“Allergic reaction?” Hesper was still panicking. “There’s nothing that he could be allergic to. Sweet potatoes?”Hesper hugged Renfrew. Rickard asked her to calm down and turned to go get the car. Fortunately, there was a hospital not too far away and the traffic was alright. The three soon got to the hospital’s emergency room. The doctor quickly checked on him. As expected, he did have an allergic reaction, but they were still trying to find out what he was allergic to. “I’m a terrible mother…”Renfrew was getting treated in the room. Hesper and Rickard couldn’t go in yet, so they had to wait outside on the benches. Hesper blamed herself because how could she not know about his allergies? It was fortunate that he didn’t have a terrible reaction to it, but had it been severe, it could have been too late by the time they got to the hospital, and maybe… She was just glad that none of that happened. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t notice that something was wrong either.” Rickar
When Hesper got there, Celine was already there. When she saw the dark circles under Hesper’s eyes, she was shocked. “You didn’t sleep last night?”Because of how concerned she sounded, Hesper couldn’t just brush her off.Hesper slept at the hospital because she was worried about Renfrew. She would wake up every time he moved, worried that something might happen again, so she looked very tired after waking up. After hesitating, she nodded. “Something happened yesterday, but it’s fine now.”The third stage of the competition was when things got heated. Everyone was in their best state because no one wanted to be the one eliminated. Celine was worried seeing how tired she was. “I’m fine.” Hesper patted her shoulder. “We’re going to be competitors from today onward, Ms. Campbell.”It was true. From the third stage onward, it would be individual competitions. Celine chuckled. Even though that was true, she wasn’t nervous because she knew that Hesper wouldn’t do anything to harm
On the side of things, Celine seemed much more relaxed. Her only relative was the mother that she had back at home, so this theme was too simple for her.The difficulty of this round was not the relationship that the participants had with their mothers; after all, everyone had a mother. The difficulty was in how the designer channeled the emotions that she had into her design without making the design look too clichéd. This was the main challenge.After all, the clothing that everyone could imagine their mothers wearing would come in darker colors. There would also be large and bright-colored patterns, and they would not look too protruding or beautiful, but they would definitely be very stain-resistant.The contestants had two days to come up with their design, and three more days to produce the clothing, so the time limit was relatively lenient, and they could choose any material from the material library.Hesper and Celine did not waste any time; they immediately went to the mat
Although Hesper said so, everyone in the comment section still felt sorry for Hesper.“At first I thought Hesper was the kind of lady whose family was very rich and had been spoiled since she was a kid... It turns out that I’ve been preconceiving, so I don’t mind apologizing to her. I’m sorry, Hesper.”“However, Hesper is really optimistic, and she didn’t use this trait of hers to earn popularity. She just wanted to clear things up with Celine. Based on this alone, I think she’s a good person.”“Uh, not having a mother doesn’t mean that her family is poor, does it? Hesper doesn’t look like a woman that came from a poor family at all. Do you know how much her hoody costs?”“Dude, don’t you know that ladies can also earn a lot of money? Why must she rely on her family for money?”“...”Although Hesper told her that it was okay, Celine still felt that she had poked Hesper in a place that hurt the most, so every time she walked out of the cubicle and saw Hesper, she would feel a litt
Five days had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time for the presentation.The model that Hesper got was indeed the same person from last time. Hesper only found out when she was trying on clothes for her that the models could actually choose the designer that they wished to work with, so the rules for the models were relatively free in this regard.Therefore, this model was still in charge of showcasing the designs produced by team 345 this time around.“You can call me Yelena from now on. It’s my Halwanese name.”Yelena did not speak fluent Halwanese, but fortunately, Hesper had no trouble communicating with her so that was one of the reasons why she wanted to work with team 345.It had always taken her a long time just to communicate with the designers that she had worked with in the past. Although she had been learning Halwanese very seriously all this while, it was not a one-off process after all. Sometimes, it could only be an extremely simple matter, but things coul
“Our distinguished guest, Mr. Sanchez, has arrived at our tournament without any prior notice. Contestants, are you feeling a little nervous now?!” The host’s excited voice sounded, and everyone came back to their senses.Hesper looked at herself nervously, worried that something might look wrong with her.‘Oh my God, I’m not only nervous but also shocked.’Roberto had always been relatively kind. He was born in Fredonia and grew up amidst the country’s unique romantic atmosphere, which made his emerald eyes look exceptionally gentle. At this time, he looked at the designers sitting in the auditorium, and even his eyes were beaming with delight.“I believe that every one of you will perform well, so don’t be nervous.”After saying a few words, Roberto left the stage to the host.Celine was also a little excited. Roberto was a legendary mission of the fashion design field that all designers wished to overcome and complete at least once in their lifetimes. When it was originally re
