"Lily, are you trying to give everyone a treat, or are you trying to benefit yourself? Is my show not exciting enough to keep people alert?" Jessie pretended to be displeased, bantering with the host.
"Haha, it seems that my little idea can't escape your sharp eyes. The show is indeed exciting, but I want to see something even more exciting," the host replied, turning to the audience to stir up the atmosphere. "Isn't that right, everyone?"
There wasn't much response from the audience because Ava had said that the mysterious guest was just a gimmick, so people weren't interested in any surprises midway through the event.
Although the atmosphere wasn't lifted, the event still had to continue.
Jessie generously said, "Okay, since everyone else wants a surprise, I must arrange it."
The host continued, "So, Miss Jessie, what exactly is our surprise?"
Jessie fell silent for a moment, then glanced at the audience below, taking in everyone's gazes.
Then, intentionally teasingly, she asked the host, "Lily, do you remember before our show started, we announced that we would have a mysterious guest coming to the event?"
"Of course, I remember," the host replied, pretending to be puzzled, as if she was following a script that had been changed at the last minute. "But I hear that this mysterious guest thing was just a gimmick, false advertising? Ahem, I wonder if I'll be blacklisted by Director Ramirez for speaking so directly," the host's sharp and explosive question ignited the atmosphere in the entire venue.
The host was so bold, directly challenging the organizer in front of everyone.
However, Ava, the cunning strategist of the workplace, immediately realized that something might be wrong when she heard this.
Could it be that Al had arrived?
But her people outside the venue hadn't seen anyone enter.
Just as Ava was pondering, she saw Jessie on stage smiling charmingly, "Of course not. After all, Human hearts are sinister, there will always be one or two people who are jealous and want to secretly defame others."
This implied remark was almost naming names.
Ava felt a surge of anger but had to reluctantly squeeze out a smile since all the curious and speculative gazes were now on her.
Jessie was going to make a scene!
Fine, she wanted to see where this mysterious guest was.
As Ava was making fierce vows in her mind, she saw Jessie's gaze directly on the calmly seated Alessia.
"Now, please give a warm round of applause and welcome our special guest of the show, Alessia La Rosa-Al, the famous fashion designer and owner of LR Studio!" Jessie announced, and the attention of everyone in the venue shifted to Alessia.
"Huh, why does the name Alessia sound familiar to me?"
"Ha, how can it not sound familiar? Isn't Alessia the lyricist and composer employed by Dylan?"
"Tsk tsk, how can she be so talented? Not only is she a talented lyricist and composer, but she's also a sought-after fashion designer."
Among the discussions, Ava and Sisca almost simultaneously widened their eyes.
Alessia is Al? The designer of LR Studio? How is that possible?
Ava felt that Jessie was playing her, and she had a hundred reasons not to believe it. But since this was the Ramirez's show, she couldn't openly dismantle Jessie's plan.
She could only stand up and grab Alessia, who was about to go on stage, and said in a lowered voice, "Sia, impersonating someone else carries legal consequences. let's not steal the limelight."
Alessia: "..."
Sisca, who was nearby, heard Ava's words clearly. At this moment, two people who were not familiar with each other had the same goal. She also spoke up, pretending to be concerned, "Miss La Rosa, you should listen to Miss. Ava Ramirez. Getting temporary fame at the expense of being ridiculed for a lifetime is not worth it. Don't do something that harms yourself and others, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Bianca looked at the affected pair in front of her and felt like throwing up! Can they stop delaying others' business and acting here?
She rolled her eyes dramatically, then promptly grabbed Alessia's hand. "Auntie, Alessia is indeed Al. If you don't believe it, you can go and bang your head against the wall. No one will stop you."
Then she glared at Sisca. "And you, not everyone is like you, who only knows how to plagiarize and act fake!"
Bianca spoke without reservation, and people in the front rows heard her clearly.
Strange looks fell on her, and Sisca's face turned ugly as she lowered her brows and stopped talking.
Ava also retreated to her seat. In front of so many people, she needed to maintain her image and couldn't afford to conflict with a younger generation.
Forget it.
If Alessia wanted to court death, let her be. After all, the recognition banquet hadn't started yet, and no one knew that Alessia was her daughter.
Ava was acting recklessly, still not believing that Alessia was Al.
Sisca was already halfway convinced because she remembered that day at the mall when Alessia made a phone call, and the person in charge came out immediately, promising that Alessia could freely dispose of LR Studio's clothes.
At that time, she thought the person in charge came out because of Bianca. Now she realized that Bianca's appearance was probably just a coincidence.
If Alessia was really Al, then Bianca suddenly getting along well with her could be easily explained because Bianca was a die-hard fan of Al.
How could a rural woman like Alessia become Al?
Sisca couldn't understand it no matter how hard she tried. She stole a glance at Dominic, her face grim. She saw Dominic's gaze fixed on Alessia as she walked onto the stage.
Sisca felt like she was falling into an ice cellar. Alessia had unlocked another new identity, making her chances of winning even slimmer. She used to think she was similar to Alessia, but now she realized that the gap between them was getting bigger and bigger.
This cruel fact made her feel both resentful and hopeless.
Alessia didn't know that her existence had caused such a great psychological shock to others, but even if she did, she wouldn't care.
Was she supposed to stop being excellent just to make unrelated people feel better? That would be ridiculous.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Alessia La Rosa, also known as Al." Alessia took the microphone handed to her by the host and stood confidently on stage.
The female host stepped aside, letting Alessia stand in the middle.
Mysterious guests were meant to maintain their mystery, so nobody knew before the event started that the guest was Al, not even the host had just received the script.
The host was excited now, looking at Alessia with enthusiasm as she asked the questions from the script.
"Al, everyone knows you're accustomed to keeping a low profile. What made you agree to participate in our new product launch?"
Alessia's expression remained calm as she held the microphone and said simply, "Because of a person."
"A person? Who is it? Can you tell us?" The host asked cautiously, afraid of offending any big shots.
This question probably echoed the thoughts of everyone present.
Everyone wanted to know why Al, who never appeared in the media, decided to break this rule because of someone.
For Alessia, there were no rules; it was just a matter of whether she wanted to or not.
She came to this event because the babies wanted her to, and also because she had a good impression of Jessie. So, all in all, it was because of Jessie!
Alessia glanced at Jessie and said, "Because of Jessie."
"I didn't expect Miss Jessie to be friends with you. She has hidden it so well." The host mentioned Jessie, passing the question to her.
"I got to know Al because of fate. I never expected Al to accept my invitation. In the end, it's all because of fate that we met today," Jessie said responsibly, looking at the excited and curious gazes below, satisfying everyone's curiosity and igniting their emotions once again.
"Haha, Miss Jessie is so eloquent. According to her, attending Ramirez's show today and witnessing Al unveil the mysterious veil for the first time is indeed fate."
"I think it's all luck. We have such good luck today, maybe we'll be lucky for the rest of the year."
"Luck is entirely possible! Seeing such a stunning beauty as Al today, how could we not be lucky? I used to think Al was ugly since she never showed her face, but I never expected that Al, with a simple outfit like jeans and a T-shirt, would be even more beautiful than celebrities in evening gowns."
"Yes, just now when Sisca stood next to her, I felt that Al was several times more beautiful than Sisca. Al's skin seems to emit light."
The audience below was excited and thrilled, discussing passionately.
Among them were several fans of Sisca, who inserted their comments with a hint of sarcasm, "Looking good is one thing, but whether it's just a beautiful facade, no one knows."
***