The West Section immediately came alive.
Cameras flashed from every direction as paparazzi, reporters, journalists, and news crews captured every movement.
Several camera operators zoomed in on the bandaged hand, while reporters whispered rapidly into their microphones.
They bowed their heads.
The injured girl slowly lowered herself onto her knees.
Her teammate followed.
They bowed their heads.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the injured girl lifted her face just enough for the cameras to catch her expression.
Her eyes were glossy.
Her lips trembled faintly.
She looked fragile, ashamed, and completely broken by regret.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice was soft.
Delicate.
Almost painfully pitiful.
her voice dropping into a piteous, delicate tremor that projected perfectly through the audio system.
She lowered her head until her forehead nearly touched the stage, her shoulders shaking in a masterclass of tragic repentance.
"I didn't know what came over me. I harmed myself and tried to shift the blame to Crownside... that was something I should never have done. I let fear and a desperate desire to win cloud my mind. I forgot basic human decency and tried to frame others."
She lowered her head again, letting a few strands of hair fall beside her face biting her lip gently as a tear rolled down her cheek, looking like a fragile, beautiful flower broken by her own guilt.
It was an absolute performance—perfect for the cameras, perfectly calculated to break the heart of anyone watching..
The cameras continued flashing.
"The contestants from Crownside High were worthy opponents. I should have seen the competition as an opportunity to learn from them and grow alongside them. Instead, I became afraid of losing, and I allowed that fear to control me."
Her shoulders trembled.
"I am truly sorry."
She looked like someone who had finally realized the weight of her sins and was drowning in regret.
Perfect for the cameras.
Perfect for headlines.
Perfect for making anyone watching feel sorry for her.
Her teammate bowed her head as well.
"I'm sorry too."
She sounded equally remorseful.
"I supported my friend because I was worried about her. I didn't stop to properly understand what had happened. I jumped to conclusions, and because we were teammates, I followed her instead of questioning what I was seeing."
She lowered herself further.
"I allowed teamwork to become an excuse for failing to think for myself. I should have stopped and understood the situation before supporting her. I am sorry."
The two girls remained kneeling.
To anyone watching from the outside, it was a heartbreaking apology.
But there was something almost too perfect about it.
They weren't simply asking for forgiveness.
They were placing Crownside High at the center of their apology.
And that created another problem.
Because no matter how innocent the performance looked, it could easily make Crownside appear cruel if they refused to forgive them.
They were using Crownside's own name as part of their defense.
Suddenly, one of the elite female students who had participated in the competition stood up from the Crownside rows.
She looked toward the two kneeling girls.
"Who are you apologizing to?"
The girl's head lifted slightly.
The Crownside student continued.
"This is a school competition. It is understandable that anyone would do anything to win, and no one would hold a grudge against you for it, as long as you have seen the wrong in your actions."She fixed the kneeling performers with a calm, penetrating look.
"But the person you are apologizing to should not be our school, or our leaders, or our teachers, or even our students. Those from our side who did the instrument competition with you already let it go the moment the truth came to light. Apologizing to us now only makes us look bad—because we are a family, and as a family, we would always forgive."
The hall became even quieter.
She glanced toward the Crownside students who had participated in the instrument competition.
The Crownside girl shifted her gaze, turning her back on them gracefully.
She pointed gently toward the two girls.
"But the people you should really be apologizing to are sitting over there."
The girls slowly turned their eyes toward the North Section.
"The ones you should truly apologize to are your own nation and your country's people. To your citizens, your teachers, and the other Averis representatives. To your parents, for letting evil cloud your mind and failing their trust and their faith in you." She said
"You should be apologizing to the people whose trust you betrayed. Apologize to your citizens for allowing fear to close your mind. Apologize to your teachers for failing the lessons they taught you. Apologize to your parents for failing the faith they placed in you."
She paused.
"And apologize to your nation for bringing shame to the name you were supposed to make proud."
The words landed heavily.
The two girls remained frozen.
The Crownside student turned toward the North Section.
Then she bowed.
The remaining eight Crownside representatives immediately rose from their seats.
Together, they faced the North Section.
And bowed.
"We ask for you guys to forgive them," one of the male Crownside contestants announced, his voice smooth and carrying across the arena.
"They tried to cheat to bring glory to Averis, but it ended up backfiring and hurting you guys instead. I know you guys don't tolerate cheating, but please, have it in your hearts to forgive them."The Crownside team then gracefully sat back down.
With a few perfectly executed sentences, they had completely flipped the trap.
They had played the role of a magnanimous, deeply forgiving nation, while simultaneously painting a massive target on the two girls for their own citizens to destroy.
Averis took prestige and honor seriously; by framing their crime as a betrayal of their own homeland's faith, the Crownside students had ensured the two girls would be brutally crushed by their own people for bringing shame to the country.
Crownside had taken the apology away from them.
The two Averis girls had walked onto the stage intending to make Crownside look heartless if they refused to forgive them.
