Chapter 597
She frowned, then glanced at the red-cloth-covered tray in front of her.
She really couldn’t figure out what Dr. Kerrick was up to.
When Serena heard the theme, her eyebrows lifted slightly. A flicker of amusement crossed her face as she looked toward Dr. Kerrick.
She had a good idea of what his challenge entailed.
She wondered if Hailey would still be able to smile once she found out what it was.
With a flourish, the young assistant whisked the red cloths off the trays.
On the trays before Serena and Hailey lay raw sapphires, each with a natural fissure running through it.
The two raw stones were nearly identical in size, and their natural fissures were quite similar.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the stone in front of Serena had noticeably more impurities along its crack.
Next to the raw stones was a full set of painting supplies and an assortment of various other gems.
Hailey stared at the raw stone, a bad feeling rising in her gut. She frowned. “What is this supposed to mean p>
“You have one hour,” Dr. Kerrick announced. “Using the materials I’ve provided, you will create a design centered on this natural fissure this ‘trace.’ Use your creativity and ingenuity to mend the crack p>
Hailey’s face instantly went deathly pale.
Her eyes widened as she looked from the raw sapphire to Dr. Kerrick, her voice rising in disbelief. “I thought this was a design competition! Why are you making us fix a crack instead of letting us sketch p>
“Design isn’t just an exercise on paper. This is also a form of jewelry design,” Dr. Kerrick said, his voice firm and unhurried. “Since you can produce such stuning sketches and claim your creativity and ideas are what hold the most value… now is the time to show us that creativity and those ideas p>
Hailey’s face was ashen as she stared at the raw stone, her breathing becoming shallow. “No… I demand we sketch our designs p>
“Designer Number Four,” Angela
said, propping her chin on her hand, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. Her tone was unapologetically taunting. “Weren’t you just confidently telling Dr. Kerrick to give you any theme he wanted? Now that he’s given you one, you won’t accept it? Tsk, tsk… and here I actually thought you had some skill p>
Hailey’s expression turned ugly. She dug her nails into her palms, trying to come up with a defense.
The editor-in-chief of a major fashion and jewelry magazine spoke up next. “Creatively repairing a raw stone is not fundamentally different from sketching a design. If you can draw a design, then repairing a stone shouldn’t be too difficult for you p>
“Designer Number Four, is your
creativity limited to paper? Does it vanish the moment the format changes the president of the
ol
added
Elyndo Jewelers Association added his own doubts. “When Ms. O Rainsford and Dr. Kerrick first raised their concerns, remained neutral, worried we might misjudge a truly talented individual. Thope you can use your skills to prove this was all just a misunderstanding p>
Any words Hailey might have had were caught in her throat.
She knew she had no way out.
She was the one who had talked such a big game.
No matter what excuse she came up with now, it would only lead to further
humiliation.
Besides p>
Dr. Kerrick’s challenge wasn’t actually unreasonable.
If she tried to make an unreasonable scene now, the plagiarism accusation she had
just barely managed to shake off would come right back to haunt her.
Digging her nails into her palms, Hailey glanced over at Serena p>