The Year She Stopped Being Crazy for Him novel Chapter 60

It filled Gardenia with a crushing sense of powerlessness.

And now, Seven was inflicting that exact same powerlessness on her.

Just moments ago, she had earned Professor Adler's praise, and everyone had been hovering around her.

Now, someone even more spectacular had emerged, stealing every last shred of attention.

Gardenia walked over to Marvin. "Marvin, how come you never mentioned you had such an incredible friend? You've never brought him out to hang out with us. You should introduce us next time. I'd love to ask for his advice."

Marvin looked down at her, his gaze loaded with unspoken meaning.

He used to think Gardenia was a genuinely great girl. But ever since he found out she was passing off someone else's work as her own for the Expo, he looked down on her with utter contempt.

Natalie hadn't elaborated on the details back then, but he had figured it out. Her silence meant her friend probably had their own hidden struggles.

Marvin chuckled. "That friend doesn't like going out. Spends all day locked in the lab and won't come out no matter how hard you try. Let's just drop it."

"I see." Gardenia nodded with a tight smile. "By the way, when did you join Professor Adler's team? I never heard you mention it."

Marvin hadn't told anyone he'd joined Professor Adler's ranks.

Being put on the spot by Gardenia made things a bit awkward. "I only joined recently. You just got back to Kingswood City, so it's normal there are things you don't know."

Before she could ask anything else, the people nearby elbowed past her, desperate to discuss the project with Marvin.

Shoved to the back of the crowd, Gardenia gritted her teeth. She couldn't stand being ignored like this.

Looking back, she saw Hassan staring fixedly at the robot, naked ambition burning in his eyes. Gardenia immediately understood—he definitely wanted to poach this developer for the Carlson Group.

Even though Hassan no longer personally involved himself in individual projects, his business instincts were lethal.

He could clearly see that the robot's commercial value was immeasurable.

Gardenia walked up beside him. "I'm sorry. I probably won't be able to take first place."

It wasn't a probability; it was an absolute certainty.

With a masterpiece like that leading the pack, everything else looked like child's play, even though Gardenia's submission was exceptional.

But her project clearly lacked the aggressive edge and radical innovation required for this specific type of showcase; it merely built deeper upon pre-existing tech.

Her eyes suddenly reddened. The last time she tried to use this wish was to save her grandfather, but... he hadn't even bothered to listen and chose Gardenia instead.

Hassan's brow furrowed. "Stop being capricious."

"This is all I want. After this, we won't owe each other a damn thing."

Hassan's voice turned glacial. "What use could you possibly have for it?"

"It doesn't matter what use I have for it. Just consider this my way of permanently severing all ties between us."

Hassan stared at her before grabbing her and dragging her into a private lounge.

With the whispers and murmurs shut out behind the door, the man glared at her. "Are you really this obsessed with competing against Gardenia?"

Natalie laughed bitterly. "And what if I say yes?"

He fell silent for a long time. His dark eyes remained fixed on her before he finally nodded. "Fine. You thought this through yourself. I obviously won't stop you. Exchanging a blank-check wish for a million-dollar robot seems like a massive win for me."

Natalie smiled. "Yeah, it is."