Ch. 661..670

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 661-"What's going on with Mr. Jack?" Winona confusedly asked Elise as they walked together.

It was Winona's first time witnessing Jack flying into a rage in person.

"He was in a bad mood," Elise calmly responded.

"Why was he in a bad mood?" Winona continued to ask.

Exasperated, Elise gently smacked her on the forehead and replied, "Because of your stupidity!"

"How is it my fault now?" Winona rubbed her head with a confused look on her face.

Elise merely shook her head and didn't bother explaining. After all, Winona wouldn't get it.

Winona sighed in response. However, when she remembered her unfinished cake, she put Jack

Cakes from Jack were unique. Every one of them was delicious in a different way. To be honest, she frequently dreamed of Jack bringing them more cake. Finally, she could have some today.

Meanwhile, the moment Jack exited the small white building, he pulled out his phone and called Ronald.

"I need you to look into a trainee for me, Ronald. His name's Craig Baker,"

"A trainee? Are you going to recruit a newbie?" asked Ronald.

"Just investigate him already." Jack then hung up.

"What happened? Why's he so angry?" Ronald muttered.

——

...

While Johnny was busy reading through his documents at his desk, Melody went through their accounts at the smaller desk beside him in the Smith Co.'s General Manager's office.

Meanwhile, Alexander was sprawled out across the couch in the area designated for guests.

Sometime later, Johnny took off his spectacles and gently massaged his tired eyes before throwing an exhausted look at his boss.

"Your presence in the room while playing on your phone greatly reduces Melody's and my productivity, Mr. Griffith," said Johnny.

Alexander only glanced at him before re-focusing on his phone screen. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you trying to kick your superior out?"

Johnny pursed his lips but offered no denial.

"If there are no further orders, please head home and spend the day with your wife." Melody was a blunt woman and decided to frankly voice out her displeasure. "You laze about while we're working our butts off. Such a sight would easily make your workers go on a strike."

"You guys are professionals. So none of you would do such a thing," said Alexander. Still, he moved to sit up straight on the couch. However, his eyes remained trained on his phone as he kept scrolling. "Johnny, did you not make an official announcement when you ordered the staff to vote? People are now wondering if my wife bought these votes."

"Noted. I'll have the PR department work on it," Johnny replied with a sigh.

"Good, good." Alexander nodded in satisfaction. Then, he reported every mean-spirited top comment that had accused his wife.

A few moments later, he abruptly stood up and walked out of the door toward the meeting room as if he was suddenly reminded of something. Before he left the room, he called out to the other two, "We'll have a meeting in half an hour in the big meeting room."

"What's he on about?" Melody asked Johnny.

"Maybe there's another new voting link?" Johnny guessed with a shrug.

Although Melody didn't respond, her facial expression stated her agreement with that guess.

What wouldn't Mr. Griffith do for his wife?

By the time the meeting started, there was an all-out war on the internet about the votes for 'National Goddess'.

The people who started the war were the fans of Tiana and other contestants. However, as the employees at Smith Co. voted en-masse during work hours, votes for Elise increased so dramatically in an instant that she immediately became second place. Such an extreme improvement had severely displeased the fans of those who had been displaced from their rankings.

And so, many people made numerous mean-spirited comments about Elise on Twitter. In fact, people began tagging the Twitter account of the 'National Goddess', asking them to investigate Elise's votes.

Joey had been keeping a close eye on the situation online. She had no plans to interfere at first, but when Tiana's fans' insulting remarks went overboard, she flew into a rage. So, out of nowhere, all of Elise's fans began to join in the mass voting.

"They're accusing us of vote brigading, so let us show them just how strong H's fans really are when we actually vote en-masse!"

Hence, just as vote brigading in the competition became a trending topic, the number of votes for Elise skyrocketed once more. Now, even random people began pressuring the competition organizers.

Finally, after over ten minutes of extensive monitoring, the 'National Goddess' organizers put up a post stating, "After investigation, we have found all claims of irregularities in Miss Elise Sinclair's votes to be untrue. Thank you for your interest."

In the meantime, Elise had surpassed Tiana and was at the top of the leaderboard.

That further infuriated the fans, and it even made the organizers begin to suspect there was some rigging involved in the competition.

Just then, the official Twitter account of Smith Co. posted an announcement that stated, "The company's employees and their respective families have all voted for Elise Sinclair. We congratulate Miss Elise in advance for becoming the National Goddess."

In order to ensure Alexander was satisfied with the post, Johnny also asked the PR Department to be bold and extravagant with the post. Hence, when the PR department posted the statement, it was trending.

Furthermore, Smith Co. was a company so immense that nearly a third of the adults in Cittadel were employed there.

As soon as the post started trending, all objections vanished into thin air.

Then, Joey used her official international fan account and also posted an announcement saying, "Currently, over 22 million fans have voted in the competition."

Now, no one dared to question the validity of Elise's votes.

When the voting closed, Elise had at least double the number of votes Tiana had, and she successfully became the first 'National Goddess'.

When Alexander read the voting results while standing outside the meeting room, he grinned in satisfaction.

By the time Brendan and Jack rushed over to Alexander, they noticed that he had a lovestruck look on his face.

"Thinking about Elise again?" asked Brendan as he walked over to rest an arm around Alexander's shoulders.

To that, Alexander only smiled and did not speak a word of objection. Then, he turned to Jack and commented, "You came fast."

"It's rare for you to call for a meeting. I wouldn't dare to be late. But why here? Where's Danny? How can he arrive later than me?" Jack was full of questions.

"Since he can't keep a secret, I thought it best we don't let him know," Alexander said with a raised eyebrow.

When they heard his statement, Brendan and Jack exchanged a look that conveyed their agreement.

Danny, who was nowhere near the room or did not know about the meeting, would definitely be upset by the lack of faith from his own brother, no less!

"Oh, just spit it out. What can we help you with?" Brendan asked.

Alexander leaned against the railing as he watched as people bustled about in the office. Then, after a few long moments, he finally said, "Everything you see here is mine. I am Kenneth Bailey."

The other two looked at each other in obvious shock.

"Are you saying it's a disguise?" Jack was the first to react due to his acting experience in historical drama.

"You can kind of call it that," Alexander said with a wave of his hand.

That admission rendered Jack speechless, and he had to take a deep breath just to calm himself since it was rather terrifying to see what people consider a myth come to life.

Brendan, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber. He had always known Alex was hiding a secret. As such, he had been mentally prepared and did not find this new information strange.

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 662-"Does Elise know about this?" Brendan asked, voicing the only question in his mind.

Alexander shook his head. "I wanted to see how you'll react first."

"First, it's Elise who has a secret identity. Now, you're revealing yourself as some other man. Just what are you two doing?" Jack sighed. Why couldn't life be simpler?

Speaking of identities, Jack had found out who Craig Baker was. That man was just some uneducated fool. No one knew how he fooled Winona into liking him. He was enjoying life in the laps of several wealthy women while ensuring Winona kept working for him. It was rather impressive just how much of a scoundrel he was.

"I remember how furious you were when you found out about Elise's alter-ego," Brendan said, analyzing the situation from a neutral standpoint.

"That is the issue." Even Alexander knew he was faced with a situation that he could hardly escape unscathed.

"If I were Elise, I'd divorce you right now," said Melody as she walked over, heels clacking from a distance.

Alexander glanced at her but said nothing when he heard that.

Melody was the only woman in his think tank. That meant her train of thought was the most similar to Elise's, which made it the scariest to him.

Johnny was astonished at how glum Alexander looked. Never once had he so much as frowned when dealing with challenging projects. Now, this handsome black-haired man was a wretched ball of nerves because of Elise.

"I think you can try and talk your way out of this by appealing to logic," suggested Johnny.

"You think women can be reasoned with?" Jack dramatically protested.

"Who said women can't be reasoned with?" Melody became unhappy when she heard Jack's comment.

She was a pragmatic and logical woman. Anyway, Alexander was in the wrong. Not only did he hide his identity, but he also used the name Kenneth Bailey to test Elise. That was a wrong move in so many ways.

