Chapter 5

After the next presentation, it was Joseph and Kiana's turn.

As they walked onto the stage, murmurs rippled through the auditorium. Their outfits were clearly in a different league from the other students.

"Our project is a blockchain-based digital wallet system," Joseph declared confidently. "It employs cutting-edge zero-knowledge proof technology to guarantee transaction privacy."

I frowned.

Zero-knowledge proof?

In 2015, this was way ahead of time. There were barely any domestic research papers on it.

But problems surfaced soon after the demo began.

Joseph's wallet interface was indeed visually stunning, but whenever the judges pressed for technical details, he became evasive and deflected the questions to Kiana, who clearly only had a superficial understanding of the technology.

"You mentioned using zero-knowledge proof," a bespectacled judge pressed. "Could you briefly explain your implementation approach?"

Joseph's smile froze. "Uh, that involves trade secrets, so I can't go into details."

The judge pressed on, refusing to let it go. "At least tell us how you addressed the performance issues with zk-SNARKs. This remains an unsolved challenge even in academic circles."

The atmosphere in the auditorium grew tense with unspoken skepticism.

Sweat beaded on Joseph's forehead. He stole a glance at Kiana, who looked equally flustered.

"Uh, we referenced some open-source projects from abroad," Joseph stammered.

The judges exchanged skeptical glances.

Liam cut straight to the point. "What percentage of this project's code is actually original?"

"Of course, it's all original." Joseph's voice suddenly rose, irritation flashing across his face. "You people don't get how valuable this technology is."

The auditorium erupted in shocked whispers and murmurs.

Kiana quickly tugged at Joseph's sleeve, snapping him out of his outburst. Only then did he realize he'd lost his composure and forced a strained smile.

Trying to recover, he said, "What I mean is, this technology is still in its early stages, so maybe everyone isn't fully acquainted with it yet."

But it was too late.

The judges were jotting down notes, their faces grave.

Joseph hurriedly ended the presentation and stormed off the stage with a scowl. As he passed by our seats, I caught him muttering under his breath, "Bunch of idiots who can't recognize real talent."

Benedict glanced at me, his eyes full of confusion. "Why didn't they explain the technical principles clearly?"

I scoffed, "Because they're not technically capable of explaining it."

The preliminary selection results were announced later that afternoon.

Benedict and I made it to the finals without a hitch, but Joseph and Kiana got eliminated.

To add to the embarrassment, the judges explicitly questioned the originality of their projects in their feedback and recommended them to "strengthen their academic integrity education."

On our way home after school, Benedict and I were discussing our strategy for the finals when Joseph suddenly blocked us at the school gate.

His face darkened, eyes blazing with that familiar fury I knew too well.

"Happy now?" Joseph glared at me. "Enjoyed watching me make a fool of myself?"

I instinctively pulled Benedict behind her and shot back, "Who else can you blame if you can't even explain your own technical principles?"

"Cut the act." Joseph suddenly raised his voice, drawing stares from the classmates around. "You knew well those judges weren't qualified. You were waiting to see me humiliated."

Benedict took a step forward. "Joseph, get a hold of yourself. Ariana's innocent. This is all your doing—"

"Shut up!" Joseph gave Benedict a violent shove. "Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a worthless person riding on a woman's coattails."

Benedict stumbled but didn't fight back.

I steadied Benedict, seething with rage. "Joseph, that's enough! Can't handle your own failures, so you lash out at others?"

A crowd of curious students had already gathered around us.

Joseph scanned the crowd and suddenly let out a malicious smirk.

He raised his voice with a sneer. "Hey, does everyone know? Benedict didn't do his own project. Ariana paid someone to write the code just to boost her little kept man!"

A wave of hushed murmurs spread through the crowd.

My face burned with fury as I shouted, "You're talking nonsense!"

"Isn't it true?" Joseph raised his voice mockingly. "Who doesn't know you love to buy people off? Just last month, you tried to bribe me with 7,500 dollars. Now, you've found a new target, huh?"

Benedict's hands clenched into tight fists, but his voice remained steady. "Every single line of code in our project was written by me. I'm open to any technical review or verification, anytime."

"Oh, playing the tough guy now?" Joseph sneered. "Then why don't you tell everyone? Wasn't it Ariana who bought your laptop, your books, even the clothes on your back?"

I couldn't take it anymore. "Joseph! What business is it of yours that I'm supporting Benedict? You turned down my offer, and now you're jealous just because I'm helping someone else?"

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it. I'd played right into Joseph's hands.

Joseph's face lit up with a triumphant smirk. "Did you all hear that? She admitted it herself. Benedict is nothing but her kept man!"

The crowd erupted in whispers as people began pointing fingers.

Benedict's face turned ghostly pale, and I was trembling with rage, but I just couldn't come up with anything to say in our defense.

Just then, a booming voice cut through from the back of the crowd. "I can personally vouch that Benedict's project was completed entirely on his own!"

The crowd parted as Liam strode forward, a folder clutched in his hand.

Liam stepped beside us, scanning the crowd. "I'm Liam Nix, the technical director at CoreRay Technologies and a judge for today's competition. Benedict's smart guardian system demonstrates remarkable technical prowess. Every single line of code has been thoroughly reviewed and verified by our team."

Joseph's triumphant smirk froze on his face.

Liam continued sternly, turning to Joseph. "As for you, your project was questioned due to your inability to explain its core technology. This is purely a matter of academic integrity and has nothing whatsoever to do with Ariana."

A deathly silence fell.

Joseph's face flushed crimson, then drained of color, finally turning ashen. "You... you're all in this together."

"Enough!" I cut him off sharply. "Joseph, you always do this, blaming everyone else when you fail."

A flicker of panic flashed in Joseph's eyes. He realized just how close I'd come to revealing my second chance at life before everyone.

Joseph's lips parted, but all he managed to choke out was, "You'll regret this, Ariana."

With that, Joseph turned. He shoved his way through the crowd and left.

Kiana stood still for a moment, casting a conflicted glance my way before rushing after Joseph.

As the crowd dispersed, Liam gave Benedict a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Young man, don't let those baseless rumors get to you. Your project has real potential. Focus on preparing thoroughly for the finals."

"Thank you," Benedict murmured.

On their way home, Benedict was unusually silent.

At a street crossing, Benedict suddenly stopped. "Ariana, I want to return the money to you."

I froze. "Why? Because of what Joseph just said?"

"No." He shook his head, his gaze steady. "I just don't want the gossip to drag you down. I'll compete in the finals and keep working on our project, but I want to stand on my own, with my own abilities."

As I looked at the earnest expression on Benedict's face, it suddenly hit me: he was completely different from Joseph.

Benedict wasn't pushing me away. In fact, he was protecting me in his own way.

"Okay." I nodded. "But promise me, if you ever need help, you'll come to me. Not as your sponsor, but as a friend."

Benedict's eyes lit up. "Friends. Deal."

We exchanged a knowing smile as the setting sun stretched our shadows long, overlapping them on the ground.

At that moment, I felt something shift inside me. My seven-year obsession with Joseph was finally gone.