"The name Yelena, not in anyone's eyes, is as important as life." Ole smiled in a gloomy tone, "There are some people who want to wash away all your marks." ”

Anna's eyes were cold, and her breath floated.

Ole stood up: "Cousin, look at what Sir Brown is doing, do you think now that I really cared about you just now, and the previous proposals were all for your good?" ”

Anna felt sick to her stomach.

Auguste, the dog next to her, barked even harder, and Anna gently stroked its top skin with her fingers, soothing the other party.

She thought the world was ridiculous.

This is true of Sir Brown, as is Mr. Kruger and Cousin Ole.

They will always have a conclusive tone of consideration for you, disciplining you as an ignorant little girl, and wanting you to move forward according to their discipline and will.

Whether it's with carrots, or with spurs.

Your resistance, your persistence, your resistance,

In the eyes of others, it looks like it's just the puff of a puppy with baring teeth.

Miss Elena was furious and wanted to scream, trying to throw the aluminum painttube at hand at Cousin Ole's shiny head.

She couldn't.

Anna didn't even want to show any outrageous anger in front of the other person's eyes at this time.

It's not that Anna isn't angry,

It's just like what she once told Detective Cat in an online connection.

Anger represents that you have lost control of the situation and that you are weak.

As the owner of Yelena's estate.

The more times like these, the more you should always remain calm and calm.

It's just that Anna is really a little tired.

"That's your threat?"

Anna forced herself to laugh, even if it was a bitter sneer.

"Well, I'll consider the offer of a joint speech with Sir Brown."

She couldn't back down at a time like this.

Anna had already anticipated that the speech at the annual meeting might turn into a public humiliation.

She may have taken this opportunity to publicly accuse the management of "Oil Painting" for its negligence, but it is of little significance.

Sir Brown is a veteran of the industry.

He is a former director of the Eindhoven City Museum in the Netherlands, and is still a member of the Académie Française des Beaux-Arts and an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Regardless of stance and morality, anyone should affirm that the other person is an academic authority.

In his academic career, Sir Brown has published three A&HCI-level fine arts papers alone.

Because of his senior research in ancient Egyptian mural painting and the social contribution made by Oil Painting magazine in the field of fine arts, he was extremely rare to receive an OBE (Order of the British Empire) as a foreigner, and he could only be added to the honorific title of "Sir " after the special title.

In terms of social status, he enjoys the same honor as Sir Humphrey in the famous British drama "Yes, Chancellor".

In front of such an old scholar with equal honors, even the prime minister must be polite and courteous.

Compared with the other party, Anna is just an ignorant girl with the surname "Elena" in the eyes of public opinion.

If someone dares to invite you to the stage to give a joint speech after Sir Brown, you are not afraid that you will turn the sky upside down.

All her excesses, against the backdrop of Sir Brown's speeches and the Kruger Brothers' bank injections, would resemble some kind of clumsy performance on stage by an incompetent clown about to be kicked out of the circus.

But

Anna still has to show up with her head held high, as the last heir of the Elena family.

If this year's annual meeting is a curtain call for the Elena family's "Oil Painting".

Of course, she, the leading actor, has no choice but to stand on the farewell stage and speak on behalf of her ancestors, which is an obligation that Anna cannot shirk from the moment she was born.

Ding dong!

Anna was silent for a long time, just as she wanted to say something more.

The phone next to me rang.

His contact information is only available to a few relatives and friends. Unless necessary, most of the daily transactions are handled by the housekeeper, and only a few people are set by Anna to set a reminder ringtone.

She glanced at her phone's screen.

[Miss Kate has a new message for you!] 】

Anna has two iPhones that she usually uses.

One is for daily social use as "Ms. Elena".

The other is in the name of "Mr. Sloth", which is used when she needs to do shows, contact recording guests, and log in to Apple Podcasts background verification.

Both phones are connected with Dual Messenger for WhatsApp, a social integration app that allows her to send and receive messages on any iPhone.

