Lois was embarrassed about the situation. Just as Elena joined the association, she had already driven one member away. It was a difficult situation as she only had two members in her association.
She looked at Elena and mourned, “We are already short-handed, yet you…”
Eventually, she could only sigh about it. Rufus had left. What more could she say? Perhaps she could call to coax him later. Elena ignored her and went straight to Aryan, who sat by the window.
Aryan maintained his posture as he held the artboard and was busy with his drawing. He wore a blank expression on his face. It was as if he did not hear what had happened in the room just moments ago. His eyes were fixed at the computer screen, but there was no emotion in his eyes. Elena stood behind him and watched him work.
After a moment, something lit her eyes, and she turned to look at Lois. “Are these the tasks that you have arranged for them?”
Lois was afraid that Elena would say something unpleasant to anger her last member.
She quickly nodded and explained, “This is part of the assessment. Even though they have joined the association for quite some time now, today is their first assessment.”
What she meant to say was that Elena and Layla would need to be evaluated as well if they were to join the association. She was baffled when Elena seemed to have taken over as leader the moment she entered the studio. She did not snatch the lead forcefully, but she had displayed a display of awe-inspiring leadership. That kind of force was the backbone of any organization, and it was a skill that could convince their members unconditionally. Lois had never seen Elena’s work, so she had no idea about her capabilities. It was weird that she felt like she could rely and depend on Elena.
Elena looked at Aryan. “May I see what you have drawn?”
The heading showed that he had been working on the fifth page. She wanted to check out the first four pages that he had completed, but Aryan ignored her. He continued to sketch as his pencil moved swiftly across the drawing board.
Layla frowned. She wanted to say something, but Elena gave her a side glance as a signal to hold her tongue. Layla could only bite her lips and swallow her words.
That was very rude of Aryan. He did not respond to Elena when she spoke to him.
Elena stood behind Aryan and watched him draw without any interruption. After some time, Aryan suddenly put his pen down, stood up, and stepped aside. Both Elena and Layla were perplexed with his behavior. Then, Elena’s eyes lit up with joy as she sat down in Aryan’s seat. It turned out that he did not ignore her, nor did he disallow her to check his sketching. He just disliked disturbances while he worked. Since he had completed his page, he could finally let her take a good look at them.
Elena picked up the mouse and turned to the first page. As she went through the pages, she got a little more impressed with his work. It looked like the illustrator had excellent skills. The artwork on the storyboard looked natural and smooth. The human body structure met the necessary standards, and at the same time, it achieved the highest aesthetic level.
“How long did it take for you to draw these five pages?” She looked up at Aryan.
Aryan answered briefly, “About three hours.”
Five pages in three hours! They had a two-hour break at noon, and then it was only one hour after school had ended. It seemed like he had only started to draw those pages that day.
Aryan ignored her and looked at Lois. “Lois, please tell me the result of my assessment tomorrow.”
“Are you anxious about it?” Elena asked before Lois could answer him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I needed the money.”
Aryan swung his bag over his shoulder and left. Lack of money—it sounded like a tangible reason.
Lois looked at the door that was ajar and said worriedly, “We don’t have any funds. If he needs money…”
“It’s his right to want money for his work.” Elena’s eyes settled on the artboard that Aryan had just completed. Her eyes lit up brightly, and she was utterly fascinated with it.
On the other hand, Layla was flabbergasted. “Elena, what do you…”
“Very good, now we have the work that we needed to participate in the competition.”
Elena arched her brows and looked at Lois. “Layla and I would like to join your association, but I want to be the leader of the team.”
“This…”
“I can solve the funding issue, but I have to lead the project.”
“But, we are already too late for the competition.” Lois might not know how to manage a comic publishing team, but Layla was different. She was very familiar with that.
“Elena, we do not have any successful artworks yet. You have just started your studio, and we have not even established our team yet.”
“Without any artwork, I’m afraid that we can’t even pass the preliminary round. The competition is obviously meant for established teams…”
“Which mature association did not start from scratch? Which association had its own work when it was first established?”
Elena looked at her side profile. She was not worried about her anxiety at all.
“Yes, but they also don’t normally attend such an important competition at the beginning…”
“This is what makes us different.”
Elena patted the table and looked at Lois. “Could you please help me make an appointment with them for tomorrow evening? I will take them to dinner to talk about the competition.”
…
Elena did not invite them to dinner that night because she had promised Eldest Young Master Williams that she would return to the villa. Perhaps Eldest Young Master Williams was still worried about her safety due to the recent disaster. So she could not stay in the hostel that night, and she would have to go back to the villa.
The sky had already darkened when Elena walked through the front door.
A slender figure stood at the entrance of the hall. From a distance, he looked like a perfect statue. The imagery was so breathtaking. Eldest Young Master Williams had always had a remarkable presence in a crowd.
Elena contained her chaotic heartbeat and adjusted the rhythm of her breathing before she walked toward him. “Eldest Young Master Williams.”
Michael stared at her face that was illuminated by the setting sun. Even though it was still covered with freckles, she appeared more pleasing to one’s eyes.
“Didn’t your class end at four o’clock in the afternoon?”
His eyebrows did not move, and his voice sounded so casual that she could not guess his emotions. However, Elena caught a hint of displeasure from his voice. Did he blame her because she did not return home immediately after her class?
“I have joined an association. I went to get to know more about the association after class and spent some time there.”
She had wanted to remind him about her freedom to come and go as they had promised not to interfere in each other’s daily life. However, her lips betrayed her with those different words. It seemed like a form of slavery. She thought that Michael would disallow her to join any extracurricular activities, and she had even thought of a rebuttal.
However, Michael only replied to her with a soft, “Hmm.” Then, he turned around and walked into the hall. “Let’s eat.”
Elena hesitated for a moment before she followed him through the door. After she washed her hands and sat at the dining table, Elena suddenly lost her appetite after a look at the dishes that spread across the table. So, she decided to start with a bowl of soup.
A potent taste of Chinese herbs assaulted her taste buds, and she immediately frowned.
Michael looked at her and casually said, “Last night might have been strenuous for you. I am afraid that your body won’t be able to withstand it, so this was prepared for your nourishment.”