Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Charity Gala

When Victor Morgan heard her voice, he let out a soft chuckle. “Still not up yet?”

Jessie Sterling’s head shot up. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at the name on the screen. “Ah!” she exclaimed. “No, I’ve been up for a while. I just… accidentally dozed off again…”

Her voice trailed off, lacking confidence.

’Dozing off again doesn’t mean I haven’t been awake at all since last night, right?’

A moment later, a soft chuckle came through the receiver.

The sound seemed to travel through the line, vibrating against her eardrum and unsettling her thoughts.

“You’ve been traveling for over half a month. It’s natural to be exhausted, so get some rest,” Victor Morgan’s voice came from the other end of the line.

His words instantly soothed the little lioness that had been on the verge of bristling.

“Oh.” Jessie Sterling nodded obediently on her end. “Then why aren’t you resting?” She glanced at the time. “Don’t tell me you’ve been busy all day, since this morning?”

A hint of a smile touched Victor Morgan’s eyes. Jessie was right—he had been busy since the morning. His secretary had even brought in his lunch, of which he’d only managed a few bites.

“Not entirely,” Victor Morgan said. He had, after all, eaten and had some water, so it wasn’t non-stop. “It just got a little busy this afternoon, which is why I didn’t see your message until now.”

Jessie just said, “Oh,” again, holding her phone and unsure of what else to say.

When she had been with Victor Morgan, they had never been very talkative. During their last few days together, their actions had spoken far louder than their words. But now, Jessie didn’t want to hang up just yet.

As if sensing her thoughts, Victor Morgan took the initiative. “Did work go smoothly today?”

It took Jessie a couple of seconds to realize Victor was asking about her comic update on the Manhui website. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Haven’t you looked yourself?”

“I haven’t,” Victor Morgan said. “Am I allowed to look?” he asked.

He considered it her work, and by extension, her private domain. He wouldn’t pry into it without her explicit permission.

Jessie was a little surprised, yet she had also expected this from him.

’Especially considering the title of my new work… no, I can’t let him see it. Otherwise, who knows how smug he’ll get.’

“In that case, you’re not allowed to look,” Jessie said.

Without asking why, Victor simply agreed. “Alright.”

’He agreed so quickly,’ Jessie thought. ’And after he helped me review the contract, too… Doesn’t this make me seem a bit ungrateful? Like I’m just using him and tossing him aside?’

“I’ll show you when I’m finished. But you’re not allowed to peek before then, got it?” Jessie said, her tone playfully imperious.

Victor hummed in agreement. “Alright, I promise.”

After hanging up with Victor, Jessie rubbed her eyes and logged onto the website.

She had signed with Manhui two nights ago, uploaded a portion of her backlog yesterday, and announced on Weibo to her small following that she would be updating on a new platform.

Manhui’s homepage featured a “Newly Signed Creators” list, which gave every new author a certain amount of exposure. Whether they could capitalize on that traffic depended entirely on the appeal of their work.

An editor had warned Jessie that her current genre and art style weren’t exactly mainstream, so her audience might be limited. However, niche works often attract a smaller but more dedicated, die-hard fanbase, so it was worth seeing how it would perform.

To her surprise, when she opened her creator dashboard, the response to the Chapters she’d posted yesterday was surprisingly good.

The scene at Swan Rhapsody Castle, in particular, had attracted a lot of readers.

“This is so sweet! It reminds me of college when I asked my boyfriend to give me a piggyback ride up the bleachers, and that bastard just dropped me! Damn it, I weigh less than 110 pounds!”

“Followed! A new artist, huh! I’ve never seen this art style before. It’s so cute.”

“I feel you, sis. My twig of a boyfriend is the same. He actually dared to call me fat? My god, if a guy can’t even pick up or carry his own girlfriend, maybe he should reflect on how much of a weakling he is instead of blaming the girl for everything.”

“Reading a slice-of-life comic like this is so therapeutic! Please update more, author!”

Jessie’s eyes crinkled with amusement as she read the comments on her dashboard.

Manhui really was the industry leader for domestic comics. Thanks to its platform, her exposure was skyrocketing. Even her Weibo account had suddenly gained a significant number of new followers.

Jessie read every single comment carefully. Overjoyed, she hugged her drawing tablet, feeling a renewed sense of motivation. Her pen began to move, recreating the fireworks display that had lit up all of Southaven the night before.

「In early November, a charity gala was held in Southaven.」

Quincy Sterling was in Port Caldoria meeting a client, so Jessie Sterling attended with Lynn Jennings.

The main purpose of these charity galas was for the ladies and wives of high society to socialize.

Tonight, Jessie wore a form-fitting, midnight-purple dress—a runway piece from this year’s Armani collection that was both ethereal and chic. Her long, curly hair was swept up into an elegant updo, revealing a smooth, clear forehead.

When Lynn Jennings saw her, her eyes couldn’t help but drift toward Jessie’s chest.

“Hey, where are you looking!” Jessie, sensing Lynn’s gaze immediately, narrowed her round, almond-shaped eyes at her friend.

Lynn and Jessie looked a bit like a pair of gothic sisters tonight. Lynn wore a tight black formal gown, a small fascinator pinned in her hair. Her smoky eye makeup made her look even more unapproachable than usual.

But when she looked at Jessie, Lynn broke into an unabashed grin. She was about to say something teasing when a couple, arm in arm, appeared in her peripheral vision. She froze, the joke dying on her lips.

Jessie thought her friend had suddenly had a change of heart, but when she followed Lynn’s line of sight, she saw Lynn’s second older brother, Mason Walsh, with Cheryl Stuart by his side.

Lynn’s life had recently been even more eventful than Jessie’s.

Two months ago, after returning from New York, Lynn had started a job at Scitech Pharma. Even though Lynn hadn’t broadcast the news, everyone in their social circle knew. Her presence at Scitech Pharma was enough to turn heads and start whispers.

The Jennings family had naturally heard the news as well, but by the time they tried to find Lynn, she had already moved out.

Lynn owned several properties, but she was currently living in a small apartment that no one knew about except for Jessie. The Jennings family hadn’t been able to find her.

Still, Lynn had been cornered by them twice.

So, Jessie knew Lynn had a falling out with her family, but since she had only just returned from abroad herself, she hadn’t had a chance to get the full story from Lynn and didn’t know the details.

But right now, Jessie clearly felt a pair of eyes on her. She couldn’t help but look toward the source of the stare, and her gaze met that of Cheryl Stuart, the woman beside Mason Walsh.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep