"Miss Li, there's no need to be so surprised. Your work is excellent—making it to the finals is a testament to your talent," said Bryce Shaw’s assistant, Chris Cooper, giving her a friendly look.

Earlier, he’d noticed President Shen couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He couldn’t help wondering if Shen was interested in her. Because of that, he'd also sneaked a few extra glances her way.

Eva Snow sneered. "So you made it to the finals—big deal. Look at you, as if you've never seen the world before."

Lauren Shaw glanced up at her. "I'm surprised simply because I never thought I’d make it to the finals at all. Miss Xue, on the other hand, must have expected it. With your family background, it’s only natural you’d be here."

Her words instantly made everyone view Eva Snow a little differently.

Eva Snow's face turned an ugly shade of green. "What nonsense is that? I earned this myself, it has nothing to do with my family!"

Lauren Shaw only shrugged, staying silent—the insinuation was clear for anyone who cared to see it.

She wasn’t about to explain any further. Humph, it's just a matter of running your mouth and spreading rumors—she could do that too, and whoever picked a fight with her would just find it backfiring.

Now that she was in the finals, it was time for the celebrities to choose which designers they wanted to partner with.

Shengmei wasn’t just a fashion company; under its corporate umbrella were also an entertainment agency, electronics division, and real estate…

When the celebrities appeared, Lauren Shaw immediately recognized a familiar face.

Yana Quinn—it had really been ages.

Yana Quinn’s eyes darted away for a few seconds when she spotted Lauren Shaw, but then she forced a smile. With so many cameras trained on them, she had to keep up appearances.

This chance wasn’t easy to come by—her agent had fought tooth and nail to secure it. After what happened last time, she'd sulked for a while, but she wanted to use this show to redeem her reputation. Still, seeing Lauren Shaw again filled her with guilt.

Who would have thought fate would bring enemies back together here?

Lauren Shaw remained composed, not letting Yana Quinn's appearance faze her at all.

Then came the moment for the celebrities to choose their favorite designers.

Lauren Shaw stood quietly in the corner. Without any fame to her name, no one wanted to pick her. Still, she wasn't anxious—she just kept calm.

The host noticed and quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Don’t worry, Miss Li. There’s still one more celebrity who hasn’t arrived yet."

There were seven celebrities present, but one was still missing. Judging from the silence, this missing star probably wasn’t known for being easy to deal with.

Eva Snow watched her expectantly, looking as if she was about to witness a show.

"Sorry we’re late," a voice suddenly called out from the door.

A woman in a floor-length gown swept in. Despite being late, her expression was anything but pleasant—in fact, she seemed downright impatient. Her assistant tried to smooth things over with the production crew, but the woman didn’t even spare them a glance.

She looked like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.

The host shot Lauren Shaw a look of sympathy.

"Miss Li, this will be your partner—Miss Chloe Shaw."

Chloe Shaw was a famous actress in Ancheng, dubbed the youngest 'Best Actress' winner in town. But she was notorious for her eccentric temperament. Everyone who’d worked with her said she was tough to get along with. With her privileged family, no one dared to offend her—even with such a difficult attitude, she had no shortage of roles.

No one had expected her to actually take part in this show.

The other designers looked at their chosen celebrities and felt secretly grateful.

Chloe Shaw strode over and gave Lauren Shaw a cool glance. "You’re Lauren Shaw?"

Lauren Shaw nodded.

"Not bad. You’re at least easy on the eyes."

Still in her evening gown from an earlier event, Chloe Shaw clearly hadn’t had time to change. She hadn't even wanted to come—her manager had pestered her endlessly to make her show up.

She yawned and, looking lazy and nonchalant, paid no mind to the stares around her.

Lauren Shaw was puzzled. Honestly, she didn’t seem as difficult as everyone said she was.

After the filming wrapped, Lauren Shaw ran into Eva Snow backstage.

She ignored her, packed her things, and prepared to leave—only to have Eva Snow step in her way.

"Don’t get cocky. You just made it to the finals—the real champion is still far out of your reach."

"Really? But what if I actually win? Would that make you die of jealousy?" Lauren Shaw couldn’t help herself—she just wanted to rile her up a little.

She’d never liked making enemies, but with how many times Eva Snow provoked her, she was running out of patience.

Eva Snow had always been short-tempered. Ever since she was little, she’d only ever bullied other people; no one had ever gotten under her skin—until now. But Lauren Shaw wasn’t one to be bullied. She pushed right back.

Leaning in, Eva Snow lowered her voice, "Stop dreaming. You think you can soar to the top? What do you have to compete with me?"

Lauren Shaw just gave a short laugh, her smile polite as ever. "I never dream—if something doesn’t belong to me, I won’t even look at it. Not like you, Miss Xue. All you ever do is chase after other people’s men."

Eva Snow glared at her as though Lauren Shaw had stabbed her right in the heart.

But with so many people coming and going backstage, she had no choice but to swallow her rage for now.

Especially when she saw the ring on Lauren Shaw’s hand—a surge of jealousy flared up inside her.

Claire Xu called then, saying he was already waiting outside. To celebrate her making the finals, he insisted on treating her to dinner.

Lauren Shaw hung up, gave Eva Snow a courteous smile, and turned to leave.

Eva Snow was trembling with fury after what Lauren Shaw had said.

Watching her sashay away in high heels, Eva Snow’s jealousy boiled over. She gritted her teeth, then rushed forward and shoved her from behind.

Taken off guard, Lauren Shaw toppled to the floor, pain shooting through her ankle.

Cupping her mouth, Eva Snow put on an innocent face. "Oh—sorry! I didn’t mean to!"

Lauren Shaw gritted her teeth through the pain and quickly slipped off her high heel. Her ankle was swelling fast.

Claire Xu had waited outside for a while, but when he didn’t see Lauren Shaw come out, he rushed in to look for her.

"How could you be so careless? I just brushed past you and you fell?" Eva Snow said smugly.

With Claire Xu’s help, Lauren Shaw managed to get up.

"How did you fall? Are you hurt?" Claire Xu asked worriedly.

Lauren Shaw shook her head. "It’s nothing serious."

Eva Snow wouldn’t stop yammering.

"There’s no need to feel bad, Miss Xue," Lauren Shaw replied. "I never said you pushed me. You’re awfully quick to clear your name—it makes me wonder if it wasn’t on purpose."

Eva Snow grew even more flustered, but of course she wouldn’t admit it.

Lauren Shaw couldn’t be bothered to argue further. She let Claire Xu help her out to the car. Looking at her now-swollen ankle, Claire Xu frowned, "How did you manage to hurt yourself at a TV show?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll just save this debt for another time," Lauren Shaw replied.

Claire Xu shot her a meaningful look. "Was it that little witch’s doing? Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have given her a slap then and there."

Lauren Shaw grinned. "There’ll be plenty of chances in the future."

When they reached the hospital, Claire Xu went to handle registration while Lauren Shaw sat in the waiting area. She was surprised to run into Henry Mills.

Henry Mills looked genuinely surprised to see her. "Sister-in-law, how’d you manage to get hurt?"