Instead, Crownside had accepted the apology, forgiven them, and redirected the entire responsibility back to Averis.
They had made themselves look gracious.
They had made themselves look mature.
The West Section erupted with murmurs.
The North Section became tense.
Several Averis representatives looked uncomfortable.
The Crownside students had just turned what could have been a public-relations victory for Averis into another humiliation.
Down in the Southern section, several Grand Judges and elders of the Top-tier Grey families nodded in heavy approval, leading a sudden wave of sharp, rhythmic clapping.
"These Crownside students certainly know how to handle a situation," one of the Grey family heads murmured to the leader beside him, a smirk touching his lips.
Up on the stage, the two kneeling girls felt like spitting actual blood.
Their faces burned with pure, unadulterated humiliation—their calculated show of repentance had been completely weaponized against them, turning them into an even bigger joke on a global stream.
Trembling, the two girls quickly stood up, offered a small, frantic bow to their own Northern section, and tried to escape the platform.
"Excuse me! Before you leave the stage—who was your apology targeted to?"
"What do you have to say about the digital evidence?"
"Are you guys the ones who set the mechanism to attack Ava Quinn?!"
"Where are your official leaders? Are they still handling the situation backstage?"
"Does this mean the entire incident was orchestrated by the Averis faculty?"
"Are you crying from actual guilt, or is this just an act?!"
"What do you have to say about Averis nation completely failing this competition—four points to Crownside and only two to your school?!"
"Isn't your school globally recognized for its talent and skills? What happened?!"
A violent storm of questions erupted from the Western section.
The journalists, paparazzi, and reporters were shouting over one another, frantically thrusting their microphones forward.
If it weren't for the strict, terrifying presence of the elite bodyguards stationed at the perimeter of each section, the press would have leaped completely over the transparent barriers to swarm the stage.
Terrified and entirely suffocated by the backlash, the two Averis girls practically fled the stage, sprinting down the steps to hide within the tense, silent rows of their own section.
Jennie had already slipped out of the hall.
While the others were still dealing with the aftermath of the competition, she made her way toward the equipment hall where the instruments and other competition materials were being kept.
The moment she entered, the noise from the event hall faded behind the heavy doors.
The room was massive, acting as a high-security vault for priceless artistic treasures.
She walked directly to the corner where the spectacular glass piano stood, positioned right beside the magnificent white grand piano decorated with raw, priceless gemstones that Ava had used earlier.
Jennie ran her fingertips lightly over the gem-encrusted keys of the white piano before pivoting to the glass instrument.This was Ava's personal piano, custom-transported directly from the Quinn estate specifically for this international stage.
The keyboard was an absolute marvel, carved entirely from the rarest blue crystals that perfectly mimicked translucent glass.
The intricate exterior carvings and structural framework had been executed by legendary global masters using a flawless fusion of ancient chiseling and advanced molecular old-and-new methods, effectively turning the instrument into an untouchable historical artifact.
Then her eyes shifted to the instrument beside it.
The glass piano.
Jennie stared at it for several seconds.
This was Ava's personal piano, brought from home specifically so she could use it during the competition.
Yet Ava hadn't touched it.
Instead, she had chosen the white piano.
Jennie's eyes narrowed.
It was an artifact.
Something that belonged in a museum as much as it belonged in someone's home.
Jennie slowly raised her hand.
Her fingers hovered above the keyboard.
Before Jennie could react, someone forced her hand down onto the keys.
CLANG!
The sudden sound echoed through the equipment hall.
A sharp, discordant clash of notes echoed loudly through the empty vault.Jennie felt a sudden, blinding flash of pain rip through her fingers.
She violently struggled to shove the person away, twisting her upper body, but she had absolutely no luck against the iron grip pinning her down
"Ah!"
Pain shot through Jennie's fingers.
She immediately tried to pull away.
"Let go!"
Her fingers were pressed harder against the crystal keys.
The pain intensified.
Then a familiar voice whispered beside her ear.
"How does it feel?"
Jennie's face went pale.
Ava.
"Not good?"
Ava pressed Jennie's hand down a little harder.
Jennie gritted her teeth.
"You really have guts."Ava's voice remained almost conversational."Actually paying someone to coat my custom keyboard in a lethal, concentrated poison toxin... an acid so hyper-transparent it's nearly impossible to see or detect until it makes contact with human skin, burning your fingers straight to the bone yet leave no scar making the person look like he is talking rubbish. You really have the guts, Jennie."
Ava leaned closer.
"You really thought that was a good idea."
"You fucking bitch!" Jennie screamed. "Let go of me!"
Ava finally released her.
Jennie immediately stumbled backward, clutching her aching fingers against her chest.
Ava calmly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her own hand, as though she had merely touched something dirty.
Jennie staggered backward, clutching her throbbing, burning fingers to her chest. The blinding pain and pure rage made her feel like she was going to vomit actual blood
Jennie stared at her.
