Chapter 129 Chapter 129
When she saw the bound sheets of paper, missing their covers, lying there so carelessly abandoned, her curiosity got the better of her. She picked up the papers to read them.
Dandara’s eyes widened almost instantly.
“Hey, Cauan… look at this! This solution… it solves exactly the problem we’ve been racking our brains over, but the formula is much simpler and more elegant than the one in our book!”
Cauan Laser turned abruptly to look.
There it was. In fact, the same classic example problem from the competition had a completely different solution analysis on those pages.
The Ministry of Education’s standard answer was dense, complicated, and prone to error. But those anonymous materials had simplified the basis of the chemical reaction so brilliantly and ingeniously, making the impossible clear at first glance. It was the kind of note that only an absolute master of chemistry could write.
“Wow…” Dandara gasped, fascinated. “Whose are these absurd review materials? A university professor?”
Cauan Laser swallowed hard. He glanced casually at the empty chair beside him and replied, his voice laden with silent shock:
“They’re Katherine’s. Katherine Lutz’s.”
“Hers?!” Dandara blinked, completely incredulous. The image of Katherine, the girl who was always reading comic books, didn’t match that level of genius. “She… she’s also going to participate in the competition?!”
Cauan Laser didn’t deny it. But, looking at the genius of those pages, he didn’t have the courage to say anything else either. He just realized, with a chill, that the true monster of that competition had been sitting right next to him the whole time.
Dandara placed the stack of papers back on Katherine’s desk, trying to hide her shock, and asked in a low voice:
— Cauan… who gave her this absurd review material?
— I heard her tell the teacher it was an “older brother,” — replied Cauan Laser, still gazing at the formulas with envy.
“A brother…” Dandara frowned. Her mind raced, and immediately her eyes widened as she reached a terrifying conclusion. “It can’t be… my cousin?!”
Katherine didn’t have any older biological brothers. And lately, living under the roof of that mansion, she had occasionally referred to the dreaded João Arbex as “brother” to throw the curious off the trail.
Cauan nodded slowly, his face serious.
“It’s quite likely. Last time, before the monthly exams, they say she only managed to pass after studying from exclusive material he made.” Given her lazy personality in the classroom, she doesn’t seem like the type of person who would spend sleepless nights compiling and printing university-level material on her own.
Dandara confirmed this speculation almost immediately. She couldn’t resist the temptation and picked up the material again, flipping through the pages with a mixture of shock and envy.
“My cousin really favors you in an absurd way!” whispered Dandara, biting her lip. “I’m his blood cousin, we grew up in the same family, and I’ve never, ever, seen him waste his precious time preparing something like this for me!”
“Dandara.”
Suddenly, a soft, sweet female voice rang out at the door of the nearly empty classroom.
They both turned their heads simultaneously. Nísia Lutz was standing there, holding the strap of her backpack, with a fragile, friendly smile on her face.
The atmosphere in the room froze instantly. Ever since the night of the disastrous banquet, Dandara had felt her stomach churn with disgust and discomfort whenever she saw Nísia.
That night had completely shattered the “perfect girl” facade Nísia had been putting on. Dandara still remembered the shock. The Arbex family was so furious at Nísia’s disgusting attempt to poison Katherine and frame her that the patriarch practically decided to expel Cícero Arbex’s entire research team from the industry.
However, a few days later, Nísia had the audacity to show up at the mansion. Crying pathetically, displaying bandages, and using her own pregnant mother as an emotional shield, she crawled toward them begging for forgiveness. On that occasion, the once-proud Nísia even knelt on the cold floor, banging her head in a sign of humiliating supplication.
After all the commotion and emotional blackmail, Dandara’s father decided to give her one last chance, merely to preserve appearances and the fragile business relationship between the Arbex and Lutz families. The elders’ intention was to keep Nísia’s father, Daniel, under control so he could be used as a pawn in the never-ending power struggle against João.
Although Nísia had been allowed to remain on the lab team, Dandara’s sources said that Cícero Arbex treated her like a ghost. He no longer trusted her, completely ignoring her opinions. She was merely an unwanted ornament.
And for Dandara, it was impossible not to question all the sweet words Nísia had ever spoken to her before.
How many of those confidences were manipulative lies? Dandara thought. After all, Nísia had told a diabolical lie in cold blood, in front of the entire elite that night, knowing that if the plan worked, Katherine Lutz would be destroyed forever.
While Dandara’s mind was seething with revulsion, Nísia had already approached their table. She was smiling, trying to look like the same well-behaved, kind, and understanding girl they used to idolize.
“Dandara, Bruno…” Nísia called out, her voice dripping with honey. “I’m so glad I found you two. Shall we go out to eat together?”
Bruno Spence, who was leaning against the desk next to her, didn’t even look up from his phone. His attitude was one of absolute coldness.
“I’m staying with Dandara,” he replied, sharply.
Dandara pursed her lips, her mind racing to escape that viper. She avoided looking directly into Nísia’s eyes, curled the corners of her lips into a fake, polite smile, and said:
“Oh, Nísia… Bruno and I already have plans today. We won’t be able to have dinner with you. Maybe next time.”
Bruno looked up from his phone, surprised for a millisecond by his friend’s lie, but he didn’t correct her.
Dandara puffed out her cheeks slightly, giving Bruno a subtle kick in the leg under the table, signaling for him to hurry up and get up. He got the message perfectly. He casually closed his book, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and stood up.
Throughout the whole process, neither of them directed a single word or glance at Nísia. They simply walked past her and left the room.
Nísia froze. She watched their backs recede down the hallway with a blank expression. Standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room, her previously pale face was suddenly flushed with the crimson of pure shame and humiliation.
She wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that Dandara was deliberately isolating her. Dandara had gone so far as to make up a fake meeting with Bruno just to escape her presence, as if Nísia were a plague.
She felt as if thousands of poisonous ants were crawling over her heart. It was a suffocating sensation of losing control.