I became even more confused after listening to Atticus. I had no idea how confident he was.

Clutching the phone with a sense of helplessness, I pondered over Atticus' intentions. His call suggested that our design proposal was the key to giving Melvern a winning chance. Why would Atticus still want us to submit a proposal if that was the case?

At this point, even Lauren was baffled. She looked at me and couldn't help prodding. "What the heck is going on?" she asked.

Shaking my head, I said in resignation, "Looks like Melvern is truly going head-to-head with Atticus." I then explained the situation to Lauren, who fell silent for a long time.

She then said, "In my opinion, all we can do now is wait and see what happens. Steady yourself and let them duke it out."

"But I can't figure out what kind of scheme Melvern is playing," I said in genuine concern, "I can't just stand by and watch Atticus rise or fall."

"Don't overthink it. Atticus is no pushover. Have you ever seen him lose a