Chapter 169 It Was Bianca Who Stole It!
Alaric stared at the calligraphy work in the photo, his mind going completely blank, his face drained of all color.
The evidence was laid out right there.
Crystal clear.
Even the spectators below were laughing in disbelief.
"This is ridiculous. Still trying to deny it? Have some shame, will you?"
"A man in his thirties, stealing a high school student's work and claiming it as his own. Got caught and still won't admit it. Never seen anyone so shameless!"
"Alaric, what kind of calligrapher are you? Having you in the calligraphy world is a disgrace! Get down from there!"
The crowd erupted in criticism directed at Alaric.
Alaric stood frozen in place, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles, cold sweat pouring down his face.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Cillian looked at him coldly. "I gave you three chances! But every single time, you shamelessly told me that you wrote this calligraphy! But I saw this work before you did. Don't you think I know who really wrote it?"
Alaric's dry lips parted, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
The other judges looked at Alaric in shock.
When Alaric had confidently claimed earlier that his work had been copied, they had almost believed him. After all, who was Alaric? A renowned calligrapher at such a young age—how could he possibly steal a high school student's work and put his own name on it?
They couldn't even imagine Alaric doing such a thing.
But the next second, the truth was revealed.
"So many people, so many eyes watching. Now everyone knows you're morally corrupt and stole someone else's work. Alaric, I think this news will spread quickly. I doubt you'll have the face to continue in the calligraphy world."
Cillian didn't even want to look at him. He turned around, hands clasped behind his back. "You're expelled from the association. You don't need to participate in the rest of the judging."
Alaric's expression changed immediately.
"No, I didn't steal that calligraphy work!"
He had no idea Bianca would give him something stolen! If he had known, he would never have let Bianca give him that calligraphy work!
"At this point, you're still trying to make excuses!" Cillian turned back, looking at Alaric in disbelief.
Alaric clenched his fists, explaining urgently, "I'm not making excuses, I didn't steal anything! Someone gave me this calligraphy work. I didn't know it was a student's competition entry. If I had known, I wouldn't have accepted it!"
Alaric tried hard to explain, but no one believed him.
"Still making excuses for yourself at this point!"
"Someone gave it to him? Who's buying that?"
"You're nothing but a shameless piece of trash. This is Isabella's competition entry. Who would have the right to take Isabella's competition entry and give it to him? I bet he stole it himself!"
Seeing that no one believed him, Alaric's face turned red with desperation, and he shouted, "It was Bianca! Bianca stole it!"
"She's the one who gave me this calligraphy work! Bianca is my student."
Alaric's voice rang out clearly, and everyone present froze.
Even Olivia's lips trembled, a look of disbelief flashing in her eyes.
"What?"
The crowd exploded.
"Did Alaric just say... Bianca gave him this calligraphy work?"
"How is this possible?"
"What! What's going on? Is this ever going to end? How is Bianca involved now?"
"So who actually stole this calligraphy work? Alaric? Or Bianca? My head is spinning."
"..."
Bianca stood in the corner, feeling like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, her hands and feet instantly turning cold.
"Bianca, what's going on? Did you really take Isabella's competition entry and give it to Alaric? How come you never mentioned this?" Abigail asked from the side.
But Bianca couldn't hear Abigail's words anymore. She felt like the whole world was spinning.
After hearing Alaric expose Bianca, Isabella immediately understood everything.
Her gaze swept lightly over Bianca in the audience below, and she sneered coldly.
Isabella looked away and turned to Cillian. "Cillian, since Alaric says Bianca gave him my competition entry, I suggest bringing Bianca up for a confrontation. The truth will be obvious then."
Cillian didn't know who Bianca was yet. "Is she here?"
"She's here," Isabella said. "She's also a student at Stellar High School, in the senior year international class."
Isabella raised her hand and pointed. "That's her."
Bianca watched as Isabella's hand pointed straight at her. Her body trembled violently, and her face turned even paler.
"Then bring Bianca herself up here!" Cillian looked in Bianca's direction and said sternly, "Whoever stole Isabella's work and disrupted the competition rules must face the appropriate punishment!"
So everyone's eyes turned to Bianca.
"What, it's her?"
"Could it really be Bianca? How could she do such a thing?"
"..."
Bianca clenched her fists, feeling both nervous and ashamed.
Olivia was both shocked and angry. She looked at Bianca in disbelief, barely able to control her voice. "Bianca, what's going on?!"
With so many people watching, if Bianca really did this...
Olivia didn't dare think about the consequences.
Bianca pressed her lips together, shaking her head, unable to say anything.
"Where's Bianca? Why isn't she coming up?"
Seeing that Bianca hadn't moved, Cillian had already lost his patience.
It was almost noon, and because of all these incidents, half the day was already gone.
Bianca's body trembled. She took a deep breath before finally walking toward the stage.
Cillian looked at Bianca. "You're Bianca?"
Bianca nodded.
Cillian coughed twice and pointed at the framed calligraphy work, getting straight to the point. "Alaric says you gave him this calligraphy work. Is that true?"
Alaric stared intently at Bianca.
The people below also stared intently at Bianca, waiting for her answer.
"No." Bianca looked innocent. "I don't know why Mr. Kingsley would say that. I've never seen this calligraphy work before."
Bianca's words rang out clearly, reaching the audience below. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness it wasn't Bianca who did it.
On stage, Alaric froze when he heard Bianca's words, his pupils contracting sharply.
"What did you say?!"
"You're the one who gave me this calligraphy work!"
He never imagined Bianca would deny it.
"You said this calligraphy work was given to you by one of your admirers! That day you came to the association to see me and gave me this calligraphy work. How can you deny it? Bianca, I never thought you were this kind of person!"
In that instant, Bianca completely shattered his impression of her.
How could she deny it? How could she!