8
Inside the competition hall, there was absolute silence, broken only by the faint scratch
of pens on paper.
In the monitoring room, Julian and I saw everything clearly.
Serena’s performance was perfect.
She frowned sometimes, paused sometimes, even pretended to scribble on her scratch
paper, as if genuinely thinking through the problems.
If we hadn’t already pinpointed the tiny, sesame–seed–sized receiver nestled in her ear
canal, even we might have been fooled by her.
“What an actress. It’s a shame she didn’t go to film school.”
Julian snorted.
I smiled, my gaze fixed on another screen.
That screen showed my parents and Mr. Davis in the VIP lounge.
My mom, Eleanor, was excitedly clutching my dad’s arm, her hands trembling with
emotion.
“Richard, did you see that? Serena is making us so proud! *This is a true Blackwood daughter!”
My dad didn’t say anything, but his lips were curved in a smile, unable to hide his excitement.
Mr. Davis, meanwhile, stood nearby, champagne glass in hand, mingling with guests, his mouth full of praise for Serena and congratulations for my dad.
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“Richard, your daughter is a genius, truly blessed! The Blackwood Group might just
have a scientist CEO in the future!”
Everyone was waiting to witness the birth of a “genius.”
But they seemed to have forgotten one thing.
People can build you up… but they can just as easily let you crash and burn.
I watched Serena write down the last answer, then put down her pen with a sigh of relief, the first to hand in her paper.
I knew the show was about to begin.
“Julian, ready?”
“Don’t worry.”
Julian gave me an “OK” sign.
“The signal jammer is in place, and all the media outlets have received notice of a ‘surprise segment. Not a single one will get away now.”
As Serena walked out of the exam room, countless camera flashes and microphones immediately surrounded her.
“Serena, congratulations on being the first to finish! Are you confident about winning the gold medal?”
“As a dark horse, do you have any exclusive study tips you can share?”
Serena was clearly relishing the attention. Her smile shifted from nervous to self–satisfied, and she was about to open her mouth to answer.
Just then, the competition host walked onto the stage with a microphone.
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“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed media friends, please settle down! Given that an exceptionally outstanding contestant has emerged in this competition, we are adding a special impromptu segment!”
The host’s voice echoed through the entire venue via the loudspeakers.
All eyes immediately focused on Serena.
Serena paused for a moment, then her face lit up with surprise.
She thought this was a special honor the organizers had prepared just for her.
My parents were even more excited, standing up, their faces flushed.
Under the admiring gazes of the crowd, Serena was invited onto the awards stage.
The huge electronic screen behind her lit up, displaying her name and a massive photo.
She stood at the center of the stage, her name and a huge photo displayed on the
electronic screen behind her.
Mr. Davis smugly raised his glass to my dad, his eyes brimming with barely concealed
calculation.
Just then, I emerged from the shadows backstage, walking step by step.
“Excuse me, may I interrupt?”
My voice wasn’t loud, but through the microphone clipped to my collar, it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
The entire hall fell silent.
Everyone stared at me as if they’d seen a ghost.
My mom’s face instantly drained of all color, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
11:59 Sat, Oct 18 M
<
…
“Aspen? You… shouldn’t you be on your way to the airport?”
Serena’s smile instantly froze. She nearly fell off the stage as she looked at me.
“You… why are you here?!”
I didn’t acknowledge them immediately. I walked straight to Serena, took another
marker from the host.
2
“Congratulations, little sister.”
I smiled at her, but my voice was cold and cutting.
“I heard you performed exceptionally well. By chance, I’ve been studying a problem recently. I wonder if you’d be so kind as to enlighten me?”
With that, I turned and swiftly wrote a formula on the whiteboard next to Serena.
This problem was a variation of the final, most challenging question she had “solved” in
the exam hall.
I had only changed one condition, but the entire underlying logic of the solution was now completely different.
Serena looked at the problem, and all the color drained from her face.
She cast a pleading glance at Brenda Hayes in the audience, then subconsciously reached up to touch her ear.
The smile on my lips deepened.
Useless. Julian had already pressed the switch on the signal jammer backstage.
Now, her “brain” was offline.
“What’s wrong, little sister?”
11:59 Sat, Oct 18 M
<
I feigned confusion, tilting my head.
82
“This problem should be simple for you, shouldn’t it? You just did something similar in the exam, didn’t you?”
“…”
Serena’s lips trembled violently, unable to utter a single word, cold sweat beading on
her forehead.
The audience began to whisper, their voices growing louder.
“What’s going on? Isn’t she a genius? Why can’t she solve a single problem?”
“Look how pale her face is, her hands are shaking. Could it be…”
My parents‘ faces also turned incredibly grim. They finally sensed something was very wrong, their bodies tensing.
Mr. Davis’s brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes glaring at me ferociously, as if he
wanted to devour me whole.
“It seems little sister is tired.”
I sighed and picked up the marker.
