something like this!

Miranda praised BYC fervently.

Serena’s face grew increasingly red.

Ian Blackwood noticed Serena’s blushing and let out a cold chuckle:

"Still able to blush, at least you have some shame."

Serena couldn’t be bothered to respond to Ian.

She was in a pretty good mood now.

Even though she didn’t want to claim the identity of BYC, hearing Miranda lavish praise on BYC made her feel proud nonetheless.

After all, Miranda was a big shot among big shots in the jewelry fashion world, and earning her approval was an honor.

Miranda didn’t quite understand why, after a long praise of BYC, Serena was smiling as if she herself was being praised.

Initially, she hadn’t thought much of Serena.

At least the emerald necklace Ian Blackwood picked up from Serena’s desk didn’t impress her.

The studio used synthetic gems to make sample pieces for practice, but regardless of the material, the cut, setting, and design were not up to par.

At this level, if it were presented at the LD Jewelry Fashion Week, it would only lower the caliber of the event.

This was something Miranda absolutely couldn’t tolerate.

Jewelry is a symbol of identity, status, and wealth.

Miranda couldn’t stand any flaws.

So, initially, she was determined to revoke Serena’s qualification to participate in the LD Jewelry Fashion Week.

But now...

"For your confidence, I’ll give you a chance."

Miranda lowered her mascara-laden eyelids.

"If you want to go to LD Jewelry Fashion Week, unless... you can recycle these scraps."

She deliberately crushed the main stone of the already shattered emerald necklace under her high heel.

"That’s too much!"

Sharon Sanders couldn’t help but stand up for Serena.

The necklace was originally her design, and Serena was unjustly implicated. She already felt guilty towards Serena, and now the other side was making even more unreasonable demands.

"Too much?" Miranda crossed her arms, sneering, "If a designer can’t even handle this, they should consider changing careers sooner rather than later."

"You!"

Sharon wanted to say more, but saw Serena waving her hand.

Serena squatted down, picking up the gems fragmented by Ian and further crushed by Miranda.

Ian, seeing how seriously Serena was gathering the pieces, couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

"You look like a scavenger now."

Serena rolled her eyes at Ian.

She had picked up all the fragmented gems and broken metal, but none of it looked like it could be repaired.

Beside her, Sharon Sanders and Nancy Young were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

They knew how crucial the LD Jewelry Fashion Week qualification was for Serena.

That was the requirement from the investors for their studio.

If they couldn’t achieve it, the investors would pull out, and the studio would likely close down, leaving them all jobless.

So Sharon and Nancy were extremely nervous, looking more anxious than Serena by a hundredfold.

Ian was eagerly waiting to see a joke.

Miranda’s thoughts were similar, perhaps she was just slightly more expectant of Serena than Ian was.

Serena took the splintered materials into the workshop, and when she emerged, the sun was almost setting.

She discovered that Ian had somehow taken her place, yawning out of boredom with his glasses resting on his prominent nose, either about to fall asleep or just waking up.

"I’m done."

Upon hearing Serena’s voice, Ian groggily searched for his glasses on the desk and put them on.

To be honest, he thought Serena was putting on a bit too much of a show.

Everyone knew the shattered emerald necklace couldn’t be repaired. He initially thought Serena was just acting, that she would soon emerge from the workshop, crying and begging Miranda for mercy.

But unexpectedly, Serena stayed in there the entire day.

Ian never imagined he’d waste an entire day at Serena’s studio, growing even bored of scrolling through his phone.

Nancy and Sharon didn’t share Ian’s boredom; they were extremely stressed.

At last, as Serena exited the workshop, their anxiety peaked.

Sitting in the chair, Miranda glanced up at Serena, curling her lips.

"Just because you took a long time pretending to repair doesn’t mean you’ll earn my approval."

Her words had barely fallen when Serena suddenly took her right hand.

Miranda frowned.

But her frown quickly vanished with Serena’s next actions.

Serena placed a ring on Miranda’s finger.

Miranda already wore rings on that hand.

On her index and ring fingers, one each.

On her index finger was Bulgari’s Serpenti ring, in rose gold with black enamel and a full diamond snake; on her ring finger was Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra ring, gold with red carnelian, fully inlaid with diamonds.

Both rings, in terms of brand and style, were globally top-notch.

Yet at first glance, her middle finger caught even her own attention.

Everyone was captivated by the ring on Miranda’s middle finger.

Ian stood up, wiped his gold-rimmed glasses, and put them back on.

On Miranda’s right middle finger, there was a butterfly ring.

The butterfly appeared to flap its wings in three-dimensional grace, as if a real butterfly had quietly perched on Miranda’s finger.

The emerald fragments perfectly formed the natural texture and reflections of the butterfly wings, and to enhance the synthetic gems’ luster, each tiny piece was covered with reflective mirror foil.

Miranda was stunned.

She shook her right hand, with the butterfly on her middle finger dazzling brightly, no less than the two opulent rings beside it.

And this was just synthetic gems. What if it were crafted with real natural emeralds?

Miranda could hardly imagine it.

"Rebirth from ashes..."

She softly uttered these words.

Beside her, Sharon and Nancy could barely contain their excitement, itching to scream. Their boss’s design craftsmanship and skill were so impressive they were in awe.

Ian figured Serena must have cheated somehow.

But he didn’t say it out loud.

The reason he didn’t voice it was because he knew deep down, Serena hadn’t cheated.

If she had cheated, Miranda would have been the first to discover it.

Serena stood silently in front of Miranda, without uttering a word.

Because Miranda hadn’t said anything either.

She merely kept moving her right hand, either admiring or inspecting the ring Serena had crafted anew from shattered synthetic emeralds.

"Butterfly..."

Representing both rebirth and the resilient life force rising after being trampled.

Whether it’s in meaning or craftsmanship, it was indeed perfect.

"Just alright!"

Hearing this evaluation from Miranda, Serena was taken aback.

She thought she at least deserved a "not bad"!

Miranda stood up without removing the butterfly ring from her right middle finger.

"With such commonplace creativity, you’re still a bit off from standing out at LD Jewelry Fashion Week..."

As she was about to exit Serena’s studio, she turned her head back and said to Serena:

"Keep it up!"

Serena’s face instantly blossomed with a smile.

It seemed her qualification was secure.

Ian pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, feeling that things had become uninteresting at this point.

He stepped forward, intending to leave following Miranda.

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, Serena called out to him.