chapter1241

"How did our students do?"

Once they got in the car, Connor reached over and buckled Lydia's seatbelt for her.

Lydia relaxed against the leather seat, her fingers tracing the edge of her phone. She hesitated for a second before answering, her lips pressing together. "Not great."

She sighed. There were lots of questions about Al diagnostic algorithms and some hands-on theory stuff. It completely threw everyone off."

Falling behind meant getting left behind. That saying felt all too real right now.

Lydia had honestly thought that, for all their arrogance, Marilyn and Yara would at least try harder during the competition. She never expected them to totally ignore her advice.

Now that she thought about it, Peyton was actually showing a lot of promise.

Connor steered with one hand, glancing over at Lydia's furrowed brow. Suddenly he reached out and bumped the temperature up a couple of degrees. "Let's get some food first. We can talk about everything else after."

Lydia nodded. "Okay."

The black sports car wove through traffic until it pulled up in front of a Michelin- starred restaurant.

Before the food even arrived, Lydia's phone started buzzing.

Dr. Tomlinson sounded a little frantic. "Lydia, we just finished counting. Nineteen students want in on the training, but every conference room at the hotel is already booked by other teams..."

This morning's theory exam hadn't just thrown their own country into chaos. The other teams were scrambling too.

Now, during the lunch break, everyone was switching into full-on training mode.

Lydia paused, then said, "You guys should grab something to eat first. After that, come to my hotel suite. The living room should be big enough for everyone."

Dr. Tomlinson sounded relieved. "That's perfect, thank you."

Lydia's hotel was right next to the competition venue, which made things way easier for everyone.

By the time she hung up, Connor was already calling over a server to get their food boxed up.

"Looks like lunch is coming with us," he said, a hint of a smile in his voice.

Want me to send someone over to help set things up?"

Lydia shook her head. "No need. I brought my own projector."

She paused, then looked up at him. "Do you have plans this afternoon?"

Connor brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, his eyes crinkling with a deeper smile. Yeah. I'm helping Professor Norwood as her teaching assistant."

Half an hour later, the living room of Lydia's presidential suite was filling up. Nineteen students arrived one after another.

Actually, make that twenty-one.

Right before everyone headed out, two more people showed up: Marilyn and Yara.

Neither of them thought they'd make it to the next round, but they were curious about what Lydia was planning.

The biggest surprise was how many

people actually wanted to join

Lydia's session. Marilyn and Yara

had figured no one would pay attention to a show-off freshman," but almost half the students were here, ready to learn from her.

"The equipment's all ready," Connor called out as he walked in from the study, holding Lydia's laptop. A hotel ging

staff member followed, arranging

arrangin

folding tables and chairs.

Even in the softer light, it was obvious to everyone that Connor was more than just good-looking. He had this cool, commanding vibe and sharp features that stood out.

He didn't just set up the room-he

handed Lydia her projector, adjusted the lighting, and moved like he'd done it a hundred times before, almost like he was her personal assistant.

Marilyn and Yara immediately picked up on the vibe.

Lydia and this guy... there was definitely something going on between them.