chapter1244

"You... you..." Noah could barely get the words out. He never imagined Lydia, this petite girl, could be so sharp-tongued.

"She's just scared. She definitely cheated!" Noah blurted, his frustration bubbling

over.

Emerson's eyebrows drew together. He had watched every second of Lydia's exam on the monitor, and there hadn't been even a hint of cheating.

Unless... unless she'd seen the questions in advance...

But Mr. Moore hadn't helped write the test this year, probably to avoid any suspicion.

"Lydia..."

"Alright, since you're all so determined, I'll give you a chance. Call in the exam writers. Let them come up with new questions right now, and I'll answer them on the spot. That should settle everything."

Emerson didn't hesitate. He hurried off to gather a group of distinguished experts. These men weren't just respected they were icons in the medical world, legends from different countries.

Lydia glanced at Noah, whose bravado was starting to slip. "What's wrong? Getting cold feet?"

Noah hadn't expected Lydia to push back like this. His plan was simple: intimidate her into admitting she cheated. If they tested again, he was sure she would mess up.

But now...

"I'm not scared." Noah shot back, though his voice wavered.

Lydia just smirked. "If you're not scared, then let's get the questions going. My time isn't unlimited, you know."

Noah's hands curled into tight fists. She had to be bluffing. That was the only explanation. He just needed to hang in there. Sooner or later, she'd crack, and first place would be his.

Lucy and Anders exchanged glances. They were both convinced Lydia was only pretending to be calm. Getting a perfect score once was lucky. Twice? With totally new questions? No way.

The examiners gathered together, whispering and debating, and soon a fresh exam paper was ready. It was brand new- -no one could have seen it ahead of time. The only way to

answer these questions wastor

already have the knowledge memorized, deep down.

And just to make things even more challenging, the questions were harder than the ones from the morning.

Lydia glanced over the test and lifted an eyebrow. She had to give it to these veterans, they knew what they were doing. The questions were tricky, even impressive.

But could Mr. Second Place handle it?

Noah took one look at the test and froze. How... how was this possible? These questions were on a whole new level, more complicated and obscure than anything from before.

He glanced at Lydia, who was already scanning the paper.

Noah's lips curled into a silent sneer. As long as he scored higher than her, first place would be his. He was convinced Lydia wasjust pretending to know it all. He'd wait, then expose her for what she was.

Lydia finished reading the questions and immediately started writing. Her pen didn't pause, not even for a second.

Twenty minutes later, she set her paper aside and folded her arms. "Done."

The room went silent, then erupted in shock.

The examiners stared in disbelief. They knew exactly how hard these questions

were. Lydia had finished in twenty minutes? That couldn't be real.

Emerson, the head examiner, looked just as stunned. He'd been watching Lydia the whole time. She'd never stopped writing.

Lucy and Anders were floored. If they hadn't seen it for themselves, they wouldn't have believed anyone could answer all those questions in twenty minutes. Unless the

answers were already second nature to her.

"No way. It's only been twenty minutes. How could you possibly be done?" Noah's composure shattered.