After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 173: Storm

The day before the final competition, CZ Group’s corporate account made an announcement on its official website.

CZ Group would fund the establishment of a personal brand and studio for the winner of this competition.

The moment the announcement was released, the contestants were in an uproar.

The winner of the finals wouldn’t just receive a direct prize of three million.

They would also receive the full backing of CZ Group.

CZ Group would provide the capital to help them establish their own brand and studio.

The designer would only be responsible for designing each season’s clothing line, while CZ Group’s professional teams would handle all subsequent promotion and operations.

Essentially, winning the championship meant not only becoming famous in the industry.

It also meant a direct partnership opportunity with CZ Group.

Since it was a partnership, the profits from the brand and studio would naturally be shared with CZ Group according to a set ratio.

But with CZ Group as a partner, they wouldn’t have to worry about establishing a foothold in the industry.

You could even say that even if they had to give all the profits from the brand and studio to CZ Group...

...for any of the contestants, receiving CZ Group’s support was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

When Claire Mercer saw the announcement from CZ Group, she was so excited she could barely contain herself.

She had originally thought the three-million-dollar prize was already incredibly generous.

She never expected CZ Group to drop such a bombshell.

She was sure that every contestant who saw this announcement would be too excited to sleep.

Seeing her staring at the official website, lost in thought for a long moment, Adrian Sutton’s lips curled into a faint smile.

He brought out the fruit he had prepared for her, walked into the living room, and asked, feigning ignorance.

"Claire, why are you spacing out?"

Claire Mercer snapped back to reality and looked at Adrian Sutton, her face flushed with excitement.

"Adrian, did you know? The winner of the competition doesn’t just get a three-million-dollar prize."

"CZ Group is also going to provide all the funding to help them establish their own brand and studio!"

"Is that so?" Adrian Sutton placed the fruit platter on the coffee table and asked with a light chuckle. "Isn’t that wonderful news?"

"Isn’t your biggest dream to start your own brand and studio?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Now, all we have to do is win the championship tomorrow, and CZ Group will fund that dream for you."

"It really is wonderful news," Claire Mercer said with an excited smile.

But as she smiled, her expression gradually faded, replaced by a hint of worry.

"Aside from that Scarlett Jewel, all the other contestants who made it to the finals are incredibly strong."

Faced with so many powerful opponents, Claire Mercer, though confident, couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

After all, the prize CZ Group was offering the champion was just too generous.

When Adrian Sutton saw her looking worried, he assumed she was afraid she couldn’t win the championship.

But the very fact that he had dared to have the group issue such an announcement was a testament to his faith in her.

He believed that with her talent, she could definitely take home the championship tomorrow.

From what he knew of Claire Mercer, she did indeed want to establish her own brand and studio.

But she wasn’t necessarily willing to accept help from others.

She might seem gentle on the outside, but deep down, she possessed a stubborn and proud streak.

She wanted to rely on her own two hands and her own abilities to achieve her dream, one step at a time.

However, if she won the championship, then CZ Group funding her dream would still be a result of her own abilities.

This was the only way he could use his own methods to help her achieve her dream quickly.

"Making it to the national finals already proves how outstanding you are."

"I may not know anything about design, but I can see that the outfits you’ve created for every round of the competition have won over both the judges and the audience."

"You need to have faith in yourself," Adrian Sutton encouraged her.

But his encouragement still didn’t dispel Claire Mercer’s worries.

"But the fact that someone like Scarlett Jewel could advance makes me suspect the competition is rigged."

"So, I’m just afraid that in tomorrow’s finals, someone else will do the same thing..."

"Are you afraid someone will bribe the judges?" Adrian Sutton asked.

Claire Mercer nodded.

"That won’t happen," Adrian Sutton said decisively.

"How do you know?"

"Silas Rowan had someone look into it. Scarlett Jewel doesn’t have the means to bribe the judges."

"The truth is, her making it to the finals was mostly just dumb luck."

"Tomorrow is a showdown between the country’s top designers. She can’t possibly have that much dumb luck again."

"Besides, everything she’s done will be exposed tomorrow, and she’s about to be kicked out of the competition."

"As for the other remaining contestants, they’ve all gotten here on their own merit."

"And besides, I heard from Silas Rowan that for tomorrow’s finals, they’ve invited several internationally renowned, top-tier designers to be judges."

"Unfortunately, the highly mysterious and famous top designer CC, who suddenly rose to international fame two years ago, couldn’t even be reached by the organizers."

As soon as he said this, a strange glint flashed in Claire Mercer’s eyes.

Then, her expression returned to normal, and she said,

"I’ve heard of CC, too. But you couldn’t really call her an internationally famous, top-tier designer, could you?"

Adrian Sutton replied, "While she might lack the experience of other senior designers, I’ve heard she’s exceptionally talented."

"Back then, she entered an international design competition with just two sketches and won the unanimous approval of the judges."

"Later, two clothing collections she designed became the flagship lines for a high-end luxury brand."

"Countless female celebrities, both domestic and international, fought to be the first to wear the main gowns from those two collections."

"It’s clear she is more than qualified to be a judge for this competition."

"It’s just that she’s very mysterious. She’s never shown her face, not even to accept her awards."

"Even her design work for the luxury brand was handled through software; to this day, no one knows what she looks like."

"What’s more, after being active in the design world for less than a year, she vanished without a trace."

"Even the staff at the luxury brand who worked with her can’t get in touch, and no one knows if something happened to her."

Claire Mercer picked up a slice of watermelon, popped it into her mouth, and looked away, a little uncomfortable.

"Maybe she just retired from the design world," she said.

"Probably," Adrian Sutton said. "But I hear the top-tier designers they did invite for the finals are also highly authoritative."

"Designers of that caliber wouldn’t compromise their principles for a bit of money."

"If a judge helps a contestant cheat, their reputation in this industry would be ruined, and their career would be over."

"These top designers are all big names internationally. Why would they risk their reputation and future for a single contestant?"

"Is that... really true?" Claire Mercer asked, half-convinced.

Adrian Sutton nodded. "It is. Silas Rowan found all this out. It’s reliable."

"So for tomorrow’s competition, all you need to do is give it your all."

"Besides, a contestant bribing a judge is considered cheating. If the organizers find out, they’ll be disqualified immediately."

"Once you’re disqualified, you can forget about ever making it in the design industry."

"Everyone wants to win, but no one is going to risk disqualification to bribe a judge."

He had selected these judges based on recommendations from professionals in the design industry.

There was absolutely no chance they would accept bribes or help a contestant cheat.

The only exception was Scarlett Jewel; he had specifically pulled some strings to let her scrape by into the finals.

All the other contestants who made it to the finals did so based on their own genuine skill.

Claire Mercer mulled over Adrian Sutton’s words and felt he had a point.

"You’re right. I guess I was overthinking things."

Seeing that she had finally cast aside her worries and that the light of confidence had returned to her eyes, Adrian Sutton inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"You’ve already designed the gown for tomorrow’s competition, and everything is ready."

"Just get a good night’s rest tonight and don’t think about anything else."

"Clear your mind and face tomorrow’s finals in your best condition."

Claire Mercer nodded at him.

After eating a few pieces of fruit, she went to wash up, planning to get to bed early.

Just as he had said, she needed to be in her best condition to face the finals tomorrow.

After all, throughout this long competition, she felt like she hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.

Even when she was sleeping, her mind was preoccupied with the competition.

Tonight, she would clear her mind of all distracting thoughts and get a comfortable night’s sleep.

What she didn’t expect, however, was that a storm was brewing just for her on the stage of the final competition.