The Psychotic Girl’s Revenge

The door slammed shut.

Nick, unable to contain his shock, sprayed his sandwich everywhere.

Carrie watched silently, her earlier suspicions confirmed.

Paige felt a mix of emotions. She hadn’t expected him to retaliate so blatantly by letting her team see him. Was it really necessary?

Nick, still in shock, pointed in the direction Enrico had gone and exclaimed, “He-he-he just came out of Paige’s room!”

Paige was rarely this embarrassed. She took a deep breath to steady herself and calmly said, “That was someone I invited…”

“You’re dating a gigolo,” Nick said, almost jumping up in surprise. After a moment, he looked at Paige with a complex expression and said, “Paige, I believe in you. Even if you were smoking, drinking, or partying, I’d still believe you’re a good person!”

Paige was speechless and turned to Carrie.

Carrie stood up from the sofa, relieved, “I understand. It’s normal. Seeing you so relaxed makes me feel a lot better. I think I can handle today’s competition now.”

Paige wanted to explain but in the end, she just said. “Well, let’s get ready. We need to head to the venue.”

“Got it.” Nick and Carrie both nodded in agreement.

…

The international FS competition was held at the local Science and Technology Museum. Given the buzz from the previous two matches, the event attracted a lot of media attention.

Paige walked into the massive museum with her team under the scrutiny of many eyes. The FS competition, renowned internationally, was known as the Brain Kingdom. Only the top of the top participants emerged from it.

At the moment, the central competition area was empty, with only a few 3D screens set up, so it was unclear what the competition would involve.

The competition has set up a spectator area to demonstrate that it is fair, just, and transparent. Paige, Carrie, and Nick took their seats in the front row.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Nick said, “Carrie, do you want to go to the players’ lounge? It’s a bit noisy here.”

“No need,” Paige interjected. “Until the competition starts, you should stay put except for going to the restroom.”

“Okay.” Carrie agreed with Paige’s instructions. In such a public setting, it would be hard for the Elite Club to make a move, but if she were alone, things could be different.

Paige handed Carrie a box containing earphones.

Carrie looked surprised.

“Listen to music,” Paige said.

“Thanks.” Carrie gratefully accepted the earphones, put them on, leaned her head on Paige’s shoulder, and closed her eyes to relax, ignoring the commotion around them.

Paige found this odd. Carrie seemed to sense her gaze and, with her eyes still closed, said, “I don’t know why, but I always feel so secure around you, like I don’t have to worry about anything. So, let me stay like this for a bit.”

‘Security? Even back in the slums, people had said the same. It was strange that I, someone who had nothing, could give others a sense of security?’ Paige thought.

“Paige, so many people are watching you and Carrie! Uh-oh, here come the opponents.” Nick said.

Rachel, dressed in a blue long gown, sat down to Paige’s right. She was accompanied by a group of Elite Club members, all of whom looked unfriendly.

It seemed the event organizers enjoyed stirring up drama, as they had seated Peak Club and Elite Club next to each other.

“I was going to invite you to join us, but I hadn’t seen you for two days.” Rachel said to Paige with a friendly smile, as if catching up with an old friend.

Paige dimmed her phone screen and replied, “It’s fine. As long as the competition isn’t over, you still have a chance to act.”

“Joss, I don’t understand…”

Paige glanced at her. Rachel no longer seemed flustered as when Paige had exposed her; she seemed to have fully adjusted.

“I’m looking forward to your performance today,” Paige said, her interest shifting back to the competition area.

“Why didn’t you mention my feelings to Enrico?” Rachel asked. “Such news would likely displease him and might even make him dislike me more.” Rachel had waited several days without seeing any unusual behavior from Enrico and realized Paige hadn’t said anything.

Paige smiled lightly and replied nonchalantly, “Guess.”

As the two were talking, a commotion erupted from behind them. At the entrance, well-trained security guards pushed aside the media, creating a clear path.

Shortly after, Enrico emerged from the crowd.

“Mr. Gustin? What’s he doing here?” A reporter excitedly asked, surprised to see Enrico at such a cerebral competition.

Jaden stepped in, “Mr. Gustin is attending the finance summit next door and decided to stop by. He won’t be giving interviews today, so please clear the way.”

As Enrico approached, Rachel immediately noticed the red marks on his neck-two clear scratch marks just above his collar.

“How did Mr. Gustin get those marks? Did his girlfriend do that?” a reporter asked. Jaden frowned in annoyance, “No comment.”

Enrico made his way to a row of seats four rows behind Paige and the others. Jaden quickly cleared the entire row of spectators.

Paige sent a message to Enrico.

[Paige: Why are you here? Now that you’ve arrived, Peak Club is bound to attract attention. You’ve lost the bet.]

Enrico’s presence had more impact than top celebrities. His arrival meant that today’s headlines would be dominated by the competition, and Peak Club would be thrust into the national spotlight.

After sending the message, Paige glanced sideways to see Rachel looking at her phone.

Paige couldn’t help but sneer. “”Do you have a habit of snooping through other people’s messages?

“I don’t,” Rachel quickly turned away. She was envious of Paige’s ability to message Enrico and leave marks on him, while she could do neither.

Paige looked back at Enrico, who was sitting with a cold expression, not even bothering to check his phone.

As more people filled the seats and the venue doors began to close, signaling the start of the competition, Paige was about to put her phone away when it vibrated. Enrico had finally replied.

[Enrico: I’m here to see how you’ll fail.]

Paige put her phone away. Carrie suddenly looked up and said, “Paige, I need to use the restroom.”

This was part of their plan. Rather than being overly defensive and driving the Elite Club to act recklessly, it’s better to intentionally leave some openings.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Paige agreed, standing up and heading out with Carrie. As they left, Rachel turned to Carl, who was operating his phone.

A long line had formed in front of the women’s restroom.

Paige and Carrie waited there for a while. When an announcement came, calling the competitors to the field, Paige suggested, “Let’s go to your player lounge. There’s also a restroom there.”

“Alright,” Carrie agreed, following Paige as they left.

Someone followed them discreetly.

Paige suddenly looked back, causing the person to quickly hide behind a wall. After a moment, the figure peeked out and saw someone in a white T-shirt enter the player lounge.

The person quickly moved to lock the door from the outside.