The Versatile Master Artist

Facing the eager Koukou who came to report good news, he couldn’t say anything to refuse, so he had to use going to the bathroom as an excuse, planning to quietly slip away.

”Still so green and cute. It seems his official girlfriend hasn’t performed any better than Mona; she still hasn’t conquered him.”

Watching Gu Weijing’s embarrassed appearance as he searched for an excuse to leave, his earlobes reddened by her teasing scratch.

Koukou giggled twice more.

The girl stretched, showing off her beautiful curves, and also stood up to prepare for the next rehearsal.

Koukou’s movements were a bit large, and the backpack Gu Weijing left behind when going to the bathroom toppled over, causing a book with pages full of inscriptions to slip out.

Koukou bent down to pick up the fairy tale book, turned to the cover, and was instantly captivated.

So beautiful!

She had never seen such beautifully intricate fairy tale illustrations before.

”The little prince!” Koukou read the English title on the cover softly, word by word.

Strange,

She had seen many versions of ”The Little Prince” online before.

Why had she never seen this edition?

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[Elina is with us.]

[We want the Count, not the Sir!]

[Stop ”Oil Painting” magazine’s short-sighted commercial reforms!]

[Krug Brothers Bank, get out of Glietz City, you’re not welcome here!]

[Chairman Brown is turning the proud princess of Glietz City into a money-grabbing floozy; we absolutely do not accept this!]

The wind blew past the headquarters building of ”Oil Painting” magazine.

A demolition worker wearing a yellow hard hat was squatting idly on the steps not far from the Old Count’s bronze sculpture at the building’s entrance, munching on a sandwich, smoking, and scrolling through TIKTOK.

Next to him, the construction crane was completely surrounded by marching citizens.

In truth, the scene was not particularly intense.

Unlike revolutionary France across Switzerland to the west, Austria doesn’t have protests erupting nationwide every few days.

But Austrian residents do enjoy parading now and then to make their presence felt.

The current march by the citizens of Glietz City felt more like a large-scale stroll with hundreds of participants, with aunts and uncles carrying signboards, walking dogs, holding cats, leisurely surrounding the construction vehicles tasked with removing the bronze statue in front of ”Oil Painting” magazine under the board’s resolution.

Austrian authorities could approve Krug Brothers Bank’s acquisition of the magazine.

Yet, the citizens of Glietz City could also firmly take to the streets to voice their discontent.

”You’re just sitting there waiting!”

The greasy-haired young man looked at the group of older folks sitting in front of the sculpture, feeling like his head was about to burst with irritation.

Removing the statue of Old Count Ilana - this was the first formal decision after ”Oil Painting” magazine’s restructuring, carrying immense symbolic significance.

Just as Miss Anna had speculated.

The board hoped to demonstrate its unwavering and unshakable determination to erase all traces of the era when the magazine was under the Ilyena family’s control with this action.

Not even a statue could be left behind.

They contacted a construction team with high efficiency and obtained permission from the city council.

Even the Ilyena family understood that the board had no room for maneuver and sensibly chose not to resist but calmly stated that the bronze statue should be moved to their family estate’s lawn.

The greasy-haired young man was the project leader for ”Oil Painting” magazine, a proxy board member for Krug Brothers Bank, and Miss Anna’s cousin, Ole Krueger.

Ole was thrilled to be at the forefront of this significant action and showcase his influence.

”The era has changed, Cousin Anna.”

If one day, the art fund of Oil Painting became a giant in the financial market, perhaps he could even have a large statue of his own stand in place of the great-great-grandfather of his cousin.

By then,

Anna might regret rejecting his goodwill and be miserably sobbing in a wheelchair.

With the force of 1.7 billion Euros descending upon the magazine, Ole happily swung the first stroke of the new era for ”Oil Painting,” preparing to completely sever its last ties with the Ilyena family after expelling Anna from the board.

Then,

This stroke promptly and cleanly dulled its edge.