Even if he were her boss, she would not be helping him.

"So, appealing to logic means I'll lose Elise?" Alexander tiredly asked.

The room went silent since that might actually happen.

Alexander let out a long sigh as he planted his hands firmly on his hips. Then, as his eyes flickered around the place, he spotted Clement standing not far away.

For some reason, Alexander decided to raise his voice and asked Clement, "What do you think?"

When Clement heard that, it was as if he was a robot that someone had just turned on. "I don't know, Mr. Griffith," he innocently replied with a blank face.

Alexander looked back down at the floor after he heard that.

Truthfully, Clement wasn't good at anything but being a bodyguard. At this point, Alexander was panicking and searching for solutions from, frankly, terrible sources.

"Forget it," Alexander said as he waved his hand. "You guys can go. Let me think about this alone."

Everyone scattered immediately.

Clement had also planned on leaving, but he had only just turned away when he decided to turn back around and walk over to Alexander. "Sir, try being sincere," he earnestly said.

"Sincere?" Alexander was confused.

"Yes." Clement nodded. "While I didn't like Mrs. Griffith in the beginning, these few months have told me that she truly loves you and wishes the best for you. So, I've accepted her. The key is to let her know that, just like her, you care for her more than you care for yourself."

Clement bowed and left after he gave Alexander his opinion.

Alexander just stood there for a long while, utterly lost in his thoughts.

——

......

After a few days of imitating QH's calligraphy, Tiana finally grasped some semblance of their style.

As she stared at the study room full of practice paper, she began to subconsciously brainwash herself into thinking that the handwriting found on those papers was hers.

Beautiful penmanship flowed as smoothly as a river with decisive strokes etched into it.

After hunting down the best-looking piece, she took a photo of it and sent it to Cody Carlson, her Calligraphy Association teacher.

Then, just as she was about to call for the servants to clean up the room, her phone screen lit up.

It was a call from Cody.

Tiana cautiously answered the call, and she raised the phone up to her ear to hear Cody say in an excited voice, "Did you write that, Tiana?"

She nodded with a shy smile on her face as she bit down on her lip and replied, "Yes. I've been working on my penmanship for days. I wanted to see what you thought, Mr. Carlson."

When Cody first saw the photo, he couldn't help but zoom in to admire every single stroke in the picture.

Her penmanship looked somewhat similar to QH's displays in the Calligraphy Association Museum, but hers was more graceful.

If he didn't know for a fact that the only two surviving works of QH were being stored in the museum, he would've thought this was a picture of QH's work!

Even though it had only been two weeks, Tiana had improved dramatically. It seemed like he had underestimated his student.

"Your penmanship is amazing. Not even I, your teacher, could've done so well." Cody's voice grew softer as he slowly calmed down. "Truly, you are very talented and better than your teachers. Tiana, you might be as accomplished as QH in the future."

"Do you think I stand a chance of making the finals in the Calligraphy Contest?" she asked with sparkling eyes.

"Haha," Cody guffawed. "Of course. You won't just make the finals. In fact, your handwriting is better than many of the A-grade members in the association. Instead of just talking, why don't you write a few more lines for me to look at?"

When Tiana heard that, she panicked.

After a few long moments, she finally thought up an excuse. "Mr. Carlson, I'm still not finished with the other characters and words. I'll have to work on them before I can show you anything. Otherwise, there won't be anything nice, and any more pictures of my penmanship would be for nothing. Right?"

"True," Cody said, nodding. "You have always been a self-aware child. But, since you have a plan, continue at your own pace. Once you get the hang of a few of these words, the rest will come easily to you. I believe you can do it."

"Yeah..." This time, Tiana didn't respond as confidently as before.

After hanging up, she frowned at the three examples of calligraphy she had bought.

The total number of words found in these three examples was less than twenty, yet they cost her over three million.

Hence, it would cost her a lot of money to buy all known works of QH to use as references. However, if she wanted to stand out in the Calligraphy Contest, she had to do this.

She would need to consider this carefully.

Just as she was in deep thought, her phone chimed with a new message that read, "Do you need my help, Miss Tiana?"

When she took a closer look at the message, she realized there was no number listed for the sender.

Who was behind this strange message?

There was a high chance someone sent it to the wrong number.

She deleted the message straight away as she thought of that.

To give the contest more publicity, she then posted the photo she took on Twitter with the caption, "There are a lot of skilled participants in the Calligraphy Contest. I hope I can get a good score."

As soon as Tiana posted the photo, her image began to garner widespread attention.

Most of the Calligraphy Association members liked and commented favorably on the post.

The moment Julius saw the post, he instantly shared it with Elise. "Boss, this is likely that woman's goal."

When she clicked on the link, she found comments calling Tiana the next QH. Although her face was as calm and aloof as usual, there was a glint of derision in her eyes.

Tiana had quite a lot of titles—SQ's student and the next QH.

Then, Alexander walked into the room with a glass of warm water. When he handed it to her, he glanced over her shoulder at her phone. "Her penmanship looks like yours," he commented.

"You've seen my calligraphy?" Elise tilted her head at him.

"Aren't the pieces hanging in your grandparents' place yours?" he shot back with a calm smile.

"True," she said with an embarrassed smile. "Those were written when I was a kid fooling around, but they insisted on hanging them up. So, they're more of an embarrassing memory…"

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 663-"Anyone can be famous as long as the condition's right. Those who only care about fishing for fame online wouldn't be that good. Ellie is the one with true talent," Alexander playfully stated.

"Based on that, I can join this Calligraphy Contest for fun, right?" Elise snickered.

Of course, she wouldn't be joining the competition just to have fun. She also wanted to see what kind of name Tiana was trying to drum up for herself. First, she pretends to be Elise's student. Now, she's trying to claim the writing style Elise created as her own. Did she think Elise was dead?

When he saw how serious she looked, he couldn't help but blurt, "Ellie."

"Hm?" As she was busy filling in the form to participate in the contest, she didn't bother looking up. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth in an attempt to speak and paused. A few moments later, all courage to confess fled his body. "Nothing. I'll start the bath, so it's nice and warm when you want it."

"Okay," she obediently agreed.

After a few moments of hovering around her, he eventually walked to the bathroom.

——

...

Calligraphy Association, Tissote.

As soon as Cody walked into his office, he received a call from Lorenzo Forbes, the head of the association.

"Cody, are you sure the calligraphy in the photo you sent me belongs to your student?" Lorenzo immediately asked, going straight to the point.

"Yes. Why?" The mere mention of this fact was enough to fill Cody with pride.

"Don't you think something seems familiar about the writing style?" Lorenzo asked.

"Sir, I know what you mean. You're thinking that Tiana might be copying QH, but you also know that QH's works have always been stored in the museum. We also only have two of their works. There's no way she could've copied them. I guarantee that Tiana wrote them by herself," Cody solemnly said.

After he heard Cody's words, he found it rather difficult to continue discussing the matter. "I see. Let's talk about this another day," he said as he swiftly ended the call.

Lorenzo went into a trance-like state as he watched his phone screen fade to show images of Tiana's calligraphy.

Was that person back?

——

...

Two days later.

Elise received a message from Julius. "Boss, Tiana took your pin from your roommate."

At that time, she was clearing out the dorm with Mica.

She put down the phone and continued with her task. Then, in a nonchalant tone, she asked, "Mica, where did you put the pin I gave you?"

Mica froze. After a moment of hesitation, she came clean, "Sorry, Elise. I loaned it to Sebastian. He said he was interested in the Calligraphy Association, and I couldn't bear seeing him sighing all the time. So, I gave it to him. If it bothers you, I'll get it back right away!"

Sebastian had borrowed it, yet it was now in Tiana's hands. Plus, somehow, Mica knew nothing about this.

After some thought, Elise smiled and replied, "I don't mind it. I don't like wearing it after all."

Just like that, she said no more on that matter.

However, that conversation hung up Mica's mind. Elise was the nicest girl she had ever met in her life, so she didn't want to disappoint Elise.

As soon as Elise left, Mica asked Sebastian to meet with her.

