Chapter 689

In the medical lab at Cabinda University, the sharp screech of a chair cut through
the quiet.
“Letty, the new list for the International Medical Competition just dropped.”
Letty barely glanced up from her experiment. She flashed a careless smile, not even pausing. “So what? Who’s on it this time?”
Honestly, it was always the same handful of people. Nothing to get worked up about. Their skills were all more or less on par, anyway. Letty had been grinding through her mentor’s practice cases for months. When the time came, she was sure she’d outshine the rest.
Carmelita clutched the list, her face pale. She stammered, “Letty… Charlotte’s name is on here.”
Letty froze, her hand still on the microscope slide. She spun around, eyes wide. “What did you say?”
Without waiting for an answer, she snatched the list from Carmelita and scanned it. At the very bottom, there it was-Charlotte.
“No way.” Letty stared at the page, reading it over and over. Her eyes narrowed, disbelief all over her face. “Everyone who gets into this competition is at the top of their field. How did a freshman like Charlotte even get invited?”
Was it because someone clueless had seen that video from the last competition? Still, it didn’t make sense.
She set the list aside, peeled off her gloves and mask, and pulled out her phone. She found a number and called. “Lydia, I need to ask you something
Whatever Lydia said made Letty’s expression turn even darker.
“The committee approved this?” Letty repeated the words in a daze, like everything she thought she knew was crumbling. Since when did Charlotte have connections to the committee?
“So it was probably that competition video that got their attention?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Lydia replied on the other end. “As for whether she used any connections, I can’t find out. Decisions like this are out of reach for most of us.”
Lydia had watched the video too. Charlotte was good, sure, but there was no way she was better than the student Lydia had been training for over ten years.
“Letty, I’m going to be a judge this year. This is your shot. If you want that spot in the International Medical Department, you’ll have to earn it.”
The message was clear.
“Yes, Lydia.” Letty’s answer came out strong and steady.
She hung up. Carmelita was at her side in a flash, eyes anxious. “Did you find out how Charlotte got the invitation?”
Letty’s grip tightened around her phone. Her gaze turned icy. “She probably pulled some strings.”
Otherwise, there was no way. With her background and skills, how would she even get noticed by the committee?
Pulled some strings? Carmelita
frowned, remembering things she’d seen before: Charlotte seemed a little too close with Kenneth, and then there was that coach from the White Whale Training Base. Neither of them were nobodies. If Charlotte wanted to use her connections, it wasn’t impossible.
“It doesn’t really matter if she’s competing,” Letty scoffed, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “Just seeing her face annoys me. Now that she has her tickët in, she probably thinks She’s unstoppable.”
Carmelita hesitated, then added, “Letty, I remember there are a lot of requirements for getting into the International Medical Department. One of them is character, right? Like, you have to be above reproach?”