Pepper and Gianna twisted the story and used Anneliese first. Once the crowd heard their version of events, they immediately looked at Anneliese with disdainful, condemning expressions and murmured among themselves.
Pepper shot a look at the staff, signaling them to hurry up and clear Anneliese out to restore order.
The staff quickly stepped forward and spoke harshly to Anneliese.
"If the system doesn''t have your information, then you''re not registered! Making a scene won''t change anything, and you definitely don''t get to steal someone else''spetition spot. Leave immediately, or we''ll call security to remove you by force!"
Hearing even the staff say this, the crowd became even more convinced that Gianna and Pepper were telling the truth.
Looking at Anneliese''s strikingly beautiful face, people began to assume she was the type who used her looks to charm professors and steal opportunities.
They just assumed that she had failed to evenplete her registration properly and was now throwing her weight around to take someone else''s ce!
Listening to the criticism aimed at Anneliese, Gianna felt like the sting on her face mattered less. She watched Anneliese coldly, waiting for her to leave in humiliation. Instead, Anneliese showed no panic and remained calm as she took arge step toward the crowd.
A sudden sense of unease hit Gianna, and Pepper reacted even faster.
She couldn''t let Anneliese speak.
Pepper snapped at the stunned staff, "What are you standing around for? Are you waiting for her to lie and disrupt thepetition?"
Unfortunately, she was still toote.
Before the staff could drag Anneliese away, Anneliese''s clear voice rang out.
She pointed straight at Gianna. "Let me introduce her to everyone. She is Gianna Malone, the heiress of CM Logistics, one of the two main sponsors of thispetition.
"Ms. Malone personally admitted that she canceled mypetition eligibility on purpose. That''s why I finally lost my patience and pped her."
The crowd exploded.
All the looks of disdain and condemnation that had been aimed at Anneliese instantly turned toward Gianna.
Compared to one contestant being barred frompeting, someone openly abusing power and rigging the rules in a national-levelpetition was far more shocking and infuriating.
Anneliese was not afraid of esction.
Media reporters, participants, and influential figures were all present.
If Gianna dared to pull something like this, then Anneliese would make sure she became famous for it.
"You''re talking nonsense! You..." Gianna''s face went pale as she rushed forward, trying to argue.
Anneliese raised her voice and cut her off. "Aren''t you the heiress of CM Logistics? One of the two main sponsors of this event?"
"That has nothing to do with your participation or your unreasonable behavior right now!" Gianna shouted.
Anneliese spread her hands and looked toward several contestants in the crowd.
"Then, let''s be clear. With Ms. Malone here, anyone she allows maypete, and anyone she doesn''t approve has no eligibility at all. In that case, thispetition isnt even worth entering She then looked at the staff who were about to grab her. "Don''t bother chasing me out. I''ll leave on my own!"
With that, she turned and started to walk away.
However, Gianna felt the looksing at her from every direction grow sharper and more suspicious. She nearly choked on her anger.
If Anneliese really walked away now, it would look like proof that everything she said was true.
Gianna was still aiming for first ce. Even if she won now, the doubts would be even louder. D*mn you, Anneliese.
The crowd buzzed with discussion, and reporters blocked Anneliese''s path.
"Was yourpetition eligibility really canceled maliciously?"
"Are you saying Ms. Malone is already the predetermined winner?"
"Can you exin exactly what happened?"
"Do you have any evidence that thepetition is rigged?"
"What''s going on here?"
As the chaos escted, a group of people approached. They were the leadership from the organizing parties of thepetition, including the president of Oceaton University, several city officials, and the CEOs of the two major logisticspanies sponsoring the event, Adrian and Preston Moore.
Among them was Steven, attending as a representative of the National Air Traffic
Control Committee.
The moment they appeared, the
reporters immediately shifted
targets Cameras and microphones
od over, focusing especially on Adrian at the front.
"Mr. Malone, is contestant number 28 your daughter?"
"Are all winners in thispetition truly selected under fair and transparent
principles?"
"Is thepetition rigged? Have the top three already been decided?"