Bride To Be Not Me (Janice and Simon) novel Chapter 121

The venue went into lockdown. Signals were blocked and would only be restored after the judges had finished voting.

This measure was implemented to prevent leaks and eliminate any possibility of buying votes or coordinated manipulation.

When the four finalist entries, each randomly numbered, appeared on the massive screen, Hugo from Melody & Loops Creations could no longer maintain his composure.

Beneath each featured piece was an additional crochet—a supplementary piece submitted for the international championship.

As per the rules, any company competing at the international level was required to submit two works.

When Janice's crochet, with its bold mix of contrasting colors and asymmetric shapes, was unveiled, the entire venue was struck into stunned silence. It wasn't just Melody & Loops Creations—every company present was visibly shocked.

In the world of crochet, double-sided stitching was already regarded as a rare and highly intricate technique.

But the use of differing colors and asymmetric shapes was even more groundbreaking and unheard of.

Even a powerhouse like Melody & Loops Creations couldn't guarantee they had a seamstress skilled enough to pull off something of this caliber. And even if they did, it wouldn't have been executed this flawlessly and certainly not to this extent.

Murmurs began to ripple through the audience.

"Is that an asymmetrical, multi-colored double-sided crochet?" someone whispered in awe.

Another person sighed. "It must be. Didn't you see the 3D rotation preview?"

"Could this be Melody & Loops Creations' entry?"

"No way. Just look at Hugo. He's completely thrown off."

People were starting to put the pieces together. That meant... the piece had to belong to Prosper Stitch Group.

With the two crochet giants from Nordmere and Solterra dominating the competition, the smaller companies in between were starting to lose hope. Some had already given up entirely.

"That's it. We're out. This year's just going to be a battle between those two powerhouses."

"A battle? What's left to fight over? The National Crochet Union has been searching for someone capable of multi-colored and asymmetrical stitching for years."

On the judging panel, the nine judges had put on their glasses and were closely inspecting the crochet piece—except Heidi.

The crochet on display depicted a mesmerizing interplay of water and fire, with threads that seemed to unravel and reconnect like a delicate web. One side featured bold red and deep teal tones. But the real magic lay on the reverse side.

While the outer contours still portrayed water and fire, the imagery itself had completely shifted—red clouds drifting over majestic mountains. Emerald springs, blazing flames, azure peaks, crimson clouds…

What a stunning visual paradox.

Even Calvin, who typically had little interest in crochet, found himself captivated.