Chapter 222

After hanging up, I threw myself into working on the jade piece, practically living at my workbench day and night. After adding some final touches to my earlier carvings, I finally had a decent draft. With a bit more polishing, the jade pendant was ready to go—clean lines and a delicate design, just the way I wanted. Before I knew it, Wednesday had arrived—Jordan Bryant’s competition day. These kinds of variety shows usually happen in the evening, but there's always a round of rehearsals in the daylight hours. Meanwhile, fans had already started setting up with light boards, signs, and online campaigns to hype things up. I was grabbing my invite, swinging my handbag over my shoulder, ready to head out to the venue—when my phone lit up with a call from my uncle. “Isabella!” Richard Harrison’s voice was full of excitement. “You sneaky little thing! You kept talking about giving me a surprise gift, but I never guessed it would be something like this. That jade chess set—you nailed it! I l