“I knew I made the right bet on Emily and I’m sure she will be the winner tonight.”
“You’re right. Although Chloe’s painting is great, it lacks creativity. Emily’s work is almost perfect in terms of creativity, vividness as well as the combination of colors.”
“I knew Megan’s daughter wouldn’t be too bad and I’ve never believed the rumor saying she stole someone else’s work.”
“Does she need to do that when she’s already such a good painter herself?”
Henry, who was sitting offstage, was enamored of Emily’s painting too.
At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling anxious for Janet because he was afraid she might have to go back home empty-handed tonight.
Looking at the astonished and mesmerized expressions of the distinguished guests, Emily couldn’t help but hold her chin up and feel pleased with herself.
With this painting, she was sure many of them would be captivated by her talent.
After observing the expressions of the rest of the guests, Jade’s heart went out to Janet thinking that she was likely to end up losing the contest tonight.
Everyone started showering Emily with endless compliments.
“It’s a splendid color combination and I think it’s almost as good as Master Nato’s work. I would be convinced if someone told me it was painted by Master Nato.”
As Janet had been resting with her eyes shut throughout the entire process, she had yet to see the paintings by Chloe and Emily. At the mention of Master Nato, she opened her eyes because her curiosity was piqued.
When she opened her eyes slightly and saw Emily’s work, her pupils constricted out of the blue with iciness filling up her eyes in an instant.
Lee, who had known Janet for years, knew her style of painting very well. He knew Janet was an artist known for producing eye-catching color combinations because she had a sharp eye for colors.
Staring at Emily’s painting, a slight crease formed on Lee’s forehead.
“What’s the issue?” Lara asked.
Lee, who was gazing at Janet’s ominous eyes, answered Lara in an undertone, “The style of that painting looks very similar to Janet’s.”
Lara was flabbergasted when she heard him. Did he mean that…
…
The guests sitting in the first row all turned to look at Megan and lauded, “Megan, I’m really impressed by Emily!”
Megan nodded at them courteously with hardly concealable joy on her face. “It’s not too bad.”
“Megan, you’re being too humble.”
The grin on Megan’s face grew wider as she responded, “Emily is a really talented girl and she showed her gift in painting when she was little. However, she only managed to achieve her current standard through hard work.”
“Seems like first place will go to Emily.”
Someone suddenly chimed in, “It’s a shame that your elder daughter is not talented. Her standard is a far cry from your younger daughter.”
Megan responded to that comment with hollow laughter.
Staring at the smug expression on Emily’s face, Lara’s blood boiled.
The corners of her lips twitched and she leapt to her feet all of a sudden. She then turned to say to her bunch of underlings, “Let’s go!”
Lee stopped her from leaving. “Lara, what are you doing?”
Glancing at Lee, Lara snapped, “What do you think? That b*tch stole Janet’s idea so I’m going to teach her a lesson.”
“Don’t be rash. If you go up there right now, you will risk exposing Janet’s real identity,” Lee advised her earnestly.
“But…” Lara countered with some hesitation.
Looking unruffled, Lee replied, “There’s no but. Do you think Janet has no means to deal with that issue?”
Thinking that what he said made sense, Lara sat down again.
At that juncture, Old Mr. Collins approached Emily and flashed her a jovial grin. “Emily, can you share with us what inspired this painting? At such a young age, you’re really great at matching the colors.”
With that, he passed the microphone to Emily.
Looking proud, Emily answered, “I’ve been putting in extra effort to improve my painting skill over the years. To be an outstanding painter, not only does one have to be gifted, but one also has to work hard. I’ve conquered numerous obstacles along the journey to be what I am today. However, I must say that I’m only at the early phase of my drawing career and I will continue working hard.”
Having listened to Emily’s speech, Janet couldn’t help but sneer.
Emily cast a sideways glance at Janet with a trace of contempt in her eyes.
“The painting competition tonight is unprecedentedly exciting as we got to admire the butterfly painting by Chloe as well as the koi painting by Emily, which blew us away. I’m really impressed beyond words by their excellent drawing skills despite their tender age.” With joy written all over his face, Old Mr. Collins continued with a wide grin on his face, “Now, let me announce the winner of tonight.”
