Chapter 983

Hazel had agreed to join the Challenge Cup competition at her advisor’s request—and once she committed, she intended to win. She stuffed the thick packet of materials into her backpack, hopped on her bike, and pedaled hard toward the lecture hall. She *should* have arrived on time. But the unexpected detour to the advisor’s office threw off her schedule, and by the time she slipped through the back door, the professor was already deep into his lecture. Quietly, Hazel took a seat in the nearly deserted back row. In most universities, those seats would be prime real estate. But here, where excellence was the norm, everyone crammed toward the front—closer to the whiteboard, the questions, the action. Sitting in the rear made her stick out even more. She didn’t mind. She straightened her posture and tried to focus, but within minutes realized the material was far too basic. She couldn’t even recall when she’d learned this content—it felt like muscle memory by now. So instead, she pulled ou