The Sharps were also one of the most prominent families in Bentson, and they were only second to the Williams family. However, the Williamss did not have any dealings in the entertainment industry. Hence, Sharp Corporation’s Glorious Entertainment was the largest entertainment company in Bentson.
Of course, there were also the Splendid Entertainment and Young Shoots Entertainment, but they had always faced an uphill battle with Glorious Entertainment. Even though they operated at a smaller scale, they remained a far-fetched dream for small associations like Elena’s studio to work with them, let alone the best company in the industry—Glorious Entertainment.
No one had expected such a notable entertainment company like Glorious Entertainment to be interested in a campus event. They were even willing to sponsor some of their shares to cooperate with the student teams. That decision alone was already a miracle. No wonder Nina would rather give up her seat as a judge to join the competition as well.
Animation projects were not the only projects in the entertainment industry; one could even say its impact was negligible. Nina was only a student, but she had worked with a reasonably well-known animation company in Bentson. Even though no other studio could match her skillset at a campus-level, she had failed to attain one of the top three positions in the entire animation industry. If her studio could cooperate with Glorious Entertainment, then she could improve her ranking in Bentson’s animation industry. It was as if someone had dangled a carrot in front of Nina.
Furthermore, unless a dark horse were to appear in the competition, there was a high possibility that Nina’s studio would win it. The animation industry was neither big nor small, so any news about its players would spread like a bushfire. Everyone knew about the great artists in the industry, and for them to survive it, they would need fame, experience, and a fierce personality to back them. Excellent but unpopular studios might not be able to win the crowd’s votes in the final round.
“Nina’s studio would probably win this competition. There’s no doubt about it.”
None of the contestants from the campus were in the same league as Nina’s studio. Even though there were some impressive artists among the student groups, they were nowhere as famous as Nina. They would count themselves lucky if they were crowned as ‘Campus Artist’. Nina was not the same; she could easily break through the bubble to emerge as a commercialized artist.
“Well, that’s not the only prize in the competition. There are still the second and third prizes.” Elena tried to lift her team’s spirit.
They would still be stoked with they could make it into the top three.
“That’s true. The third prize is also good enough for me.”
If that were to happen, then they would be able to gain a little more fame, and that would make it easier for them to recruit new talents.
The progress of their recruitment drive still troubled Layla. There were many talented artists in the market, but no one was willing to join their rookie and unpopular team. No one had even heard of their name. The competition was their golden ticket to gain some popularity, but they had to do it well. Suddenly, all of them looked at Aryan. Coincidentally, he had finished with the third chapter, so he stood up.
“Come over here and have something to eat. Quickly.” Elena called out to him eagerly.
After Aryan returned from the restroom, he readily accepted a rice box and started to eat. It was the weekend, and he had the entire day to kill. From dawn until lunchtime, he had managed to complete three chapters. There should be no problem for him to finish another three chapters after lunch and in the evening. Then they could publish the second part of their comic for the quarter-final. Elena could guess the plans in his mind, but it was simply too crazy to work such long hours.
“Actually, we can still make it even if we slow down a little. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Ordinary people might not even be able to complete one chapter in a day, even if they worked tirelessly around the clock. It was scary how Aryan could complete five to six chapters per day. No one would believe it even if they heard about it. Aryan nodded, but he did not reply as he continued to wolf down the food. Elena knew that he would never listen to her. Sure enough, after lunch, Aryan went back to his laptop and picked up the pen to start on his sketches again. It seemed like he would have no rest for that day.
“Our baby Aryan’s hands are extremely valuable now. Lois, if you have some free time, perhaps you can make him some braised chicken feet soup for nourishment.”
“Roger that!”
Like everyone else in the office, Elena also worked all day that day. Since Aryan was working at the speed of light, she had to make sure that her storyline could keep up with his pace too. Otherwise, he would have nothing to sketch very soon.
As the day turned into night, Layla pulled Elena aside and asked in a low voice, “Are you not going back tonight?”
“Go back to where?” Elena was still pondering about the content of her next chapter.
“Eldest Young Master Williams’s place, of course!” Layla rolled her eyes at Elena. Was she playing dumb?
“It’s the weekend. You can stay in the dorm on any other day, but it doesn’t seem right for you to stay here during the weekend. Don’t you think so?”
“I don’t have to go back. He is not at home.”
Eldest Young Master Williams was at WongRiver Pavilion with Ava, so why should she go home? Elena admitted that she had acted rashly, and after a while, she felt sad and depressed about the matter. She had done her part and told Michael that Ava was not a good person. It was entirely up to him if he chose to listen to her or not. She had no right to get too involved, as per the agreement to their contract.
“Are you not visiting Old Madam Williams as well?”
Layla knew that Elena was worried about the old madam’s illness since she had nagged on and on about her condition. However, Layla thought it was weird that she had not said anything about the old madam in a while.
Elena shut her eyes momentarily as pain gripped her heart. She wanted to visit the old madam. She did, but she was hurt when the old madam looked at her with disgust.
“Yes, I’ll go see her.”
She sighed and tried to convince herself that the old madam was not well the other day. She had probably misinterpreted the old lady’s reaction. Old Madam Williams had always been kind to her; there was no reason to negate the love and care that the old lady had showered upon her for a small misunderstanding. Even though the old madam no longer doted on Elena, she was still the grandmother that Elena had respected. She felt much better after she changed her mindset about the situation.
“I’ll go and see her in two days.”
Ava had been staying at the WongRiver Pavilion for the past few days so that it would be easier for her to visit the old madam.
“Eldest Young Master Williams, are you just going to let Ava continue to stay here?”
Levi was a little worried. He hesitated before he said, “Young Madam seemed… to have not contacted you in a while.”
What he wanted to say was that Eldest Young Master Williams had not contacted the young madam in a while. Michael did not reply to him as he picked up his laptop bag.
Levi checked Elena’s schedule and reported, “Young Madam has no class this morning.”
Michael stopped for a brief moment before he quickly arranged his steps to head out of the door. Levi sighed. He did not know why the eldest young master and young madam had not contacted each other for the past few days. Instead, Ava was always around to emphasize her presence in front of the eldest young master.
The old madam’s health had improved, but no one knew for sure if it had been Ava’s effort. Levi knew that the eldest young master would do anything to make the old madam feel better again. That was why he chose to ignore Ava’s posts on Weibo about her stay at the WongRiver Pavilion.
However, Levi was annoyed with Ava. Since she arrived at the WongRiver Pavilion, Elena had refused to speak to him. How could Ava be so frustrating?! Since Elena did not talk to him, that meant that her friend had also distanced herself from him and refused to answer his calls. It was all Ava’s fault!
Levi received a call just as he was about to go out with Eldest Young Master Williams. After he hung up the call, he rushed toward the eldest young master with a joyful glint in his eyes. “Eldest Young Master, Young Madam is here. She is probably here to see the old madam.”
Michael froze just as he was about to get into the car. However, half a second later, he swung his leg into the vehicle…