When His Perfect Mask Shattered I Awoke (Anneliese and Zacharias) novel Chapter 699

The supervisor hunched over, his attitude respectful and eager to please—completely different from the dismissive impatience he had shown Anneliese earlier.

Gianna took the number tag, glanced at Anneliese, and asked, "She's a senior I know. What's going on?"

The supervisor quickly explained that he couldn't find her registration details, and Gianna frowned.

"Can't you make an exception?"

"That's absolutely not possible. The competition is about to start, and all the competition devices are already set up. There's no way to add anyone last minute, Ms. Malone, please don't make things difficult for us..."

Gianna turned to Anneliese, giving her a regretful look. "Anneliese, I really wish I could help you, but I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. This staff member is just following the rules. I know you want to compete, but I don't think you'd blame the staff for a mistake on your end, right?"

There was mockery and contempt in Gianna's eyes. She'd had a rough couple of days, so picking on Anneliese made her feel much better.

With the competition about to start, even if Anneliese went to complain to Jonathan now, there just wasn't enough time to fix this. She was definitely going to miss her chance.

Last time, Anneliese had been accused of using her looks to get into a top lab, but somehow she came out clean. This time, Gianna had already arranged for media coverage, ready to paint Anneliese as eye candy with no real skills—washed up after years out of the field, all talk and no talent. She'd be branded as a coward who ran away at the last minute.

Once Gianna won the championship, Anneliese would be the perfect contrast and her stepping stone.

"I didn't know you were competing too, Ms. Malone."

Anneliese saw Gianna and knew right away where the problem lay.

Gianna had always had it out for her. With Adrian's company being one of the event's two main sponsors, it would be easy for her to get Anneliese's entry revoked.

Gianna smirked, "Unlike you, Anneliese, I'm always low-key. Prof. Clocke expects so much from you, but you even messed up your registration. He'll be so disappointed."

"Enough, Gianna, the competition is about to start. Let's go get ready," Pepper said, stepping forward.

Gianna shrugged and tried to walk past, but Anneliese blocked her path and grabbed her wrist.

Gianna tried to pull away and glared at Anneliese in anger.

Smack!

The slapping sound was crisp and sharp. Gianna was so stunned that she just stood there, holding her face.

Pepper reacted fast and lunged at Anneliese, yelling, "You bitch!"

Anneliese raised her hand, caught Pepper's wrist, and shoved her away.

Pepper stumbled back a couple of steps, crying out in shock.

The commotion drew a crowd, including several reporters waiting nearby.

The quicker ones already had their cameras trained on the scene.

Gianna lowered her hand, showing off the slap mark on her face, and stared at Anneliese with red eyes. "Anneliese, you couldn't compete, so now you're stopping me too? How could you do this?"

Pepper frowned. "Ms. Claude, you and Gianna are both in Prof. Clocke's lab. He favors you and recommends you for this challenge. Gianna had to work hard to get her spot. Now you missed your chance to register, and you're just afraid Gianna will do better than you in the lab. Still, that's no excuse to hit someone in public."