Chapter 311

On the way back, Giselle grumbled, "Lily, despite avoiding a major problem earlier, your behavior today was highly inappropriate. Your impulsiveness nearly jeopardized our efforts." Lily anticipated this from Giselle, but not the lengthy reprimand. She smiled, "Was it that serious?"

Seeing Lily's unconcerned demeanor, Giselle became serious. "Lily, I'm shocked you're still smiling. Do you think nothing happened? It's fortunate you knew Mr. Parker's daughter, but what if you hadn't? What if she hadn't been there? What if she hadn't considered you a friend? We were at the mercy of our host. The organizers were negligent, but we could have provided feedback later instead of publicly accusing them. If they disqualified us"

"Well, they didn't include us as qualified candidates!" Lily interrupted.

She couldn't endure the harangue. "Please, there are too many hypothetical scenarios."

Giselle was speechless for a moment.

"Giselle, I know you're looking out for the company, and your intentions are good, but can't you see? Participants from Hyderland and other smaller countries are insignificant. Frankly, whether we qualify for this competition is irrelevant. Believe it or not, even if I won, they'd claim it was illegitimate."

The issue of discrimination was already pervasive. Now that everyone knew her friendship with Wesley Parker's daughter, a win would inevitably be attributed to connections. Melanie's earlier comments were a perfect example. Melanie didn't represent everyone, of course, but some would think the same. Lily foresaw this before the competition.

"Well" Giselle admitted, having overlooked this. When Lily argued with Wesley Parker, Giselle only worried about Lily offending him and jeopardizing Rebirth's international expansion. Lily's point had only just occurred to her.

"So, we're in a dilemma?" Giselle asked cautiously.

If Lily competed, there were two outcomes: losing and returning home in despair, or winning and facing accusations of illegitimacy—neither desirable. Withdrawing would suggest intimidation—even worse. Lily was damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

"Yeah," Lily nodded solemnly, though unconcerned. Distracting her assistant with the problem proved more effective than her incessant murmuring. Giselle fell into deep thought.

Back at the hotel, Giselle retreated to her room to work—likely on a report and a solution. Lily appreciated the quiet. She changed into comfortable clothes, then checked her phone. A few unread messages included a greeting emoji from Lisa. Lily replied with an emoji. Several messages from the company group chat were from Jenny and Olivia, inquiring about her arrival. Lily checked in, omitting the banquet incident, claiming jet lag had caused her to fall asleep. Finally, she noted Alexander hadn't messaged her, a slight disappointment. Was he too busy? She started a message, then deleted it. Why should she initiate contact if he hadn't?