Even so, he only arrived half an hour after the agreed-upon time.

"Sorry, I was in class," he said expressionlessly.

In reality, the class he attended was not his. Tiana had uttered a few complaints about how she had too much to do and didn't have time to attend her classes, so he went to class for her.

"It's fine," she said. Her faith in him was absolute. Then, with a hint of panic in her voice, she asked, "Sebastian, can you return the pin you borrowed from me?"

He frowned upon hearing that. The pin was still in Tiana's possession, and he had told her she didn't have to worry about returning it anytime soon. How could he ask her for it so soon?

After thinking about it, he wrapped an arm around Mica's shoulders and warmly whispered, "Don't you want me to spend more time with you? I'll return it after I've spent a few more days with the Calligraphy Association."

"I do want to spend more time with you," she replied, but then hurriedly added, "but I don't want Elise to think I don't respect her. So let me have it for a while to show it to her. I'll let you have it right after. It won't take too long."

Sebastian lost all his patience when he heard that. Then, he immediately pulled away and haughtily said, "I lost the pin. You can't have it back."

"Lost it? How? Where? I'll go look for it with you..." Question after question poured out of her mouth as she panicked.

"Oh, you're so annoying!" He flung himself away from her. "It's already lost. How can it possibly be found?"

Startled, Mica froze. Then, she gingerly said, "But you promised me you'd take good care of it..."

"Yes, it's my fault," he coldly said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm surprised. I never thought you'd be so petty over some trivial pin. It looks like we're not suited for each other. Let's break up. I'm tired of this."

"What are you saying?" Mica smiled in disbelief, trying to calm him down. "I'm not trying to be petty. If there's a problem, we can work on it together. So why must you say that..."

Sebastian held a hand up between them. There was a disappointed look on his face as he said, "I'm the problem. I'm not ready to love someone yet. I'm sorry, Mica. Let's not talk to each other ever again. That's all."

Then, he left without sparing her another glance.

Mica stood there shocked as big, fat drops of tears rolled down her cheeks. Then, her world was engulfed by an abyss of misery. At that moment, she felt as though everyone had abandoned her.

——

...

With the craze online surrounding the 'National Goddess', Nebula TV decided to produce a talk show called "Hangout with Idols".

To maintain her media presence, Elise accepted the invitation to appear on the same episode as the nation's darling, Garreth.

Although the two had only met once, they were familiar faces. Hence, as soon as the set was ready, they walked on together.

However, Garreth suddenly collapsed after three questions from the show's host.

Thankfully, he had been standing in front of a couch and sustained no injuries.

After checking his pulse, she deduced his collapse was once again caused by low blood sugar. It wasn't a major issue, but it still took him over twenty minutes before he came to.

When Garreth eventually opened his eyes, he saw Elise sitting next to him. "Sorry to bother you again, Elise..." he feebly said in thanks.

His eyes kept drooping as if he was resisting a strong urge to just fall asleep.

When she saw that, she said in a soft, reassuring tone, "If you don't feel well, take the rest of the day off. We can do the show another time."

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Jenny strode through the curtains around the set and barked, "Change the time? For what? The next few months are all fully booked. You're not that frail, are you? You're fine now, right? We'll start in another ten minutes. Garreth, get up and go touch up your makeup."

He let out a sad, powerless sigh when he heard that before forcing himself to crawl out of the couch.

However, just as he got on his feet, he collapsed back on the couch as his breathing turned into uneven pants.

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 664-Elise immediately rushed over to massage the few acupuncture points that would help alleviate Garreth's weakness. Only then did the pained expression slowly fade from his face, although his breathing was still quite labored.

"Is there a need for that? There will always be money to make. Can't you spare a moment to care for your own body?" Elise couldn't help but ask.

He weakly stared up at her with half-lidded eyes, but he had no strength to explain.

For the past week, he had been unable to sleep properly. Every day was packed to the brim with job after job that kept him working constantly. Even in between jobs, he still had to focus on memorizing his scripts. There was no personal time at all.

Everyone knew health was important, but his body no longer belonged to him after signing his contract. If he went against the agreement, he would be bankrupt for life.

"Ignore him," Jenny coldly said, folding her arms before her chest. "He just loves to gain sympathy using this trick. This isn't his first time. Anyway, he'll still finish the job afterward. Garreth, get up now, or I'll be forced to be rude before an outsider."

Those words dealt a painful blow to Garreth's dignity. Even though everyone in the industry knew just how bad Jenny could be, he didn't want Elise, the person he respected and looked up to, to see him cower before such humiliation.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet as his knuckles turned a stark white color. He swayed where he stood for a few moments before eventually regaining his balance.

"I'm fine now, Jenny. I can continue," he said as he forced a smile.

It was evident that Jenny enjoyed the satisfaction of forcing others to do what she wanted as she proudly smiled and bragged, "See? What did I just say? He's a good kid. He wouldn't want to cause any trouble for me."

In Elise's eyes, how Jenny looked at Garreth was the same as an owner looking at an obedient pet.

Even so, Garreth had to smile through it all, which further satisfied Jenny's twisted desire to subjugate him.

This whole time, Elise had been watching with a frown on her face. Finally, she kicked her seat away and sat down on the couch. "I'm through here."

Celebrities were also human. Were they lesser just because they had signed a contract?

Today, she would have Jenny face the evils of the world.

"What did you say?" Jenny froze before saying with a fake smile on her lips, "Miss Sinclair, Nebula TV's prime time doesn't host programs where just anyone can appear on. Even though you are H, the 'National Goddess', you won't be famous without television. I suggest you work with us. Do not ruin your future."

Garreth, who also knew how much power Jenny held, spoke up as he supported himself with a chair, "Elise, I'm really fine. Don't do this for my sake. Let's go on with the show."

"No, this has nothing to do with you now," Elise stubbornly said, raising a hand to stop him from saying more. "I don't want to work now because my mood has been ruined."

"Elise Sinclair, don't be so full of yourself! There is a penalty to breaking off contracts!" If gentle persuasion didn't work on her, then Jenny would use threats.

"Oh, I have money. I can do whatever I want," Elise innocently blinked back at her.

"You!" Jenny's chest heaved with anger. Then, when she saw Garreth was watching her being humiliated, she flew into a rage and stomped to Elise. "Wench, you will learn what humility is today!"

However, Garreth's roar stopped her before she could even do anything to Elise. "Enough!"

She turned around to find his beautiful, soulful eyes glaring at her while his broad hands were covered with bulging veins as he held onto the chair tightly.

She just stood there stunned for a moment. Then, she let out a scoff. "Oh, okay. Do you think you're all that now, Garreth? You've learned to side with outsiders. Good. So, you want to help her? Come."

At this instant, he had no more energy left in him to fight with her. So, instead, he picked up the knife on the table and held it up to his face. "Continue with your bullying if you wish to ruin the company's cash cow."

After all, a kind gesture from a stranger was always enough for a desperate man to cling onto.

Elise was what he was clinging onto. There was no way he would allow Jenny to harm someone who had been so nice to him.

Meanwhile, Jenny was scared stiff. She had never thought the docile little lamb would one day learn to bite, let alone imagine him threatening her with the most valuable asset he had—his face.

Even though she could do as she pleased in Nebula Corporation, no one in the company dared to harm the cash cow. As of right now, Garreth Dowrick brought in nearly half of the company's profits. If he ruined his face, her future would be doomed.

At that thought, Jenny reeled herself back in. "Fine. Don't ever say that I'm cruel to you now. You'll have today off. As for how you'll make up for the losses caused by your recovery, that's your business."

"Thank you, Jenny. I'll handle it," he said, utterly miserable.

After shooting one last disdainful look at Elise, Jenny turned and left.

Now, the only people left in the room were Elise and Garreth.

As he threw the knife on the table, causing it to clatter loudly, he collapsed against the couch as all strength fled him.

"You didn't have to step in," she said, and her heart ached at seeing him like this. "After all, she can't do anything since it's me. But you work under her. Now that you've embarrassed her, there's no telling what torments await you."

