In the fashion industry, I was known as the most mysterious designer. I worked hard to keep my identity from the public.

As I stood at the top of business, I was invited to be the secret judge of the Innovating Design Competition’s final round. The organizer reserved a VIP seat for me in the middle of the front row and ensured that my presence would not be revealed.

Just when I was about to sit down, a new male influencer pushed me aside and threw his hand bag onto my seat.

“What are you looking at, bumpkin? How dare you show up at the VIP section dressed like a beggar? Where’s the security? Throw this person out!”

I swallowed back my anger and replied coldly, “This seat was reserved for me.”

The influencer laughed. “Yours? Do you know who I am? Ms. Reid spent eighty million dollars in sponsorship to get me to come here! Ms. Reid has the final say in this industry. Do you understand me?”

I could only scoff at him. How bold of the Reid family! Did they really think they could make this kind of decision without consulting me?

The person next to the influencer, probably his assistant, jumped into the conversation. “Ignore this must-be-nobody, Henry. So what if he snuck in? I’ll just get the security to chase him out!”

Henry, huh? His surname, Lee, came to my mind. He was an influencer who had gotten popular online because of his connection to the Reid Corporation.

The arrogant man peered down at me and said, “I’ll give you a chance, stranger. Leave now, and I’ll pretend that I didn’t catch you trespassing.”

I did not move, nope, I simply took out my cell phone and asked, “When you said Ms. Reid, were you referring to Sammy Reid?”

Henry’s expression changed slightly. “So what if I meant her? Are you planning to call her to make a scene?”

I did not answer him. I flipped through my phone and located the right number before pressing on it.

The call rang three times before it was immediately cut off.

Henry burst in laughter, making the people around us stare and start murmuring things.

“What a joke. Why is he acting like that?”

“She must have thought that it was a scam call and hung up. Man, this is too awkward.”

“He should take a good look at himself! How dare he claim to know Ms. Reid?”

Henry leaned in closer to me with disdain oozing out of his eyes. “Do you see the difference between us? You can’t even reach her. How dare you take my seat?” He extended his hand toward me, as if about to push my shoulder. “Let me teach you a lesson for offending me. I’ll make you an outcast in the fashion industry!”

Just as his knuckles grazed me, I shifted to the side and avoided his attack.

“Mr. Lee,” I said with cold eyes, “This competition isn’t a place for you to cause trouble. Heed my words, if you do not cease your tantrum, I’ll get the organizer to throw you out!”

Henry boomed with laughter upon hearing that.

“Who are you to chase me out? Nowadays, any Tom, Dick, and Harry think they can give orders to people. Let me tell you, Ms. Reid is the one who sponsored this fashion show. You’re going to be the one crying when they kick you out!”

Seeing that the man started acting even more chesty. I let some anger spill out.

“It’s one thing to snatch my seat, it’s another to be this rude. Why is the model industry allowing a trashy person like you to be a part of it?”

My words immediately made Henry’s face fall.

“You piece of trash, how dare you say that to me? I’m going to teach you a lesson!” he screamed before throwing a punch toward my face.

I, once again, easily avoided it and said, “Mr. Lee, you should apologize to me while I’m still willing to talk it out. If you insist on angering me, a simple apology will no longer cut it!”

My words shocked everyone.

“Oh my God, does this dude know what he’s saying? Henry has connections to Reid Corporation. This is basically a career-ending move!”

“That’s it for him. The last persons who dared to offend Henry did not have a good ending!”

Those comments only made Henry look even more smug.

Then, a man wearing a “director” tag ran over.

“What’s going on? What are you fighting over? Don’t you know that the show is about to start?” he admonished with an impatient look.

Upon seeing him, Henry immediately put on a sad face and pointed a finger at me. “Mr. Anderson, I’m so happy to see you! This crazy person snuck in and keeps saying that this seat belongs to him. He even yelled at me! Can you see how upset I am right now?”

Theo Anderson sized me up. When he saw that I was dressing plainly, his frown deepened and he questioned, “Who are you? Do you have an invitation? Those seats are usually reserved to top celebrities and important sponsors. What are you doing here?”

I stared at him coldly. “This seat was personally reserved by the president of this event.”

“President?” Theo snorted.

“Our president is extremely busy. Why would she personally reserve a seat for you? Who do you think you are? Are you a chief editor or a fashion guru?”

Then, he turned to look at Henry and said pleasantly, “Mr. Lee, don’t be angry. I’ll settle this issue for you immediately. Ms. Reid has specially asked us to take good care of you as our VIP. No one can snatch your seat away from you!” He waved at the security. “Why are you still standing there? Remove this person immediately! Will you take responsibility if the show opening is delayed?”

