Chapter 57
The prelims had finally arrived. The exam hall was packed with over a hundred students. Some nervous types were already trembling before the test papers were even handed out.
Over the past couple of days, Aubree had done some targeted practice on competition questions, focusing especially on them. Even though they were challenging, she still handled them with effortless ease.
As soon as the test papers were handed out, Aubree quickly scanned through them and already had a plan in mind. Without a moment’s hesitation, she started solving problems at lightning speed. To others, these numbers might be hard to crack, but to her, they were like long-lost friends, intimately familiar.
Less than halfway through the exam, she had already finished the test, handed in her paper, and left the room.
Before leaving the exam hall, Aubree made a quick stop at the restroom. The sound of running water from the faucet blurred out the conversations in the hallway.
That voice sounded a bit familiar. She didn’t pay it much mind and was about to leave after washing her hands when the voices outside suddenly became clear.
“Dr. Wilson, this matter is rather delicate to handle,” a hoarse voice of a middle-aged man came.
Aubree thought, “Dr. Wilson? Could that be Daxton?”
Her hand, which had been resting on the doorknob, quickly withdrew. Acting purely on reflex, Aubree pulled out her phone and hit record.
That familiar voice continued; it was indeed Daxton.
He said, “Isn’t this just a small favor for you, Mr. McCoy? For the art competition, only the finals require contestants to paint on-site; the earlier rounds just need submitted works. If you make a few minor adjustments, who’s ever going to know who actually made it to the finals?”
This art competition was hosted by the Rithol City Art Association, and Alec McCoy, whom Daxton mentioned, was the key person in charge.
Alec still looked hesitant. While clearly tempted, he feared exposure. After all, this was a state competition. If discovered, his presidency would be over.
Alec hesitated, then said, “But Dr. Wilson, you know our vice president is the chief judge this time; he’s as stubborn as a mule when it comes to rules.”
“I heard your family has some happy news lately, Mr. McCoy. How about an apartment at Royal Gardens, right by the landmark tower downtown! You can choose any floor plan you like. And if transportation is inconvenient, just pick any car you want; I’ll cover the cost,” Daxton casually dangled the bait.
Daxton said casually, “It’s not that my little sister Carmen lacks skill, she just missed the registration deadline. With her abilities, making it to the finals would be a breeze. She doesn’t need to win big or be in the spotlight. Just let her get an award to make her happy. That’s…”
Daxton spoke with effortless nonchalance, as if he were talking about cabbages at the market rather than a prestigious provincial award.
Alec was swayed by Daxton’s offer: minimal risk and multiplied returns. Only an idiot would say no.
He’d heard of the Wilson family’s young miss who studied art. Her skills weren’t exactly top tier. She might scrape by for an award, but making it to the finals was no problem. Besides, the list of finalists had just been drafted and hadn’t even been announced yet. As long as she didn’t completely embarrass herself in the finals, no one would ever suspect a thing.
At this, Alec’s face lit up with a beaming smile. “Well, since you put it that way, Dr. Wilson, I suppose I can do you this favor, just for you,” he said.
The voices in the hallway faded into silence. Aubree waited another moment, holding her breath, and only when all sounds had completely disappeared did she finally step out of the restroom.
Looking at the phone in her hand, Aubree smirked.
Aubree thought, “Honestly, this scene feels all too familiar. I really thought so many things would change, and this wouldn’t happen again. But here it is, resurfacing in a different form.”
In her previous life, after Carmen joined Rithol Art School’s intensive training program, Aubree always covered for her during tests and assignments, so nothing else ever happened. Back then, the art competition schedule wasn’t as tight as it was now. The prelims were already over by that point.
Back then, even though the competition had already started, slipping someone in was as easy as snapping their fingers for the Wilson family. They didn’t even need to do it themselves.
Not only did Carmen get in, but Aubree was lumped in with her as well. Looking back, it was almost laughable that she actually thought family cared about her.
Only later did Aubree realize that Carmen wanted the gold medal but, lacking the skill, used her to pave the way.
