NovelEnglishIsabel and Estelle bid their farewells and returned to the hospital room, still somewhat distracted.
"Sweetie, what's on your mind?"
Her husband had just tucked their son into bed and noticed the uneasy look on her face, mistaking it for worry or difort. He
pulled her to sit down, "The doctor said the fever's gone down, it's all good now."
"Honey, | can't shake off the feeling that Bri's hiding something from me."
Isabel was suspicious.
"Even if Ms. Lte is close to us, she's not family by blood. It's normal for her to keep sthings from us." Her husband,
knowing their close relationship, didn't think much of it.
Doesn't every adult have their secrets?
"But whatever she's hiding fromthis time, it's no small matter."
Isabel couldn't sit still any longer, excusing herself from her husband, she called Brittany: "Bri, be honest with me, was that
stomachache you mentioned a lie?"
Brittany hadn't expected Isabel to be the first to sense something was off.
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She remained silent.
"Are you pregnant?" Isabel lowered her voice: "Bri, have you lost your mind? You and... aren't you engaged? If this gets out, you—"
Isabel's voice was terrifyingly low: "When did this happen?"
"Isabel, I'm sorry," Brittany apologized, "I haven't told anyone about this, I—"
Isabel took a deep breath, and after a long pause, said, "I'll pretend | don't know anything about this. If I've noticed, others might
too. Be careful, make sure nobody finds out, okay?"
Brittany knew Isabel meant well.
"Alright, | got it."
After hanging up, Isabel deleted the call log, deciding to act as if the conversation never happened.
Her husband later inquired, but Isabel kept silent.
Brittany wasn't worried about Isabel spilling the beans. After hanging up, she turned on the TV, and the screen showed the news of
the Welandia delegation arriving in Craneville.
A multitude of journalists and media flooded the airport. The Welandia delegation was led by none other than the chess prodigy—
Ulysses!
Brittany squinted her eyes, feeling like she had seen Ulysses somewhere before but couldn't be sure.
Daniel, hearing the news, cover to Brittany: "Mom, is that Ulysses?"
"Yes, that's Ulysses."
"I've seen him before." Daniel recognized Ulysses: "He visited the Salter family looking for dad."
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"He was looking for dad?"
"Yeah, to borrow money. Dad gave him a big sum."
Brittany nodded: "I see."
As the Welandia delegation arrived at the airport, they were greeted by countless journalists and media. Ulysses, who always
disliked such occasions, left with a dark expression.
The delegation's head, however, stood aside, answering the journalists' questions.
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"Orson, as the head of the delegation, facing Ms. Piper's newly established chess society, are you confident of victory?"
Orson was well-known in Welandia, as famous as Keegan!
"Ms. Piper's capabilities are well-known to me, and I look forward to this friendly match."
"Will Ulysses be playing? He just defeated Wallace, will he avoid the match this time?"
"No, there's no avoidingpetition in the game."
After Orson's statement, he walked away, with reporters following closely.
Watching the news, the chess society members were frustrated.
"Orson's too arrogant, thinking we can't beat them?"
"We already lost to Wallace before—"
There's no way we can win.
"Shut up!"
Piper stood up abruptly: "Wallace, no matter what, in this exchange match, if you face Ulysses, you have to win!"
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