Chapter 101: Cheating

Chapter 101: 101: Cheating

Everyone stared at Nova, stunned into silence.

"How... how did you manage to summon such creativity?" the female judge asked, offering Nova a radiant smile.

"This is a masterpiece; she is a genuine prodigy!" the male judge exclaimed.

"Indeed." The other two judges nodded in approval. They were just about to tally Nova’s final score when a sudden, jarring shout echoed through the studio, shattering the quiet admiration.

"Everyone, hold on! I suspect this student of cheating!" Kika’s voice rang out as she marched into the room, another female student trailing nervously beside her.

The judges stared at Kika, their brows knitting in unison. "We are all present, and the painting was done live. How could she have cheated?" the male judge asked, his tone skeptical.

Kika offered a smug, venomous smile. "Because her canvas was already prepped. She only needed to paint over the invisible sketched lines to make them visible. She didn’t actually paint it herself," she accused.

"She’s the evidence you found, right?" Nova commented lazily. Her sharp eyes easily recognized the trembling girl beside Kika—she was a student from their own academy, in the exact same painting class.

"That’s right," Kika sneered, a mocking smile spreading across her face. "She is the one you transferred five hundred thousand to so she would sketch the lines on your canvas. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The girl beside Kika didn’t dare meet Nova’s eyes. She only nodded in agreement to Kika’s claims, trying desperately to suppress her violently shivering body.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room. The atmosphere thickened with sudden anxiety as the four judges frowned, shifting their intense gazes to Nova. The entire studio seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the prodigy to crumble.

Instead, Nova met their stares with terrifying calm. "Your method is quite dumb. I can easily prove my innocence. The judges can provide me with their own tools, and I will repaint the entire piece right now—even better than before," she stated effortlessly.

"Student Kika," the female judge warned, her tone turning icy. "Falsely accusing a fellow competitor can result in your entire academy being disqualified from future competitions. Based on what you’ve said, the witness you brought, and Nova’s willingness to re-test, your claim is sorely lacking. You haven’t proven anything."

Undeterred, Kika snatched the phone from the trembling girl beside her. She opened the banking app and shoved the transaction history toward the judges, proudly displaying Nova’s name next to a massive transfer.

"This is the proof! She transferred five hundred thousand to her. This girl drew the invisible lines that Nova traced, and she has already confirmed it," Kika declared triumphantly.

The tension in the room pulled tighter, thick enough to cut with a knife. The judges scrutinized the screen, their expressions darkening.

"Did you transfer five hundred thousand to this student?" the male judge asked Nova, his voice deadpan.

Nova’s lips curled into a faint, chilling smirk. "Can’t transaction records be faked?" she replied calmly, her piercing gaze shifting to Kika. The air around them seemed to drop a few degrees. "How about this? I’m entirely too lazy to clear this up myself. Why don’t we just summon the police to conduct a proper investigation?"

"No!"

"No!"

Kika and the witness shouted in unison, raw panic instantly shattering their confident facades.

"I only wanted to tarnish her image and make the judges forfeit her points! If the police get involved, I’m doomed," Kika panicked internally. The blood drained from her face. Desperate, her frantic eyes darted toward Piper in the crowd.

Piper, sensing the sudden, dangerous shift in the room, immediately averted her gaze. She stared blankly ahead, feigning complete ignorance, refusing to offer even a shred of support.

A bitter taste flooded Kika’s mouth as she realized she was being abandoned. "Look at this bastard. I went through all this trouble for her, and now she wants to use me as a scapegoat? Impossible." Kika clenched her fists tightly, her heart pounding against her ribs as she turned back to the judges.

"I... I admit it," Kika stammered, the oppressive tension finally breaking her. "I was framing Nova. She didn’t cheat. I forced this girl to be a fake witness by beating her. But I didn’t do this alone—Piper was involved, too!"

Hearing her confession and her own name, Piper flared up in rage. "What nonsense are you talking about?!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "I... I’m not even familiar with you! How could I help you with such a despicable act?!" she defended herself in panic.

Kika laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. "Drop the fake act already. Did you really think you could use my life as a stepping stone and leave me to take the fall? We are in this together! You’re actually denying me now—what a hypocrite," she spat coldly.

"You—you bitch! Judges, I never met her! She’s framing me! There is absolutely no evidence that I have anything to do with her!" Piper shouted, her chest heaving as she stared pleadingly at the grim, silent judges.

"I have evidence right here."

Adam’s deep, authoritative voice suddenly cut through the chaos as he stepped out from the shadows of the studio.

Seeing him, the judges stiffened in shock. They immediately moved to respectfully greet him, but a sharp, subtle gesture from his hand commanded them to stop. They instantly obeyed, the power dynamic in the room shifting entirely to him.

Adam stared at Piper with unveiled disgust as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I happened to stumble upon them threatening this girl in the hallway, and I recorded the entire exchange." He handed his phone to the judges, who immediately huddled around the screen.

"Though you weren’t in the video, Kika mentioned your name several times," Adam continued, his dark gaze locking onto Piper. "Do you dare to bring out your phone?"

"That’s... that’s my personal property," Piper stammered, taking a panicked step backward.

Adam didn’t bother exchanging another word. He closed the distance between them in two long, predatory strides, snatched the phone from her trembling hands, and held it directly up to her face to bypass the facial recognition lock.

With the device unlocked, he navigated straight to her messages and handed it over to the judges to corroborate the video.

After watching the video of Kika brutalizing the girl into giving false testimony, and scrolling through the damning text messages orchestrating the entire plot, the judges let out a collective, heavy sigh. They respectfully returned Adam’s phone.

"Your entire academy is hereby banned from ever participating in this competition again," the female judge announced, her voice echoing with absolute finality. "You are dismissed."

Piper opened her mouth to argue, but no words could salvage the situation. With pure hatred burning in her eyes, she shot one last venomous glare at Nova before turning on her heel and storming out. The rest of her disgraced academy followed in humiliating silence.

"Congratulations, Nova. You and your academy have officially won the competition," the male judge announced, his tone returning to a warm, respectful cadence.

The remaining students erupted into rapturous applause. The suffocating tension evaporated, replaced instantly by roaring cheers and joyous laughter that filled the sprawling studio.

The female judge approached and handed Nova the gleaming champion’s trophy. Nova simply stared down at it, her expression entirely unreadable and blank, a stark contrast to the celebration around her.

"Nova, would you like to join the international painting competition?" the second female judge offered gently, extending a gold-embossed invitation card. "It is a highly prestigious public competition, and it will be held in just a few days."

"If I have the time, I will participate," Nova replied softly.

Taking the card without another word, she turned and walked out of the studio, completely ignoring Adam’s presence.

Behind her, the studio continued to ring with celebration, while Adam stood perfectly still amidst the crowd, his eyes fixed intensely on Nova’s retreating back with an unfathomable expression on his face.