Chapter 085: The Beautiful Lady’s Surname Is Chi

At this moment, Lin Miaomiao, the leader of Group B, strode forward, holding a microphone as she approached them, her face contorted in disbelief and shock. Pointing an accusing finger, she demanded, “How is your PPT exactly the same as ours?! Did you steal our presentation PPT?!”

Shi Runrun almost burst out laughing at the accusation—was this not the classic case of a thief crying ‘stop thief’?

Their PPT was the fruit of several sleepless nights, painstakingly crafted, and now they were being accused of theft?

It was the height of absurdity!

Unable to tolerate the injustice any longer, Cen Huan, fiery-tempered as always, stepped forward and snapped, “I’d like to ask why your PPT is identical to ours! Looks to me like you’re the ones who stole ours!”

As soon as her words fell, both groups erupted into a heated argument, neither willing to back down.

Shi Runrun furrowed her delicate brows, perplexed. How could their carefully prepared PPT have ended up in the hands of Group B?

Looking out towards the audience, she caught sight of the judges seated in the front row. In the center sat a woman who immediately drew Shi Runrun’s gaze.

It was the beautiful lady she’d met before!

She, too, was frowning, her eyes fixed on Shi Runrun.

When the woman noticed Shi Runrun looking at her, she shook her head, disappointment etched in her expression.

Shi Runrun’s heart sank. Would this unexpected incident cost them their eligibility in the competition?

All their hard work and effort would vanish into thin air!

That would be a terrible loss!

No!

They couldn’t accept it!

Because both teams had submitted identical PPTs for the defense, the competition was halted midway.

Shi Runrun and her teammates, along with Group B, were summoned backstage to explain the situation.

Word spread that the competition sponsors were furious about the incident and demanded the thief be found and held accountable.

Faced with a judge’s stern questioning, Shi Runrun fell silent in thought. They’d spent the entire time preparing their PPT in the school dormitory, barely leaving their room. How could Group B have stolen their PPT?

Suddenly, teammate Li Leilei spoke up, “Runrun, do you remember yesterday afternoon when we went out for hotpot? The USB drive was just left on the table…”

Shi Runrun’s eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying that before we returned, someone from Group B took our USB drive and copied the PPT?”

Li Leilei nodded.

But Shi Runrun immediately reconsidered, “But wait—Group B isn’t even from our university. How would they know our PPT was on that USB drive? And who did they send to copy it?”

As she pondered, another judge approached and publicly announced the verdict.

“Shi Runrun, Lin Miaomiao, you two are quite something. Since your teams’ PPTs are identical, with one side suspected of theft, to assure the organizers of the competition’s fairness, both teams are disqualified! Furthermore, the decision will be reported to your schools, and your schools will likely record a major demerit against you!”

Shi Runrun was stunned.

Panic seized her! Disqualification would render all their efforts meaningless, but worse, how could their school add a major demerit?

Such a mark could affect their graduation and future job prospects!

Shi Runrun’s face turned pale. Another girl in her group burst into tears at the mention of a major demerit.

Shi Runrun bit her lip, protesting, “Judge, I think this is unfair! Group B stole our PPT, and without a thorough investigation, you’re punishing both teams equally! This is truly unfair to us!”

“What do you want, then?”

The judge’s expression darkened, his voice rising as he shouted at Shi Runrun.

“I…”

Shi Runrun pressed her lips tightly together, unable to speak.

Indeed, she had no idea how to prove their innocence.

But it was so unfair!

Shi Runrun was frantic, her body burning with anxiety.

In that moment, she thought of Xiao Xuezheng.

If only he were here—he was so clever, he would surely find a way to prove their innocence.

Just then, a clear, melodious female voice rang out from behind them.

“Mr. Li, wait. No matter what, these kids deserve a chance to prove themselves.”

Shi Runrun turned at the sound, and when she saw the beautiful, delicate face of the woman, joy bloomed in her chest—it was the elegant lady she’d met before!

Chi Wanwan, in high heels and with graceful poise, approached them.

She lowered her almond-shaped eyes, briefly resting them on Shi Runrun’s anxious, flushed face, then turned her gaze to the judge with the poor attitude, smiling, “Mr. Li, these kids have worked so hard for this competition. To disqualify them and mark them with a major demerit seems rather unfortunate. Why don’t we find a proper place to investigate and see if we can determine which group actually stole the PPT?”

After Chi Wanwan spoke, Judge Li hesitated for a moment before agreeing, “Very well, Director Chi, as the representative of our main sponsor, we’ll do as you say.”

Thus, both groups were led to a spacious room.

Only now did Shi Runrun discover that the beautiful lady’s surname was Chi.

Inside the room, Judge Li first looked at Lin Miaomiao’s group and asked sternly, “Lin, when did your team upload the PPT to the backstage system?”

Lin Miaomiao curled her lips with confidence, “Yesterday at five p.m.!”

Shi Runrun’s face instantly turned pale!

She narrowed her eyes at Lin Miaomiao and stood up, shouting, “Impossible! We had only just finished making our PPT at five o’clock yesterday!”

But Lin Miaomiao seemed to have anticipated this challenge, turning to Shi Runrun with a smug sneer, “There’s an upload timestamp in the system. You can check it, and see if I’m lying.”

Upon hearing this, Judge Li lowered his eyes to the laptop before him. Under Shi Runrun’s hopeful gaze, he turned the screen towards her.

“Shi, see for yourself.”

Shi Runrun looked closely—and panic seized her!

The system showed Lin Miaomiao’s group had uploaded their PPT at 5:01 p.m.

Worse news followed!

They had guessed earlier that someone from Group B might have stolen the USB drive while they were out for hotpot, copied the PPT, and returned the drive.

So Shi Runrun had quickly called a classmate to check yesterday afternoon’s dormitory surveillance.

But now, her classmate told her the dormitory camera malfunctioned precisely after they left!

What are the odds of such a coincidence?

Shi Runrun was now certain—Lin Miaomiao’s group had stolen their PPT!

But with the surveillance broken and their upload time later than the other group’s, how could they possibly prove their innocence…