Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 484: Chapter 484

Wilfrid said, "It's with a friend of mine. He's a foreign collector."
Zoe immediately said, "Deal. Just give me this, and I'll forget about the 33 million dollars."
'I managed to hit the mark with this offer?' Wilfrid thought, surprised. He quickly replied, "The collector and I are close. If I put in a word, he'll definitely hand over the knightly sword."
Zoe nodded in satisfaction, thinking this ancient knightly sword would make a perfect gift for Shawn. After a short while, she took her leave.
Once Zoe was gone, Gary walked in, his expression a mix of anticipation and eagerness. "Did she agree?" he asked.
Wilfrid replied, "It cost me a bit, but I finally managed to convince her."
Gary said excitedly, "Since Shawn graduated, our country has failed several times to claim the championship at the International Elite Competition. But now, with Zoe on our team, we can finally redeem our honor."
Wilfrid was just as pleased. Without such an outstanding student as Zoe, he wouldn't have felt so confident. Now, all he had to do was wait for the competition day and see how she would wow the entire crowd.
On her way back, Zoe received a call from Shawn. "Where are you?" he asked.
Zoe stood at the university entrance, watching the steady stream of cars pass by. "Highcrest University," she replied.
"Join me in the International Elite Competition."
Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Why is everyone so eager for me to join this competition?"
"Someone else invited you too?"
"Wilfrid already spoke to me about it, and I've got the invitation right here." Zoe glanced at the invitation, a satisfied smile on her face.
Shawn paused briefly. "I'll be representing Clusia as a judge at the competition."
Zoe chuckled, "So you're inviting me to join you because you want me to be a judge too?"
Shawn had thought so. But for now, just being able to attend the event together was the best outcome. "Let's leave together the day after tomorrow. I'll book your flight," he said.
Zoe chuckled, "Okay." After a bit more conversation, she hung up and climbed into Medusa's sleek car.
Medusa asked, "Boss, have you heard about the International Elite Competition?"
Zoe glanced at Medusa and teased, "What, are you trying to get me to go too?"
Medusa shook her head. "They sent two invitations to Eminence Nexus, wanting us to send competitors."
"Then pick a few from our rising stars."
"I was thinking the same. But this time, they even invited Firefox to be a judge."
Zoe paused briefly and looked at Medusa. "Do you have the judge invitation list?"
Medusa immediately handed her phone over to Zoe.
Zoe scanned the list—Shawn's name was there. What caught her attention was that Firefox's name was placed right next to his. She couldn't tell if it was by design or just a coincidence.
Zoe hadn't thought much of it before, but now she felt a twinge of suspicion. 'Could it be that Shawn is doubting my identity and using the competition invitation as an excuse to snoop around? '
She sighed inwardly, 'Thank goodness Wilfrid invited me to compete beforehand. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to avoid exposing my identity as Firefox.'
Aileen's name was on the list too. When Zoe spotted it, she paused for a couple of seconds.
But as she thought this rich foreign socialite had kind of been the spark in her relationship with Shawn, her annoyance faded away. She figured that with Aileen around, this overseas trip was going to be a whole lot more interesting.
Just as Zoe was thinking about Aileen, Aileen was also keeping tabs on her. "She's agreed to compete," Aileen said with a smirk.
Her subordinate reported, "Word is Wilfrid promised her a sweet deal, so she agreed to join the competition."
Aileen laughed. "Perfect. If she dares to show up at the competition, I'll make her lose so badly she'll be in tears."
The subordinate asked curiously, "Have you already devised a plan?"
Aileen sneered, "There's no shortage of top competitors in this competition, and I happen to have connections with some of them. As long as..." She trailed off, already picturing Zoe's humiliating defeat in her mind.
Aileen thought, 'The International Elite Competition is no child's play. The most formidable rising elites from around the world will be there.
'Zoe might be impressive when she's up against a few people, but let's see how high and mighty she acts when she's facing an entire lineup of top competitors.'
She immediately pulled out her phone and called Sophia. "Nice work, Sophia. If I manage to make Zoe lose face in public this time, I'll reward you handsomely."
Sophia's eyes lit up with delight. "So my plan worked?"
Aileen grinned. "Yeah, Zoe has agreed to represent Highcrest University in the competition."
"That's wonderful. It's a pity I can't be there," Sophia said.
"Don't you worry, I'll record the whole thing so you can see for yourself how she makes a total fool of herself overseas," Aileen said with a smug grin, already picturing Zoe tripping over herself.
Sophia was just as eager. 'If Aileen can really make Zoe suffer public disgrace—or, even better, break up with Shawn—then this scheme won't be a failure after all,' she thought, though she knew it all depended on whether Aileen could make it.
Before long, the day of the International Elite Competition arrived. Shawn picked Zoe up and drove her to the airport. On the way, their conversation naturally turned to the upcoming competition.
Shawn glanced over and asked, "Why are you joining the competition?"
"Because I've got a gift for you," Zoe said directly.
Shawn was slightly taken aback. "A gift?"
Since he'd botched the proposal and then got called away on a mission, they hadn't seen each other in days.
When they finally met again, he expected there would be some awkwardness. But now, Zoe, who had turned him down twice, was now calmly saying she wanted to give him a gift—how crazy it was.
Shawn couldn't tell if Zoe was upset or happy. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "So winning first place is your gift to me?"
"Winning first place is just so I can get the gift. You'll see what it is soon enough," Zoe said, deliberately keeping Shawn in suspense.
As they chatted, Shawn suddenly said casually, "I heard Firefox will also be one of the judges this time."
Zoe had already prepared for this. She deliberately teased, "I heard you once swore on the battlefield that you'd marry no one but Firefox. So why are you suddenly proposing to me? Are you just toying with me?"
"No."
"Then you're just toying with Firefox?"
Shawn fell silent.
Zoe continued, "I'm not the kind of woman who shares her man with someone else. If you keep getting involved with Firefox, then you'd better stay away from me for good."
Shawn abruptly pulled the car over to the side of the road, turned to her, and asked, "You think I'm just playing with your feelings?"
Zoe smirked, "A decent man doesn't casually string two women along."
Shawn was left speechless—Zoe sure knew how to corner him.