Chapter 767 After Sylvia finished washing up and came to the dining table, she saw a box of cold medicine already placed on it. She sat down and heard Franklin's deep voice say, "The delivery guy just brought the medicine. We'll make a packet later." Sylvia nodded her head, feeling warm inside. In fact, she thought that with her physical condition, she didn't need to take any medication for a minor cold.
Jasper came out carrying a bag of sandwiches.
Franklin smirked as he picked one up and offered it to Sylvia. "Try one." Sylvia glanced at him sideways; he was wearing a shirt and trousers with his long legs crossed elegantly, holding his breakfast cup in hand.
His shirt buttons were neatly fastened all the way up to the top button - even his male hormones seemed to be buttoned there too.
His handsome features were bathed in morning sunlight as he moved gracefully - every movement exuding an aura of restraint yet seduction.
Sylvia looked away suddenly as her heart skipped a beat.
After breakfast, they set off for the hospital with several gifts and flowers prepared along the way.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtInside an ordinary ward at the hospital, Brayden was sitting on a chair peeling apples for Cody when Mrs. Wright and Jenna walked in carrying food boxes. "The hospital meals aren't bad after all; it is still a big hospital," Mrs. Wright said as they entered.
Jenna placed her buns on the table; today she had tied her hair into high ponytail looking cute and playful wearing yellow dress under white coat paired with small Martin boots making her look youthful yet adorable despite being slightly thin due to recent busyness which made people reluctant to look away from her face full of collagen without much makeup applied .
Brayden cut some apple into slices after peeling them, "Do you want some fruit?" Jenna shook her head: "I had some breakfast earlier at restaurant; these are for Godfather and you." Mrs. Wright held onto Jenna's hand. "This child has lost weight recently following you around Urgford eating so little." She spoke while glancing over towards Cody lying on bed, "Has Mr. President said where we will be staying?" Cody glanced at his phone, where Jorge had sent him the address. "Looks like we'll be staying in a big complex, not too far from the hospital." They would have to go through some formalities before checking in, but that would have to wait until he was discharged.
"Well, that's good news," Mrs. Wright sighed. "Once we're settled in there, I'll take care of you and fatten you up a bit. You're way too skinny." "Thank you so much," Jenna felt touched by her words. She hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "The Piano Association just messaged me on Facebook and told me to attend their meeting at ten o'clock tonight. Godfather and godmother, I'm going there first." "Brayden, why don't you accompany Jenna?" Mrs. Wright suggested quickly. "You're still young and can get along well with people from the association; if anyone bullies you or Jenna, make sure to tell your brother or me right away." Jenna smiled sweetly at them both. "No one will bully me." Brayden took her out of the ward straight down into the underground parking lot.
The car headed towards Urgford Piano Association while Jenna kept her head low without taking any interest in looking outside.
Brayden sensed something was off with her mood. "What's wrong? Did Mrs. Ritter give you a hard time? Did she say anything mean?" Ever since they had asked Mrs. Ritter for help networking to save Cody last time which didn't work out as planned; she had been constantly sarcastic towards Jenna - showing displeasure openly or subtly - those members of Urgford Piano Association were just opportunists who went wherever they saw benefits.
She sighed inwardly; if Brayden found out about this behavior from Mrs. Ritter, he would definitely confront her on behalf of Jenna.
The Ritter family held significant power within Urgford while the Wright family treated her exceptionally well - she didn't want any trouble because of herself which could affect the Wrights’ reputation negatively.
So she forced herself to smile: "It's nothing really - I'm just a small member who doesn't see much of her anyway." Originally part of Larro Piano Association back home but when she came over here recently Larro was preparing for joint concerts with Urgford so its president handed over this task specifically for coordination between these two associations.
Recently every time they communicated, it left an emotional toll on Jenna. Even though it wasn't physically tiring, almost all proposals submitted by Jenna were rejected by Mrs. Ritter.
Jenna arrived at the entrance of the Piano Association quickly, got out of the car and waved to Brayden. "Brayden, drive slower.
I'm going in now." "Call me if you need anything." Brayden watched her back as she walked away, feeling like there was something on her mind.
