Chapter 187 The First Place
Matthew looked at him and asked, "What do you think?"
The competitor fell silent, thinking, 'What's up with Mr. Thompson?'
"So, are you sure about this, or just guessing?" he continued, confusing many.
"Clearly, a lot of you share the same opinion, right?" he added.
No one responded, but from their earlier argument, it was obvious many agreed.
"What about the rest?" he asked before continuing, "Let's announce the results."
The examiner nodded and stepped forward to announce the results. Ten people were selected, starting from tenth place. To Evelyn's surprise, Dylan was in second place. She glanced back at him.
He was already looking at her, nodding and smiling confidently.
With everything announced, only first place was left. The atmosphere grew tense; it was either first place or nothing.
Everyone wanted to win and gain fame quickly.
So, when the examiner announced "Evelyn," it caused quite a stir.
"Her?! A Vistalian? No way!"
People murmured, clearly unconvinced. The voices weren't loud but still audible.
"How could a Vistalian be better than us? It's unfair!"
"This competition has always been fair!"
"Isn't Evelyn just Mr. Thompson's daughter's friend? That's why!"
"Did he leak the questions to her?"
"If he did, why not just give her the answers?"
Everyone doubted Evelyn's win, thinking she couldn't be better than them.
"Wait, I have a question!" Someone raised their hand, opposing the result.
Even with Matthew there, they still looked down on Evelyn.
"I don't get why she," pointing at Evelyn, "is first. Did she answer better? Perform better? How? We need a convincing explanation, or we'll have to call this competition unfair!"
Evelyn stayed calm, as if their doubts had nothing to do with her.
The examiner glanced at Mr. Thompson and said, "Quiet, everyone. You want to know why Ms. Taylor won, right? Let's go back to the final question. Are you sure your answers were correct?"
"Could both bottles be Mr. Thompson's work?" Someone suddenly realized.
If Evelyn didn't agree with the statement, it meant it was wrong. So, if neither bottle was Matthew's work, the opposite must be true.
The examiner smiled, holding a stack of answer sheets. "Here are your answers. Most of you analyzed the raw materials and components before judging. Moreover, many thought neither work was Mr. Thompson's, while some thought both were.
"However, Ms. Taylor's answer didn't include this."
People were puzzled.
"Does that mean not adding an analysis is correct? We were wrong just for judging?"
"Let's have Ms. Taylor explain." The examiner gestured for Evelyn to come forward. "By the way, her ingredient analysis was the most comprehensive. If you're not convinced, you can check later."
Evelyn felt annoyed. She thought she could go home after the results, but now she had to deal with this.
Reluctantly, she stood up and approached the microphone. She looked at Matthew, who was sitting calmly. "Before I answer, I have a question for Mr. Thompson."
Matthew glanced at her and raised his hand, signaling her to ask.
"What was the purpose of this question?"
Everyone was surprised. How dare she speak to him like that? They must be close!
Matthew responded, "What do you think?"
The crowd fell silent.
"I think you were testing if we'd be influenced by external factors," she said. "The last question could've been label-free, letting us analyze and judge whose work it was. However, they were meant to distract us, shifting our focus from the works themselves."
"We already know this, so we questioned the answers," said the person who objected earlier, clearly dissatisfied.
"No, you didn't," Evelyn replied, making the man's expression change.
She looked around. "As this gentleman said, you think denying the labels or raising objections means you're not influenced. But by spending so much time on them, you were already trapped whether or not you were questioning or speculating."
The crowd fell silent.
They were initially unconvinced, but her words made sense.
Someone asked, "Ms. Taylor, how did you answer? Did you never doubt who the creators were?"
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