"Don't worry, Elise," he replied with a bright smile. "I may be younger, but I'm still a man. I can't let a woman defend me while I cower in a corner."

The sentiment made her feel warm on the inside. She was beginning to realize just how considerate and responsible this boy could be.

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. I'll send you home for some rest," she said.

He agreed as he selfishly wanted more time with her.

Just as they were waiting at the studio doors for Winona to drive the car, two handsome and fit young men walked out of the studio.

When they saw Garreth being supported by Elise, one of them asked, "Garreth, are you okay?"

However, before he could respond, the other young man nudged his companion away. "Oh, shut up. He doesn't need your concern. Look closely. He's standing beside the 'National Goddess'. We're not the same now. Don't bother getting close."

After saying that, the second young man dragged his companion away.

The encounter left an unpleasant look on Garreth's already pale and sickly face as disappointment sparkled in his eyes.

"Who are they? Friends? Did you guys fight?" Elise softly asked.

"They were my partners," he glumly muttered. "We were child actors and best friends. Then, the company wanted me to go solo, and I was given priority in everything. Slowly, we drifted apart."

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 665-For a moment, Elise had no words to say.

Any kind of relationship in this world would lose its innocence once it was mixed with interests.

At Blitzy Entertainment, Jenny went straight to Mr. Lowry's office to complain.

"Mr. Lowry," she said coquettishly, plopping herself on his lap and placing her arms around his neck as she displayed her cleavage to him. "Somebody walked all over me today. Can you help me out?"

With his full attention on her cleavage, he muttered, "Of course, I have to. Who bullied my baby?"

"Who else can it be?" Jenny nudged her body closer and almost pressed her cleavage against his face. "It's Elise Sinclair! Before this, she started a live broadcast to go against our variety show, and she went on a strike for today's filming. She's just belittling us, and I think she even wants to steal Garreth from us! You can't just sit by and do nothing about this!"

When he heard this, he put on a severe expression, pushed his glasses, and asked in suspicion, "What do you mean? Sinclair wants to steal my employees?"

Since a long time ago, he already had a feeling that Elise didn't have an ordinary background. If no one had her back, she wouldn't be able to create such a big hype on the Internet just by herself.

"Exactly!" She deliberately exaggerated the matter and said, "You should have seen how smitten Garreth is with her. We might have gotten into a physical fight if I had left a second later! Feel it. My heart is racing so fast! You'll have to do something about it for me…" She grabbed his hand and placed it on her soft bosoms as she spoke.

A lecherous grin spread across Mr. Lowry's face, and after he enjoyed himself enough, he slammed the desk firmly. "Yes, we'll have to get even with her about this! Since she's not going to be of use to me, then I'll have to get rid of her!" A shrewd light flashed past his eyes when he changed the topic. "However, we can use this opportunity to rake in a fortune," he said, taking out his cell phone and calling the biggest investor of Blitzy Entertainment, Mr. Howard, to ask him out for dinner.

In the evening, Mr. Howard showed up in the VIP dining room as promised, and Mr. Lowry hurriedly pushed him into a seat. After a few rounds of drinks, he brought up the topic in his mind.

"Mr. Howard, we've been working together for years, and I've never let you down. Only by working together can we make more money out of money. Do you recall that chick named Elise Sinclair the last time we ate together? That woman isn't a controllable pawn, but she has some influential figure on her back to help her progress. After this, she'll become our greatest hindrance, but if you invest in me, I can definitely get rid of this threat for us!"

Mr. Howard only smiled and listened without saying anything.

For the entire evening, Mr. Lowry had plastered a smile on his face, and his expression was becoming a little stiff and unnatural at this time. But, despite that, realizing that Mr. Howard didn't seem agreeable, he couldn't help but feel his heart beating against his chest.

What's wrong with my big ATM machine today? He would always agree to it whenever I asked for funds before this, but why does he seem unmoved today? Is it because my terms are not attractive enough? Mr. Lowry wondered. Then, he placed an arm on Mr. Howard's shoulder, and he whispered into his ear, "Look, I'll get you the chance to have a taste of the National Goddess. What do you say to that, huh?"

At his words, Mr. Howard jerked his head to look at him. Then, Mr. Lowry let out a low snigger under his breath as he thought that he had gotten Mr. Howard's attention.

Mr. Howard chuckled along for a few seconds, then caught Mr. Lowry off guard when he splashed the wine in his hand onto his face.

The moment the wine splashed on him, he suddenly snapped back to his senses, and he wiped away the liquid with his hand. His eyes widened and were filled with disbelief. "Mr. Howard, what are you doing?!"

Mr. Howard remained silent and gave him a gloomy look that gave Mr. Lowry a bad feeling. A few seconds later, the door burst open with a loud bang as someone kicked it open from the outside, and Elise walked in with Elliot and Sheldon.

Mr. Lowry peered at them before looking away and asking, "Mr. Howard, what's going on?"

Mr. Howard picked up the napkin and wiped his hands as he answered, "Lowry, I'm very wealthy, and you can never make enough money. However, I only have one life, and my life was given back to me with Miss Sinclair's help. So, tell me, what's up with you trying to harm my savior?"

"Your savior?" Mr. Lowry furrowed his brows, and the words suddenly sank into him. "The one who saved you was Elise Sinclair?"

Mr. Howard shrugged in admittance.

Behind Elise, Elliot stepped out and pointed at Mr. Lowry's nose, snubbing him, "You old fart, you don't even know how to act like a proper elder. Don't you dare have any designs on my boss!"

Just the term 'old fart' was enough to turn Mr. Lowry's face livid from anger. However, when he saw everyone in the room was in cahoots with each other, and he was now the outsider everyone hated, he immediately grabbed his jacket and left utterly flustered.

As he passed by the door, he bumped into Sheldon, who gave him a hard stare before he stepped aside and let him pass.

When he was gone, Mr. Howard welcomed them with a bright smile and showed Elise a seat. "Miss Sinclair, you're the great benefactor of my family, and I can finally show my thanks now. Anything you wish to eat, be it something that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the ocean, I'll get them served immediately."

"It's just a meal. You don't have to go overboard. In addition, I don't eat that much in the evenings," Elise said, hinting at him to remain low-profile.

"Yes, you're right," he agreed in an amicable tone. "You're a magnanimous person, Miss Sinclair. Not only did you set aside the impolite things I did to you before, you even saved my life. You have my admiration for repaying my actions with kindness."

"It's all in the past now. Moreover, you didn't get your way, did you?" Then, she turned to face Elliot and clapped his shoulder. "I'll take it as returning Elliot's favor."

Eliot was puzzled, so he asked, "Dad, what are you guys going on about? What impolite things?"

Mr. Howard put on a stern face and told him off. "Don't question what the adults are doing!"

He couldn't say directly to his son that he tried to take advantage of Elise. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up high in front of him in the future.

"Fine, I don't even want to know." Elliot rolled his eyes, picked up his fork, and was about to start eating when something came into his mind suddenly. Then, he poured himself a glass of wine and raised his glass at his father. "But Dad, you handled the situation today so well. I thank you on the Boss' behalf."

After saying that, he threw back his head and finished the wine in a gulp.

For a long moment, Mr. Howard was in a daze as he finished a glass of wine together with him, and when he placed down his drink, he felt a sting in his nose.

After raising Elliot for so many years, this was the first time he heard him saying thank you.

His son had finally grown up!

However, it was apparent that Elliot wasn't an emotional person because he continued eating right after saying his piece, wasting Mr. Howard's built-up tears, which he had to swallow back in the end.

A long moment of silence passed by over the table, and it was Elise who broke the silence first. "Mr. Howard, I'm afraid you and Mr. Lowry won't be able to work together anymore after what happened today. I'm afraid I have gotten in the way of you making another huge profit."

Mr. Howard sighed. "My savior, what are you saying? Who do you think I am? I'm Elliot's father, and I have nothing left but money. So it doesn't matter whether I'm making more money or not," Mr. Howard said earnestly.

Nothing but money left, Elise repeated in her head and held her forehead in her palm at his declaration. "Since that's the case, will you be interested in donating money to a charity to help impoverished youngsters?" she asked directly.

