Elena did not stay in Michael’s WongRiver Pavilion for an extended period. She went home to pack her things, went to visit Old Madam Williams in her house for a chat, and then went back to school.
Michael’s words had cut deep, but all things considered, she had been alone with Henry that night. That would look suspicious under any circumstances, indeed.
She was upset because Michael did not trust her.
Why would anyone trust her? She was but a stranger to them in that household.
“Why aren’t you staying at the Williams’s mansion today?”
It was the weekend, and they had no classes that day. That was why Layla did not expect to see her there.
“I don’t know anyone in the Williams household, so why would I stay there?”
Elena put her duffel bag in a corner. It was filled with items that she needed for her daily necessities.
“You even brought your luggage with you? What’s the matter, are you planning on living in the school dormitory?”
The Williams family was very wealthy, and so Layla thought they would object if their daughter-in-law were to live in a school dormitory.
“I’m still a student, aren’t I supposed to be here?”
In her past life, she spent her school days in the dormitory and only returned to Michael’s villa on the weekends. The eldest young master, as expected, had not disagreed with such an arrangement. Perhaps it was because it kept her at a distance and out of his sight.
“Well, alright, it’s still the dormitories, but it’s not a bad place to stay.”
Layla was glad that Elena was back there with her. The school had felt less safe without her friend around.
“Oh, yes, you’ve asked Caleb to look for an office space, so he and his people had prepared a list of suitable places. They are only waiting for you to go take a look.”
“That was fast!” She had only requested Caleb and Luacs to do that while they were at the restaurant. As usual, they were genuinely adept beyond measure.
“If it weren’t for what has been going on over the last two days…”
Every time she thought about it, Layla felt a twinge of fear. On the bright side, the past was the past.
“They could have been faster, but those issues just delayed them.”
“Call Caleb. Tell him we’ll go and take a look at those places now. Then we can settle it during the weekend.”
…
Some of the places that Caleb and Luacs found were near to the school.
Elena finally chose to rent an office in a slightly remote location, since it seemed to be in a pleasant environment and was reasonably priced.
The office was on the 28th floor of the Richery Building. It was a little over 300 square meters and would cost about 25 thousand dollars a month.
“Wow, it’s so big!” Layla exclaimed as she entered the lobby.
Three hundred square meters was luxuriously large. It was so many times larger than the place that Luacs and Caleb had stayed in.
“By the way, why do you need this office? Is it really necessary to have so much room?”
“It’s important since there will be more occupants in the future.”
Elena walked up from behind her. She did not think that the space was large enough, but it would have to suffice.
If she needed a bigger space in the future, she would address it then.
“Elena, what business are you going to run here?” Caleb asked with hesitation. Elena had only mentioned the need for a place, but not the reason behind it.
“Comics. Aren’t you good at making them? Layla had excellent writing skills, and her muse is unstoppable.”
“Comics?” Layla’s face froze with confusion. “Elena, surely you know how hard it is to make a living in the Chinese comic market?”
Was she out of her mind?
It was not that they lacked the skill sets. Both of them were fairly talented in art, and they had actually met on a comics forum. However, they had tried to make it into the comic scene for years. If it were truly a moneymaker, why would she and Caleb still be in that predicament?
“Comics can be very lucrative. There will be a surge in IP returns in the next two years, and comics will be part of the wave.”
Of course, she did not tell them that she had seen that with her own two eyes.
IP, short for Intellectual Property, referred to the property rights of original works in the industry. She planned to focus on two works, which was a novel and a comic. If she remembered correctly, a major platform would be launched later that year to invest in comics. Several works published on it would explode onto the market the following year at the same time.
If they could start their work before the others, they would probably cash in on the boom when it began.
However, after her rebirth, many things differed from how they were in her previous life. She did not know if that gamble would pay off, but it was not an opportunity that they should miss.
“Elena, I just don’t think that comics alone would make such a good investment,” Layla said. Caleb had the same concerns as well.
“Furthermore, how much would a chart-topping comic make?”
“What makes you think we are only going to work on one comic?” Elena smiled and looked around the office lobby.
“Not just one?” Layla went over to her with surprise.
“Elena, if there are too many pages to illustrate, no one can reach those deadlines.”
Even though she and Caleb were also quite talented, the three of them would be hard-pressed to finish ten pages in a month.
If they were to publish two works at the same time, would that not reduce it to five pages per month? Such small updates could not retain readers or even get a good review, let alone get on the most popular charts. As a result, poor online reach would lead to low morale, which would then lead to declining standards, which meant that they would lose even more readers!
Before one knew it, that vicious circle would grind to a halt to signify GAME OVER.
Layla and Caleb had both seen the tragedy of the comic ‘Bash Street’ firsthand and what a disappointment it had been.
“Well, I didn’t say that we’d be doing it all on our own. What I wanted to start is a studio, not a single comic.”
“You want to open a studio? A comic studio?” The comic industry had been losing money for quite a while. Had she even looked at the market?
“If Elena says that it’s possible, then it’s possible.”
Mu Luacs came up from behind Elena and casually said, “Just follow her lead, and you won’t have anything to fear, right?”
“See, this is what we call a partner!”
Elena’s clapped on Luacs’s shoulder, and she smiled proudly. “If you all trust me as much as Luacs does, what would I have to worry?”
Layla and Caleb looked at Luacs, but they recognized his talent and capability, and so decided against any comments on the matter.
What was with his unwavering trust in her? He would indulge her beyond the extent of any logical sense that a human should have.
“Okay, let’s have a meeting.” Elena went into a small conference room, and Luacs trailed behind her.
Layla and Caleb looked at each other. Even though they had their doubts, they could only follow her lead at that time.
However, as the daughter-in-law of the Williams family, why did she not go directly to the Eldest Young Master Williams if she wanted to break into such a challenging industry?
The eldest scion could have provided her with everything that she would ever need with just a single nod. Why did she have to do things the hard way?