Chapter 767

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.

Inside 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. I

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.

She 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, I 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... I 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.

A little 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.