The incense Si Yiyan had prepared for her was made personally by Wan Niang. Extremely effective, it was not only a balm to a tired mind and body, but it could also boost blood flow and was a complement to the calming herbal pills that Ruoruo had made for her. As a result, she quickly adapted to Italy’s time zone and was full of energy every day.
The Milan World Expo International Jewelry Design Competition had always been one of the top competitions in this industry. Held once every three years, each event attracted worldwide attention.
As a result, the Milan World Expo Jewelry Association and all other sponsors held this competition in high regard.
The organizers allowed every competitor in the grand finals a period to relax and adjust to the place after their arrival in Milan. They gave everyone adequate time to calibrate their minds and bodies so that they could start the competition in peak condition.
Therefore, over the next two days, Mr. Ronda brought Wen Xinya on a leisurely tour of some of the most famous attractions in Milan.
For example, the fifth largest church in the world, the Duomo di Milano.
The church had a very unique architecture. The top half was constructed in a Gothic style while the bottom half was in classic Baroque. The entire church was intricately beautiful and an extremely monumental piece of architecture for anyone interested in culture.
The church had more than 6,000 statues, mainly revolving around the theme of Bible stories.
Napoleon Bonaparte had held his coronation ceremony here, and there was a gold-colored statue of Mother Mary on the rooftop. It glowed under the sunlight, appearing mystical and magnificent.
“This is truly an incredible piece of architecture.” Wen Xinya was not Catholic. She did not have any religion before she met Si Yiyan and only started believing in Buddhism after meeting him. Even so, she couldn’t help feeling astounded and humbled in the presence of such a world-renowned church.
Mr. Ronda said, “Milan is not just all about fashion. It also houses numerous famous architecture. More than anything, it is steeped in culture and the hometown of many artistic talents. Home to the arts, there are a vast number of famous art legacies stashed within the capital. The most famous would be Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’.”
Wen Xinya nodded with profound understanding.
Country Z was an ancient nation with a cultural history full of mysterious gaping holes, requiring its descendants to slowly and tirelessly dig up and uncover all the leftover pieces of culture. In contrast, Milan was a city that had truly integrated culture, fashion, architecture, and tourism into one sprawling metropolis.
“When will the grand finals kick off?” Having been in Milan for three days, this was the first time Wen Xinya was asking about the competition.
Mr. Ronda smiled meaningfully at Wen Xinya. “Wen, the moment you decided to ask me when the competition is starting, it means you have reached your peak state—physically, emotionally, mentally. You already have full confidence in yourself, and I am happy for you.”
10 competitors and 10 representatives. Their assignations were not decided by the organizers, instead, they had chosen their favorite designer. Mr. Ronda had taken note of the young designer Wen Xinya right from the beginning. The style of her designs was classic, beautiful, novel and full of intensity. Her biggest advantage was her ability to decipher the soul of a design. This was the most important thing for a jewelry designer.
From the preliminaries until the finals, all three of her designs held their own unique flavor, while showing improvement with each round. Every design made the audience’s eyes sparkle. He could clearly see the extreme talent possessed by this jewelry designer.
And after meeting her in person, Mr. Ronda remained convinced of her talents.
She had a profound knowledge of jewelry design and was a very skilled jewelry designer. He dared to guarantee that of all the ten competitors, none of them could match up to her talents.
Knowledge and talent. These two qualities would be her best weapons when scaling the peaks of success.
Wen Xinya expressed her sincere gratitude to his acknowledgment and praise. “Thank you, Mr. Ronda.”
Mr. Ronda continued, “In reality, the competition began the moment you stepped into Milan!”
Wen Xinya was rather shocked. “What do you mean?”
The competition had already started? But for the past two days, she was either chatting endlessly with Si Yiyan over the phone or out with Mr. Ronda sightseeing. Now and then, she would head to the retail atrium on the top floor of the hotel to shop. But she had not heard Mr. Ronda say anything about the competition.
Mr. Ronda explained with a smile. “As part of the grand finals, we will observe the mental and physical conditions of our competitors. Some competitors do not require any time to adjust, and will immediately request to start the competition. Others need a day or two to relax, while there are also some who require more time. The representatives will not interfere with their decision.”
The representatives would also not tell them about this. The competitors had to discover the rules by themselves.
Wen Xinya frowned slightly. “So, may I know when is the deadline for the grand finals?”
“The deadline is seven days from the moment you stepped into Milan. Which means that you only have less than five days left to complete your design.”
Mr. Ronda was very satisfied with Wen Xinya’s reaction. She did not grumble about how such rules were unfair but had immediately zeroed in on the main gist of the situation. She was indeed a very smart girl.
As far as he knew, there were already several competitors who had expressed their dissatisfaction with the rules.
Realization dawned on Wen Xinya and she smiled calmly. “I understand. So what is the theme of the competition?”
The rules for this competition were indeed interesting.
Perhaps there would be many who would find this very inequitable. They would feel that people who discovered the rules of this competition earlier would gain an unfair advantage, as they would have more time to perfect their designs.
Actually, the root of the issue laid with their own body condition.
Jewelry design was a profession that relied on inspiration, talent, and experience. Time was not a deciding factor in success or failure. A mere two to four days difference would have no significant impact on a designer’s capability.
Everyone had come to Milan for the jewelry design competition. Everyone knew that the organizers would offer them a period to relax and adjust. As a result, the moment they adapted to the new time zone and unfamiliar surroundings to reach their peak state, they would focus their attention on the competition and naturally uncover the rules of the competition.
Regardless of fairness, the issue arose from one’s own body. This type of competition rule was a true measure of a person’s ability, experience, and talent.
Mr. Ronda smiled. “I will give you the theme of the competition when we return to the hotel.”
