No thanks to David, the doorway was blocked for over 10 minutes before the reporters finally dispersed to interview the other participants.

Gong Shangze was an unfamiliar face to the industry, plus he wore a mask since he was not feeling well that day, so naturally, no one paid him any attention. Nevertheless, the trio was happy to be left alone by the media vultures and they immediately rushed backstage to get prepared.

When Gong Shangze passed by, David eyed his back suspiciously. However, he kept his gaze short and continued to chit chat to the surrounding designers who were brownnosing him.

Backstage, models were busy getting dolled up and some even walked around in their underwear only. There were many male designers and assistants present, but everyone was already used to it.

Because this was a new situation to Gong Shangze, some distress rose in his eyes. However, when he started to turn his focus on the clothes the models paraded, his hawk eyes shone brightly.

"Wow...so many models with such amazing figures! Even a girl like myself is drooling!" Han Momo swallowed, her head whipping about to catch everyone in their glory.

At that moment, a bold model walked towards their direction in skyscraper heels and snapped, "Move it! Don't block the way!"

The model who was getting changed in front of Gong Shangze was shoved by her and her dress was about to be stepped on...

It was a good thing that Ning Xi was quick with her hands and feet. She grabbed the model by the waist and stabilized her as she wobbled. Not only would she have tripped, even the dress would have been ruined otherwise.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? You almost ruined our dress!" Han Momo was high-strung as she immediately pulled the offending model to a halt.

The snobbish model looked at their outfit. Just a single glance was obvious that their design was close to David's. She instantly looked condescendingly at them and sneered, "Just a piece of junk that was so obviously ripped off! You'd best believe that I can disqualify you from the competition at the snap of my fingers! Move it!"

Han Momo wanted to argue but then recognized her as the world famous model, Angie. She was a familiar face in the industry and was closely connected to the organizers of the award. On an occasion such as today, insulting her was the last thing to do, so she could only purse her lips and suppress her anger.

"Angie, dearest, come over quickly. It's time to change!" someone called for her from afar.

Angie immediately broke into a smile and walked over. "Oh my, Director David, this dress is unbelievably gorgeous!"

"Isn't it? I told you so. You'll definitely love it!" David clapped his hands in delight.

"Mmm, I love it, alright! Only you can surprise me every time! No wonder even Teacher Lee said that the Golden Award will definitely be yours this time!" Angie purred, then she looked over at Gong Shangze and continued, "But the standards of the Golden Award is really deteriorating over the years. After all, how can a piece of work look like so similar to this too? Just now, someone wanted to pick a fight with me, but their dress was obviously a copy of your style! Way too funny!"

David adopted the attitude of an experienced professional and laughed generously, "Haha, the industry is like that, you'd best get used to it!"

Angie played around with the material of the outfit in her hand and fell deeper in love with it the more she looked at it. "Teacher David, you're amazing, every dress you create is so different! You were practically born to design! You deserve Teacher Lee's praises. You're always getting copied but no one can ever surpass you!"

...

The moment he saw the outfit in David's hands, Gong Shangze instantly turned pale.

"What's wrong, Director Gong?" Seeing Gong Shangze not looking quite right, Han Momo quickly peered at him worriedly.

Ning Xi frowned. "This David is really ruthless. He actually chose the same one..."

Gong Shangze had mentioned that outfit to her before. She even remembered how thrilled and proud he looked when he mentioned that design.