There were ten teams in the competition. Elena felt the pressure as soon as she entered the arena.
The whole scene looked very professional, indeed!
Most of the contestants were not alone. Some were editor-in-chiefs with their assistant. Some of them even had two assistants.
It was a team competition, and the rules never stated that only one member from one team could participate.
It looked like Elena’s team was the only group with one member present at the competition.
It was apparent that she had no obvious advantage over the rest of the contestants.
The gymnasium was temporarily cleared, and so the contestants had to sit on the basketball court, not too far away was the judges’ table.
As the spectator took their seats, she did not expect that so many people would be there to watch the competition.
Many students were there to witness how such a competition was broadcasted live and how it would be judged.
A large screen was set up behind the contestant, linked to the contestants’ computer screens. Everyone in the arena would be able to see every word that they had typed. After the host announced that unique feature, the contestants immediately started to murmur and discuss amongst themselves.
Scriptwriting was similar to how one would create a story. No writer had ever had to work under so many watchful eyes. Those who could not deal with the stress might not even be able to write anything too.
“The ability to perform under pressure is also part of our assessment criteria.” The organizers seemed to have expected that everyone would respond that way, and so the host explained with a smile, “This was a request made by the Jiang Group, so I hope everyone would understand.”
Since it was the request made by the Jiang Group, the contestants would just have to bear with it, no matter what they thought about that rule.
It sounded fair, anyway. The criteria applied to everyone, so why would they reject it?
Then, the judges entered the arena, one by one.
When Ava was introduced as the Williams Corporation’s representative, it immediately caused a commotion in the audience.
The people from the comics and animation industry were very excited when they heard that the Williams Corporation had wanted to delve into the industry.
However, the Williams Corporation was not the host of the competition, but the Sharp Corporation was.
Therefore, when Sharp Corporation’s representative entered the arena, an even greater commotion erupted.
“That’s the representative from the Sharp Corporation? My God, he’s so handsome!”
“Isn’t that the Sharp Family’s Second Young Master? Second Young Master Sharp had come to the competition personally today!”
“Second Young Master Sharp is so handsome! I think I’m falling in love!”
“Ooooh, so handsome. Such a perfect body.”
“His long legs are so sexy! Ahhhh…”
Elena was already in her seat at the contestant area when the girls in her vicinity gasped when they saw the representative from the Sharp Corporation.
She was just as shocked as when she first saw him.
Yes, he was handsome, sexy, and could cause people to go crazy.
However, why must it be him?
Henry!
He was from the Sharp family, and his last name was Sharp… He was one of the young masters from the Sharp family!
She should have known! He was Eldest Young Master Williams’s friend, how far off could his status be?
His last name was Sharp, and he was of high social status. How was it not evident that he was a young master from the Sharp family?
Elena had only realized it then! She was really slow!
After a moment of shock, Elena retracted her gaze and stared at her computer screen instead.
‘Do not get distracted. Do not worry. Peace of mind. Be calm!’
However, she had countless questions in her heart.
Why would he keep in contact with her, when he knew that she would be at the competition?
Why did he not disclose his identity to her and get closer to her that way?
Why would he reveal himself on the day of the competition?
She looked up and unexpectedly met the gaze of his indifferent eyes.
He sat in the middle of the judges’ table. His eyes gazed at the competition arena, and then he locked eyes with Elena.
He seemed to have stared at her, yet it seemed as if he had accidentally caught her gaze.
A moment later, his gaze swept past her, and he never looked at her again.
Elena closed her eyes and tried to calm down.
It did not matter why Henry was there, she only needed to remember her own purpose, and that was to reach the final round of the competition based on her team’s strength.
Therefore, no matter who the judges were, it would not have made any difference to her.
It was almost time to start the competition. The host picked up the microphone and announced that the round would officially begin soon.
Then, one of the Sharp Corporation’s assistants announced the topic of the assessment on the spot, “Provocation'”
When the word appeared on the big screen, the competition arena, the spectators included, was suddenly in an uproar.
Provocation.’ What kind of topic was that?
They have never experienced that kind of assessment. The contestants were stumped for a few moments when the word appeared on the large screen.
However, everyone quickly recollected their thoughts.
It was all about their professionalism again. The editors and their assistants whispered and jotted while they discussed.
The big screen was behind them, so no one could see what the other contestants had written on their screen.
However, the judges and the spectators could see every word on their screen.
Most of the other teams were thinking and writing at the same time. They had had to delete their sentences just as quickly as they had written them.
Only Elena faced the computer by herself. No one knew if she was in deep thoughts or was frozen silly by the topic that they had unveiled. Either way, her screen was still blank.
Layla and Lois were in the audience, and they were anxious too.
The competition was not only judged on the quality of their work but also their speed.
Their work quality accounted for a higher percentage of the score, but their speed had a certain percentage as well.
Whoever finished first would at least have an advantage on speed.
As for quality, no one knew about the strength of the other contestants, so they were more or less on equal footing.
The teams that focused on the young female genre would probably have the supporting female character to provoke the main female protagonist. Others might have the female protagonist provoking the male protagonist instead.
Each story must be a beginning, a course of events, and an ending in each arc.
An arc would involve a short story, and it was not an easy feat.
“What’s wrong with Elena? The others have written almost a third of their stories. Why hasn’t she started yet?”
Lois looked at the big screen as the other writers had started to type on their keyboards. Some of them were already one third into their script.
Yet, Elena’s screen was still blank.
Henry’s eyes locked onto Elena’s face.
She stared at her screen with her narrowed eyes. She looked as if she was deep in thought.
However, other contestants had already started to type their storyline. She had trailed behind, time-wise.
Had she been scared witless by his presence?
Layla pulled Lois back when it looked as if she had wanted to stand up and yell. Then she whispered, “Don’t panic, Elena may not be the fastest, but she won’t be the slowest either.”
She had faith in Elena and trusted her unconditionally.
After all, Lois had not known Elena for that long, and so it was only natural if she was worried about her.
Finally, Elena placed her slender fingers on the keyboard and began to type.
[Scene 1: Rainy night. Rain poured. A girl hugged her legs and cried under a tree.]
[A man with a pair of leather shoes walked in the rain.]
[The rain above the girl’s head suddenly stopped, and she looked up in surprise.]
[The man held an umbrella over her. He looked at the girl and said, “Only the weak cry.”]
[He held out his hand, and the girl reached for him with hers.]
[Their hands touched…]