“I came with my parents,” Leroy replied as he scratched his head, wondering why Old Mr. Collins wouldn’t come. After a moment of silence, he said, “Old Mr. Collins, I just saw Miss Janet give her grandmother a painting that is painted in a style similar to Master Nato’s! I’m sure that you would be interested to see it.”
“What?” When Old Mr. Collins heard Master Nato’s name, he immediately sobered up and asked, “Are you saying that there is a painting that looks like it was painted by Master Nato and want me to head over to appraise it?” He hadn’t seen any Master Nato’s painting in years. At that moment, Old Mr. Collins was extremely excited, as if he found an oasis in the desert.
Leroy nodded heavily and replied, “Yes. Old Mr. Collins, hurry over. The party is about to end soon.” “I’ll be there in a jiffy!” Old Mr. Collins hurriedly hung up the phone and didn’t even have the time to grab the invitation before he rushed to the Leaping Dragon Hotel.
As for Leroy, he heard the phone being abruptly hung up and couldn’t help but feel speechless. Didn’t he say that he wouldn’t come no matter what?
He rubbed his forehead in confusion and turned to look at the daughter of the Jackson family who gave Jade the painting. Even though people around her were still criticizing and mocking her, she sat there calmly, as if she was unbothered. Leroy couldn’t help but admire her mentality.
Shirley and Emily were extremely delighted to hear the crowd mock Janet and they anticipated to hear how Jade was about to scold her. Unexpectedly, Jade seemed to be unbothered and she smiled and said, “What are you calling her a thieve?
My granddaughter didn’t sell her painting and didn’t profit in any way off this. She only did it to give me a surprise. You people are being mean to her! Besides, if I asked you to paint according to Master Nato’s style, can you make such a beautiful copy?”
“But…” Shirley’s eyes widened in disbelief. She never thought that Jade would be so protective of Janet, who she just met. “Grandma…” Just when Emily was about to say something, she heard a familiar voice from outside the door. “Jade, I’m sorry for making you wait for so long!”
As soon as he finished his sentence, everyone turned to look at Old Mr. Collins, who had just arrived. Jade was overjoyed to see him and she hurriedly got up from her seat. “Oh, it’s Old Mr. Collins!” She and Old Mr. Collins had been friends ever since they were young and they met because her husband liked to draw. Back then, Old Mr. Collins was just an unknown painter!
Jade had asked Megan to send an invitation to Old Mr. Collins. At first, she thought now that he was famous, he wouldn’t attend her 70th birthday party. However, he was here! Everyone else was also excited to see Old Mr. Collins. Even though the Jackson family was reputable in Sandfort, Old Mr. Collins was the most famous painter in Sandfort and it was difficult to invite him to any event.
Moreover, the second daughter of the Jackson family had made a mistake a few days ago, so it was even more difficult to invite him to a Jackson family event. The fact that Old Mr. Collins attended Jade’s 70th birthday party meant that he treated the Jackson family with respect.
The guests of the party turned to look at the entrance of the hall. Not long after, they saw Old Mr. Collins enter the hall with a bright smile on his face. Everyone was shocked to see him. “The Jackson family is really powerful to be able to invite Old Mr. Collins over.”
“I agree. Do you know how expensive Old Mr. Collins’s appearance fee is right now?”
“Do you think Emily is embarrassed to see Old Mr. Collins?”
“Of course she is. Old Mr. Collins was so mad the last time that his face turned blue. Furthermore, he wanted to accept Janet as his apprentice but Janet laughed at him and said he was too old! Haha, he probably didn’t know that Janet was copying Master Nato’s painting style.”
“That’s right! Who does she think she is? How dare she look down on Old Mr. Collins?”
“Fortunately, Old Mr. Collins didn’t accept any of the two daughters of the Jackson family as his apprentice. Otherwise, his reputation would be ruined.”
“You’re right! Old Mr. Collins got lucky!”
Hearing this, Janet chuckled softly and silently raised an eyebrow. Upon seeing Old Mr. Collins, Megan hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. “Old Mr. Collins, I didn’t expect you to come. Please take a seat here.” When Old Mr. Collins saw Megan’s face, he felt as if he was looking at Janet’s face and he couldn’t help but feel upset. He waved his hand and refused, “No thanks.”
