*Huston Corp*
Fedrick, who had just arrived from the base, received a call from a private number. After the call he immediately took the private lift to Adrian's office...
Adrian, who was engrossed in his work as usual, heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Adrian said...
Fedrick entered and greeted Adrian briefly as he sat opposite him...
"What's wrong?" Adrian asked as he noticed Fedrick's creased brows.
"An anonymous hacker tried to hack into the mainframe at the base"...
"So did you guys discover who tried hacking into the mainframe??" Adrian asked...
"Not yet. I got the call when I arrived at the basement before coming to the office. They were unable to hack it, and our men are trying their best to locate the hacker, it seems it was an imperial level hacker"...
"Only four gangs have imperial hackers. Tell Vicar to add a virus to the encryption. And one last thing you will attend the Samson's family banquet in my stead." Adrian said as he smirked...
"I will have to face your fiancée" Fedrick replied as he looked like he was sent on a suicide mission...
"It's not that bad though, so stop making it seem like I'm sending you to hell" Adrian said as he tried to conceal his laughter...
"I'd rather go to hell than face your fiancee" Fedrick said slumping into the chair, staring the ceiling...
"One villa in your name" Adrian said.
Fedrick replied with a wide grin on his face...
"I love you, bro"
Adrian couldn't help but laugh silently...
Fedrick immediately stood up to get ready for the event but stopped as he heard Adrian's words...
"When are the results for the first stage going to be released?" Adrian asked
"The day after tomorrow" Fedrick answered...
Adrian nodded in response...
"Are you worried that your beauty won't make it to the top hundred?" Fedrick said and bolted out, not waiting for Adrian's response...
*2 Days Later*
Today was the day the results were to be released. Anyone among the top hundred contestants was expected to show up at the Grand Hall by 2 pm.
Stella's mum, Stella, and Fiona sat with their eyes fixed on the clock, waiting anxiously for 10 a.m... They prayed in silence until Stella's phone suddenly beeped.
They all leaned in and began scrolling through the list in search of Stella's name. Boom! There it was. *Number 86*. She had passed.
Stella's mum pulled her into a warm hug, and Fiona screamed, "Yesss!" before joining the hug. Wide smiles spread across their faces.
"I'm so proud of you, my angel," Stella's mum said, her eyes filled with love as she looked at her daughter.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Mum," Stella replied, her voice trembling as tears threatened to spill... She pulled her mother into another embrace...
"Enough with the emotions," Fiona cut in. "How about we celebrate with some big meal?" she added, pouting at Stella's mum.
Stella's mum smiled. "Your love for food is unmatched. But we don't have much time, we have to prepare for the next stage by 2 pm."
They all burst into laughter...
As they were heading out, Stella encountered her father in the living room.
"Good morning, Dad," she said in a flat tone, her brows creased and fingers nervously interlocked behind her.
"Morning. Just make sure you win, so you can get a good suitor and we can finally leave this poor life, okay?" he replied, eyes still glued to his phone, barely sparing her a glance.
"Yes, Dad," Stella muttered as she made her way to the kitchen.
Fiona, who had been right behind her, followed quietly without greeting him.
Stella's dad hissed loudly at Fiona.
But she was used to it, so she didn't care...
*Second Stage, Grand Hall*
In this round, the contestants were asked to bring the design being displayed on the screen to life within two hours...
It was a beautiful yet extremely complicated dress, and all the necessary materials had been provided.
Seeing how difficult it was to recreate the dress, two contestants gave up almost immediately....
Stella stood still, closely studying the design, which was also displayed on a tablet handed to her by the hosts...
An hour passed, and beads of sweat were visible on the contestants' faces as they tried to merge materials and match the design. So far, five contestants have given up so far....
Stella was sweating profusely, but she pressed on. The only two people who seemed calm were Shawn and Feng Wang, they worked with steady hands and focused expressions, handling the complex design with ease...
Two hours later, a bell rang, signaling the end of the round. Those who couldn't finish on time were immediately disqualified. Only 42 contestants remained out of the original 100...
But the cut wasn't over. Only 20 participants would advance to the next round...
After evaluation by the judges, the scores were released.
1) Shawn Mendes
2) Feng Wang
3) Richard Will
4) kylian Fang
The names continued to be called one after another. Fiona's heart pounded. They were on the *18th name*, and she still hadn't heard Stella's.
19) Stella Anderson
"Yesss!" Stella screamed, her eyes wide with relief.
But Fiona's scream was even louder...
Meanwhile, somewhere in *Huston Corp*, Adrian smiled faintly as he heard Stella's name called as he watched her from his laptop...