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 666-Mr. Howard immediately acquiesced to her suggestion and said, "You're right, Miss Sinclair. I should do more charity after this close shave with death. So tomorrow, I'll allocate 100 million to the orphanages in Tissote so that the kids can have a better life."

Elise raised her brows and said awkwardly, "It's not a problem if you think that's what I'm saying, but the youngsters I mentioned earlier are slightly older."

"Older?" A confused look washed over his face. "How much older?"

"More than a dozen years older." Elise smiled, and her eyes crinkled.

Mr. Howard appeared lost in her words as he scratched his head.

Elise lowered her head and thought for a couple of seconds. Then, she whisked out her phone and searched Garreth's name in the browser before placing it on the table in front of him.

Mr. Howard straightened the phone and stared at Garreth's picture with knitted brows. Then, a few seconds later, his eyes sparkled, and he gasped in surprise, "Miss Sinclair, do you mean that I should compete against Blitzy Entertainment?"

"You're the biggest investor behind Blitzy Entertainment, and you definitely have what it takes to do this, don't you?" Elise leaned sideways, moved closer to him, and pointed out to him in a whisper, "As far as I know, just the past year alone, the revenue Mr. Lowry made in private from the cooperation between the Howard Family and Blitzy Entertainment was more than two billion. Elliot is a simple person, and if the business scene is filled with shrews such as Mr. Lowry, I'm afraid you'll still have a lot to worry about your son in the future, even after retirement."

Her words made him peer over at Elliot, who was engrossed in eating, and the look in his eyes gradually turned sharp. After that, he slammed the table and made up his mind. "I'm in!"

Elliot was startled, causing him to spit out a mouthful of soup as he almost choked. Before he even had time to wipe his mouth, he hurriedly got up and stood in between Elise and Mr. Howard. Then, he spread out his arms, blocked Elise from his father, and asked aggressively, "What are you doing? I'm warning you, old Mr. Howard, you're not allowed to bully my boss!"

"Hey, you rascal. Are you even clear who your father is?" Disgruntled, Mr. Howard got to his feet and placed his hands on his hips.

"It's you…"Eliot gradually lost the resolution in his voice, but he swiftly added, "You are my father, and she is my boss. Both of you are separate people to me, but you're in the wrong when you raise your voice!"

"I—" Breathless from the anger, Mr. Howard opened his mouth to argue, but ended up laughing instead. Then, he reached out, pulled Elliot forward, and ruffled his hair. "Good boy, as expected of my son, you know what's important! Miss Sinclair is our family's great benefactor. So, you'll have to stand out to help her solve any issues in the future, just like you did earlier. Do you understand?"

"Of course! I don't need you to remind me of this!" Elliot patted his chest and added, "Have you seen my muscles? I trained myself just to be worthy of my boss. Do you really think it was out of fun that I asked for money to sign up for boxing classes?"

Mr. Howard nodded in gratification. This is great. I finally don't have to worry about teaching my son anymore.

Elise was right; Elliot had a straightforward personality, and he could be easily read like a book. Besides, he was gullible, couldn't keep a secret to save his life, and was easily manipulated by others. In the past, he was constantly worried about how Elliot would live once he was gone. However, with Elise here looking out for his son, he could rest easy now.

As he thought of this, Mr. Howard shoved Elliot aside and extended his hand in excitement to Elise. "Miss Sinclair, I'll do as you wish."

Elise smiled brightly and shook his hand firmly. "To a happy cooperation, then!"

"What cooperation? Are you guys going to invest in an orphanage?" Elliot asked innocently.

Mr. Howard whacked him lightly on the back of his head. "Go back to your seat and don't disrupt Miss Sinclair enjoying her meal."

If it was in the past, Elliot would have left in a huff, but because Elise was here, he didn't lose his temper and obediently returned to his seat.

Mr. Howard was so happy when he saw that his son wasn't rebelling against him for once. So delighted that he got himself drunk after continuously drinking glass after glass of wine.

When he left the hotel, he thought he was out on his usual business meeting and grabbed a few stacks of bills from his secretary's bag before stuffing them into Elise's hands.

In the end, Elliot couldn't stand it anymore, and he dragged him away, stuffed him into the car, and drove off.

This father-and-son duo highly amused Elise. However, when all was said and done, she turned around and handed the cash to Sheldon. "Return this money to Elliot later."

After she said that, she realized that there was an invitation card between the bills, and she picked it out to look at it. It was a cocktail party hosted by the famous collector, Jonas Hymer, and he would be presenting his precious private art collection to his guests at the party.

Beneath the card, there was a line of tiny characters, especially noting that the collection included the painting SQ made at the peak of their career—'Ink Peonies'.

Interesting, she thought, keeping the invitation. "I'm taking this, don't forget to mention it to him later."

"Sure." Sheldon gave her a nod. "Should I drop you home?"

Right after the words left his lips, a black MPV rolled to a stop in front of them, and the door slid open, revealing Alexander seated in the backseat. His face was solemn but noble at the same time, but when he turned to look at Elise, it immediately became soft and gentle.

"Come on, Ellie," he said gently.

Elise nodded and turned to Sheldon. "I'm going now."

Then, she climbed into the car, and it slowly drove away from the hotel after starting the engine.Sheldon watched with a deep look in his eyes as the car gradually drove further away, and when he recalled the contrast in Alexander's expressions earlier, he couldn't help but chuckle out loud. Love is such a magical thing.

Not long after the car started, Alexander passed an envelope to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"You're qualified for the finals of the calligraphy contest. This is the admission card sent by the organizer, and there's also an invitation card," he said.

After taking a look at the contents, a wide, silly grin spread across her face.

"What's so funny?" he asked, curious.

She tilted her head to peer at him. Then, she turned to take out the invitation card that she had in her bag and compared it side by side with the one in her hand.

"You already have this invitation card?" He understood immediately and asked, "Who gave it to you?"

"Elliot's dad, but that's not important. What's important is that I have two invitations now. So, Mr. Griffith, do I have the honor to invite you to attend this with me?" Elise said playfully.

Alexander chuckled, but he pretended to be aloof as he said in indifference, "I'll think about it."

Elise narrowed her eyes dangerously and asked, "Are you sure?"

He snapped out of his act the next second and raised his palms in defeat to express his loyalty. "I agree. Anything my wife says goes!"

"That's a good boy." She raised her chin arrogantly, then leaned into his arms naturally. After a while, she asked out of the blue, "Are you finished with your work? Why didn't I see you on any business trips recently?"

"That's right." In an instant, Alexander's face turned solemn. "I have a business to attend to within the country."

"Great!" Elise didn't think much of it as she wrapped her arm around him and held his waist. "We can meet each other every day, then."

Alexander hugged her tightly, but his mind started to wander.

The only thing he needed to do was come clean, but there hadn't been a suitable occasion for him to do so.

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 668-"It's not your collection that was destroyed. But, of course, it's easy for you to say that." Jonas didn't buy into his act at all. "Even if you want to be generous at the expense of others, you have to see if you have the right to!"

After ruining his treasure in his house, he was still expected to let it go. How was that possible?

Before this, Elise still held a little hope. She felt that anyone who knew how to appreciate her work must be good to get along with. But, now that she saw Jonas' behavior, her fantasy was suddenly shattered.

Besides everything else, she was furious when she saw him attacking Alexander.

Elise suddenly removed Alexander's hand that was holding her back and strode forward, then said bluntly, "It’s reasonable to compensate for the damage to your personal belongings according to the cost. We’ve apologized and promised to compensate, but you’re reluctant to forgive a girl and are rude to your guests. Is this how distinguished you are, Mr. Hymer?"

"Distinguished?" Jonas let out a sarcastic laugh. "Fine, I don't want compensation. Let her restore the painting to its original state. Is that distinguished enough?"

"What's done is done. Why do you have to force her to do something that's beyond her power?" Elise asked dispassionately.

