Chapter 4

On the day of the technology competition preliminary selection, I stood backstage in the school auditorium, helping Benedict with his tie.

Benedict's fingers fumbled awkwardly with his tie knot, clearly unaccustomed to such formal attire.

"Don't be nervous," I said, gently swatting Benedict's hand away as he tried to adjust his tie again. "Your project is fantastic. Just do your thing and you'll be fine."

Benedict's Adam's apple bobbed nervously. "I've never spoken in front of such a large crowd before," he admitted.

I was just about to comfort Benedict when the backstage door burst open, and in walked Joseph and Kiana.

Joseph was dressed in a sharp navy blue suit, his hair perfectly styled. He looked nothing like a high schooler, more like a CEO about to attend a business summit.

Kiana wore a fitted red dress, her arm looped through Joseph's as she surveyed the other contestants with an air of superiority.

Kiana's gaze landed on Benedict, her lips curling into a mocking smirk. "Oh, you actually dared to show up? Let's hope your PowerPoint looks better than your code."

Benedict's body visibly stiffened for a moment. I squeezed his wrist. "Just ignore her."

Joseph took a step closer, looking down at Benedict with a condescending smirk. "I heard your system can detect when elderly people fall? Even top-tier hospitals haven't cracked that technology yet. And you, a high schooler, think you can pull it off?"

Benedict looked up and, to my surprise, stood his ground. "The core algorithm is an improved version of OpenPose. I've fine-tuned the sensitivity of keypoint detection and added secondary verification using accelerometer data."

Joseph froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Benedict to give such a technical response.

I couldn't help but smile. Over the past two weeks, Benedict had poured nearly every waking moment into perfecting this system, even developing dark circles under his eyes.

"Armchair general." Joseph let out a cold, mocking laugh and turned to me. "Ariana, are you really going to humiliate yourself with him? There's still time to back out."

I met Joseph's gaze squarely. "We can't wait to see your blockchain wallet demo."

Joseph's expression twisted momentarily before he regained his composure. "We'll see about that. The preliminary selection means nothing. See you at the finals."

Joseph steered Kiana toward the prep area on the other side. I caught Kiana glancing back at me, her eyes flashing with something unreadable.

Benedict asked softly, "Why are they picking on me so much?"

I sighed. "It's not about you, it's about me. Joseph used to receive financial support from my family, and it bruised his ego."

Benedict gave a pensive nod and said nothing more.

Just then, the staff began calling out the teams. Our team was fifth to go on stage, while Joseph and Kiana's team was seventh.

The auditorium was packed with students and judges, with several technical managers from local tech companies seated prominently in the front row.

Among them, I recognized Liam Nix, one of my father's friends. He gave me a subtle nod in greeting.

The earlier groups' projects were mostly run-of-the-mill—an improved campus app, a smart class scheduler, and an automatic plant-watering system.

The judges asked polite questions, but didn't seem particularly impressed.

When it was our turn, Benedict took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage.

His voice trembled at first, but the moment he began demonstrating the system, he transformed into a completely different person. He explained the technical details with fluid ease and answered the judges' questions with clear, confident logic.

"Our system is specifically designed for elderly people living alone," Benedict said as he clicked to play the demo video. "When a fall is detected, it immediately sends an alert to the designated contact's phone and activates the voice reassurance feature."

In the video, as the elderly mannequin simulated a fall, the system instantly triggered a red light alarm while a soothing female voice rang out.

"Potential fall detected. Your family has been notified. Please remain calm. Help is on the way."

I noticed several judges exchanging approving glances.

Liam raised his hand. "This voice reassurance feature is quite innovative. What was the rationale behind including it?"

Benedict glanced at me, seeking reassurance. I gave him an encouraging nod, signaling him to answer.

"That was Ariana's suggestion," Benedict explained. "Technically, it was straightforward, but she pointed out that technology should have a human touch, especially for the elderly."

The judges all nodded, jotting down notes.

After the Q&A session ended, Benedict returned to my side. His forehead was beaded with sweat, but his eyes were shining with excitement.

"Amazing!" I whispered and handed him a bottle of water.

Benedict took the water, his fingers still trembling slightly from nerves. "Was it really okay?"

"Way more than just okay. Mr. Nix just texted me saying you're the most promising contestant he's seen today," I told him.

Benedict's face flushed instantly. He ducked his head and gulped down several mouthfuls of water.

I couldn't help but smile. Benedict could field technical questions with ease, yet crumbled under a simple compliment.