Just now, Jane wasn’t trying to be mysterious or anything, she was just brainstorming.
After all, either don’t draw at all or draw and make a splash.
Unknowingly, an hour had passed. Cassandra had already finished painting while Jane put down her pen in the last second. Together they displayed their paintings.
“In the middle of the two paintings is a box. Now everyone has two pieces of paper in their hands – on the left is Cassandra’s artwork; if you like it please take a red ball; on the right is Jane’s artwork; if you like it please take a blue ball,” said the hostess.
As soon as she finished speaking, someone went to vote. The first and second votes were both for Cassandra and she felt confident. She couldn’t stop smiling but almost all of the remaining votes were for Jane.
Cassandra lost terribly but she didn’t accept it and planned to challenge Jane with someone else – Isabella Griffiths.
Isabella was the daughter of vice president of union and held high status that made her highly regarded by everyone who knew her.
Cassandra knew Isabella and had spoken with her before. Just now when she saw Isabella again, Cassandra thought that Jane would definitely lose badly this time around.
Cassandra planned to find Isabella later on and persuade her to challenge Jane instead.
Approaching Isabella, Cassandra asked politely, “What did you think about just now?”
“It was quite interesting,” replied Isabella.
“Early on, I had heard of your exceptional talent and high level of painting skills. I wonder if we could witness a competition between you and Jane?”
Isabella turned to Cassandra and asked, “Competition?” The person opposite nodded in agreement.
“Sure, after all, I have been paying attention to Jane for quite some time too.”
Isabella was not familiar with Cassandra’s malice, but she admired Jane.
Jane was a young and promising individual, with exceptional talent and a good reputation outside. Isabella didn’t know much about the people who mocked Jane, but in this situation, everyone was there to enjoy the spectacle.
Of course, Isabella was also among them, but she wasn’t seeking excitement. She considered it a very exciting competition, yes, a competition.
When Cassandra saw Isabella’s agreement, she immediately addressed the crowd, “It’s no problem. I wonder if Ms. North and Isabella would like to have another competition. After all, I also want to be a spectator; it would be a different experience.”
Cassandra herself didn’t believe what she said. It was clearly just for show. At this moment, she couldn’t reveal her true intentions. She wanted to embarrass Jane subtly.
Isabella’s identity was not someone to be messed with, and Cassandra wanted to see Jane’s reaction.
“Hello, Jane. I’m Isabella,” Isabella said sincerely to Jane, not paying attention to Jane’s expression.
“Hello,” Jane replied with a professional smile. “Interested in a competition?”
Isabella nodded.
Seeing Isabella’s sincerity, Jane hesitated a bit but couldn’t refuse. She also admired Isabella, so she said, “Alright, let me take a half-hour break before competing with you. I’m a bit tired right now.”
Isabella had no reason to refuse this offer. It was just half an hour, as long as they could have the competition.
Cassandra wanted to say something, but Isabella gave her a stern look, and she obediently closed her mouth.
Half an hour later, both of them were ready.
The crowd began suggesting ideas, mostly focusing on entertainment, “Since we had the theme of rain earlier, how about snow this time? Let’s increase the time to an hour and a half. What do you think, Isabella?”
Isabella didn’t answer immediately; instead, she turned to look at Jane. When she saw Jane nodding, she responded, “Okay.”
This time, Jane didn’t hesitate and immediately started painting. She had a concept in mind for this theme and was quite fond of it, so her ideation process was faster.
Similarly, a curtain separated the two, and the onlookers continued to watch.
Compared to the first time, Jane was more adaptable now. Practice makes perfect, and Jane had excellent adaptability.
The crowd noticed that Jane didn’t hesitate at all this time, and they thought she had become arrogant. They believed that winning the first time meant she would win the second time as well. After all, her first opponent was just an unknown person.
But this time, it was Isabella. Suddenly, everyone thought Jane was being presumptuous. They were all waiting to see Jane’s failure.
Cassandra had been observing Jane’s actions all along. Seeing Jane’s demeanor, she also thought she was arrogant and had already planned how to ridicule her later.
Cassandra’s gaze fell on Jane’s painting. It had only been five minutes since they started, but she couldn’t understand what Jane was painting. It seemed like a random scribble without any semblance.
Time passed, and this time, Jane finished first with five minutes remaining. Just as Jane put down her brush, Isabella also finished her painting.
This time, with the presence of the moon, there were even more people, and the atmosphere became more formal. It wasn’t Jane who spoke up this time; instead, two etiquette ladies with gloves stepped forward.
When the two paintings were revealed, the crowd started discussing. It wasn’t about one painting being good and the other bad, but rather that both paintings were excellent and difficult to compare. The most important thing was that they didn’t know whom to vote for.
“This time, it’s the same. Jane is still the blue ball, while Isabella is the red ball.” Even the etiquette ladies were more excited this time, and their speech became much shorter.
Jane was not as nervous as Cassandra. She completed two paintings in three to four hours. Although it was a small problem for Jane, it consumed a lot of her energy. Combined with the fact that she didn’t sleep well last night, she felt drowsy and had no energy at all.
If the etiquette ladies hadn’t finished counting the votes, Jane would have almost fallen asleep.
“Isabella and Jane have tied.”
As soon as the etiquette ladies announced, Jane was mocked by the crowd. They thought Jane had been too calm earlier and believed she was confident of winning.
“I thought Jane was so confident earlier, but it turns out it’s a tie. I thought she was so capable,” someone in the crowd said, criticizing Jane. Instantly, everyone started discussing Jane, mocking her.
Isabella, on the other hand, didn’t feel the same way. She actually thought Jane was quite good and considered her a worthy opponent.