Chapter 78

Finally gaining Grace's nod of agreement, Terry felt as if he had just won a Nobel Prize. His joy was so overwhelming,he could barely contain himself.

Terry-normally a man who measured every minute-had initially planned to stay at the school for only an hour. But swept up in his excitement, he extended his visit to half a day, eagerly discussing artificial intelligence and elaborating on the Nature paper he had recently published.

Once Grace's identity was revealed, she had wanted to quiet the swirling rumors. So, she joined Terry in presenting the current state of Al and its projected development over the next twenty years.

Her insights weren't just impressive-they far surpassed Terry's. She even clarified several of his points and seamlessly filled in technical gaps he had overlooked.

Once she began speaking in earnest, her explanation flowed naturally, accessible and profound. Everyone,from curious students to seasoned staff, found themselves captivated.

The teachers in the room couldn't resist pulling out their notebooks, jotting down notes with sincere attention.

Despite having no slides, no script, and no prior notice, Grace spoke with clarity and depth,effortlessly sharing her knowledge and revealing the strength of her foundation and remarkable intellect.

By the time Terry left, the audience still wasn't satisfied-they wanted more.

He had mentioned earlier that he would upload the papers written by Grace, Gianna, and a few others to the school forum for everyone to review and compare.

After the assembly ended, eager students rushed to the forum to read Grace's paper.

True to Terry's word, the paper was there-exactly as promised, leaving no room for exaggeration or fabrication.

Then came Gianna's turn. Her paper, which she had once considered insightful and sophisticated,appeared clumsy and incoherent in comparison.

"Did you hear? Gianna actually questioned Professor Warren, thinking he made a mistake, when her paper reads like pure garbage!" someone snorted.

"Seriously! And that old hag Ellie thought Gianna would become famous from this and she herself could gain a promotion," another student added.

"What a complete humiliation!"

The forum exploded with unanimous praise for Grace, practically deifying her, while Gianna and Ellie -once perched at the top-were thoroughly torn down.

Gianna's reputation crumbled. Now, she became the object of ridicule.

She broke down, crying uncontrollably in the restroom.

Sadly, no one came to check on her. She was left alone, humiliated, with nothing to show when facing the Holdens again.

In stark contrast, Johnny showed no visible reaction to Grace, who had so abruptly become part of his family and daily life.

Still, he couldn't resist the urge to read her paper secretly. And when he did, he was stunned. It was brilliant. Many Al principles he had previously found confusing suddenly made sense. The clarity of the paper lifted a mental fog he hadn't even realized was there.

He sat in the school library, lost in thought. Wasn't Grace just the orphan girl adopted from a small orphanage? How could she be so knowledgeable about these new technology, have such a broad viewpoint, and have such a long-term vision? How was it possible for someone from a tiny, less developed city to have access to such knowledge?

As Johnny sat there, buried in his own questions, he noticed Grace walking by.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he called out,quickly stepping in front of her and pulling her aside.

If it had been anyone else, Grace would have brushed them off without a second thought. But this was Julia's youngest son. So, she humored him."Looking for some research materials."

In reality, she was there for a very different reason.She needed a quiet space to stealthily access a company's private network and search for criminal records.

She was on assignment from her superiors-an order she couldn't refuse, one with no room for failure.

"You? Looking for materials?" Johnny's voice held a strange tone-part disbelief, part curiosity. It wasn't clear whether he found her too brilliant to need to study, or too ordinary to bother.

Grace didn't care to unravel it. "Did you stop me just to ask that?"

"Well, not exactly," he replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Curiosity finally got the better of him. "Where did you learn all that stuff? And... are you into hacking,too?"

For reasons he couldn't explain, he had a growing suspicion-Grace just seemed to know everything.

Just then, Grace spotted someone approaching-Beatrice. She was likely here for Johnny.

Something clicked in Grace's mind. Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own."Johnny, are you really into Beatrice? Have you ever thought she might not be who she seems?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, brows furrowed. The sudden shift in topic caught him off guard.

"Like... maybe she's been cozying up to some older man behind your back," Grace said as Beatrice paused close by and quickly ducked behind a bookcase.

Beatrice was terrified.

Grace grinned.