Chapter 191
Lucinda withdrew her gaze and said to the driver, "Knox, you can head back. Someone's picking me up."
The driver followed her line of sight to the car across the street. Recognizing the license plate, he didn't ask further and nodded. "Alright. I'll head back then."
Lucinda crossed the pedestrian walkway and headed toward the side gate.
She'd only taken a few steps when footsteps hurried up behind her.
Dahlia jogged over, slightly out of breath. She came up alongside Lucinda, glanced at the black car near the side gate, then smiled. "Lucinda, that's Reginald's car, right? He came to pick you up?"
Her voice was as sweet as ever. "Reginald's so good to you."
Then her tone softened even more. "But still, today was the National Academy of Sciences exam. If your results don't turn out so well, wouldn't that be letting down Reginald's thoughtfulness in coming all this way to pick you up?"
"How about… next time, you give me a heads-up and I'll help you go over the key points? I did pretty well this time—I'd seen most of the questions before. This kind of research exam isn't like what you usually do. It's all very specialized knowledge. But since you haven't really studied it before, even if your results come back poor, you don't need to feel embarrassed."
She spoke lightly, but the corners of her eyes lifted slightly, as if she were certain Lucinda had done worse than her.
Lucinda finally stopped walking.
She turned around and looked at Dahlia. The light in her eyes was so cold it sent a chill down Dahlia's spine.
"What did you just say?"
She took half a step forward. It was the simplest of movements, but Dahlia felt like something had slammed into her head-on.
The pressure radiating from Lucinda came from all directions, sealing off every inch of space in her chest.
She'd lived in this city for twenty years. She'd met countless elites from prestigious families. But the oppressive force coming from this slender figure in front of her was sharper, more direct than any of them.
A thin layer of sweat broke out on her back. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her document folder. "I didn't mean it like that—"
"Then what did you mean by standing here and saying all that?" Lucinda's gaze rested coolly on Dahlia's face, and it felt like something was pressing against her throat. The smugness that had been on the tip of her tongue was shoved right back down.
"Move."
That was all Lucinda said.
Dahlia's fingers tightened around the folder.
She wanted to snap back, but when she met Lucinda's eyes, she couldn't force out a single syllable.
This woman's presence was too strong—so strong that a chill crept up Dahlia's spine.
She bit her lip and could only take half a step back.
Lucinda didn't look at her again. She walked right past her without even a pause.
That complete dismissal was more humiliating than any rebuttal could have been.
Dahlia's expression shifted slightly. The smile at the corners of her lips faded completely.
She stared at Lucinda's retreating back, a suppressed fire burning in her eyes.
She wanted to chase after her. Wanted to ask her, What gives you the right to be so arrogant?
But she didn't dare.
Not far away, the top-tier business sedan sent by the Douglas family sat quietly by the curb.
It was a custom Rolls-Royce. There wasn't a second one like it in all of Starlight City.
The interior was hand-stitched in premium leather. The seats had heating, ventilation, and massage functions. Even the floor mats were cashmere.
This car was usually reserved for Wesley and Valencia, and occasionally for Manuel. It had never been her turn.
When Valencia attended important events, she took it. When Wesley went to headquarters for board meetings, he took it.
Dahlia had asked several times if she could ride in it, but she'd always been turned down.
And today, it had been sent to pick up Lucinda.
Dahlia stood a few steps away, staring at the car parked quietly by the curb, her temples throbbing.
She took a deep breath and, within a few steps, adjusted her expression into something soft and gentle. "Knox, you haven't left yet?"
The driver saw her and gave a slight bow. "Miss, I was just about to head back."
Dahlia curved her lips, her voice sweet and obedient. "Knox, could you give me a ride? Just a quick one?"
The driver visibly hesitated. "That… might not be appropriate."
Dahlia's expression froze for a barely perceptible instant, but she quickly adjusted.
She glanced around. The crowd at the school gate hadn't fully dispersed yet. Quite a few students who'd just finished the exam were looking in this direction, their gazes landing on her intermittently.
If she got turned away from the car right now…
That would be so humiliating!
At the thought, her fingertips curled slightly, and she softened her voice. "My ride hasn't arrived yet, and it's a bit far from here. Knox, just drop me off at the intersection up ahead. It won't take long."
As she spoke, her lashes lowered slightly, and her lips curved with just the right touch of helplessness, as if she truly had no other option.
The driver glanced at her expression, then at the students near the school gate who were watching, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded. "Alright. Please get in. I'll take you to the intersection."
Dahlia's lips curved upward. She bent down and slid into the back seat.
And all of this was seen by Allegra, who had just walked out of the exam hall a few steps behind.
She'd only come out a moment later and was about to leave when she happened to see the Douglas family's luxury car parked by the curb.
Lucinda stepped out of the car, exchanged a few words with Dahlia, then Lucinda left, and Dahlia got into the car.
The entire sequence played out clearly before her eyes.
Allegra stood rooted in place, her gaze deepening bit by bit.
Her mind quickly pieced together a narrative.
Lucinda had begged someone to send a car to pick her up. But then the Douglas family's heiress showed up in person to slap her in the face. She intercepted the car in front of everyone, had the driver leave Lucinda stranded at the school gate, and drove off herself.
The more Allegra thought about it, the more it made sense.
Someone like Lucinda—latching onto connections, mooching rides, putting on airs—what wouldn't she do?
The Wipere family raised her for twenty years, and she turned around and pushed them to the brink. What was the Douglas family to her?
She stood there, watching the Maybach disappear at the end of the street, then glanced at the spot where Lucinda had been standing. It felt like a stone that had been lodged in her chest for a long time had been nudged aside, just a little.
Once the results came out in a few days, her score would definitely be higher than Lucinda's—and higher than that Douglas family heiress's too.
She, Allegra, hadn't earned second place in the county-level science competition for nothing.
At the thought, she straightened the document folder in her hands, her steps lighter as she headed toward the parking lot.