Chapter 291: The Assessment Site

Chapter 291: Chapter 291: The Assessment Site

Just then, the door to the waiting room was pushed open, and a woman in sharp professional attire walked in, holding a list in her hand.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Irene’s assistant, Vera. Please follow me now; the interview is about to begin."

The six people immediately stood up, straightened their clothes, and followed behind Vera one by one.

As Elias passed by Evan, he whispered, "We’ll see about that." Evan merely gave a faint smile and followed alongside Taylor.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at Emma, who nodded slightly. A war without the smoke of gunpowder seemed to have just begun.

At the long table in the conference room, the two ends were clearly divided. Irene and Robert Smith sat in the main seats, with the resumes of the six candidates spread out before them.

The sounds of the argument in the waiting room reached their ears clearly through the monitor. Robert raised an eyebrow slightly and whispered to Irene,

"These few have quite a bit of tension between them, especially the one from Yale; his ambition is written all over his face."

Irene tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, her expression indifferent.

"The academic hierarchy exists everywhere. I didn’t attend an Ivy League school, so I naturally don’t believe in those halos. Whether they can stay or not depends on their real skill with the pen."

She looked up at the six people walking through the door, her gaze calm and steady, as if the argument from moments ago had never happened. "Sit down. We’ll go straight into the assessment phase."

The six took their seats in order. Elias pulled Celia and deliberately chose a spot close to Irene, sitting upright with a smile of determined confidence on his face.

Evan and Taylor sat in a corner, each taking out their laptops with focused expressions.

Marcus pulled out a fountain pen, spun it a couple of times, and then spread out his draft paper. Emma took a delicate loose-leaf notebook from her briefcase, her fingertips pressing lightly on the pages.

"I am Irene Coppola, and this is Robert Smith, the project director of Echo Pictures."

Irene’s introduction was concise and clear. "Today’s assessment is simple. I will provide two story outlines with very different styles. You may choose one and complete a fragment expansion within one hour. The focus will be on narrative rhythm, scene depiction, and emotional resonance. Begin."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone took out their tools and prepared.

Only Elias raised his hand, a hint of deliberate flattery on his face. "Ms. Coppola, if I am very good at both styles, can I write both? I want to demonstrate my abilities more comprehensively."

Irene looked up at him, a faint smile touching the corners of her mouth, but her tone was very cold.

"Of course you can. However, the assessment time remains the same. In one hour, if you can provide two complete, high-quality fragments, it will certainly be a plus. But if they are just sloppy half-finished products, I suggest you focus deeply on one genre."

Elias froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Irene to be so blunt, but since he had already spoken, he could only nod and brace himself. "I understand."

Irene said no more and had Anna distribute the printed story outlines.

Story A: An ordinary 16-year-old girl who has lived alone with her mother since childhood. Because her parents’ relationship broke down, her mother took her to another city.

But as she grows up, her mother decides to remarry, and the girl has to return to her father’s side. At school, she meets a boy and is quickly attracted by his charm, gradually falling in love with him.

Requirement: Write a scene of their meeting.

Story B: A father who used to be a secret agent has officially retired from the front line. Just as he wants to live a normal life with his daughter, she wants to go on vacation to Paris with her friends, only to be kidnapped by a terrifying sex trafficking ring.

Requirement: Write a scene of the father rescuing his daughter.

The warmth and delicacy of Story A stood in sharp contrast to the tension and excitement of Story B.

Everyone quickly made their choice: Celia, Taylor, and Emma chose Story A without hesitation.

Marcus pondered for a moment before checking the box next to the title of Story B. Evan stared at the two outlines for a moment before finally opening a document and beginning to type the opening of Story A.

Only Elias was torn. He first wrote down some keywords for the meeting scene in Story A on his draft paper, but after just two sentences, he felt it was too bland.

He crossed them out and began to conceive the rescue plot for Story B, but after writing a paragraph, he felt it wasn’t thrilling enough. He revised and erased repeatedly, and the draft paper was soon covered in messy scratches.

Irene’s gaze occasionally swept over the group, taking everything in.

Once everyone was immersed in their writing, Irene and Robert quietly stood up to observe.

Everyone had their own writing characteristics. Irene saw that Marcus’s penmanship was sharp, creating a strong sense of tension right from the start; his writing style was quite good.

Evan also exceeded Irene’s expectations. Despite being a boy, his writing possessed a unique delicacy.

He didn’t write the meeting directly; instead, through the girl’s perspective, he built up her sense of alienation from the unfamiliar environment, and then let the boy make a natural appearance through the opportunity of ’picking up a book.’ The emotional transition was natural and smooth.

As for Elias, who sat in the middle, he wrote and stopped, with fine beads of sweat gradually appearing on his forehead.

Irene didn’t even need to look at his content; in this state, what he wrote was bound to be a mess.

Time ticked away minute by minute. When Vera reminded them that "ten minutes remain," Elias’s face changed completely.

Looking at the two drafts that were only half-finished, he sped up in desperation. His handwriting became so sloppy it was almost illegible, and the endings were rushed, failing to achieve even basic completeness.

"Time’s up," Irene’s voice rang out punctually. "Submit your work to Vera, and then you can go to the waiting room to rest. The results will be announced before the end of the day."

Everyone submitted their work in turn. When Elias handed over his draft paper, he still tried to explain: "Ms. Coppola, because I had to write two, the time was a bit tight, so..."

"I only look at results," Irene interrupted him, her tone flat, forcing Elias to swallow the rest of his words.

Evan saw Elias’s pale face and had to exert great control not to laugh out loud. However, he and Marcus caught each other’s eyes by chance, and both saw the disdain for Elias in the other’s gaze.

After everyone had left, Robert picked up the stack of manuscripts. When he flipped to Evan’s work, his eyes lit up.

"This Evan is good. The meeting in Story A is written with a great sense of imagery. The girl’s awkwardness and the boy’s gentleness are both spot on; the details are very touching."

"Taylor’s writing is also very delicate, with plenty of emotional buildup." Irene flipped through Taylor’s expansion and nodded in praise.

"Marcus’s story has great tension; the balance between the agent’s calmness and his fury is well-handled."

When they reached Elias’s two drafts, Robert frowned. "What is this? Both are half-finished, the logic is chaotic, and it’s completely a half-hearted effort."

Irene glanced at it and set it aside. "Ambition that isn’t matched by strength, always wanting to take shortcuts—Echo Pictures doesn’t need people like that."

She pulled out the works of Evan, Taylor, and Marcus separately.

"These three works each have their highlights, but Evan and Taylor’s functions overlap. Let’s choose Taylor; her structure is clearer, and she has a good grasp of narrative rhythm, which makes it relatable. Notify Taylor and Marcus to come for their onboarding tomorrow. As for the others..."

"Eliminated directly?" Robert asked.

"Yes," Irene nodded. "Although Celia wasn’t as flashy as Elias, her work is too literary and overly safe, lacking the desire to keep reading. Emma’s writing is too flowery; we aren’t hiring a great novelist. Such a writing pace doesn’t meet our requirements."

Robert stood up and handed the screened list to Vera.

"I hope Taylor and Marcus can produce work that meets our requirements."

Irene looked out the window, her tone calm. "If they can’t even write a prompt well, then we’ll just bring in another batch of people."