Stenson couldn't make a decision on the spot so he gathered the selection committee together to vote.
In reality, he was personally leaning more towards Tangning, but he didn't call the shots at Excalibur Q. So, he needed to get the support of others to convince the higher-ups to use Tangning who was less famous than Qin Yu.
After they evaluated their works, the majority of votes still went to Qin Yu. There was 7 of them; 4 went to Qin Yu and 3 went to Tangning.
After seeing the results, Stenson furrowed his brows. The more people voted for Qin Yu, the more conflicted he felt.
It reminded him of the days when Excalibur Q experienced vicious competition and the feelings of helplessness and suppression.
In the end, Stenson put down the results and glanced at the staff quickly before saying, "I just want to say one last thing. If you insist on your decision even after hearing me out, then we will just go ahead with the results."
"Please speak."
"Tangning's path is similar to Excalibur Q's. No one understands as well as her how it feels to go through ups and downs and the meaning of historical legacy. I hope Excalibur Q's spokesperson can tell a story and portray substance instead of merely selling popularity and pride."
After speaking, Stenson looked at everyone again before he continued, "Let's do another round of voting."
The competition was fierce and the atmosphere was extremely nerve-wracking. After all, Excalibur Q had always been careful in picking their spokespeople.
After 10 minutes, the second round of voting was completed. The assistant announced the results: 7 votes to Tangning, 0 to Qin Yu.
In actual fact, they had all favored Tangning, but because of their ego, they didn't want to admit to it. So, after Stenson expressed his thoughts, they all understood his standpoint and immediately voted for their preference. Their reasoning was simple, after working for Excalibur Q for so many years...
...apart from fame and fortune, there was also feelings of sentiment...
They had all witnessed Excalibur Q growing and maturing through multiple fierce battles. So they, of course, could understand why Tangning was suitable as Excalibur Q's spokesperson.
Hence, when the revised results were revealed, Tangning won!
Stenson immediately instructed his assistant to contact Tangning and tell her to come sign a contract at Excalibur Q tomorrow. But, the assistant mixed up Tangning and Qin Yu's contact details and ended up calling Qin Yu's manager.
Qin Yu's manager thought Qin Yu had actually secured the endorsement. She was so happy that she immediately lifted Qin Yu up and spun her around happily, "Finally...we've won against Hai Rui. Qin Yu, you won against Tangning!"
Messing up contact details wasn't uncommon for the foreigners. After all, to the foreigners, even if they could remember their faces, they couldn't remember their identities. In conclusion, the assistant merely remembered the mole on Qin Yu's cheekbone and assumed she was the person Stenson wanted.
...
Fang Yu waited patiently for a phone call, but he knew, the longer he waited, the less chance they had. In the end, he had no choice but to say to Tangning, "You've already tried your best. If we don't get the result we want we will return home immediately."
Tangning stood by the window without a word. From the depths of her bones she emitted an unwillingness to admit defeat.
"Truthfully, you should understand, although JK helped you lay the foundations for becoming an international supermodel, you still can't present figures such as rankings. So, it's not abnormal for you to lose. Don't take it to heart."
"Isn't there anything I can do?" Tangning lifted her head and asked Fang Yu.
"You've already brought out your professionalism and tried your best. It's just when it comes to international battles like this, seniority is key."
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