Jenna took the elevator and pressed 13th floor - where the Piano Association was located.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator on 13th floor, she saw two receptionists chatting quietly with each other.
"Hey, have you heard about Graley Piano Competition? It's an international competition and it's super difficult to win. Our association hasn't had a winner for three years in a row. Every year we get brushed off, especially for that composition award - no one has ever won it before. Composition requires real musical talent.” "Yeah exactly! Playing piano is all about technique and talent; even if we can't get first place, we can still get second place at least. But composition is just too hard! They're all trembling while signing up for different competitions but no one wants to sign up for this composition award.” "But if we don't sign up, then it'll be really embarrassing! We represent Urgford Piano Association which represents H Rovirsa as a whole. | wonder how Mrs. Ritter would react?" Listening to their conversation made Jenna feel uneasy.
And sure enough when she entered the conference room, almost everyone was already seated inside.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe quickly found a corner seat and tried to minimize her presence there.
Mrs. Ritter sat at the head table with stern eyes scanning over Jenna briefly before checking her watch again, saying, "We will start our meeting in five minutes’ time so please take some time to look through our agenda first." Jenna knew that composing wasn't beyond her ability but... she didn't like being in front of people; it made her feel uncomfortable especially since she lacked confidence compared with those internationally renowned musicians.
So... she decided not to participate in any category; just be an observer on this occasion instead.
Whispers from other members could be heard around Jenna every now and then: "Hey what category are you entering?" "I'm definitely playing the piano!" "Are you going classical or modern?" "I'll go classical.” "In that case I'll go modern.” "We play the piano, we're not composers. The president insists on having someone participate in the composition competition this year... it's just ridiculous.” "Who knows what she's thinking, as long as it's not me. Going there would be embarrassing! Why bother signing up?" Several people were discussing when Mrs. Ritter's voice interrupted them once again, "Quiet down everyone, we're starting the meeting now." The entire room fell silent.
"I'm sure you all know that our Urgford Piano Association has always been at a disadvantage in the Graley Piano Competition every year, especially in terms of composition. This is our weakness. If we don't submit a composition award this year, we will definitely be ridiculed by other overseas countries.” "As president of the piano association, | am deeply saddened by this and therefore announce that Jenna will participate in the composition award registration. Jenna, you better send your piece to both Graley Piano Competition organizers and judges within a week." As soon as Mrs. Ritter spoke these words out loud, everyone was shocked and surprised.
"Oh my god! The president directly named that girl from Larro!" "How ridiculous! What kind of talent can a girl from such a small place like Larro have? She'll embarrass us all when she fails!" "We may not win first prize for participating but even if we get second or third place it's still better than getting nothing at all which would be humiliating." Jenna sat pale-faced in her seat; she never expected Mrs. Ritter to force her into registering for something so extreme.
She took some time before speaking up slowly, "Mrs. Ritter... | don't want to register." "This is an agreement made by all leaders of our association; everyone has already chosen other projects to sign up for except you who hasn't signed up for anything yet. Jenna, you are unwilling to bring glory to your country? Your thinking is too outdated," said Mrs. Ritter with displeasure on her face, "This matter has been decided and there's no room for objections from you." "But..." Jenna wanted to say more but was interrupted by Ashlyn who said, "Miss Shepherd, my mother wants what's best for you. She gave you an opportunity so make sure you seize it well! If you really win any big awards later on, don't forget about how much my mother helped elevate your status today." "Miss Ritter, what are you joking about? Her? She must surely come last," said one person.
"What kind of awards can someone from such small town like Larro get anyway? Ha-ha," laughed another person.
"Forget about it; if she doesn't win anything, then only she'll feel embarrassed, not us," said another person dismissively .
Mrs. Ritter smiled gracefully, "Jenna, you're still young. Even if you don't win this time, just keep working hard and you'll eventually succeed.” It seemed as though she was already certain that Jenna would come back humiliated.
Alittle girl who thought she could conquer the world just because she knew Sylvia for a few days? Mrs. Ritter wouldn't even convince Sylvia to take her daughter as an apprentice.
Let's see how Jenna handles herself when faced with obstacles.