Beside them, Pei Weiwei was so excited that she almost jumped up. She knew it! She just knew it!
Unable to wait to pull Xu Zixi off the competition stage, Pei Weiwei opened her mouth and was about to say, "I know her..."
"Weiwei!" Pei Mingyuan raised his voice to stop her from going on. He gave her a cold, warning look. "If you don't want your allowance cut off, shut your mouth!"
For the sake of her allowance, Pei Weiwei had no choice but to fall silent reluctantly.
Pei Mingyuan said to Yan Zhen, "This is not a place to talk. How about we find a quieter place to have a chat?"
Yan Zhen had no objection. "Sure."
Noticing Pei Weiwei trying to sneak away beside them, worried that she might cause some trouble again, Pei Mingyuan said, "Weiwei, you come too."
Pei Mingyuan took Yan Zhen to a coffee shop near Pei Corporation. The two men sat facing each other. The soothing music could not relieve the slightly tense atmosphere at the moment. Pei Weiwei, on the other hand, was standing not far away, pricking up her ears to eavesdrop.
"Where is Yuan Xi? I want to see her," Yan Zhen said straightforwardly to Pei Mingyuan.
Pei Mingyuan replied, "I won't let you see her until I know your intention."
Yan Zhen's gaze fell on Pei Mingyuan's hand. It was clean without any accessories.
"On what grounds are you saying this to me, Mr. Pei?" Yan Zhen said coldly. Since he was engaged but didn't wear the engagement ring outside, it was obvious that their relationship was not very firm. Tut-tut. He didn't expect that Yuan Xi would take a fancy to such a man. In terms of appearance and family background, he was no match for him.
There was also a hint of secret pleasure in his heart. After she left Fengcheng, she probably couldn't find anyone better than him, right? Pei Corporation? It was not even a match for a finger of Yan Corporation. If it weren't for Yan Corporation, Pei Corporation wouldn't have had the ability to win that bay, let alone discover the rare fish "Golden Amber".
"Then what's your identity to demand to see her, Young Master Yan?" Pei Mingyuan didn't give in at all. "Your engagement is over. She is no longer the daughter of the Yuan family. It's all over between you."
"It's all over between you."
— This sentence stabbed Yan Zhen painfully.
"We're not over. Although our engagement is off, she is still the girl I grew up with as a childhood playmate! Our bond won't fade just because the engagement is cancelled! You have no right to stop me from seeing her."
Pei Mingyuan clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with anger.
What a "still my sister"! How could this man be so shameless to say such a thing!
While Pei Mingyuan and Yan Zhen were confronting each other, the competition didn't stop just because a near - full - score work appeared. The process continued as usual.
The next work to be presented after Xu Zixi's was "Polar Bear Paradise", which was initially ranked fifteenth.
The design concept of "Polar Bear Paradise" came from polar bears. The author intended to create a habitat for polar animals in Haicheng and cooperate with Haicheng Zoo to jointly operate.
This work reminded Yan Yincheng of his visit to the aquarium. He also gave it a score of 75, and the final score was 80.70.
Zhou Yaru's work was unfortunately left until the end. However, inspired by Xu Zixi's high score, even though she had waited for a long time, she still didn't lose confidence. She completed her presentation and explanation within the expected time and got a good score of 81.23.
By now, all the works had been presented, and the result of the competition finally came out.
In terms of scores, Xu Zixi's "City of Hope" ranked first and was unmatched. Second was still "Coral Jungle", which was initially ranked second only to hers. Third was Zhou Yaru's "Growth of All Things", and fourth was "Polar Bear Paradise"...
Although the approximate scores and rankings were already known, the final list still had to be determined after the judges' discussion. So all the contestants returned to their previous seats, nervously waiting for the final result to be announced.
After a round of break, the award ceremony officially began.
To create a more festive atmosphere for the award ceremony, the lights on the spot became even more dazzling than during the competition. Amidst a rousing award - giving music, the holographic virtual host transformed into the leading host of Haicheng TV Station in a formal dress, perfectly demonstrating Pei Corporation's emphasis on this competition.
"Distinguished guests and audience, welcome to the award - giving ceremony of the Bay Reconstruction Project Product Design Competition hosted by Pei Corporation. After nearly seven hours of competition, the winners of this competition have finally been decided. Next, we will first announce the third - prize winners of this competition. They are..."
Among the thirty short - listed works, after eliminating those that were unclaimed and those with overtime presentations, a total of eight contestants were eliminated. The remaining works were ranked from high to low according to their final scores. There were three third - prize winners. As the names of the works were read out, backstage, three contestants stood up and walked onto the stage, standing in the dazzling lights, waiting for their trophies and certificates.
The female host said, "Let's welcome the third - prize presenter, Mr. Pei Mingyuan, the president of Pei Corporation."
As soon as the voice fell, the lights shone on the special passage for the guests' entrance, but no one showed up after waiting for a long time. In the audience, Xu Zixi heard the whispering of the audience behind her.
"Where is Young Master Pei? Where has he gone?"
In the coffee shop, Pei Mingyuan's phone kept vibrating, but he didn't have the time to care. He said coldly to Yan Zhen,
"I'm really surprised that Young Master Yan can say such a shameless thing. Sister? When that incident happened and her photos were exposed in the media, you didn't handle it properly. After that, you didn't even fulfill your responsibility to protect her. Instead, you publicly broke off the engagement with her. You hurt her so deeply, but now you say you still regard her as your sister. Do you dare to say this to her face?"
The expression on Yan Zhen's face distorted for a moment, but then returned to normal.
"Since you mentioned what happened four years ago, it means you know what went on back then. If it were you, finding out that the woman you cherish not only gave away her precious first time to someone else on her coming - of - age day but also hid her identity as an adopted daughter from you, I don't believe you could have handled it better than me. I bet you must have had some misgivings in your heart when you learned about her past, right?"
Seeing Pei Mingyuan hesitate for a moment, Yan Zhen knew he had hit the nail on the head.
Look, no man doesn't mind. But he was different from these men. He and she had an 18 - year - long bond. She was his sister!
Yan Zhen's tone softened.
"I know I made her sad, which is why she has been hiding from me for all these years. I'm not here to cause her trouble. I just want to see how she has been living in the past four years. If she is in trouble, I can offer her help."
Pei Mingyuan came back to his senses. "She is fine, and she will be even better in the future. Stop bothering her!"
Yan Zhen said indifferently, "I don't believe what you said. I want to see her with my own eyes and hear from her own mouth that she is doing well. Tell me where she is."
At the same time, in the VIP room, the secretary said, "Chairman, we can't get in touch with General Manager Pei. What should we do now?"