"So, you know that it's something that's beyond her power? I have a lot of money, but only one of these paintings exists. Every time the artist gets a burst of inspiration, it means the birth of a new life. If she destroys my painting, she's committing murder!" The more Jonas spoke, the more emotional he became; even the blue veins on his forehead were bulging.

Stephanie lowered her head and had nothing to say. She reckoned she deserved to be scolded for the trouble she caused.

Jonas didn't want the money; he wanted the painting. However, she ruined the painting and repairing it didn't make much sense. The situation seemed to be frozen in this state.

Elise didn't expect that Jonas would throw such a massive tantrum because of her painting. So it was rather hard for her to speak up for a while.

At this moment, Alexander put forward an idea. "Mr. Hymer, if you don't mind, I have a few collections that aren't bad. So you can go to my house and choose one to fill the vacancy. Plus, this lady's compensation will make up for the loss. How about that?"

"If any painting can replace it, will there be any criminals who are executed by the law?" Jonas' tone was harsh, and he refused to back down.

Alexander couldn't bear it anymore after hitting a snag twice, but he had no better solution.

The other guests began to exchange whispered discussions.

"Everyone knows that Jonas is obsessed with paintings. SQ's work has been his favorite in the past few years. So it's no wonder he's so angry."

"That's right. Jonas has spent more time with these paintings than he had with his own children. Who on earth can still calmly bargain after losing a child?"

"It's all this woman's fault! She wasn't cautious!"

When Tiana noticed this, her lips curled up.

Stephanie, oh, Stephanie. From today onward, you will really have a 'reputation'.

Elise saw that Stephanie's eyes were red, and her heart softened, so she could only bite the bullet and take responsibility for the matter.

"Actually, Mr. Hymer, I was joking with you just now. Miss Stephanie didn't drop the painting. I pushed her, so she knocked into the display cabinet and ended up destroying the painting." Elise forced a smile.

"Elise…" Stephanie raised her head in confusion, her eyes glistening and filled with puzzlement.

The two of them were clearly standing side by side just now. From Elise's position, she wasn't at the angle to push her. She didn't want the beautiful Elise to get into trouble because of her.

Elise discreetly shook her head, motioning for her to stay silent.

"A joke?" Jonas' tone became even colder. "You used SQ's painting as a joke?"

"Calm down. Calm down." Elise waved her hand, trying to get him to take it easy. "I was just angry that you were deceived, Mr. Hymer, so I helped you ruin this fake."

"You're saying that my painting is a fake?" Jonas skeptically raised one eyebrow.

"Exactly." Elise nodded affirmatively.

"What? A fake? How's that possible? Jonas bought a fake?" The crowd began murmuring, all expressing their disbelief.

However, Jonas was bold enough to say sarcastically, "My painting has been professionally appraised. Do you think you can get away with saying that it's a fake?"

"Don't worry. Since I dare to say that, naturally, I have my reasons. I brought the artwork that is at the peak of SQ's career. Mr. Hymer, are you really not planning to take a look?" Elise deliberately cast a bait to divert his attention.

Jonas thought for a moment, then loosened up. "Okay. I'd like to see what you are. Go and get the painting. I'll wait here."

"Wait a moment," Elise responded with a smile, then glanced at Stephanie again to reassure her before pulling on Alexander and preparing to leave.

"Wait." Jonas stopped her. "You're together. You're not tricking us into staying here while you escape, are you?:

Elise frowned. "Mr. Hymer, isn't it better for there to be more trust between people?"

Jonas shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to let them leave simultaneously.

"How troublesome," Elise muttered, then walked over and grabbed Stephanie's hand. "I'll go with her and leave my husband here. Will that work?"

Alexander was baffled.

Jonas nodded and said impatiently, "Be quick."

Elise took Stephanie's hand and hurried off.

In the garden, she randomly approached a servant and successfully sweet-talked them into bringing them to the study of the villa.

Unsurprisingly, Jonas, as obsessed with paintings as he was, had space and tools for painting in the study room.

Elise hurriedly found the inkstone and stuffed it into Stephanie's hand. "We're pressed for time. Help me grind it."

Stephanie stuffed it back into her hands, then began to talk to herself as she paced in place. "Time is indeed running out. There's no other choice. I can only try to restore SQ's work based on my memory. But, my ink painting skills aren't good. Even if I did it, it'll probably only be 50% similar. We have no choice. This is the last resort. Elise, you grind it. I'll—"

Stepanie was speaking halfway when she turned around, only to see that Elise was already standing at the table with a few brushes in her mouth. Both her hands were moving in sync as she painted gracefully.

She was instantly stunned, completely attracted by Elise's painting.

"We need to rush. I'm running out of ink. Don't just stand there," Elise urged solemnly.

Stephanie returned to her senses and hurriedly ran over to hand her a brush.

Ten minutes later, a lifelike 'Ink Peonies' appeared on the paper.

Even though Stephanie didn't know much about ink painting, she was shocked by the lifelike appearance of the peonies.

"Elise, you…"

Elise set the seven to eight brushes in her hand down on the table, then stretched and asked, "Similar, right? Let me tell you. My ancestors sold fake paintings. When it was my turn, I specialized in copying the paintings of these modern artists, so I'm very familiar with SQ's 'Ink Peonies'!"

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 667-Alexander and Elise dressed up to attend the cocktail party two days later. As it was a private party and not opened to the media, it didn't receive such huge publicity, and the guests could enter the manor and look around at will after checking in at the entrance.

Regardless of the type of collector, they all had a certain amount of capital in their hands.

Judging from the manor and villa details, Elise could tell that Jonas's net worth was not lower than the Griffiths in their heyday, but he had always been low-key and was never interested in the rankings of the rich. Hence, nobody knew how many assets he had under his name.

Holding Elise's hand, Alexander followed the trail of the other guests. Finally, after they grabbed their own glass of champagne, they reached the gallery where the paintings of various famous artists were displayed.

The paintings were encased in glass on a special shelf, and every painting had unique security equipment, which made it convenient for guests to admire the painting while preventing theft.

However, there was an obvious flaw with it; once someone broke the glass, the painting inside would be easily damaged.

Elise stopped in front of the drawing, 'Ink Peonies', then looked at the other paintings around it and realized they were masterpieces by renowned painters from the last century or famous pieces from post-modern geniuses. For her first painting to be on display here, it could be considered as a very high valuation of her work.

"Do you like it?"Alexander was already thinking of ways to persuade Jonas to let him have the painting when he saw the smile on her face.

Elise shook her head with a smile. "I can't see why this painting is so great. It's better to just keep it for people who understand it to admire it."

Just then, a girl in a ball gown stepped out from behind her with her head tilted to the side. After she had taken a good look at Elise's face, she beamed in excitement. "It's really you, Miss Beautiful!"

"You are…" Elise trailed off in confusion.

"It's me!" She flashed Elise a captivating smile that showed off her white teeth and adorable little canines. "Do you still remember that someone was chasing you in the mall, and I was the one who helped you to escape?"

As the memories flooded back to her, Elise pointed a finger and asked tentatively, "You're the girl at the barbeque restaurant?"

"Yes, that's me." She bobbed her head and appeared a little embarrassed as she tucked away her fringe behind her ear when it came loose. "I still haven't had the barbeque until now."

"I see. Are your friends really busy?" Elise asked softly.

The girl shook her head, pursed her lips, and said, "After I dropped out of school, I lost contact with my classmates and friends, and there's no one I can ask out to have a meal with."

All of a sudden, Elise felt sorry for her, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

Alexander read the situation and decided to let them have some time alone. "I saw a few people I know, so I'm going over to say hi. Both of you have a good chat," he said as he walked away.

After he left, the girl didn't seem so reserved anymore, and she took a step closer to Elise, introducing herself, "I'm Stephanie, and you're Elise, aren't you? Elise Sinclair, I've watched your variety show, and I couldn't even recognize you when you dressed up like that the other day. I'm so sorry about that."

Elise pursed her lips into a smile and didn't deny anything she said. Then, Stephanie continued cautiously, "Miss Sinclair, may I add you on WhatsApp? I promise I won't annoy you all the time."

