CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 132: UNFINISHED HYDROCHLORIC ACID SPRAY

A faint green glow, not too deep nor vibrant, yet possessing a natural sense of sophistication.

In the darkness, these greens twisted like tangled vines around the model’s neck, wrists, earlobes, and hair, lively as if animate.

They seemed truly thorny, pricking the eyes with pain and filling the heart with dread.

As all eyes in the audience were drawn to these deep, ghostly green thorns, the UV emergency lights suddenly turned on, illuminating only the runway.

On the runway, roses dripped with blood, fiercely blooming.

As the audience watched lifelike red roses struggle to unfold their petals among the thorns, thunderous applause erupted in the hall.

"Did you see? That scarlet fluorescence... Buran’s top-tier pigeon blood red..."

"It’s like magic, so brilliant!"

"This is the first time I’ve seen such a show, incredible, simply incredible."

The audience was full of admiration.

Buran’s top-tier pigeon blood rubies cut and set into roses combined with the intricate design of green phosphorescent fluorite vines were dazzling and eye-catching, and together with the magical unfolding performance, pushed the jewelry fashion show to its peak.

Caleb Lockwood watched the runway show intently, his face breaking into a smile, eyes shifting from surprise to delight.

Miranda applauded till her hands hurt.

But she herself did not notice.

Although the rebirth of the butterfly ring had already made her see Serena Jennings in a new light, she never imagined Serena could bring her such an unexpected delight.

She felt Serena’s future was limitless.

Perhaps she could become as renowned as BYC, whom she admired most.

Backstage, Claire Shaw’s face turned incredibly dark, her nails almost piercing her palms.

Why did things turn out like this?

Why did she spray hydrochloric acid on Serena’s jewelry designs, yet not only did those gems remain unaffected, they instead shone even brighter?!

Claire didn’t understand.

Her heart was pounding, breath rapid, forehead sweaty.

Clearly, she had prepared so much for this day.

Clearly, she had sacrificed so much for this moment.

But why?

Claire desperately replayed everything in her mind.

Every step she took had been previously discussed with Quentin Xavier.

Quentin Xavier?!

Suddenly, Claire’s body trembled.

The broken chain of logic connected instantly, and Claire shook with rage, goosebumps rising all over.

She had been played by Quentin!

From the start, Quentin hadn’t fallen for her allure; instead, he played along, deceiving and using her.

That day, the perfume bottle Quentin handed her contained hydrochloric acid indeed.

She had it inspected after returning home, and to be safe, added more acid, increasing the concentration.

However, precisely because she sprayed hydrochloric acid on Serena’s fluorite and rubies, she inadvertently facilitated Serena’s jewel magic show of blood roses blooming amid thorns.

Claire was almost driven mad with anger.

The thought of seducing Quentin and being taken advantage of, with his hands on her and arms around her, yet still falling for his scheme to Serena’s benefit made her wish she could tear Quentin to pieces!

On the runway.

There were only four pieces of jewelry in total; the models finished their walk quickly, but the audience remained unsatisfied.

Serena stepped onto the stage and began speaking.

Before she spoke a word, the hall burst into applause again.

Standing on such a grand stage at the international jewelry fashion week for the first time, Serena was inevitably excited.

She had never imagined becoming a jewelry designer.

Studying jewelry design was merely a way for her to escape.

Yet as if guided by some mysterious force, she ultimately walked down the path of jewelry design.

And to meet investor demands, she stood on this stage.

Serena’s heart was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Thank you, everyone, for recognizing my designs."

The audience responded with another round of applause.

"The theme of my presentation is Thorny Rose. Initially, my theme was meant to be Emergence, with sapphire, emerald, and diamond as the main stones. The symbolism is straightforward: rebirth..."

As she spoke, Serena paused for a moment.

Seated among the audience, Caleb Lockwood lowered his gaze slightly.

Rebirth...

He couldn’t help savoring those two words in his heart.

He recalled telling Serena that after LD Jewelry Fashion Week, he would hand her the divorce papers.

"Why change the theme when the deadline was approaching? For this, I must especially thank Ms. Miranda, editor-in-chief of Radiance."

Unexpectedly mentioned by Serena, Miranda was taken aback.

"Thanks to Ms. Miranda’s sharp critique, I realized Emergence was not that novel of an idea; her criticism motivated me to improve."

The spotlight shone on Miranda’s face, a beaming smile on her face — the first time she smiled so brightly in all her years attending jewelry fashion weeks.

"The next person I must thank... is someone not even counted as a friend."

Veridian International Education.

Ian Blackwood sat up with a start from the sofa, eyes gleaming like light bulbs behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

From the phone’s video, Serena’s pleasant voice resonated:

"This person provided me the inspiration for my new theme; by tearing roses by hand, the thorns on the rose stems pricked his hand, yet he insisted the bouquet be given as a gift... This incident led me to imagine roses blossoming from nothing in a sea of green thorns... It also made me realize that sometimes design inspiration, rather than through laborious thinking, might be provoked by a seemingly insignificant event in daily life."

Hearing Serena’s words made several designers in the audience laugh in agreement.

"Of course, I must also thank my supportive friends, colleagues, and my investor... And the person I must most sincerely thank..."

Serena took a deep breath as she spoke.

In the audience.

Caleb Lockwood found himself tense.

Though it bore no relation to him, this caused his heart to crawl into his throat.

He was uncertain if he was anticipating—

Expecting to hear his name from Serena’s lips.

"Quentin Xavier!"

As Serena extended her hand, the spotlight fell on Quentin Xavier.

Caleb Lockwood’s face instantly fell.

"My trusted assistant, Quentin Xavier; without him, this jewelry magic show could not have been completed."

Serena led the applause for Quentin, with others joining in.

Backstage.

Upon hearing Serena name Quentin Xavier as the final person she thanked, Claire Shaw backhanded the cosmetics on the vanity to the floor with a snap.

Shirley Lowell paused, feeling her impression of Claire deteriorate significantly.

She knew Claire and Serena were rivals.

Because in this jewelry fashion week, only these two were the new designers.

As rivals, she could understand Claire’s discomfort at Serena’s success, but wasn’t her reaction too extreme?

Besides, she had seen both designs herself.

Serena’s met the standards of high-end jewelry, impeccable in terms of material and craftsmanship, with unique design concepts.

Whereas Claire’s seemed more like kindergarten children’s crafts.

Though made with gems and precious metals of great value, they inexplicably exuded a cheap feel.

Moreover, the clover element was overused and done better earlier by Van Cleef & Arpels.

She initially wanted to comfort Claire but decided to distance herself instead upon seeing Claire’s pettiness, such that she even destroyed the makeup prepared by the organizers.

At this moment, Claire Shaw had no regard for others’ perceptions.

She only wanted to vent.

Clenching her handbag straps tightly, Claire remembered there was still unfinished hydrochloric acid inside!