During the preliminaries, they replaced Carmen’s submission with Aubree’s work. Since she had the scores to back her up, when Aubree ghost-painted for her in the finals, no one suspected a thing.
Since Carmen stole her achievements in her previous life, and now this evidence had fallen right into her hands, Aubree would be wasting an opportunity if she didn’t use it.
Aubree’s expression turned steely as she rummaged through her memory for a contact: the vice president the two had just mentioned, Stan Frazer.
Stan lived and breathed art, remaining a lifelong bachelor.
In her previous life, he was the only one who questioned Carmen’s results. But lacking concrete evidence, he could only postpone her award for as long as he possibly could.
Aubree faintly recalled how, in her previous life, the spirited, white-haired Stan had come to Rithol High School clutching the painting she had ghost-painted for Carmen. When he asked if she was the true artist, his eyes shone with such intense passion and hope.
Aubree anonymously sent the recording to Stan’s email, making sure to point out that he could check the security footage from both the restroom area and the hallway.
She wasn’t the least bit worried that Stan would just brush this off. He was a true master who treated art with absolute dedication. In her previous life, he’d managed to track her down with only the faintest clue. Now that there was both audio and video evidence, there was no way he’d let it slide.
After finishing everything, Aubree finally left the exam hall. Unnoticed by her, as she walked past a sleek black Maybach, its tinted window slid down silently, revealing Daxton’s face watching her intently.
Daxton thought with a sneer, “What’s Aubree doing here? Don’t tell me this trash actually came for the competition?”
Frowning, Daxton watched Aubree’s back, noticing the clear pencil case in her hand, standard exam gear. He scoffed inward, “Seriously? Did she actually come for the math competition?”
“What an embarrassing disgrace. She doesn’t even know her place.”
The prelims had concluded, leaving a few days before the finalist list would be announced and the championship round began.
At the esports club, the head coach was overseeing operations. He had recruited a new batch of staff and signed a promising rookie at the draft event.
They would decide on the rest during the post-season transfer window.
Aubree took some time out of her busy schedule to check on Playry’s progress. The team Turner Group sent over proved their competing version of the app was already up and running—a prototype. She would review it before they refined and pushed for further improvements.
The hardware for live streaming was already well developed; it was just that no one had the idea yet. Honestly, getting it up and running wasn’t hard.
But even after the app was developed, it still needed stress and bug testing, which were both time-consuming. And right now, time was exactly what she didn’t have.
To motivate her first batch of employees to put in extra hours developing Playry, Aubree promised each a 2% equity stake once the platform launched. While this might seem like a modest share at first glance, these professionals clearly recognized Playry’s boundless potential.
That 2% stake would set them up for life. The whole team was absolutely buzzing, working overtime like crazy.
Aubree firmly reminded the team, “We need to speed up the app development. Don’t cut corners on the subsequent testing; it would be unacceptable if the app crashes during use.
“Once Playry is ready, I’ll have esports players and celebrity influencers do beta testing to generate buzz. After that, we’ll roll out the live streaming feature to all users.”
“Got it!” the team responded enthusiastically.
Aubree mapped out a detailed timeline for everything, with clear deadlines for each task. Now, it was a race against time.
Rubbing her temples, Aubree felt the weight of the challenge ahead. “Just having esports players like Hector Ross and his team isn’t enough,” she thought. “They can only guide the gaming side, but in my previous life, streaming platforms covered so much more.”
She couldn’t let Playry be pigeonholed as just another game streaming platform.
Signing established celebrities and discovering fresh talent to cultivate into stars was essential.
Different fields required different expertise, and honestly, this just wasn’t her thing. She didn’t really know much about showbiz at all.
Aubree searched her mind and locked onto a target: Peace Entertainment.
She thought, “Back when I was bending over backwards for Carmen in my previous life, I did some basic research on the entertainment industry. Peace Entertainment was founded by an award-winning actress and, as far as I know, it’s one of the few clean companies out there. At least if we work with them, Playry won’t get dragged into any tabloid scandals after launch.”