Anthony was taken aback for a moment, “You are… Mr. Chang.”
Then he looked at the child, “Isn’t this…”
Grape grinned, “It’s me, Uncle.”
Nick’s face stiffened. In the eyes of such an important figure, he was just an insignificant one.
“You’ve met before?”
Anthony smiled at Grape. “We had a brief encounter.”
He couldn’t help but feel that the child’s features somewhat resembled Nelson’s.
Nick’s gaze fell on the man beside Anthony. The man was dressed modestly, wearing a black mask. Though his face was obscured, his calm demeanor carried an intimidating yet noble air.
Mr. Patel, who held significant power, seemed to be deferential to him.
“And this is…”
Anthony cautiously glanced at Nelson, “Mr. Oconnor, this is the manager of the ST team, Mr. Chang.”
Nelson nodded in greeting but did not speak.
Seeing this, Nick had no choice but to retract his outstretched hand and change the subject. “Grape, say hello to Mr. Oconnor.”
Grape’s eyes were fixed on Nelson.
Nelson slightly turned his head.
At that moment, two uniformed men walked briskly towards them and apologized, “Sorry Mr. Patel, there was a slight delay. This way, please.”
Anthony quickly said, “We’ll talk next time, Mr. Chang. We have to go now.”
Nick nodded in agreement.
Watching Anthony follow closely behind Nelson like a subordinate, Nick showed a puzzled expression. He held Grape in one arm and took out his phone with the other.
“Do you know Apex Capital’s professional agent, Mr. Patel?”
“Yes, why?”
“Does he have a boss above him?”
The person on the other end chuckled, “Of course a professional agent has a boss. Why? Want to know who’s behind him?”
“Yes, check it out for me.”
After hanging up the phone, Nick looked at Grape and found her staring blankly in the direction Nelson had left, looking unhappy and despondent.
“Grape, was the uncle you saw yesterday the same one just now?”
Although she hadn’t seen his face clearly, he indeed had an extraordinary presence.
“Yes, Uncle ignored me.” She felt very aggrieved.
Nelson had entered the venue. The staff had specially arranged an excellent position for him where he could see everyone present and the judges’ seats.
At this time, the judges had not yet arrived, and the venue was filled with contestants of all kinds.
Nelson slightly raised his eyes, scanning the crowd in an attempt to find a familiar figure.
In the first round of selection, judges could use their professional expertise to eliminate some contestants.
When Callie walked to the front of the stage, she was in the farthest corner, a blind spot that Nelson did not see.
Initially, everything was going smoothly. After half an hour, Callie decided not to advance a contestant. Abruptly, Lily beside her cried out, “Alice, how could you let such a perfect entry slip by!”
… Perfect.
Callie suspiciously glanced at the drawing in front of her, raising an eyebrow as she awaited Lily’s next words.
“This piece is perfect in terms of composition, lines, and design concept. Not only did you not give it high marks, but you also gave it low marks.”
By shouting this out loud and questioning the judge’s professional ability in public, she drew the attention of many contestants who gathered around to wait for Callie’s explanation.
“Seriously, Lily?” Callie sneered.
Lily shook her head in disbelief and said in a tone of unwillingness to believe it, “I really don’t know how you became a judge. I always knew there was something fishy going on.”