After all, Elise owed her a favor, so she didn't turn her down and added her contact after taking out her smartphone. Then, they started chatting about everything and anything.

From their conversation, Elise learned that Stephanie was an art student, and she majored in oil painting, with a liking for Western culture. Just like Elise, she was here because of the invitation from an art competition.

Half an hour later, they finished their champagne, and Stephanie stopped a waiter close to them. Then, with Elise's glass in her hand, she went over to him and exchanged it for two new drinks.

Tiana arrived late, but she immediately caught sight of Elise and Stephanie chatting away happily the minute she walked into the gallery.

There were only that many people in the art industry of Tissote, with a lesser amount of socialites within. But, as everyone knew, there were always pretty girls in the art field, so Stephanie had always been Tiana's biggest eyesore the whole time.

Furthermore, Elise had just snatched the title of 'National Goddess' from her—a title which she coveted so much, and a sense of danger started to build up aggressively within her when she saw the both of them hanging out together.

She looked around from a distance for a while, and while there were many people everywhere, she slowly moved closer to them. Then, when she passed by Stephanie, she quickly reached out and gave her a hard push.

Stephanie lost her balance and fell forward as she was caught off guard in stilettos.

Although Elise had quick reflexes and held her steady, Stephanie still bumped into the display case in front of her. When she regained her balance again, the 'Ink Peonies' had fallen as well, and the glass case was shattered into pieces with a few sharp shards of glass cutting through the painting instantly under such a huge kinetic force.

"Are you alright?" All Elise was concerned about was whether Stephanie had sprained or bruised herself.

"I'm alright." Stephanie shook her head in frustration and muttered, "However, I'm afraid that… I've ruined the painting."

Elise took a quick glance at it on the floor and came to the decision that the painting was indeed utterly ruined. However, she still said in an assuring tone, "It's just a canvas. What's more important is that you're alright."

Stephanie sighed heavily and looked behind herself in confusion but saw nothing.

That's weird, she thought. I clearly felt someone pushing me earlier.

"What's wrong?" Elise asked, sensing something amiss.

Before Stephanie could say anything, the party host, Jonas Hymer, had rushed to the scene with a group of close friends.

When he saw the mess on the floor, the knot between his brows tightened, and his expression turned even more sullen.

At the same time, Alexander heard what happened and rushed to the scene as well. He walked to Elise, then softly put his arm around her, giving her an assuring hug.

A long moment of silence washed over before Tiana popped out from a corner and walked forward with a sorry look. She swept away the glass and then picked the drawing up with a regretful look. "This is the best drawing by SQ so far. What a shame…"

The other guests also chipped in to express their regrets about the situation as well.

"SQ has the most potential to support the painting field within the country, and she only has a few pieces of artwork. One destroyed makes it one less art piece in the world by SQ!"

"I remember when Mr. Hymer brought this painting back from an auction abroad, he spent almost ten million on it. After these few years, the price must have doubled a few times. This is a huge loss indeed!"

"What a shame for the painting!"

As Jonas listened to their comments, his face flushed with anger, and his expression was incredibly nasty.

Stephanie stepped willingly forward as she knew she was in the wrong and apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hymer. I was the one who destroyed the painting accidentally. Once I'm back, I'll definitely ask my father to compensate according to the market price."

"Compensate?" Jonas' eyes were fierce and rounded as he glared at her. "How are you going to compensate me? Maybe SQ is no longer living in this world, and their works are priceless. Do you think you can pay for this and call it a day?!"

His attitude pissed off Elise very much, and just when she was about to help Stephanie out of the situation, Alexander held her back and opened his mouth first.

"It's fate that we're able to attend your party, Mr. Hymer, and everything happens for a reason. So, why don't you take a step back and restrain your anger?"

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 669-Her ancestors sold paintings? She might as well say that her ancestors were tinters. Do I look that easy to fool?

Stephanie fixed Elise with a complicated expression, unable to calm down even after a long time.

The person she had been looking for so long was right in front of her, but she found what she had searched for far and wide by sheer dumb luck.

When the two of them returned with the painting, everyone had already moved to the villa's hall.

Jonas sat on the main seat of the sofa, his brows still tightly furrowed. His anger didn't seem to have eased much.

Someone had already mentioned Elise's identity to Jonas just now. Besides Alexander, she was also friends with Kenneth. If he openly offended her today, it wouldn't do anyone good. However, he was dissatisfied, as she ruined his beloved treasure just like that.

He thought that if Elise could come up with a fake look genuine to console him, he might as well let it go.

Jonas slowly raised his head upon hearing the sound of footsteps and saw Elise holding a rolled piece of rice paper, thus shattering his hopes.

"Where's SQ's authentic work?" Jonas asked bluntly, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Elise slapped the rolled-up painting against her palm, then shook it nonchalantly. "Here it is."

Then, she held the middle part and slowly unrolled it, revealing the ink peonies inside.

Jonas opened his mouth in surprise, his eyes gleaming halfway through Elise unrolling the rice paper.

When the painting was wholly unveiled, he couldn't help but walk forward and take the artwork from Elise's hand, fascinated.

Judging from his experience collecting ink paintings, as soon as he touched the rice paper. Obviously, it hadn't been long since she made this painting. It was definitely not the pinnacle work of SQ, but the ink peonies on it were indeed vividly painted. It was captivating, and it was undoubtedly a collectible.

"Mr. Hymer, what are you still doing there in a daze? Since there are experts here, hurry up and ask them to make an appraisal!" Someone called out.

Only then did Jonas recover, bringing the painting over to a few friends who appraised antiques.

The experts placed the painting on an empty table, then formed a circle around the table and began to carefully examine it with a magnifying glass.

After a few minutes, everyone reached an agreement.

The older appraiser said solemnly to Jonas, "This is indeed the work of SQ."

Jonas was thrilled and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, one thing is strange." The appraiser placed his hand on the rice paper, which was immediately stained with black ink spots. He murmured dubiously to himself, "SQ's 'Ink Peonies' was made a few years ago. Why hasn't the ink dried out yet?"

"Ahem." Elise coughed awkwardly when she heard his remarks. "Uh, maybe because it's been too humid recently, and no special protective measures have been taken. But, this doesn't affect the authenticity of the painting, right?"

"Of course, it doesn't." The appraiser smiled and shook his head. "Not only is this painting the work of SQ, but it's even at a higher skill set than her previous painting. One can see that although the master has been keeping a low profile over the years, they have constantly been transcending. This spirit is simply commendable!"

Elise cast a triumphant look at Stephanie when she heard this, reckoning that she could now rest assured.

Stephanie slightly pursed her lips, her smile not exactly natural.

Jonas was particularly excited. It was a pity to lose the pinnacle work of SQ, but the appraiser had just said that the painting Elise brought was of a higher skill set and had more collectible value than the previous one. With this luck, he should go and buy a lottery ticket!

However, at this moment, several guests raised objections.

"That's not right. Since this one is the authentic work of SQ, what about the one just now? Is it possible that both this and the 'Spring Appreciation' are real?"

"In my opinion, one of them must be fake. SQ's student identified the one that was destroyed!""Isn't that too narrow of an outlook? Of course, SQ doesn't have many artworks, but it's impossible that one can acquire only a few paintings. On the other hand, as the appraiser mentioned, maybe someone has painted a new and better one?"

"The point is that none of us have ever met SQ. Who knows if they actually painted it or not? If it's fake, wouldn't Mr. Hymer have no choice but to be a victim and suffer in silence?"

Jonas said nothing but simply frowned slightly and lowered his head.

They weren't wrong. However, between a ruined genuine painting and a famous painting that may or may not be authentic, he didn't think it was a loss on his end.

The key to collecting such things depended on whether the collector liked them. The value of the collection came second.

But now, going with the herd, he couldn't tell the truth from what was false. He couldn't just take their word for it and let the matter slide.

All of a sudden, a voice rang out. "You're all confused, aren't you? SQ's student is right here. Let her tell us if SQ has created any new artworks recently. She will reveal the truth then!"

