After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 97: The Competition
The day after Adrian Sutton revealed that CZ Group would be holding a fashion design competition in Rhonia, the company’s official website announced the news.
"Explore the infinite charm of fashion."
"Showcase your personal style."
"A climactic showdown between fashion and the runway is about to take the world by storm."
"We welcome every one of you with a dream to join this dazzling feast."
Beneath the promotional text, the rules for the competition were explained in detail.
This event would run a fashion design competition and a modeling competition concurrently.
While selecting outstanding fashion designers, it would also select models with exceptional stage presence.
Designers could freely choose a model to be their partner for the competition.
The designer would create custom-tailored outfits for their model.
And as the models showcased the clothing, they would also be participating in the modeling contest.
Each appearance on the stage would not only be a test of the designer’s skill.
It would also depend on the model’s expressiveness on the runway and their ability to perfectly display the soul of the garment.
Although it seemed like a single competition to select outstanding designers and models, it was a huge test of the chemistry between the partners.
Originally, Claire Mercer had been a little skeptical about the reliability of Adrian Sutton’s news.
But now that the official website had published the announcement, Claire was incredibly excited.
Seeing her constantly browsing the announcement on the CZ Group website, Adrian Sutton knew she was looking forward to this stage, which had been tailor-made for her.
He placed the finished dishes on the table and asked Claire, who was sitting in the living room filling out the registration form.
"Filling out the registration form?"
Claire nodded without looking up.
"Yes. It looks like a lot of designers are entering this time."
"The comment section on the website is already blowing up."
"After all, it’s a competition held by CZ Group, so it’s highly prestigious."
"So for me, this is a rare opportunity, but also a huge challenge." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Although she was very confident in her design skills, she had been out of the design world for two years, after all.
While she looked forward to the competition, she also felt immense pressure.
"I hear designers can choose their own models as partners."
"Who are you planning to ask to be your partner?"
Claire shook her head.
She was also agonizing over who to choose as her model.
She really couldn’t think of any suitable candidates off the top of her head.
Adrian Sutton saw that she was stumped by the partner issue.
’He silently cursed out the director who had planned this competition.’
Outwardly, however, he said, "If you can’t find a suitable partner, you could ask Silas Rowan for help."
Claire shook her head again. "I don’t want to bother him with everything."
"Even though he’s my brother now, in a way."
"We haven’t spent much time together, so we’re not very close."
"Besides, I always felt that Mrs. Rowan took me in as her goddaughter mainly as a way for Silas to put pressure on the Sinclair Family so I could get my divorce smoothly."
"They’ve already done me such a huge favor. I can’t just run to them every time I have a problem."
"I already owe them so much. I don’t want to trouble them again."
’Adrian Sutton hated that he couldn’t help her openly.’
’He had to do everything under the banner of Silas Rowan.’
"It’s okay, take your time. The competition is still more than a month away."
"Go wash your hands and eat. You need a full stomach to have the energy to prepare for this competition."
Claire nodded, finished her registration, and went to wash her hands before dinner.
Adrian Sutton had made three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. As always, it looked, smelled, and tasted incredible.
The flavors were even more authentic than those made by restaurant chefs.
"There are only two of us. Why do you make such a lavish spread for every meal?"
’Adrian Sutton would never tell her that he just wanted her to be able to eat her favorite dishes at every meal.’
’And that he wanted the meals to be varied, healthy, and nutritious.’
So he just bluffed, "Even though there are five dishes, the portions for each one aren’t very large."
"Besides, I like to cook. It’s no extra trouble to make a few more dishes."
"Plus, aren’t I still recording cooking videos?"
"Sometimes, if a video doesn’t turn out well, I can just switch to the next dish and keep recording."
Claire had an expression of sudden realization.
Then she asked curiously, "But you’re not from Rhonia, so how do you know how to make Sichuan cuisine?"
"And it’s even more delicious than the food at authentic Sichuan restaurants."
’Adrian Sutton wouldn’t tell her that the only reason he could make Sichuan food so well was purely for her.’
"Did you ever train as a chef?"
"Does self-taught count?"
"To be able to cook this well just by teaching yourself... you must have a gift for it."
’He wanted to say that his ability to make such delicious and authentic Sichuan food wasn’t a gift.’
’It was because the person he liked, liked to eat Sichuan food.’
’Because she liked it, he wanted to cater to her tastes and had been secretly studying it.’
Unaware, Claire continued to praise him generously.
"With your cooking skills, you could definitely do livestreams to teach people how to make Sichuan food."
Adrian Sutton smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, Claire."
’It seemed he had successfully won over her palate.’
"Actually, if you keep doing livestreams, you should consider opening a Sichuan restaurant."
Adrian Sutton nodded. "Okay."
The two of them chatted as they ate, and the meal was very relaxed and pleasant.
After dinner, Claire wanted to help clean up.
Adrian Sutton ushered her out of the kitchen.
"You should save those hands of yours for designing exquisite, beautiful clothes."
"Leave everything in the kitchen to me. I’m just idle right now anyway."
Because she wanted to find a suitable model partner as soon as possible, Claire didn’t insist.
’But growing up, she had never experienced anything like this.’
’To actually be able to live a life of being waited on hand and foot.’
’Back in the Mercer Family, she started learning to cook at the age of ten.’
’Judith Caldwell had called it, under a fine-sounding pretext, nurturing her culinary skills from a young age.’
’She said that good cooking skills were the only way to capture a man’s heart later in life.’
’After she married into the Sinclair Family, she was still the one making all sorts of elaborate, therapeutic meals for Gavin Sinclair every day.’
’Sometimes, she really envied those people who only knew how to enjoy the fruits of her labor.’
’She, too, wanted to experience that kind of pampered life of ease.’
’After all, who enjoys slaving away from morning till night?’
’She never expected that after moving here, Adrian Sutton would prepare three meals a day, waiting only for her to wash her hands and eat.’
’He didn’t even let her wash the dishes after the meal.’
’What am I going to do if I get used to this life of being waited on hand and foot?’
The days passed, one by one.
Every day, Adrian Sutton would prepare three meals for Claire.
They were varied and nutritious.
During the process, he would record videos, then edit and post them to a short-video platform.
Because he had very handsome hands and a very pleasant voice, and the food he made looked delicious, he had unknowingly attracted quite a few followers.
Meanwhile, Claire was completely focused on preparing for next month’s competition.
The format of this fashion competition was rather unique.
It wasn’t just about selecting the best designer, but also about finding a model with potential.
She didn’t dare casually find a random model to be her partner.
’With someone she didn’t know well, who knew if they might try to sabotage things behind her back?’
After thinking it over and over, she decided she had no choice but to ask Stella Thorne to be her model partner.
