Chapter 141 The Gap
Lucas walked over to me, about to say something.
Marcus jumped in first, "Bella, are you nervous?"
I shook my head and smiled easily, "I'm not nervous."
Lucas smiled faintly, "I believe that."
Marcus interrupted him again, "We believe you're definitely going to win!"
Lucas's smile slowly faded, "I'll be cheering for you later."
Marcus cut in once more, "We'll all be cheering you on from the audience!"
Lucas fell silent.
Brian pushed Marcus aside, "That's enough from you."
Jacqueline looked around puzzled, "Strange, isn't Beckett coming?"
Lucas stepped closer and took my hand, "I heard someone challenged you, so I rushed over right away."
He was expressing how much I mattered to him. Just as I was about to respond, Karen came running over with Jonathan in tow, skidding to a stop, "Bella! Good thing we made it! We heard the news and rushed over immediately!"
I couldn't help but smile, "Thank you guys."
Lucas pressed his lips together, looking a bit hurt.
Jonas also came over to encourage me. Simeon approached, his eyes burning as he looked at me, "If you beat Cressida, I'll challenge you too. Do you dare accept?"
I nodded casually.
My dismissive attitude made him feel ignored. He clenched his fist unwillingly, then released it.
The ballroom speakers chimed with an announcement, "The competition will begin shortly. Please take your seats."
Brian pulled Marcus toward the audience seats. The others started turning to leave too. Jonas looked at me, then at Lucas beside me, and sighed helplessly, "Bella, good luck!"
After Jonas left, only one person remained by my side.
"They said everything I wanted to say." Lucas sounded a bit frustrated.
I hooked his finger with mine, "Really? There should be one more thing, right?"
Lucas thought of something, cradled my hand, and gently pressed a kiss to the back of it, "Good luck."
I hadn't expected this small contest to turn into such a large-scale, formal competition. Standing on stage, I looked down at a sea of people—definitely over two hundred.
I even spotted Amelia in a corner, wearing a mask and looking somewhat timid.
She pulled the mask down to her chin, holding a fresh bread roll in each hand—free samples provided at the venue—eating while looking around.
The Langford family also had people attending. They sat in the seats closest to Cressida.
James acted as temporary host. After a smooth opening, he explained the competition rules concisely, then solemnly introduced the judges—Gerald as head judge, plus three assistant judges.
Roger had somehow landed a spot as an assistant judge. From James's introduction, I learned that Roger had actually been Gerald's student many years ago!
Though Gerald had many students, and Roger hadn't been particularly notable back then.
Gerald had borrowed a question bank from the school where he currently taught. The bank contained over seven thousand questions. The four judges and host took turns drawing questions, randomly selecting one hundred on the spot.
With a beep, the competition began.
A screen appeared on the computer. Cressida and I just needed to answer on our computers.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people, cheating was impossible for either of us.
The first twenty questions covered basic identification—testing common drug properties and physicochemical identification.
Things like the infrared spectrum characteristics of aspirin, the β-lactam ring structure of penicillin—entry-level pharmacology but easy to get wrong.
For me, this knowledge was already etched into my bones, as natural as breathing. No thought needed—the answers flowed from memory, smooth and unobstructed.
In a trance, I felt like I'd returned to the past, to those days when I studied single-mindedly with Doyle.
The middle forty questions advanced to drug compatibility and practical applications, interspersed with poison identification and treatment plans for rare diseases.
The trickier the questions, the more interesting I found them.
Karen told me later that when I was focused on answering, I seemed to glow.
She asked what I was feeling. Honestly, I wasn't feeling much.
Fully absorbed in answering, I almost forgot I was in a competition.
Murmurs occasionally rose from the audience. Most people couldn't even understand the questions. The four judges couldn't help frowning as they pondered the difficult ones, raising their hands to stroke their chins thoughtfully.
"These questions cover drug identification, pharmaceutical theory, drug preparation, and clinical pharmacy—balancing theory and practice. Absolutely fair and just," Gerald said with a smile.
At first, Gerald walked back and forth between Cressida and me. As time passed, the noise from the audience grew louder, as if something amazing was happening.
I frowned slightly and picked up my pace.
Gerald stopped pacing to avoid adding pressure. James quietly reminded everyone to stay quiet.
The commotion below continued.
After about an hour, I reached the last ten questions.
These were ten very obscure questions. I took a bit longer to think through them on average.
Finally, I answered the last question. After submitting, I checked the time—one hour and forty-three minutes.
I looked at Gerald. He indicated the competition wasn't over yet, gesturing for me to stay on stage and remain silent.
I understood. Cressida hadn't finished yet.
I looked at the audience before me. There were even more people than when we started!
I was a bit surprised. Brian, Marcus, Karen, and the others were all looking at me with smiles.
I figured I must be doing pretty well.
Lucas's gaze stayed on me, his eyes full of undisguised admiration and approval, along with a strong, deep possessiveness.
Time ticked by. After consulting, the judges decided to add a temporary rule—regardless of whether all questions were completed, the competition would end within 180 minutes.
My expression shifted slightly as I pressed my lips together. This rule was probably to limit Cressida. I guessed I was answering faster than her.
I wondered which question had her stuck.
"Competition over!"
James indicated we could leave the stage. I turned to see Cressida looking exhausted, fine beads of sweat on her forehead.
She looked at me puzzled, "Did you not know a lot of the questions? Why do you look so relaxed?"
In her view, while I had talent in pharmaceuticals, my main job was hotel management—pharmaceuticals was just a side thing. My medical knowledge should be far inferior to hers.
The Langford family members who came to greet Cressida nearly choked on their own spit when they heard her words.
"I thought the difficulty level was moderate. It was tiring though," I said.
Standing for two and a half hours—mainly my legs were tired.
Cressida had a bad feeling. She didn't continue talking with me, her face pale as she was helped to a seat.
Gerald picked up the microphone, "Now announcing the results. First, Cressida completed 76 questions in 180 minutes; Isabella completed 100 questions in 103 minutes."
Cressida whipped around to look at me, her eyes full of shock.
She asked in disbelief, "You actually finished them all!"
I was also somewhat surprised, "You actually didn't finish?"