Love’s Change of Heart novel Chapter 355

Everyone instantly went quiet.

The person who suggested placing the work on the shelf, and the first to do so, was Leanna.

If that was taken into account when it came to the scoring, then it was logical to expect her to score highly on her reaction time and adaptability.

However, just then, someone softly said, "Who knows? Maybe she knew we had to do that beforehand."

The staff member on stage continued their announcement. "Since all of you have chosen to participate in this competition, we trust you believe this competition is extremely important to us. We will be fair and just the entire time with no impartiality. If anyone still doubts the fairness of the competition, we would like to offer you the option to withdraw to avoid the contestants' inability to accept future results."

As soon as they said that, the room went silent, and no one spoke again.

"That is all for today," declared the staff member. "You are now free to head back and prepare for the competition. You have ten days this time. After ten days, please return here with your creations. I will be waiting here for you. We are looking forward to seeing the masterpieces you'll create."

The staff member then left the hall. After a few long moments of silence, someone finally gathered the courage to whisper to their neighbor.

"I think they are playing us for fools. Why would they not tell us the rules beforehand? Why must we guess? Who could have guessed?"

"Yeah," said another person. "I thought we were competing as designers. Someone else might have thought this was an escape room or something. Do the organizers even respect us? They act as if we are here because we begged them."

"Enough," said someone else. "Why did none of you speak up when the staff member made the announcement? Why are you complaining now? With the time at hand, should you not be working on your submission?"

The group grumbled and whined as they left the building. As soon as Leanna exited the halls, a young woman ran over to her. "Hi, McK. My name is Sofia Evans."

When Leanna heard the name, she knew Sofia was the designer who had been quite popular over the last two years even though Sofia was only older than Leanna by one year.

"Hello," said Leanna.

Sofia went straight to the point. "Can we talk? I… I drew your lot."

Leanna nodded. "Sure."

Sofia had not expected Leanna to agree that easily. She blankly stared at Leanna for a few moments before smiling. "Let me treat you to a cup of coffee. There is a cafe just nearby."

Leanna glanced at the time. "Okay." She had nothing to do anyway.

Once they sat down with their coffee, Sofia started talking. "I actually really like your work. I even bought your First Love series. I never had the chance to get to know you though. When I saw you at the opening ceremony, I was too afraid to say hi."

Leanna was surprised to hear that. "Why?"

"Aren't you the ex-wife of the president of Pearson Group?" Sofia awkwardly replied. "It always feels that people like you, who are at the top, are hard to get along with. I don't think that now though. Last time, you could have placed your work on the shelf and left. However, you told us about it. I realized you were not as unapproachable as I thought."

Leanna smiled. It was not easy to be one of the top percentiles either. Even Aidan went through unimaginable pain and suffering.

"I was just open to trying things out," she responded.

"Oh, your mindset is great. You know how the people in our field are; we are easily bound by the rules and topics stated. It is why there are so many rules in this competition. The organizers are encouraging us to be innovative." Sofia sighed. "It is like our work. Every designer has their own unique style that matures by the day. However, they are now asking us to draw according to someone else's art style. If the contestants do not understand why the organizers are doing this, then they would likely end their journey here."

The organizers designed the competition this way for two reasons; one, as Sofia said, to encourage innovation, and two, to make them break free from previous constraints and boldly try new things.

"It is quite hard to suddenly change your art style," said Leanna. "But you just need to find the correct direction and the rest will slowly come to you."

Sofia nodded as she sipped her coffee. "You are right. Speaking of which, you swapped lots with Queenie, right? That means you have to copy her style?"

"Yes."

"It really is a small world," Sofia commented. "You're not aware, are you? Queenie used to always bad-mouth you at networking events. She said she left Lux Magazine because the boss had a crush on you and would give you all the good opportunities while she was left with no chance to develop her career."

"While she did not explicitly say all that," she added. "She kept implying you were sleeping with the higher-ups of Lux Magazine. Hilariously enough, after she said all that, someone on the Internet said you are President Pearson's ex-wife. I did not get to see her reaction to that, but it must have been funny."

Leanna did not find the revelation strange. When Queenie was still working with Lux Magazine, she would spread false rumors about Leanna. After leaving Lux Magazine, everyone wondered why. Naturally, she had to make up an excuse.

After a few minutes of chatting, Sofia realized Leanna did not hide anything about her designs at all. Instead, Leanna would straight-up tell her what she had been thinking as she designed. She was so much better as a person than those who called themselves Sofia's seniors in the field while looking down their noses at her.

Seeing the time, Sofia stood up. "I apologize for taking up so much of your time. How about I treat you to a meal after the competition is over?"

"Oh, it's nothing," replied Leanna. "It is what I should do."

The two women then walked out of the cafe.

In a black car not far away, Queenie was spying on Leanna. She narrowed her eyes before turning to hand the artworks in her hands to the man sitting beside her. "Here are my previous works and drafts. You just need to copy them while adding in your usual design flair."

Elliot accepted the stack and confidently replied, "Leave it to me. I guarantee that everything will go smoothly."

"Half of the agreed-upon amount has been transferred to your account," said Queenie. "Once this is done, you will be paid the rest."

"No rush. I look forward to working with you," he said while his hand casually stroked her thigh. She frowned and smacked his hand away. "Have some respect!" she exclaimed.

He laughed. "I thought we were the same kind of person since you would do something like that. Fine, fine. I will be more respectful."

He then straightened his tie before getting out of the car with the artworks she handed him.