Ghost Exorciser: The Oust Fake Heiress Strikes-Chapter 392: Copy

The stark white bandage stood out harshly against his skin, and even from a distance, it looked heavy and restrictive.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes upon seeing this, her gaze sharpening, yet she said nothing.

Instead, she turned toward the crowd and offered a polite, composed smile, as if nothing was amiss.

Soon, the judges arrived. The moment they noticed Yale’s condition, their expressions darkened with concern.

"What are you planning to do in this state?" one of them questioned, their tone laced with disbelief.

Yale let out a small chuckle, the sound light but steady.

"I already have a design in mind," he said. "I’ve asked a friend to come and execute it. They should be here soon."

Hearing this, a strange sense of unease crept into Cassandra’s chest, like cold fingers wrapping around her spine.

And sure enough, that unease turned into reality the moment she saw who walked in.

Lana.

The instant Cassandra laid eyes on her, her pupils shrank slightly, her expression tightening before she quickly masked it.

She turned toward the judges and spoke firmly, "She can’t participate."

Lana, however, let out a soft chuckle, the sound echoing lightly in the suddenly quiet hall.

The audience stirred, whispers spreading rapidly at Cassandra’s sudden objection.

Cassandra shot her an irritated look. "What are you laughing at?"

Lana tilted her head slightly, her lips curling in amusement.

"I haven’t even done anything yet," she replied.

"And you’re already trying to eliminate me. Aren’t you being a little too eager to remove competition?"

Cassandra frowned, her voice sharpening.

"What guarantee is there that what you create will be Yale’s idea and not your own? What if you present your own masterpiece here?"

Lana let out another soft laugh before glancing at the judges and then at the crowd.

"If I had a design worthy of being called a masterpiece," she said lightly, "would I still be standing here? Wouldn’t I already be working with some top design company?"

Cassandra’s lips pressed into a thin line.

"You’re twisting my words. There’s a level just below perfection, and you’re at least there. I won’t compete against you."

Her words caused the crowd to exchange suspicious glances once more.

Lana’s smile widened slightly as she stepped forward. "Or is it that you’re afraid?" she asked, her voice calm yet piercing.

"Do you think you won’t win if I actually use my own ideas?"

Cassandra’s eyes flashed with annoyance. "I said I won’t compete," she replied coldly. "No matter how much you provoke me."

At that point, someone from the crowd could no longer hold back.

"You’re overreacting!" a voice rang out. "It’s not like she has any record of winning anything. She hasn’t even made it to the finals before, which clearly means she’s far below you!"

Several others nodded in agreement, murmurs of support rising.

Cassandra inhaled deeply, the air feeling heavier in her lungs. Her nails dug slightly into her palm before she finally exhaled.

"Fine," she said, her voice steady but carrying a faint edge. "I’ll compete."

She looked at Lana with narrowed eyes, yet she quickly reassured herself.

’It’s fine... Yale said he would guide her. That means he must already have a blueprint in mind,’ she thought, her grip tightening slightly around the pencil.

Sure enough, the moment her fingers touched the smooth wooden surface of the pencil, a blueprint began to form inside her mind, clear and structured as if it had always been there.

Without hesitation, she lowered her hand and began sketching swiftly, the faint scratching sound of graphite against paper blending into the quiet murmurs of the hall.

When she finally finished, however, a strange feeling crept into her mind. The design... felt familiar.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared at it. ’Where have I seen this before?’ she wondered, a faint unease rising like a cold draft brushing against her spine.

Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pinpoint it.

Just as she was about to inspect the attire more carefully, Lana had already stepped forward and presented her design.

Cassandra’s heart skipped a beat.

She quickly flipped her own design sheet, her fingers trembling ever so slightly as she turned toward Lana, her gaze laced with nervous anticipation. The moment her eyes landed on Lana’s work, they widened in shock.

It was... different. Completely different.

Her breathing faltered as she looked back down at her own design. ’How... how is this possible?’ The thought struck her like a sudden jolt. ’Was my suspicion wrong?’

Lana hadn’t followed Yale’s blueprint. She had created something entirely her own.

A flicker of realization dawned on Cassandra.

The reason she had resisted so strongly earlier was that she feared Lana already had a fully prepared, detailed blueprint and would simply make that.

If that had happened, their designs wouldn’t match at all... and worse, that recreated design might have still outshone hers.

Now, as she glanced at Lana’s design again, she could tell, just by instinct, that it surpassed hers, even if only slightly.

Her throat felt dry.

’It’s fine... as long as the judges are on my side,’ she reassured herself, though the thought lacked conviction.

She turned toward the judges, her expression carefully controlled, but what she saw made her chest tighten.

They weren’t impressed. They were staring at her... in shock. A cold chill ran down her back.

Slowly, she turned toward the audience, and an even heavier silence greeted her.

The crowd, once noisy and restless, had gone eerily quiet.

Dozens of eyes were fixed on her, their gazes strange, almost as if they were looking at something unfamiliar... something unsettling.

Her heartbeat quickened.

At that moment, Tony leaned back slightly in his chair, letting out a soft chuckle that echoed faintly in the silence.

"How interesting," he said, his tone laced with something sharp. "I feel like I’ve seen this design somewhere before."

Cassandra’s stomach dropped. A suffocating sense of dread wrapped around her.

Tony continued, his voice calm yet cutting, "A well-known designer recently released a similar concept... and made sure to copyright it."