The Versatile Master Artist

The conversation room of the Internal Affairs Department is not like Scotland Yard’s interrogation room, naturally, they don’t use handcuffs, incandescent lights, or restraint chairs.

After the fat assistant walked in,

he found that apart from the walls being painted a bit whiter, there was no fundamental difference from common office spaces. The conversation room featured a round table with a fruit platter, and there was even a pot of green vines in the corner.

The Internal Affairs Department was not only going to question the fat assistant.

Vice Director Shubert was already sitting at the table at this moment.

Upon seeing the fat assistant come in, Shubert merely glanced up at him and then continued to silently deal with a bunch of grapes in the fruit platter.

”Director Charlie, Vice Director Shubert and Assistant Cole, since both parties to the conversation are here, if you have no objections, let’s begin.”

Once Charlie entered the room with a cigar in his mouth and closed the door, a square-faced middle-aged man sat at the table, looking at the three opposite him.

Since Osborne’s level was indeed too high, unless authorized by the board of directors, the Internal Affairs Department was not qualified to interview him.

”Director Charlie, about the illustration contract Detective Cat obtained from Scholastic Group for ’The Little Prince’, there are allegations of misconduct and substantial financial losses to the corporation. Do you have anything to add?”

The square-faced leader glanced at Director Charlie.

”I demand that this project be halted, hold those responsible for misconduct accountable, be it firing them or reporting them to the police.”

Having already arrived at the Internal Affairs Department,

Charlie did not want to leave any room for maneuver. He brutally and fiercely expressed his demands, like a lion king dealing with stray dogs on his territory.

”As for Detective Cat, I demand the contract be revoked, and they be put on the corporate painter blacklist, never to collaborate again.”

The fat assistant listened in fear and shrank his neck.

Blacklist!

Director Charlie was clearly determined to crush anyone who dared cause trouble in his territory.

He surely hated Detective Cat.

This is a shutdown!

Typically, only painters guilty of plagiarism, serious breaches of contract, or with intolerable blemishes in their background are added to Scholastic’s blacklist.

Being added to the blacklist means that any commercial activity related to publishing houses will shut their doors to Detective Cat. Even a simple illustration commission won’t be given to them.

And that’s not the most severe part.

Large publishing groups may be competitors, but sometimes the blacklist for notorious painters within the industry is shared.

Just like how tech companies in Silicon Valley can be blacklisted by the HR alliance, making it hard to find any jobs.

If you’re not a very famous illustrator, hearing that you’ve been blacklisted by Scholastic means other companies will likely reject your commission opportunities as well.

It’s tantamount to a career death sentence.

”Mr. Charlie, do you have any evidence?”

Upon hearing Charlie’s demands, the square-faced leader neither agreed nor denied, but instead asked expressionlessly.

”What more evidence is needed? Isn’t it obvious enough? What level is Villerein Studio and what kind of dogshit level is Detective Cat. If it weren’t for insider trading, how could the contract fall into Detective Cat’s hands?”

Charlie viciously slammed his cigar-clenched fingers on the round table, mockingly saying, ”How is she worthy of such a big contract?”

Villerein Studio is already a top-tier illustration studio.

They’ve designed posters for Hollywood A-level animated movies and have a long-term cooperation with Scholastic Group due to Charlie. They’ve won a series of illustration advertisement design awards, including the publisher’s own [Writing and Art Distinguished Contribution Master Award], making them a super elite illustration studio.

Scholastic Group, from its inception, has been operating the most prestigious art award in the United States—the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

The history of the publishing house was built around this award, dating back to the first event in 1923, marking a century of existence.

This award was initially designed specifically for youth artistic achievements.

On average, every year, over three hundred thousand different submissions are received from students aged 13 to 18, with the chance of winning the gold award being merely one in ten thousand, awarded by the United States national leaders personally. It is the world’s most prestigious children’s art competition, bar none.

Later, the publishing house added a master category award for adult artists based on the youth category.

This is somewhat similar to many international art exhibitions, but the difficulty of winning is much higher than typical exhibitions, and the prestige is greater.

Elder Cao set expectations for Gu Weijing to win at the Lion City Art Exhibition; while demanding, it’s not entirely unfeasible.

Compared to ”becoming the last disciple of painting master Cao Xuan,” this promise, if not for Gu Weijing’s young age, would actually be a relatively lenient condition.

Lion City Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Exhibition, Capital City Art Exhibition, Osaka Art Exhibition, Seoul Art Exhibition—there are a dozen or two major international art exhibitions in Asia alone. Each has only a few award-winning painters, which is many considering all of Asia, not to mention the world.

For those genuinely ambitious to become great artists, winning such awards is merely the start of their careers.

Many Asian painters who have won in the master category, even if they just want to ask Elder Cao some questions face-to-face, don’t have the chance.

But the Scholastic Writing and Art Master Award is not in the same league.