With Celine’s masterpiece going before them, the next few designers’ dresses seemed a little unsatisfactory.The number Michelle drew was 16, which was right ahead of Hesper.It had to be said that Michelle had also improved by a huge margin recently. Winning the championship in Duval Group’s competition had given her a lot more opportunities to get in touch with famous designer brands, so she had been making rapid progress during this period.But being talented and having insight were still two completely different things. Although Michelle had made great progress recently, her final score still did not surpass Celine’s, and she was ranked second.“The design of the next designer made her model feel a little puzzled, but this designer still insisted that the color that she’s chosen to use represents mothers the best, so what will the final work of designer number 17 look like?”The host deliberately phrased his sentence in this way. After all, Hesper was also one of the most popu
Getting the opportunity to speak to Roberto directly, Hesper felt a little nervous. Fortunately, she was able to hide her emotions well after dealing with all those tasks that were related to Lane Holdings over the years, so she managed to respond calmly.“I think a mother is an existence that provides and nurtures. It’s a blessing when she’s able to be by her child’s side, but it might also be a curse in other cases when the woman can’t be with her baby.”Roberto’s interpreter had not had the chance to start interpreting yet, but Hesper had already finished answering Roberto’s question in fluent Fredonian.Everyone else was a little confused until the interpreter wiped the sweat from his forehead and started interpreting what the two had just said.Hearing Hesper’s fluent and authentic Fredonian, Roberto was a little surprised. He nodded and asked, “Then why am I seeing so much misery that a mother faces in your design?”This time Hesper did not answer the question in Fredonian,
He had never anticipated that he would end up loving her so deeply.It could be said that amidst all the misunderstandings and complexities, their journey together had taken many winding paths."I wouldn't risk getting into trouble just to set off fireworks for someone I didn't even like," Rickard said, his voice gentle. "You dummy."His words were soft, but as Hesper listened to his explanation, she cleared her throat, and her eyes turned bloodshot. She had never imagined that the person she had loved so intensely in her youth had, at some point in their lives, secretly admired her.Hesper attempted to smile but ended up with teary eyes. Seeing this, Rickard reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. "If it's going to make you cry, I won't say anything more."Hesper pursed her lips. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."Rickard, despite understanding her reluctance, couldn't help but reflect on the past and openly admitted to the emotions he had felt in his you
They were flooded with memories, and Hesper couldn't help but admit that she had been through so much with Rickard. Her eyes welled up with emotion.The livestream ended, as they couldn't maintain constant surveillance of their lives. Even though they hadn't gone home yet, the crew had left.In the past two days, people had gotten to know them quite well, so the crew decided to give them some alone time.Hesper sat in the passenger seat and stole a glance at Rickard. She couldn't help but say, "I never expected that the only time you were seen as making a mistake in Grandpa's eyes was because of me.""There are many things you don't know," he replied. Hesper raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like what? Tell me."Suddenly, Hesper recalled the countless times Rickard had looked at her. Yet, during those moments, Rickard had always had feelings for Juniper. She knew that was the reality, so she never expected that Rickard might have had the same strong feelings for her as she had for h
Hesper glanced at Rickard, who remained emotionless, but she still reached out to hold his hand.[This is tough to see. Both of Rickard's parents are no longer here… Sigh.][Hesper immediately checked on Rickard. If I were Rickard, I'd love her so much.]Ernest shook his head and remained silent as he flipped to the next page. Most of the pictures were of Hesper after that. She hadn't realized she had so many childhood photos. Julian appeared in some of them, too.Before everything went sour.Rickard didn't have many pictures. As he grew older, he became quieter.Most of them showed Hesper standing next to Julian, but there was something off about them.[Did you notice... In many of those pictures, Hesper was looking at Rickard, and in others, Rickard was looking at her.][Oh my god, is this puppy love? I had no idea!][I remember Rickard had another lover.]Hesper had noticed, too, but there was no need to remind people that Rickard used to hate her, so she dismissed it as a
