Chapter 164 Did You Write This Calligraphy?
The young man standing before him was one of those he'd overheard gossiping about him in the reception room earlier.
The young man stared at the calligraphy piece on the wall, his eyes full of admiration.
"Mr. Kingsley, you're amazing! Just a few years, and your calligraphy has improved so much!"
Alaric watched the young man admiring the calligraphy work, and suddenly all the frustration and resentment he'd felt over the past three years seemed to melt away in an instant.
That's how it was in the calligraphy world - your work represented your skill, and your skill represented your status.
Alaric went along with his words: "I've been focusing on improving myself all these years."
"I see." The young man's face lit up with understanding.
Some people had actually spread rumors that Alaric had hand problems and couldn't do calligraphy anymore, when clearly Alaric had just been building up his strength.
Masters were impressive - they really knew how to stay patient.
The young man reluctantly stared at the calligraphy piece for a long while before leaving.
Soon, news that Alaric had created a new piece spread throughout the entire calligraphy association.
Many people made special trips to his office to view the work.
That evening, Cillian came by, drawn by the buzz.
Cillian rubbed his hands together, full of anticipation. "Alaric, your new piece really impressed a lot of people at the association today. Everyone's been talking about it privately. I just ran into Gilbert Harvey, and he specifically asked me to come take a look at your new work."
Alaric smiled. "Gilbert is too kind. It's just an ordinary piece."
He pointed to the calligraphy hanging on the wall. "But since you're here, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it."
Only then did Cillian's gaze fall on it.
When he saw the English text on it, he froze.
Isn't this...
Isabella's calligraphy work?
How did it end up here with Alaric?
Cillian quickly glanced at the signature mark in the bottom right corner, and his expression immediately darkened.
When Isabella had sent him the photo, there was no signature mark.
But this calligraphy piece had a signature mark!
Naturally, the unmarked version would be the original state, which would prove exactly whose work it was!
"Alaric." Cillian pointed at the calligraphy on the wall, speaking slowly and deliberately. "Are you saying this calligraphy piece is your work?"
Alaric was taken aback.
He didn't know why Cillian was asking this. For a moment, he could only think that the piece was so impressive that even Cillian found it a bit unbelievable.
He nodded. "Yes, Cillian, I wrote this."
Cillian didn't know what to say. With a stern face, he asked again: "I'm asking you one more time - did you really write this calligraphy piece?"
Alaric clenched his fists.
He didn't understand why Cillian kept asking him the same question.
Could Cillian have noticed something?
But since the calligraphy piece Bianca had brought him was purchased, there couldn't possibly be any problem with it.
He figured he was just overthinking it and said: "This calligraphy piece was written by me."
Cillian laughed bitterly.
He said nothing more, stormed out with a dark expression.
Cillian returned to his office, opened his chat with Isabella, and asked her: "Did you submit your work?"
Isabella answered honestly: "I did."
"Was it the one you sent me last time?"
"Yes, why?"
Isabella didn't understand why he was asking.
Cillian looked at Isabella's definite answer and frowned.
Isabella probably wasn't lying. She had indeed submitted her work. According to the competition process, the work should have gone through Kellan's hands and been submitted to the competition organizing committee.
But the calligraphy Isabella had written had ended up with Alaric, who shamelessly claimed it as his own work, added his signature mark, and had it framed.
Which part of the process went wrong?
Kellan?
Or was it on their competition organizing committee's end?
If the problem was on their calligraphy association's side, and someone had tampered with a contestant's work, that would be a complete disgrace to the association's reputation.
He needed to investigate thoroughly.
Cillian thought for a moment, then called the president Dean Palmer. "Dean, there's something..."
——
In previous years, after the calligraphy competition organizing committee received all the contestants' submitted works, they would directly organize judges to evaluate them, select the winning and outstanding works, and then display the winning pieces through online streaming and an on-site awards ceremony.
But this time, the organizers suddenly announced a change to the usual evaluation method.
All competition entries would be displayed on-site, with the judging panel scoring and evaluating them live.
The entire process would be public.
And all contestants would need to be present to receive feedback from the judges.
When Bianca saw the announcement, her heart jumped.
Originally, Isabella wouldn't have discovered that her work had been switched, but with the public evaluation, Isabella would find out.
What should she do?
Bianca was feeling anxious when she heard Abigail's voice: "Bianca, what are you thinking about? If you don't eat soon, the food will get cold."
Bianca quickly put away her phone and looked down at the food on her tray.
Even if Isabella discovered her work had been replaced, she couldn't possibly know it was her who switched it.
Nothing would happen.
No one knew she had switched Isabella's competition entry.
Bianca shook her head, telling herself she was overthinking it, and pushed these messy thoughts out of her mind.
The third floor of the cafeteria was different from the first floor - not as noisy.
"Isn't that Isabella?" Abigail suddenly looked in a certain direction.
Not far away, Isabella was eating with three other girls.
Abigail frowned. "Since when can she eat on the third floor?"
Bianca immediately thought of Gabriel.
Recently, Gabriel had been getting other guys to treat him every time he ate, never swiping his own card once.
Not swiping his card because...
He gave it to Isabella?
Bianca pressed her lips together, her nails digging into her palms.
Gabriel would rather go around asking people to treat him to meals than swipe his card, just so he could give his student card to Isabella and let her eat and drink freely on the third floor.
Thinking about how Gabriel used to dote on her so much, but now gave all that affection to Isabella...
Why?
It wasn't fair.
Bianca felt like a piece of her heart had been carved out. The pain was unbearable.
Bianca stared hard in Isabella's direction, clenching her fists, her eyes like vines covered in snake venom.
She wouldn't let Isabella take anyone else away from her!
At tomorrow's calligraphy competition, she would make everyone in the Taylor family see just how big the gap was between Isabella and her!
——
The day of the competition.
The competition organizers had communicated with Stellar High School. Considering that the competition was divided by age into senior, adult, and youth categories, the youth category evaluation would be held at Stellar High School.
After all, the youth category contestants were all students, so arranging it at the school was more convenient.
The youth category was for contestants aged 12-18.
Not only did many students from various schools voluntarily stay to watch the competition, but many people from outside the school came to watch as well.
Staff had already set up the venue in advance and hung banners.
There were over a hundred competition entries. They would be displayed on the big screen ten at a time, while five judges on-site would score and evaluate them, with the average score serving as the final grade.