Chapter 1 — Being vetoed by all the judges, I deleted the manuscript and the whole embroidery world went crazy

The Whole Council Vetoed My Wedding Dress? I Deleted the Manuscript, Even the Principal Was Crazy About my wedding dress design, my master had been looking at it for eight years. Every time she said: “Still need more honing.” Every time they forced me to not sign the work. In the final appraisal round this time, all five judges were her people. They hadn't even finished looking at my embroidery sample book before they raised a veto sign. Standing on stage, I suddenly thought of something. Right in front of everyone, I opened my computer and erased all the original manuscripts. Master stood up and shouted loudly:

“Lam Van, are you crazy?!”

Ten minutes later, the director's phone rang more than a dozen times consecutively. The light in the appraisal room is bright white. It was so white that it was like a sheet covering a funeral home, splashing onto my face, leaving no trace of blood remaining. I stood in the middle of the hall deciding the fate of eight years of dedication, like a prey being pushed onto the chopping block. Below sit five judges. The leader is the Chairman of the city's Handicrafts Association, Mr. Han. Her hair was slicked back and shiny, and she was still holding a small mirror to adjust her eyebrows. The remaining four people are all familiar faces of Cam Tu Phuong. Without exception, all of them are "old friends" of my master, Hua Man Thanh. Hua Man Thanh sat in the outermost position of the judges' row. She wore a moon-white cheongsam, a gentle and dignified smile on her lips, and nodded slightly at me. Eight years. My design for Van Cam's wedding dress called 《Phuong Quy》 has been in her hands for eight years. From the first patterns, how to use each type of gold thread, to the color combination of each needle and thread. She has seen it all. Every time she said:

“The idea is not bad, but it is still not mature enough, needs more refinement.”

Every time she used the excuse:

"Young people must learn to calm down. Reputation cannot be accepted casually."

Then they forced me not to sign my name to bring the work to exhibition. I believed. I always think I'm really not good enough. So during the day I work as an assistant in an embroidery factory. At night, I sat next to the lamp frame and drew samples. Time after time, the thread was removed and re-embroidered. Ten fingers were pierced with needles until they were calloused. My eyes are so wide awake that just seeing the wind causes pain. My whole body became thinner and my clothes no longer fit me. Until half a year ago. That day, I was drying cloth in the backyard when I accidentally heard Hua Man Thanh calling in the tea room. On the other end of the line seemed to be some rich lady. Hua Man Thanh used a warm tone that I had never heard before:

"You can rest assured. That phoenix wedding dress is absolutely classy enough to overwhelm everyone. The design is still in the hands of my student, I'm holding it tightly, I can't run away."

"Wait until the old lady's birthday party, it will definitely surprise everyone."

“At that time, both the work and the favor will be hers.”

At that moment, the wet cloth in my hand fell into the basin of water. It turns out it's not that I'm not good enough. It's that I'm too good. So good that my design became a gift for Hua Man Thanh to use in exchange for relationships and face. Eight years of my sweat and effort became a topic of discussion on other people's tea tables. Today finally comes the appraisal round Final. It's not that Hua Man Thanh is suddenly fair. It was the Song family in Thanh Nam who transferred the first deposit at an extremely high price. She needed to have this design officially recorded in the name of Cam Tu Phuong, then bring it to the Song family's birthday party. So, from the moment the five judges entered the hall, the outcome was predetermined.

“Lam Van, you can begin the presentation.”

Finally, President Han also put away the small mirror, prolonging his voice. I open the presentation.

"Hello teachers. I am Lam Van. The name of my work is 《Phuong Quy》."

"Wait."

A judge interrupted me.

"Lam Van, the direction of your phoenix tail looks similar to old Hua's work 《Hundred Bird Trieu Nghi》 in his youth. Are you sure this is your own creation?"

I looked at the person who spoke. His last name is Tien, and he is an advisor who often visits Cam Tu Ward. He used to eat the late-night meals I cooked and praised my solid skills. Yet today, he has not even opened my sample book.

"Master Tien, 《Hundred Bird Trieu Nghi》 uses a phoenix band, while I use a phoenix band. The bird's tail is folded in three layers to symbolize the day of return. The embroidery technique is also completely different."

He snorted coldly.

"Young people, don't use a few fancy sentences to deceive others. The patterns are all similar, do you mean it's different?"

Another female judge continued:

"Besides, you're only twenty-six years old. Can you really handle such a large-scale Van Cam wedding dress like this?"

I turned to the technical introduction page.

"I have been working on this actual model for three years. I have fully documented every connection point inside."

Hua Man Thanh calmly spoke:

"Van Van, I know you worked hard. But the final appraisal round is not a contest to see who stays up late more. The work must withstand everyone's evaluation."

Upon hearing her words, the apprentices below immediately bowed their heads. My eyes glanced over them. Little sister Tham Kieu is sitting in the front row. She wore a newly sewn pink embroidered dress, with Cam Tu Phuong's representative sign on her chest. That board should have belonged to me. Tham Kieu blinked at me and smiled obediently.

"Sister, don't be impatient. Master only wants what's best for you. You're still young, if you really signed your name on the work and people caught you making a mistake, what would you do?"

I looked at her.

“So you signed it for me?”

The smile on Tham Kieu's face stopped for a moment. Hua Man Thanh gently tapped on the table.

“Lin Van, pay attention to the environment.”

President Han held the veto sign in his hand and fiddled it back and forth.

"I don't think there's any need to listen anymore. The foundation is not solid, the traces of imitation are too heavy, and the issue of signing is still controversial."

I stared at the board.

“My presentation is not even a third done.”

"Whether things are good or not good, you don't need to listen to them all to see."

Advisor Tien held up the sign.

“I veto.”

The female judge also immediately raised the board.

“I also veto.”

The third judge yawned.

“Veto.”

The fourth person didn't even look at me.

“Veto.”

Finally, President Han also raised the board, as if he were valuing an ancient bowl.

“The entire council vetoed.”

The appraisal room fell silent. So quiet I could hear steam coming from the iron backstage. Hua Man Thanh stood up, walked to the edge of the stage, her voice softened.

"Van Van, don't be sad. Go back and fix it well. Master will guide you for another three years."

I mulled those two words on the tip of my tongue, but didn't smile. I went back to the computer. Hua Man Thanh frowned:

“What are you going to do?”

I opened the folder where the original manuscript was saved.