Hesper and Rickard entered the room and awkwardly informed Ernest that everything had been live-streamed just now. Ernest was shocked, but upon hearing that it was something people do, he nodded."It's fine. There's nothing that others can't hear."Hesper pursed her lips and glanced at Rickard before saying, "We didn't expect the Summers to come and see you. You should move in with us so these people will leave you alone."If Ernest lived with them, no one would dare intrude because they represented power and influence.Who would dare challenge them?"I don't want to get involved in your life. Renfew and Renarie would keep you occupied enough."Hesper understood that he had already made up his mind not to live with them, so she didn't press the matter further.She could understand his concerns, as many things might become inconvenient. Besides, Ernest didn't want to disrupt their lives either."We'll be heading to Fredonia soon, so even though we have filming to do, we wanted t
So what if the cameras were still recording?"Was my son's life not as valuable as your son's?"If he had grasped this earlier, recent events might not have unfolded. Jade had a point.The live chat fell silent. Though they lacked the full backstory, they could deduce what had transpired in the past.[I heard Rickard lost his parents when he was a child. I feel sorry for him.][His parents died because of that incident. It's no surprise if he harbors resentment.][Truthfully, this old man has no shame. If my child were responsible for another child's death, I'd beg for forgiveness.]Everything unfolding before their eyes was purely coincidental, and no one had control over the situation. They could only watch and terminate the livestream immediately if anything escalated.Fortunately, Jade received a stern talking-to and refrained from discussing the matter further, but Mrs. Summers did not fare as well. Hesper and the others bore witness to her irrational behavior.[This is e
"We've known each other for years, Ernest. I saved your life once, and now your descendants want to take my son's life!"As they approached, Jade Summers was angrily berating Ernest before him. Hesper's countenance immediately turned frosty as she walked over to Ernest."You should conduct yourself more appropriately, Mr. Summers Sr."Jade was taken aback to see Hesper, but he composed himself, took a deep breath, and fixed her with a hatred-filled gaze."If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. You're just a woman. Since when do you get a say in the Duval family matters?"In the 21st century, people were all for equality. Besides, Hesper was no ordinary or unintelligent woman. Naturally, she had a voice in these matters.The viewers were inundated with comments when they heard Jade's words, and the live chat exploded.[Who is this guy? He looks old but lacks respect.][What's the argument about?][I sense some drama.]Rickard walked over. Jade had thought he
[Didn't Hesper mention that Mr. Duval Sr. took care of her? Maybe she did grow up well.][I'm certain she did. Hesper doesn't strike me as someone who would tolerate mistreatment.]Hesper and Rickard were under constant surveillance throughout the journey, and they hadn't allowed Benji to accompany them. Rickard was behind the wheel, with Hesper in the passenger seat.During the drive, they remained silent, but to observers, it appeared as though they were in harmony.Upon arriving at the ancestral mansion, Hesper noticed other cars parked around and cast a curious glance at Rickard. Visitors to Ernest's home were a rarity."Sir, Ma'am, you're back," a young housekeeper greeted them. It was the same person who had assisted Wendy earlier, but they couldn't recall her name. Nevertheless, Hesper had faith in her.Noticing the housekeeper's troubled demeanor, Hesper deduced that the guest inside was likely unwelcome. However, she couldn't fathom who would disrupt Ernest's life. Given
Rickard noticed something in Hesper's expression, prompting him to ask, "Is there something else you haven't told me?"Being intimately familiar with each other wasn't always without its challenges. Hesper could never conceal anything from him.She sighed and replied, "It's nothing. Just that Pennleigh will also be on the list."Rickard fell silent.Hesper was aware that sometimes Rickard might not appear bothered, but Pennleigh's presence did bother him.Observing Hesper's awkward expression, Rickard lowered his gaze and suddenly took on a pitiful appearance, like a big dog caught in the rain.Yet, she knew he was merely putting on an act. Still, every time she saw him like that, she couldn't help but miss the Rickard who didn't engage in such playful antics. His character had undergone a change.Hesper found it amusing but didn't quite know how to express it. She sighed and added, "It's a fantastic opportunity. I know you'll let me go, right?"Rickard had no intention of inte
"Sullivan lied to her. He had her parents quietly killed. She found out after she turned her back on you."Benji lowered his gaze. "She was already dead when you came back. It was suicide."The conclusion lacked the weight necessary for such a betrayal. Hesper shut her eyes. The person she had trusted most was Renee. They had shared countless years together.Hesper acknowledged that their bond might not have been a genuine friendship. Renee had abandoned her when given the choice.However, Hesper had faced such situations before.Thankfully, there had been someone who had placed her first in their heart, reassuring her that she wasn't always relegated to being an option. Hesper stood in silence for a while before simply nodding.There was nothing she could do to aid Renee now. Renee had entered and departed alone, leaving no trace behind with Hesper.When the topic was broached, it weighed heavily on her heart. Hesper understood the situation but found herself at a loss for word