Selene’s appearance was the first thing to stun everyone online.
Countless minds went blank. Bloggers who had been eager to criticize her now found themselves at a loss for words, some rubbing their chins in silence. Others leaned in, adjusting their glasses and squinting at their screens, as if hoping a closer look would reveal something they’d missed. Even live streamers, who prided themselves on their poker faces, couldn’t suppress the upward tug of their lips when Selene’s face appeared on camera.
In all five camera angles, Selene sat at a long oak table. Her jacket, still damp from the rain, clung to her shoulders–she clearly hadn’t had time to change. Wet strands of hair stuck to her forehead. She rubbed her hands together, breathed into her palms for warmth, and only then began typing on her laptop.
She looked like a snowman left out in the cold, but in her eyes there burned a determined, unwavering fire.
Everyone watching heard Selene report her situation to the committee.
“Due to a power outage at Azure Vista Villas, I’m currently taking the exam at Professor Theodore Shaw’s house.”
She made no attempt to hide where she was from the organizers.
“Selene, given the unforeseen circumstances you encountered, the committee has agreed to let you continue the competition. We’ll send you the alternate test set. However, three hours have already passed. There will be no extensions–you must submit your answers along with the other contestants, in five hours.”
“Understood,” Selene replied, calm and resolute.
Without another word, she got to work.
She didn’t take her eyes off the computer or her scratch paper, completely
absorbed.
During this time, a representative from the ALI Organizing Committee came to Professor Shaw’s house to inspect her test environment. Aside from a quick trip to the restroom, Selene never once left the view of the cameras.
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“She just glanced at the clock on her laptop screen. She knows her time is ru out,” a popular streamer commented, scrutinizing Selene’s every tiny expression in hopes of catching her cheating.
08:11
“There’s no way she’ll finish all the questions at this rate, another said. “The preliminary round lasts eight hours, so contestants are supposed to focus on the problems they’re best at. As long as their score is high enough to make the finals, they can stop. From what I’ve dug up, this is Selene’s first time competing in the ALI. She probably isn’t familiar with the best strategies.”
While the bloggers dissected her every move, most viewers had already forgotten they were supposed to be looking for evidence of cheating.
“How does someone look that breathtaking even on a laptop webcam? I’m slapping my face! I’m biting my tongue! I’d cut off my own finger! I take it all back–I shouldn’t have trashed her!”
“She’s racing against the clock, not wasting a single second! With Selene’s determination, she could succeed at anything! Who says a housewife can’t take first place in a competition? I’ll fight anyone who disagrees!”
“She just had bad luck before, marrying that fool. It’s fine, sis–I’ll be the one to cherish you in this life!”
The number of viewers watching Selene’s exam stream skyrocketed.
People rewatched the footage over and over, magnifying the screen and scrutinizing every second, but across those five hours of surveillance, not a single trace of cheating could be found.
Suddenly, the tide of public opinion shifted.
The first to panic were those high–society parents who, just yesterday, had deleted their apology posts and left snide comments about Selene online.
02.11