The two security guards immediately stepped forward with the intent to grab me.

“You dare lay a hand on me?” I challenged with a cool stare.

The security guards immediately paused in their actions, making Theo even more furious.

“Why are you acting like this? You’re just a nobody. How dare you make a scene at my event? Get out!”

Henry added fuel to the fire. “Mr. Anderson, why are you still wasting your time talking to him? Just get rid of him. Ms. Reid will be coming later. We don’t want her to get upset over this.”

The mention of Sammy seemingly humbled Theo. “You’re right, Mr. Lee.” His glare turned fierce. “I’m warning you for the very last time. If you want to keep your dignity intact, leave. Being carried away by our security will not make you look good.”

I looked around me and saw the way everyone stared at me expectantly. I sneered and, this time, tried to contact organizer.

“You don’t believe me? Fine, just let me get her to speak to you personally.”

“Hello? Who is this?” A cool, female voice asked.

I replied nonchalantly, “It’s me, Lily. Hi.”

“Oh, Mr. Thatcher! Hi.” Lily Smith sounded a little surprised. “What’s wrong? Did you arrive at the event? Are you happy with what you see?”

Lily was the founder of the Innovating Design Competition. She was an authoritative figure in the fashion industry, and she used to be one of my students when I was teaching overseas.

I glanced meaningfully at Theo and Henry before continuing, “I’m here, but there seems to be some issues with the seating arrangement.”

“What’s the issue?”

“The director of this event said that my seat was reserved for a sponsor’s VIP. They are presently trying to kick me out.”

Lily remained silent for a while before she roared.

“What is that idiot Theo doing? Put him on the phone right now!”

I passed the phone to Theo.

Theo took my phone with a suspicious look on his face. But when he heard the voice over the phone, his expression immediately changed.

“Ms… Ms. Smith? Why… why are you…”

His posture immediately shrank as cold sweat broke on his forehead.

“Theo! Do you know who you are offending? That’s our most respectable VIP! How many times do I have to tell you that no one can touch the middle seat in the first row? Are you treating my word like it’s nothing?”

Theo’s legs started shaking.

“Ms. Smith, I… I didn’t know! I just thought he was…”

“What were you thinking? What are your eyes for? Let me tell you, if Mr. Thatcher is dissatisfied, you can kiss your career goodbye! Apologize to him now!”

The very next second, Lily promptly hung, leaving Theo to hold my phone while staring at me in fear. The people around us hadn’t even needed to hear the phone conversation to appear shocked. They could easily judge Theo’s expression and make the conclusion that I was far from being a ‘nobody’.

Henry’s smile froze on his face, and disbelief filled his eyes.

Theo returned my phone to me with shaky hands. Then, he dropped to his knees.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Thatcher! It’s my fault for not recognizing you! I should be damned! Please, I know you’re a kind person. I beg you to forgive me just for this once!”

I ignored him and kept staring at Henry coldly.

“So? Do you still think that this seat doesn’t belong to me?”

The man’s face could not grow any paler. He had not expected that such a seemingly ordinary man like me could terrify a director with just a phone call. However, because of his connections to Reid Corporation, he remained unwilling to admit his mistake.

“So what if the president saved a seat for you? Reid Corporation is the biggest sponsor of this event! Offending us put the Innovating Design Competition at risk of not running ever again!”

I was not the true target of this remark. It was Theo that Henry wanted to intimidate. It worked. Theo immediately became conflicted.

On one side, there was his superior’s orders; on the other side, there the whim of an important sponsor.

Suddenly, a haughty voice spoke.

“Hey, why is it so crowded here? Who’s bullying the Reid family?”

The crowd parted, and a young woman dressed in couture walked over with a group of bodyguards surrounding her.

It was the daughter of Reid Corporation, Sammy.

Henry saw her as his lifesaver. He rushed over to her wearing a pitiful expression and even clung to her arm to complain. “You’re finally here, Ms. Reid! Not only did this man snatch my seat, he’s also getting Mr. Anderson to bully me!”

Sammy patted his hand in comfort. Then, she looked at me.

“You’re the one?” She said mockingly. “You’re wearing such cheap clothes! How dare you come here and make a scene? Where did you find the guts to do so?”

I suppressed my anger and replied coldly, “The organizer has saved this seat for me as a judge.”

“A judge?” Sammy snorted. “You? A judge? Do you know what fashion is? Do you know where I got my dress? Do you know that Henry is wearing a limited-edition watch?”

She pointed at me and said to the crowd, “Let me tell you, Henry is definitely taking this seat today because I said so!”