Anna discovers that the ringtone now prompts new information on Mr. Sloth's social account.

Miss Kate?

Anna was slightly stunned.

Kate's surname (Kate) is very similar to the pronunciation of CAT, which is the nickname code she gave to the painter detective cat after thinking about it after signing a contract to become the other party's agent.

The personal staff on the estate have confidentiality agreements, and Anna believes in the work ethic of these old people.

But in order to prevent unnecessary people from having irrelevant associations when they see the phone, and to avoid trouble by the way, Anna has been covering up the content related to her side of Mr. Sloth very well.

It's a little private secret that belongs to Anna.

Does the other party contact you at this time......

Knowing that it is not polite to check your phone when you are meeting guests. But Anna didn't hesitate too much, picked up her phone and lit up the screen.

Whenever she was chatting with Detective Cat Lady, the girl felt very relaxed.

In the conversation of the virtual world,

Anna only needs to play the role of "Mr. Sloth", and there is not much money and interests - everything is only related to art.

Even if it's just a short break.

Anna also wanted to take a break from the mess of the quagmire in front of her for a moment and get a brief respite.

"Hey! I suddenly had some inspiration in my mind, and I re-painted a cover art for The Little Prince. I think this painting is much more appealing than the previous works, can you take a look at the Scholastic Group's Little Prince project team, can you easily change the manuscript? ”

Another cover painting?

Anna tilted her head slightly, and when she saw the detective cat's request, she smiled a little dumbly.

"Don't dwell on the past, the project "The Little Prince" is over, and you have drawn it very well. You can relax a little while I keep an eye out for the right next contract for you. Forget about the cover painting, this kind of thing has never been actively changed......"

Anna didn't pay attention to Osborne beside her, so she took care of herself and typed on her phone.

From the perspective of a professional agent, the proposal of a detective cat actually seems very unprofessional.

The illustration industry has always been a business where Party A is satisfied and qualified.

The illustrator has no reason to take the initiative to find trouble for himself.

Even if Anna is a very demanding artist, she will not ask for a change of manuscript after a contract has been completed.

The day-to-day work of a large publishing house is like a myriad of star-shaped gears snapping into each other.

People have their own set of workflows.

The industrial assembly line is average.

After the painter completes the manuscript, he needs to fine typesetting each page, proofread the final review of the editor, and then start the printing process and contact the channel provider to warm up......

After the submission is completed and approved by the publisher, the set of illustrations will be sent to the next work schedule.

At this point, it is not up to the working group of a project of "The Little Prince" to decide if you want to change the draft.

A lot of things have to be reinvented, which adds a lot of unnecessary tasks.

Even the publishing house will not thank you for your excellence, but will think that you, as an artist, are a little too much to add to the snake, and you are a bad woman.

"This sister is such a rookie."

Anna can detect that many business process detectives in the industry do not understand at all.

These requirements are so unprofessional that if you have ever been in the relevant industry, you will never say such a thing as changing the manuscript.

It's just a young stupidity,

Silly ......

"It's so cute!"

Anna wouldn't blame each other for this kind of thing.

She liked that very much.

Because Yelena is not a professional agent who has to rely on a commission from the contract of the acting painter to make a living.

Perhaps nine out of ten semi-illustrator agents will criticize the artist for wasting time on these meaningless things.

Anna admired the other party's simplicity and persistence in art.

She smiled softly.

After a moment's hesitation, Anna typed, "It may not be appropriate to change the manuscript, but since you have a new work, I will always be happy to appreciate your work as a general viewer." Even if it's just from an artistic point of view, I'm looking forward to seeing a beautiful painting. ”

"Me too."

Detective Cat replied, "When I finished this picture, I thought that I wouldn't have been able to finish this piece without your efforts, Mr. Sloth. So even if you are the only viewer in this picture, I am very satisfied. So, let's simply toast to art. ”

A sweet smile came from the bottom of Anna's mouth.

