He stood there for a long moment before he closed his eyes,posed himself,


    then opened them again with a resigned sigh.


    "You''re driving me crazy. Are you even going to thepetition or not?"


    She was so good at making him lose his resolve. All he wanted now was to take her home, show her how much he loved her, and ignore everything else.


    "Of course I''m going! Hurry up and get to work. Honey, thank you for driving me here."


    Anneliese caught the look in his eyes and felt a little spooked, like a rabbit sensing danger.


    She quickly slipped her hand out of his and took a small step back, waving at him.


    Jonathan didn''t tease her any further. He just nodded. "I''ll watch the livestream. Good luck, honey."


    Anneliese waved at him, then turned toward Oceaton University''s main gym where thepetition was held.


    She reached the check-in point forpetitors at the gym''s entrance and gave her name and ID.


    She didn''t expect the staff to frown after checking her info on theputer. He nced at another male supervisor and started whispering.


    Anneliese sensed something was wrong. "Is there a problem?"


    The supervisor looked up and handed her back her ID and entry slip. "There''s no record of your registration in our system. We can''t let you in."


    "That''s impossible." Anneliese frowned and held out her digital confirmation. "I have my registration receipt right here. How could there not be a record?"


    She repeated her personal andb information. "Please double-check."


    The staff checked again and shook their head. "Still nothing. The event''s about to


    start. Please step aside so other participants can check in."


    The supervisor shoved her ID back at her and motioned for her to move on.


    Two other participants behind her started urging her to hurry up.


    Anneliese was jostled by the girl behind and nearly stumbled. She steadied herself against the desk and shot the woman a re, but she kept her cool.


    She needed to figure out where the problem was.


    She pulled out her phone, logged into her email, and waited until the girl behind her finished registration. Then she handed over her phone again.


    "This is my confirmation email and registration number, plus the official invitation..."


    e screen toward the


    She turned the


    staff, but the supervisor barely nced at it and replied in a bored voice "We checked twice already f your into''s not in the system, you''re just not registered. The


    no


    He waved for the nextpetitor and muttered, "You don''t even look like a serious contestant anyway..."


    That attitude set Anneliese off. Her expression turned cold as she pped her hand on the desk and raised her voice.


    "Ipleted every step of the registration and my invitation is


    right in front of you. Are you nex


    you can''t solve this, get your


    supervisor out here. Stop giving m? the runaround! And what do you mean by saying I don''t look like a real contestant?" Content


    The sudden chill in her tone and sharp re gave her the same intimidating vibe Jonathan had. People nearby stopped to watch, and the supervisor flinched, his voice faltering.


    "We... we''re just following the rules, you..."


    Just then, a familiar, rather annoying voice cut in behind her.


    "What''s going on? Why''s the entrance all blocked up?"


    Anneliese turned to see Gianna in a white business suit, with Pepper by her side in


    a matching outfit and a ruby ne.


    Gianna spotted her and feigned surprise. "Anneliese?"


    The supervisor immediately came out from behind theputer. "Ms. Malone, here''s your number. Please head in This problem will be sorted out soon dont let it affect your mood or your focus. You''ve got this,


    Ms. Malone-first ce is yours for sure."