When Elena returned to the campus, her classmates no longer looked at her with resentment. Instead, they see her with weird looks in their eyes. Some were envious, some were in awe, but most of them were in shock. That was right; even the boys were startled.
That girl was more beautiful than the campus’ beauty queen, and she looked more attractive than the Bentson’s Number One Enchantress. The most important thing to note was that she wore the simplest clothes and had no makeup on her face; even her hair was not done. Most men did not like the fancy things that women put on their faces and body. They preferred the ladies to have a more natural look to them. Elena was most men’s type.
Layla and Lois were excited to see her. They had not seen her for more than half a month, and they had heard that she had been with Second Young Master Sharp. Henry had not appeared in the company during that period, either.
“What happened that day? We were all worried sick. Were you really abducted?”
“Yes, they wanted to abduct Ava, and because I was with her, they took me along with them.”
Elena did not want to reveal too much information, so she made one up to satisfy their curiosity.
Lois grumbled, “That woman must have been marked because she showed off her daily life with Eldest Young Master Williams.”
“That’s what she wanted; she’s too high-profile. No one to blame but her.”
Layla had no sympathy for Ava. She said, “But it’s just too much for her to involve Elena.”
Elena wanted to laugh. It did not seem right to place all the blame on Ava, but that woman had always loved the attention. None of them would have any problem with blaming it all on her.
“That’s right. Ava is the worst.”
The three of them exchanged looks, and they burst out in laughter.
“Let’s go to class, hurry up.”
Before they could get into their classroom, a boy approached them in the corridor. He seemed shy, but he walked toward Elena and handed her something.
“You… I… Elena, I like you. I hope you can accept me!”
He stuffed a letter into Elena’s hand and turned away as fast as a gust of wind. It was the first time that Elena had encountered such a thing. She looked at Layla and Lois before she finally opened the letter.
“A love letter!” Layla whistled. “Oh, my God! There are still boys who send love letters these days?”
Elena felt helpless. Was it a time that beauty prevailed? When she was ugly, they were all mean to her. When she showed her true appearance, not only did they look at her with kindness in their eyes, she also received love letters. Was one’s appearance really that important? She slid the love letter in between the pages of her book and never looked at it again. The three of them went into the classroom together.
“Elena, I saved you a seat.” A boy in the fifth row stood up and waved at her.
Everyone knew that the fifth and sixth rows were the best seats in the classroom. The ones in the front were too far forward that one could not doze off if they wanted to, and the ones at the back were too far back, so one could not even attend the class properly. Someone had taken the initiative to occupy a seat for her! How good was that?
“No, thank you. I already have a seat.” Elena smiled at him and went straight to the last row. She sat down next to Aryan.
Despite the rejection, the boy did not look angry at all. Elena had smiled at him while he stared at her. It did not seem like he could recover his senses in time. Elena felt helpless. She wondered if she could enjoy a normal life if she made herself look ugly?
“Elena, here are some snacks for you.” Two big bags were placed onto her desk. The boy was afraid that she would refuse him, so he left in a hurry after she smiled at him.
“Oh my, how good is that?” Layla and Lois, who were nearby, were envious of her.
“I’m on a diet. Take them.” She waved her hand at them. Aryan’s hands were long so he could quickly transfer the snacks to Layla and Lois’s table. The two started to eat even before the bell rang.
Elena looked at Aryan and asked in a low voice, “I haven’t been to the company recently. How is the new project going?”
“Caleb managed to get the APP ready, but it is still being tested. Layla and Lois have recruited quite a few new staff, and they have been busy with interviews recently.”
Most of them had spent their time at the office if they were not in class. They would be there until midnight before they would return to their apartment to retire for the night. Their lives might have seemed dull, but none of them were bored at all. How could they be bored if they had to work and fight together?
“But, Elena, there is something…”
Aryan did not know how to explain it. After some consideration, he took out the printed design from his bag.
“I have drawn the portrait for the male lead in ‘My Mysterious Husband’ in heavy ink according to your requirements.”
“Is that the promotional poster?” Only the promotional poster required a heavy ink rendering technique.
She did not expect that even the promotional poster was ready. It was really fast!
“Yes, let me show you.”
However, Aryan’s expression was a little weird when he placed the drawings on Elena’s table.
“Your requirements for the hair length, hairstyle, eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, nose, and mouth, the chin and the shape of the face…”
Aryan rubbed his eyebrows and finally shut his mouth; he wanted her to take everything in slowly. Elena was stunned when she saw the poster.
“This… was drawn according to my request?” She could not believe it.
Aryan nodded. “Even if I can’t follow it a hundred percent, it was at least 90 percent accurate. This is the result.”
Elena still could not believe her eyes. It must… must have been a coincidence.
“Maybe, it’s you… Maybe it’s because you’ve seen him before, so you were biased when you made the sketch.”
“Elena, you can’t question my skill. I am a professional.”
Aryan had always held the highest professionalism in his creations for the sake of his reputation. He had followed her request, down to the exact details; even the length of the hair was drawn as described without the slightest deviation. No, he was not biased!
The bell rang, and Aryan sat upright as he took out the textbook, and got ready for the class. Elena still had her eyes locked on the poster on her table. She could not believe it, but the facts were there. No wonder Aryan had looked at her with a weird expression. He had tried his best to hold his tongue. She was at a loss for words.
The man on the posted emitted a natural aura of indifference and aloofness. It was a painting, but it had looked so real. ‘My Mysterious Husband’ was one of the projects that they were prepared to produce in two versions—comic and web drama. Why did the male lead look so much like Eldest Young Master Williams?