Tiana was about to run away, but when she heard this, she couldn't help but come to a sudden stop while sorting out her emotions.

Sure enough, someone caught sight of her in the next second.

"Miss Hill! You're here! Come and save everyone from this confusion!"

The corners of Tiana's lips twitched, but she had to bite the bullet and walk into the center of the crowd, standing opposite Elise.

When Elise saw her, she gave a meaningful smile.

Tiana's senses were sharp as she noted the meaningful look in her eyes and guiltily turned her head aside.

Calm down. The one who contacted Elise is an alias that isn't bound to any proof of identity. So Elise won't find out that I'm the one behind SQ's account.

After a little mental preparation, Tiana returned to appearing confident and elegant.

"Miss Hill." Jonas had a lot of respect for SQ's students, so he asked humbly, "Dare I ask, has SQ made another 'Ink Peonies' lately?"

Tiana didn't answer immediately but pretended to be pretentious and walked to the table before studying the painting again.

Finally, she answered thoughtfully, "It is indeed the one made by my teacher a few days ago."

Undoubtedly, there was a reason she said that. Elise had an inexplicable connection with SQ. Since this artwork had passed the appraisal, she could only admit that it was genuine. Even if any problem arose in the future, everyone could place the blame on the appraisers.

Not to mention, if she weren't on the same page with these people, they would probably ask her to personally contact SQ, which would be troublesome.

Jonas clasped his hands tightly together, and his eyes couldn't hide his joy and excitement. "Thank you, Miss Hill."

"Don't mention it." Tiana pursed her lips.

Elise lowered her gaze when she heard this. So she painted the painting, and solved the dispute, but Tiana was getting all the credit?

"Miss Hill." Elise said meaningfully, "Did you remember it wrong? One of the paintings that SQ let me keep is 'Ink Peonies'. So, they should have painted this one two years ago."

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 670-Tiana froze.

Elise must be kidding. She had seen those paintings in person before stuffing them into the safe. There wasn't an 'Ink Peonies'.

Could it be that Elise didn't hand over all of SQ's paintings that day but kept a few to herself?

Oh, Elise is cunning. She reckoned Elise was betting on the fact that SQ was old and had a bad memory, so they wouldn't find out even if one or two paintings were missing, so she deliberately kept some to enrich herself.

However, Tiana pretended to be SQ to take the paintings away since she didn't know how many genuine artworks there were. After everything she had done, it had backfired and Elise was now taking advantage of it.

Tiana found such actions a little distasteful at the thought of it. She had also taken SQ's painting, but she was always worried and did not dare to show the artwork to other people, but Elise was openly using it to win favors.

How shameless. No one rivals her when it comes to this.

However, it had gotten to this point, so she couldn't expose Elise. All she could do was explain with a smile, "SQ has been repeatedly creating the same painting in the past few years, sometimes even painting five to six of the same ones within a year. So, it's really difficult to tell the specific time they created the artwork."

"Oh, it seems like SQ quite values perfection." Elise chuckled mockingly.

She hadn't touched a brush for several years, but such a colossal lie was being told. It was indeed hard for Tiana to make up a new lie now.

Jonas was a clever person too. He sensed that something wasn't right at once, so he quickly stepped forward to mediate the situation.

"Hahaha… If that's the case, then this is the end of the matter today. Thank you, Miss Sinclair and Miss Hill, for solving my predicament today. I'm ecstatic to be able to get a new piece done by SQ. As for the details, there's no need to pursue it anymore.

"Everyone, please continue to drink and enjoy yourselves in the garden. I will immediately frame this 'Ink Peonies' and put it back in place for exhibition. Please look forward to it."

Since the commotion had ended and the host had spoken up, there was no reason for everyone to stay gathered, so they dispersed.

When everyone was almost gone, Jonas took the initiative to walk toward Alexander and apologize.

"Mr. Griffith, if I've offended you today, please don't take it to heart. I will definitely pay you a visit in person some other day."

"It's okay." Alexander gave him a concise answer.

Jonas knew that he was in the wrong and figured that it was only right for Alexander's attitude to be cold, so he just smiled lightly and didn't continue the conversation.

After a while, Jonas tried to win over Elise again. "Miss Sinclair, judging from the conversation between you and Miss Hill earlier, it seems like you and SQ have quite a friendship. Is that true?"

Elise snorted lightly as she stared at Jonas' shrewd face with an ambiguous expression. When she saw that Tiana hadn't gone far, she simply admitted, "I've indeed been friends with SQ for many years. Mr. Hymer, I wonder why you are asking about this, though."

Beside them, Tiana stopped silently and tried to eavesdrop.

He smiled and went straight to the point. "To be honest, I've long admired SQ and very much hope to meet the figure in person. So, Miss Sinclair, I wonder whether it's inconvenient for you to introduce me."

Elise crossed her arms over her chest, steering clear of his main question. "Tiana is a student of SQ. Wouldn't it be easier for you to ask her about this?"

"Don't mind me saying this, Miss Sinclair, but I've already tried this. However, she'll refuse every time. I've been unable to fulfill this wish, so I'm a little unsatisfied." Jonas sighed in regret.

She squinted her eyes. Did this guy admire her or merely wanted to obtain more of her artworks to earn a profit? Since his purpose was unknown, she certainly wouldn't reveal her identity so easily.

However, in order to create some excitement for Tiana, Elise agreed. "Okay. It just so happens that SQ and I made a pact a few years ago. We'll meet in Tissote in half a year's time. I'll bring it up to her. As for whether or not she wants to meet, it's not up to me."

"Yes, of course!" Jonas was extremely grateful, but he still clearly grasped the critical information. His expression became serious as he leaned over to Elise before asking cautiously, "So, Miss Sinclair, what you mean is that SQ would be visiting Tissote in half a year's time. Is that what you mean?"

He's pretty smart.

Elise smiled and looked up at Tiana's nervous figure in the distance before deliberately raising her voice to say, "Yes, SQ will make a comeback by then and she will expose all the fakes."

When Tiana heard this, her heart began to race and her mind buzzed. SQ is really still alive and will appear in the public eye in half a year's time.

If that was the case, wouldn't she, a fake student of SQ, be reduced entirely to a laughing stock?

No! That can't happen! I'm an 'It Girl', a genius that all masters compete to learn from. I'm not a fake! I'm not! She murmured to herself in a daze while taking step after step as she slowly left the villa.

Elise shook her head when she saw this. If Tiana were willing to confess now, she would still have a chance to start over. However, if she refused to come to her senses, then it wouldn't be Elise's fault for coming forward to deal with the matter when the time came.

"That's great!" Jonas excitedly grabbed Elise's hand and expressed his determination. "Miss Sinclair, before SQ comes, you must give me a letter of approval. I will solely be responsible for all of her hospitality and ensure that her stay in Tissote will be smooth!"

"Let's talk about this another time." Elise withdrew her hand, neither agreeing nor rejecting his offer.

He, however, took it as a done deal and began to plot how to use SQ as a source of income.

...

After the banquet, Stephanie left the villa in Elise's car.

Stephanie and Elise sat in the backseat while Alexander sat in the front passenger seat for what seemed like a silent journey back.

When they were nearing the city center, Stephanie spoke and broke the silence. "Elise." She held Elise's hand and gave her an earnest look. "I will keep your secret for you."

Elise pretended to be confused and appeared naive. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Stephanie pursed her lips and smiled. "You don't need to understand. All you have to know is that I won't tell anyone what happened in the study today."

"That would be great." Elise added by way of a joke, "If you tell anyone, someone will probably sue me."

Stephanie chuckled but didn't continue with the topic. Instead, she turned to the driver and said, "Sir, pull over at the shopping mall in front."

"You want to get off here?" Elise was puzzled. "We can send you home."

"It's okay." Stephanie grinned. "I was so scared at the party that I dared not eat much. So, I have to go and eat some more food. Hehe."

"All right, then." Elise had never been keen on forcing others, so she asked the driver to stop at the mall entrance.

After the driver parked the car on the side of the road, there were many cars on Stephanie's side, so Elise opened the car door and went down to make way for her.