Chapter 12 Nothing But Trash (2/2)

There were five judges for this jewelry design competition. Leo was replaced by another judge. None of the other judges knew where Leo was. In fact, no one asked about his whereabouts as if they were all told not to do so.

But some of the contestants felt curious about Leo's absence.

”Where is that judge? What's his name? Leo? He should have been one of them?”

”I heard that he is notoriously lascivious. May be he is too busy dating some beautiful woman and forgot about the competition.”

”I have long felt that Leo is very unprofessional. He should have never been made a judge of such a prestigious competition. The good news is, they have a great replacement for him. Do you know that he got replaced by Victor?”

”Mr. Victor? You mean that Victor?”

Those who heard the name were surprised and began to whisper in excitement.

When Emily heard the contestants talking about Leo, she felt somewhat pressured by the secret she was keeping, but when she heard the name ”Victor”, her heart skipped a beat.

She absolutely knew who Victor was.

He won the championship of an international jewelry design competition at the age of 15. In the last ten years, he had won numerous awards and prizes. Victor's work was vibrant and vivid, as if they had a life of their own. Anyone who looked at his work would be astonished by its marvel. His creations were priceless; he was certainly a heavyweight champion in the jewelry circle.

It was once Emily's dream to be Victor's assistant. However, as Victor obtained more and more achievements, Emily could not catch up with him anymore.

She did not expect Victor to be one of the judges in this competition.

This made Emily even more nervous. She was afraid that she would make too many mistakes in competition. Thankfully, she had done a good job through out.

All works were handed over to the judges. They scrutinized each of them in a heated discussion amongst themselves.

”I really appreciate Kary's idea in his design. He used colors in an expressive way—highly creative and romantic.”

”Look at Chou's design. She was taught by the jewelry master Tiffany. Although you can find Tiffany's influence in her design, she combines it fluently with her own style. Such an exquisite design...”

”As far as I can see, these contestants are all very talented. They all did a great job. However, I still feel that there is something missing in their work…”

The judges set out their opinions and tried to persuade each other.

However, Victor kept a poker face in his seat. Despite the heated discussion of the judges, he did not participate.

When the discussion was about to come to an end, a senior judge cleared his throat and asked Victor, ”Mr. Victor, what do you think of these designs?”

Victor raised his head; finally there was a change in his facial expression. It was, however, an expression of impatience on his face. He slowly opened his mouth and uttered only three words, ”nothing but trash”.

A deep silence reigned around the judges.

They felt like they had all been humiliated, but because it was Victor who had said so, they could do nothing but smile since they had to show him respect.

Victor had no interest in these designs. If it were not for Jacob's request, he would not have come here to be a judge for the competition.

Under the watchful eyes of the other judges, Victor started to leaf through the drawings of contestants in a calm manner. All of a sudden, he was attracted by a design.

Soon the rest of he judges followed suit.

Drawn on the paper was a design of a gemstone brooch. The gemstone was shaped irregularly, like something no one had ever imagined. A beautiful daisy bloomed in the center of the brooch. There was a new-born baby curling up and lying on the glittering central disc of the flower, as if he was sound asleep, but was just about to open his eyes at the next second.

”Amazing, ” the judge who spoke to Victor a moment ago was bedazzled by the brooch.

All the other judges nodded in agreement.

They were amazed, not only visually but also mentally, by the design. It gave a full expression to the glory of humanity and motherhood. When they looked at the paper, they felt like they had touched the purest soul in the world and that they were free from the dust of the world.