Chapter 363
Carlos wasn’t angry because of how these people treated Ariel.
What really bothered him was the way they treated the university’s fairness and Ariel’s hard work as if they were meaningless. How could they invalidate everything with one thoughtless comment?
Nancy’s face had gone completely pale.
She knew what had just happened had rubbed Carlos the wrong way. But…
“Mr. Hockney, you already knew her score that day? Why… Nancy forced herself to stay calm and asked steadily.
Carlos turned to look at her. He could tell that she was looking for an answer. “You want to know why I didn’t tell you Ariel’s score?”
Nancy pressed her lips together. Now that things had reached this point, she needed an answer.
She wasn’t someone who couldn’t handle losing. She knew there would always be someone better out there.
But Carlos could have just told her Ariel’s score back then. Why did he have to make her wait until today?
If Nancy had known earlier, she wouldn’t have ended up so humiliated today.
Ariel glanced sideways at her, instantly catching on to what Nancy was thinking. She probably thought Carlos withheld the score intentionally to mess with her.
Carlos had no interest in dragging the conversation further. As he turned to leave, he seriously said, “Because you were never her rival. I didn’t think I owed you an explanation.”
Jayson shifted slightly to glance at Ariel. She stood there completely unfazed, calm and composed.
Carlos‘ words seemed to carry more than one meaning. It landed like a stone, shaking the entire group.
Even Nancy looked stunned.
Was he saying Ariel never meant to compete with her in the first place? Or…
Matt and Frederick stood there, dazed. Their brains were too scrambled to process the situation.
Before leaving, Andre looked at Nancy and said, “Don’t overthink it. Mr. Hockney treats everyone the same. He wasn’t protecting Ariel. He just wants people to respect the integrity and fairness of the university.”
Matt finally snapped out of it. Suppressing the shock in his chest, he pressed his lips into a line before saying, ” I’m sorry. I just got a little too worked up.”
Andre gave a small nod and followed Carlos out.
Now, all eyes turned back to Ariel, including Nancy’s and Jayson’s.
A chill flickered in Nancy’s gaze. Ariel hadn’t breathed a word since the results were released. Had she been waiting for this moment all along?
Ariel sensed her gaze and looked over calmly.
It wasn’t until now that she finally let a trace of mockery show.
“Ms. Walker, that’s an impressive achievement!” Someone quickly reacted and came over to shake Ariel’s hand.
Right after that, a few other company executives chimed in “No wonder you caught Mr. Hockney’s eye. This score
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Chapter 363
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is more than deserved!”
“Ms. Stanton is just as impressive! The two of you swept first and second. What a close match!”
Someone glanced at Nancy, then at Jayson beside her, making sure Ariel wasn’t the only one who received compliments. After all, the man beside Nancy was Jayson. They had to show him some respect.
Even so, everyone knew that the gap between first and second was anything but small.
Now this was interesting. Ariel, who topped the list, had revealed nothing. Yet, they had almost misunderstood Nancy’s remarks, thinking she was hinting at some kind of backdoor deal. It turned out that the truth was just an unbelievably high score.
Nancy’s ears were buzzing. Her lips twitched into a strained smile. Even though the praise made her uncomfortable, she still gave a polite nod in return.
Ariel knew they were just being diplomatic, so she simply smiled back.
Meanwhile, Chad chuckled and waved his hand. “No need to be so formal, everyone. Ms. Walker keeps a low profile. She’s not the type to chase after recognition. Keep flattering her like this, and she’s really going to get really shy.”
He had already said there was no need to check the results, but no one had listened.
Almost every pair of eyes in the room had shifted to Ariel.
Nancy stared hard at Ariel. Her jaw was tight, and the shock in her eyes still hadn’t faded.
Matt picked up on the subtext in Chad’s words. His heart skipped a beat. He instinctively stepped closer to Jayson and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
How did things get to this point?
Jayson’s unreadable gaze locked onto Ariel’s face. After a long silence, he finally said, “Really impressive, Ms. Walker.”
Ariel had no idea what he meant by that.
There was no emotion in his voice at all.
He might have just been making an objective statement, or maybe there was a hint of sardonicity beneath it.
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