Chapter 554: Arrogant Words, Harsh Reality
It had begun!
In just moments, the world would know who would claim the crown.
Viewers who had dozed off or swiped away from the livestream quickly returned, all waiting with bated breath.
Soon, the host announced: "The winner of tenth place... from Country Y—Mr. S!"
A tall man shot to his feet, face glowing with excitement. He hugged the contestants around him, waved at the camera, and practically sprinted onto the stage.
Among the Country Y contestants, some looked at him with envy, while others sneered with disdain.
But truthfully, earning tenth place was already a cause for envy.
This year’s perfume competition had drawn nearly ten thousand submissions from the best perfumers across both Country Y and Country M.
To be tenth was to stand out as a genius among ten thousand.
Overcome with emotion, Mr. S stammered into the microphone, thanking his teachers, his school, the Queen, Ronald, and even Logan for giving him this opportunity.
The livestream filled with sighs:[It’s over... If tenth place is a Country Y contestant, does Country M even stand a chance?]
Everyone had hoped that at least one of the eight Country M contestants could break into the top ten, most setting their sights on the easiest slot—tenth.
And it was almost taken as a given: if tenth didn’t go to a Country M contestant, then none of them would place at all.
The Country M viewers fell into silence.
Ronald grinned. "Mr. Reid, do you remember your wife’s wager with Miss Paula?"
Logan cast him a sidelong glance.
Ronald’s smile widened. "You see? Even tenth place went to us, to Country Y. For Miss Clark to aim for first... haha, I don’t mean to belittle her, of course, but it does seem difficult. Mr. Reid, I only feel sorry for you—after all, twenty billion split as marital property means you’ll lose ten billion yourself."
Logan didn’t even bother to look at him.
Ronald sneered. Keep pretending to be calm. Let’s see how long you can keep that up.
Soon after, ninth place was announced—another Country Y contestant.
At that, every Country M supporter felt the last of their hope vanish.
Ronald’s mocking smile grew broader. "Mr. Reid, may I send a message to Miss Clark through my assistant? Ah, it’s not that I wish to rub it in, but really..."
Logan couldn’t understand why some people were so desperate to make fools of themselves. He said evenly, "Do as you like."
Ronald wasn’t about to waste such a perfect chance to mock Selina.
Right after the ninth-place contestant finished his interview, Ronald turned deliberately and asked: "Miss Clark, you once said Country M perfumers are not inferior, that you would certainly take a spot, even the championship. Faced with the current situation, do you have anything to say now?"
The hall erupted with laughter.
"Hahaha! Champion? They don’t even have one in the top ten!"
"If a Country M contestant makes top ten, I’ll wash my hair standing on my head!"
Ronald laughed louder, basking in his triumph.
Selina, however, only cast him a faint glance, her expression calm, as though she couldn’t be bothered with such a petty clown. "It’s fine. Just watch."
Ronald snorted. "Some people really won’t give up until the bitter end. The rest of the rankings will all be swept by Country Y contestants! With ninth and tenth gone, Country M had no chance. And we still have so many outstanding perfumers left. Just wait and see!"
The Country Y contestants looked just as smug, brimming with confidence. To them, they were born to be the favored ones. Forget just the championship—taking the entire top three seemed only natural.
Selina ignored everyone, simply waiting for the host to continue.
"The contestant in eighth place is... Number 48."
After all fifty contestants had submitted their perfumes, the works were scrambled and assigned random numbers. The judges could only see the numbers during evaluation—leaving no room for cheating.
When Number 48 was mentioned, several judges nodded knowingly.
"This perfume was truly excellent, very refreshing."
"The dry-down was especially stunning. I predicted it would land around seventh or eighth—and sure enough."
"I wonder which Country Y contestant it is..."
Since most of the judges were from Country Y, they naturally assumed such a fine perfume could only belong to one of their own.
The host and several Country Y assistants went to check the contestant list. Then... they froze.
Wait. Hold on. That name—why didn’t it look like someone from Country Y?
The audience began urging them to hurry, and the host finally snapped back to attention, raising his voice to announce a name no one recognized:
"The winner of eighth place is... Mr. Q!"
...Q?
Who?
The Country Y contestants and viewers exchanged puzzled looks.
Was he some newly trained perfumer? But the name didn’t sound like someone from Country Y at all...
Even Ronald frowned in thought. He had met nearly every Country Y perfumer. Had someone slipped past him? Or...
"Ah! It’s me! It’s me! I’m eighth place!"
A bright, ringing male voice burst out, nearly delirious with excitement. A young man leapt from his seat, shouting, "It’s me!"
Who? Who was it?!
Everyone turned—and finally spotted him in a far corner.
That was...
[Where’s the camera? Camera crew, what the hell—go film him!]
[Are you kidding me? There’s a contestant sitting over there and no one’s showing him? Didn’t they say there were over eighty cameramen? Send a couple to cover that corner!]
[Hurry up, hurry up—I want to see the eighth-place winner! How could Reid Group make this kind of mistake?]
[Uh... do you guys remember Ronald deliberately shoved a certain country’s contestants into a corner and pulled the cameras? Mr. Reid told him to send a crew, but Ronald brushed it off...]
[Ah...]
[Oh no...]
[Wait. Don’t tell me the eighth-place winner is actually...]
Just as Mr. Q was about to dash forward, Selina caught his arm and said calmly, "Don’t rush. Wait for the cameras."
Only then did the organizers realize—there were still eight contestants crammed into that corner!
They scrambled, sending two cameramen over. Soon, Mr. Q came into the frame.
A face unmistakably of Country M origin.
...It was a Country M contestant!
A Country M contestant had taken eighth place!
The entire hall seemed to freeze.
Logan set down his teacup, his voice soft but cutting through clear as glass to Ronald:
"Didn’t Mr. Ronald say there wouldn’t be a single Country M contestant in the top ten?"
...
...
All eyes swiveled toward Ronald.
Yes, he was Country Y’s chief perfumer. But dismissing an entire nation’s contestants so openly—shoving them into the corner, pulling their cameras—that was no longer the stance of a fair judge.
Even worse, he had mocked Country M just moments before eighth place was revealed, claiming they would never rank.
Now, with Logan’s understated remark, it was as if a heavy slap had landed square across Ronald’s face.