63 Don't waste time

"Little girl, do you need something?" The middle-aged man inquired when he saw Li Lanni coming to him. 

"Yes." She chose her words carefully and decided to be straightforward. "Can I forfeit my prize?" 

"What did you say?" The man was first shocked, but then his shock turned into anger. Many people were willing to do anything to go to Star Art International, and that wouldn't even grant them half a chance. This little girl wanted to give it up just like that?! 

Li Lanni understood why he would be angry. This year's winner wasn't from their subsidiary school, Hun He Art School. How could he be happy? Not everyone was like Si Yulin, who didn't care who the winner was as long as they had the talent. 

But she was still determined. "I'm really sorry to trouble you. My current conditions don't allow me to do anything aside from going to class. On the other hand, my friend has been working hard to get this chance. She is very talented, much more talented than me. Please take a look at her paintings. You will surely be satisfied." 

The more Li Lanni spoke, the more enraged the man became. In the end, he simply sneered. "Give your chance to the second place if you want to. Otherwise, don't waste our time. Training lessons begin in one week." 

Li Lanni clenched her lips. She had already expected this reply. It wasn't easy to give away such a chance. 

But the problem was that she didn't need it! Although Art was her major, she didn't truly like it. At least not after losing her memory. She had entered this competition just to accompany Cheng Yu. 

But for Cheng Yu, this was her life. She had even fought with her parents over it, and heavens knew how great she was. Li Lanni couldn't figure out why she didn't complete her painting. 

"Lanni?" 

Li Lanni turned to see a walnut-eyed Cheng Yu. She looked down to hide her swollen eyes.  

Previously Cheng Yu fell very disappointed and heartbroken. But when she saw Lianni's painting, she was shocked and felt in awe. This painting truly deserved first prize.But she didn't even congratulate Lianni for winning. 

In the next second, she threw her arms around Li Lanni. "Congratulations on winning! Sorry, I lost my cool that time." 

Li Lanni hugged her back. She felt terrible when she saw Chen Yu's sad face. "Forget about the competition. Just go and complete "Moonlight. I believe in you." Its value would definitely raise leaps and bounds in the future. 

...

At the same time, in Feng Ji International. 

An extremely displeased Jiang Xingyu barged into Ji Xiehan's office. 

"You promised a nice surprise if I changed the rules of the contest. Where's the surprise?" 

Ji Xiehan shot a look at his best friend, wondering just how on earth this fool managed to be his friend. "Can't you tell? Star Art International's trainee this time will be genuinely the best." Wasn't this a double win? 

"Just this?" Jiang Xingyu was displeased. Who cared about a trainee? 

Ji Xiehan sighed and shook his head, wondering whether it was right to think that this fool might help him protect Li Lanni in Star Art International. He then tilted his laptop to his friend. Several pictures were displayed on the screen. 

"What's this?" Jiang Xingyu asked curiously. 

"Are your eyes merely ornaments?" 

Jiang Xingyu clutched his broken heart and clicked on the pictures. 

They were all paintings, and he instantly understood that they were entries for today's competition. 

Ji Xiehan was extremely competent. He had even found out their real owners. 

"Urgh. Hun He is so disappointing. Their level keeps on falling for every passing year. They are not just letting me down but the whole Star Art International and Jiang Corporation.  Just what kind of students do they recruit? They have no talent! I'll immediately replace the principal."

They even dared to claim that they were creating the next Li Yuming? Could they even hold a candle to her with these measly paintings? Even Cedric's abilities had pitifully dropped! He groaned and complained each time he saw a painting from Hun He.  

Actually, they were not all that bad. They were just not as good as those from previous years. The quality was dropping significantly. 

"This "fireballs" is really amazing. The dragon hovering over the earth and breathing fireballs.... such a novel idea and the artist was also able to depict it perfectly. Eh? Li Lanni? It's from that girl who called you a pervert?" Jiang Xingyu burst into laughter before giving his friend a meaningful look. "No wonder you made me change the rules. I was wondering why you were suddenly interested in Star Art International. It turns out, it's for your little beauty." 

"Give me back my laptop." Ji Xiehan's expression darkened. 

"No, no, no, wait!" Jiang Xingyu hugged the laptop and moved away. Knowing Ji Xiehan, he wouldn't show him these paintings if there was nothing in it for him. 

And indeed, he stopped in his tracks once he saw the fifth painting. "Moonlight 1.0?" 

He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

His hands trembled as he zoomed the painting to check at a certain inconspicuous spot naturally. There were several words scribbled in Arabic. [Eyes like the moon, soul like the stars but a personality like a sun.] 

He took out his phone and found a picture of a different painting, then compared the hidden words. They were in French, but it was a perfect match! Moreover, the painting on his phone was also called Moonlight!