“No worries, big sister will help you remember.”
As I spoke, I wrote down the solution steps on the whiteboard, my voice just loud
enough for the entire audience to hear.
“For the first step, I’m using the first formula from your scratch paper. You mean you can’t even understand that?”
My words were like sharp knives, stabbing at her heart.
11:59 Sat, Oct 18 M…
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Finally, unable to bear the public outcry any longer, Serena broke down.
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I don’t know!”
She shrieked, covering her ears with her hands, collapsing to the floor.
The entire hall erupted in chaos!
Brenda Hayes rushed onto the stage like a madwoman, hugging Serena and weeping loudly, portraying a scene of loving mother and daughter.
“You’re forcing her! You’re forcing her! My daughter just wanted a good life, what did she do wrong?!”
“She did nothing wrong?”
I scoffed and gestured to Julian in the monitoring room.
The next second, the giant electronic screen behind Serena abruptly changed!
What appeared was the high–definition footage recorded in the monitoring room!
In the video, Serena sat in the exam hall. Every time she started to write, there was an
unnatural pause.
The camera zoomed in: the tiny, flesh–colored micro earpiece in her ear canal was
shockingly clear!
Immediately after, the screen displayed the transaction records between Brenda Hayes and the Davis Group, that five hundred thousand dollar sum conspicuously highlighted in a red circle!
Finally, the screen froze on a document–the core evidence of the Davis Group using commercial espionage to steal my dad’s company’s bid for the Southside project!
Ironclad proof!
11:59 Sat, Oct 18 M…
<
“AHHH-!”
:
My mom, Eleanor, let out a scream, clutching her chest, her body swaying, nearly collapsing.
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My dad’s face turned green then purple. He stared at Mr. Davis, his eyes as if he wanted
to tear him apart.
Mr. Davis’s face was ashen. Under the frantic siege of reporters, he desperately tried to
flee the scene.
Brenda Hayes and Serena were immediately apprehended by security personnel who
had rushed in.
An elaborately orchestrated scheme of deception and betrayal ended in the most humiliating and disgraceful way possible.
8
After the chaotic scene ended, the Blackwood mansion once again fell into a deathly
silence.
Serena and Brenda Hayes were taken away by the police for fraud and involvement in
commercial crimes.
Mr. Davis’s company stock crashed overnight due to the scandal, and the Southside project was completely ruined.
Everything had settled.
That night, my parents and Julian sat on the living room sofa, none of them speaking.
Inside the mansion, only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.
I happened to come downstairs for water.
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82
My mom saw me and, as if having made a great decision, called out.
“Aspen.”
My mom’s voice was hoarse.
She stumbled towards me, her eyes red, her lips trembling for a long time before she
could utter a single sentence.
Suddenly, her legs buckled, and she started to fall to her knees.
Julian quickly caught her.
“Mom! What are you doing!”
“I’m sorry, Aspen… I’m so sorry to her…”
Eleanor gripped Julian’s arm, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I wasn’t a good mother, I almost… almost…”
My dad also stood up. He looked at me, this man who was always so strong, now his eyes filled only with weariness and regret.
“Aspen, Dad was wrong.”
I watched them quietly.
There were ripples in my heart, yes, but mostly a profound coldness.
“It’s over.”
I spoke softly.
“I’m tired. I want to rest.”
12:00 Sat, Oct 18
<
:.
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I didn’t say I forgave them, nor did I say I wouldn’t.
Some cracks, once they form, can never truly be mended.
I turned and went back to my room, shutting out the sighs and cries behind me.
The next day, the competition organizing committee announced its decision: Serena’s results were nullified, and she was banned from competition for life. As for me, for my role in exposing the fraud, and based on my previous results, I directly received the
scholarship.
My life was back on track.
A month later, I received my acceptance letter to the physics department at a top
university.
Julian held the embossed paper, even more excited than I was, insisting we go out to
celebrate.
We sat at an outdoor restaurant by the river, the evening breeze carrying the chill of
early autumn.
“Aspen, what are your plans for the future?”
Julian asked.
I gazed at the twinkling lights on the distant river.
“Study, do research, live my own life well.”
He was silent for a moment.
“Mom and Dad… they’re very regretful. They bought you a large apartment downtown, it’s already in your name, they say it’s compensation.”
I smiled, but didn’t reply, just raised my glass.
Can one apartment erase anything?
“Julian.”
I turned to him.
“Thank you.”
Thank you for standing by me when everyone else wavered.
Julian reached out and ruffled my hair, the gesture the same as it had been years ago.
“Silly girl, we’re siblings.”
Yes, siblings.
Blood ties can deceive, but eighteen years of growing up together won’t.
I raised my glass of juice and clinked it against his wine glass, a clear, ringing sound.
“To us.”
To this hard–won new beginning.
To this unique, genius destiny, finally firmly in my grasp.
This life, Aspen Blackwood’s life, I wouldn’t yield an inch.
Yesterday
