Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)
Chapter 56

Sylvia had barely set foot back on campus when she got the message from the dean about submitting her project. Without hesitation, she headed straight to the dean's office. To her surprise, not only were the contestants from other grades there, but Bridget was also present.

Usually, each grade would nominate one contestant, but this year, being their final year, they had two spots available. Thanks to Rupert's influence, of course.

Sylvia approached and before she could said anything, the dean immediately started scolding her.

"Sylvia, you're the only one who hasn't turned in your project yet. Don't keep dragging your feet. Look at Ms. Simpson, she was the first to submit hers." Bridget offered a modest smile.

Sylvia knew all too well Bridget's tactics. If she started arguing, Bridget would just play the victim.

She didn't want to get involved in Bridget's drama for everyone to see.

"Sorry. I'll show it to you now," Sylvia said calmly.

She opened her bag and pulled out her sketchpad, only to find that it was empty! The sketches she had tucked inside were gone!

While she was still in shock, Bridget snatched the sketchpad from her hands and opened it for everyone to see.

The room filled with eerie stares as they looked at the blank pages.

Bridget feigned discomfort, "Sylvia, it's okay if you couldn't come up with a design. Why lie to everyone?"

The other contestants looked at Sylvia with disapproval.

The dean slammed his hand on the desk, "Sylvia, this is unacceptable! You took someone's spot in the competition and now this? Do you even understand what design means? Take a good look at what a real design looks like!" He angrily spread Bridget's design on the desk.

As Sylvia glanced over Bridget's design, her expression turned to stone. It was her competition piece!

She looked up sharply at Bridget.

Bridget wasn't surprised at her reaction. Instead, she smiled, as if mocking Sylvia's over-confidence.

"Sylvia, what do you think? I'm quite pleased with it," Bridget picked up her project. "So much so that I went ahead and applied for copyright protection, just in case someone decided to plagiarize it."

Her emphasis on plagiarism was clearly a warning to Sylvia, implying that even if Sylvia protested, it would be useless. She'd taken the manuscript and applied for copyright verification; even if Sylvia argued glibly, this piece of work would still belong to Bridget. Hearing this, Sylvia clenched her fists helplessly, using the pain to contain her anger.

After securing Bridget's design, the dean scoffed, "Sylvia, you might as well give up now and save yourself the embarrassment!"

Sylvia knew that withdrawing from the competition was exactly what Bridget wanted.

But she had specially taken precautions this time. She had intentionally left her initial drafts in the cabinet and had Freya switch them out to fool Bridget into thinking she had stolen Sylvia's actual competition design, thus lowering her guard. Why then did Bridget end up with her redesigned project?

When Sylvia looked up, her eyes met Bridget's meaningful smile. Something suddenly dawned upon her; it was Rupert! He really would do anything for Bridget.

Sylvia clenched her fists tighter, unwilling to let the dean have the last word.

"The competition organizers never said we had to submit our designs today. They only required that we hand in our projects and prototypes to them for safekeeping the day before the competition."

The dean was momentarily choked but maintained his superiority, "Sylvia, with only three days left, you won't even be able to finish the prototype, let alone the design. And with your disabled hand, it seems even more unlikely!" "Thank you for your concern, but I'll manage," Sylvia replied coolly.

The dean snorted callously with a wave of his hand, "Fine, I look forward to seeing you make a fool of yourself. Everyone, back to your things."

Bridget glanced at Sylvia's hand and snickered before leaving.