[Even if it's just you, I'm very happy. So, let's simply toast to art. 】

It was the most comforting thing Anna had ever heard on this irritating afternoon. Like a cool ice fountain in my heart.

The girl even felt that

I don't need to look at the paintings at all.

Just hearing the detective cat say something that resonated with her was enough for Miss Elena to be happy and gratified.

After a few seconds,

The other party sent a scan of the drawing.

Anna's phone prompts her to receive a large photo.

Elena Manor's internet connection was fast, but in a matter of seconds, the phone loaded the cover art.

"The new cover art is not much different from the previous one...... Well? ”

Anna froze slowly.

When she first saw the sketch, she subconsciously thought that this painting had not fundamentally changed from her previous works.

It's exactly the same composition, the same way of drawing, and even the boy sitting on the dunes with his knees hugged is exactly the same.

however

Almost instantly, Anna had already noticed that the two paintings were very different.

Even......

None of this is a work of magnitude!

That feeling of life,

The affection and loneliness that seems to spring up from the paper,

Even though Miss Elena grew up wandering among the famous collections of her estate, there were very few works that could give Anna such a feeling—

A tingling sensation that fills the bottom of my heart!

Regardless of whether the author of these paintings is famous or not, or whether the technique is outstanding, all the works that can bring Anna a direct impact on her soul are the most precious collections in her eyes, and they will not be exchanged.

These works are the result of the painstaking efforts of artists throughout history.

The surface of the canvas is not only covered with paint, but also condenses their happiness, their sadness, the excitement and loneliness of their lives.

It was the culmination of a painter's hard work.

Even if the author of the label on the scroll is only a small painter of the Milanese School who is not well-known, or even its creator has not been able to leave his name in history at all.

Miss Elena still counts these collections as treasures.

This kind of physical and emotional resonance, even faster than the brain's thinking, made Anna realize -

At this moment,

She has such a masterpiece in her hand! One subject is a masterpiece of her favorite "The Little Prince"! A masterpiece drawn by Detective Cat Lady with her help!

"Unbelievable, dreamlike. From the point of view of technique, this work is not better than the previous one, or rather, the original level of the knife painting technique of the detective cat sister is already incredible. But such an expressive gaze, this deep affection piled up on the surface of the painting...... How did you draw it? ”

Miss Elena even felt like a dream.

Recently

She also prayed under the walnut tree that one day Detective Cat Sister would draw a painting that would show the surging emotions hidden in her heart through the emotional resonance between the two people.

A few hours later,

The picture of such a painting was pinched in her hand...... No, better than what she prayed for.

Anna's biggest hope was actually just hoping that the detective cat would pick up a few small pearls in her heart.

Integrating them into each other's pen, they can occasionally provoke a few strings in her innermost heart.

In that case, Anna thinks that she is already very happy and lucky.

But now,

Noisy and staggered, big beads and small beads fall on the jade plate.

The detective cat's drawing is not something that can be described as simply picking up two pearls and floating through Anna's inner strings like a breeze.

Miss Elena felt that the seawall in her heart had been opened by the other party, and the tide was slanting down, and she seemed to have turned into a swimming fish, which could blend into the screen in front of her without any barriers.

Every touch of starlight in the pen of the detective cat,

It's all what she thinks.

Miss Elena's heart rippled, the muscles in her back tensed, and she couldn't help but blink her eyes.

At this moment,

Anna's mood swings are even greater than when she was just forced by Oller's cousin. The girl could no longer maintain her composure, and her eyes turned a little red.

The first person to notice Anna's abnormal mood in the manor's living room was her dog August.

The Springer Spaniel, who had been baring his teeth to scare Ole next to him, twisted back his big head.

It noticed that there was wetness in the owner's eyes, but the dog vaguely smelled that Anna did not seem to be sad, but exuded some strange ...... Relief and joy?

August is a smart dog, but Anna's strange mood change still confuses him.

It stuck out its long, tender pink tongue and licked the tip of its black nose, turning its head in confusion to figure out what was going on.

(End of chapter)