"So you knew that I tried to sabotage your piano and I wasn't the one who planted that blade in the cabinet, yet you still blamed me you let me take the blame of what I didn't do so what if I poured toxin to your piano did you use it did you get hurt so I'm the victim you are evil "Jennie yelled as she pointed at Ava face
Jennie's breathing became heavier.
The pain shooting through her fingers mixed with her fury until she felt as though she might vomit blood.
"So what if I did?"
Ava shrugged.
Her expression was completely innocent.
"So what if I don't?"
Jennie stared at her in disbelief.
Ava tilted her head.
"If I can use what happened to gain benefits, get my way, and make you the target, do you really think I'm going to throw that opportunity away because I feel sorry for you?"
A tiny giggle escaped her.
"You should know me better than that."
Jennie's face twisted with rage.
Ava raised one finger.
"And because of you…"
She smiled.
"I got an eight-year tax exemption for my family's businesses in Averis' capital country."
Jennie's eyes widened.
"Five top government projects were added to the deal."
Ava's smile grew.
"And they agreed to turn a blind eye to whatever I personally do for the next three years."
She paused deliberately.
"Illegal or otherwise."
Jennie felt her stomach drop.
"And that's not even the best part."
Ava's eyes sparkled mischievously.
"I also got a forty-five percent cut on business dealings involving my dad's, my mum's, my brother's, and my own companies."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"So if one of our businesses makes a hundred from a deal, Averis only gets fifty-five."
She giggled.
"And if we buy land or certain other assets, we don't pay the full price either. We get the same forty-five percent reduction."
Ava looked almost delighted.
"For life."
Jennie's jaw tightened.
"You…"
"They took too long to agree So by the time they finally signed the contract…"
Ava's shoulders shook with another quiet laugh.
She spread her hands innocently.
" It increases we just sign the contract It definitely didn't favor them anymore if they try to breach it."
Jennie could only stare at her.
Ava smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Jennie."
The words were so cheerful that they somehow made everything worse.
"You really were very helpful."
Ava stepped closer and used her index finger to tilt Jennie's chin upward.
"I have to say, you did help me a lot."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Pity I can't say the same for you."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Not even your Senior Brother can help you now."
"You bitch!"
Jennie suddenly reached for Ava's hair.
Ava reacted instantly.
Slap!
Jennie's head snapped to the side.
Before she could recover, Ava grabbed her and slammed her face against the crystal piano.
A sharp sound of something hitting a huge crystal stone of echoed through the equipment hall no dent on the crystal piano.
Jennie screamed.
She stumbled backward and collapsed onto the floor, one hand flying to her face. A thin line of blood appeared across her skin.
Ava looked down at her.
Then her gaze shifted toward the piano.
"Oh, right."
She casually pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hand again.
"I'm going to sue you for damaging my piano."
Jennie's eyes widened.
Ava crouched slightly, examining the crystal surface as though she were genuinely concerned about it.
"I don't like other people touching my things."
She straightened.
"So you're going to refund me the full five hundred million CU dollars."
Jennie stared at her in disbelief.
"And another two hundred million CU dollars for the damage you've caused to my piano."
Ava smiled.
"But I'm grateful to you."
She waved the handkerchief lightly.
"So I'll give you a twenty percent cut."
Her smile disappeared.
"Don't let me find you before you pay you won't like it ."
With that, Ava turned around and walked out.
She didn't spare Jennie another glance.
By the time Ava returned to the auditorium, the competition hall had settled into a calmer atmosphere.
The 249 student of grade Class 12 were already seated inside, bringing the total number of students to 250 once Ava returned.
The enormous auditorium had been arranged in neat sections rather than ordinary rows.
Each group of five students shared a wide table.
Five tablets were built directly into each tabletop, allowing every student to access announcements, schedules, scores, and other information without needing to hold a device.
The tables were arranged in long, orderly lines, leaving wide aisles between them.
Teachers and staff stood along the edges of the hall while students chatted quietly about the competition.
Ava spotted her friends and walked toward their table.
She pulled out a chair and dropped into it.
Luna immediately leaned toward her.
"Are you okay, baby?"
"Damn, are you crazy?" Jane asked, rolling her eyes. "Actually, don't answer that. You are crazy."
Ava blinked innocently.
Jane continued.
"But seriously, you actually harmed yourself and still continued with the city-building competition. Since when are you so team-oriented?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Are you a masochist?"
"Nothing happened," Ava replied casually.
She leaned back in her chair.
"The Head of Student Affairs gave a statement saying it wasn't sabotage. Apparently, it was an accident."Jordan said as he looked at her.
"We all know that's nonsense."
He folded his arms.
"Your family isn't going to believe that either."
Ava shrugged.
"Anyway, my mom and dad are in another country on their honeymoon. I already explained everything to my grandparents."
She pulled out a document and pushed it across the table.
"Here."
The others leaned closer.
Jane picked it up first.
Luna looked over her shoulder.
Jordan took one side of the document while Jake leaned across the table to read the figures.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then their expressions changed.
Silence.
Happy Tuesday guys