The Genius Infant Outshone the Show’s Contrast Foils

Ive always lived in my sister Victorias shadow.

She was the entertainment industrys golden girl, praised as a genius, while I was dismissed as the pretty airhead.

After she boasted endlessly about her son and sneered that someone like me could only produce another fool, I acted recklessly.

First, I spent a wild night with a gorgeous stranger and vanished before dawn.

Second, I begged the universe for a genius baby.

It worked. Jeremy was born brilliant.

The night we brought him home, frustrated by my failed attempts at mixing formula, he invented his own baby sign language to teach me. From then on, Jeremy ruled the house.

When Victoria joined The Genius Kid Escape Room Challenge with her son, she dragged us along to play the role of the clueless contrast. Online mockery exploded.

Airhead Daisy bringing a newborn to compete in a spit-up contest?

Victoria will crush them. The dummy will cry at the first puzzle.

When the livestream began, Victoria smirked at the camera. Try not to fail the first room, Daisy. It lowers the bar for everyone.

Maybe Im simple, but my son inherited his fathers extraordinary genes. Jeremy isnt just smarthes a prodigy.

"Aunt Daisy, don't cry if you lose!" Harry sneered, copying his mothers crossed-arms posture and rolling his eyes.

I looked down at newborn Jeremy in my arms, who was currently blowing a tiny spit bubble. I held him closer and replied in earnest, "We won't lose. My baby is very smart."

An awkward silence hung in the air for two seconds.

Then, Victoria burst out laughing, her eyes filled with mockery. "Smart? Daisy, fools only raise fools. You can't even do basic times tables, and that kid is a nameless bastard. He probably takes three business days to process a cry. If I were you, I would have crawled into a hole instead of showing my face on TV."

The live chat instantly flooded with hateful comments.

"Daisy is so delusional."

"A one-month-old solving a puzzle? Is he going to spit up code?"

"Victoria is an Ivy League graduate, and Harry is a proven prodigy. Get this airhead and her bastard off my screen."

Just as I was about to fire back, Jeremy tapped my chest with his tiny hand. His soft, gurgling thoughts echoed clearly in my mind.

Mommy, don't worry about bad auntie. Jeremys got this. Jeremy will make us win.

Suddenly, the director's voice boomed over the speakers. "First challenge: The Starry Constellation. Guests must decipher the passcode from the star map on the wall to unlock the main door."

Victoria raised her hand, casting a disdainful glance my way. "Director, let Harry handle this one alone. We don't want people saying we're bullying a dummy and her bastard."

The director coughed lightly. "That is acceptable, as long as it does not violate the rules. Ten minutes on the clock. Begin."

Victoria nudged her son forward, her voice dripping with pride. "Go on, Harry. Show your aunt what a real genius looks like. We need to remind some people that simply having a baby doesn't make them fit for this show."

Harry stepped onto a small stool with an arrogant smirk, moving blocks on the wall.

The chat erupted in praise.

"Harry is so cool! He looks like a little professor."

"His IQ is 140. Deciphering a code is child's play to him."

"Look at the airhead holding her baby. She probably can't even read the prompt. I bet she is panicking."

I stared at the dizzying array of stars on the wall, my head spinning. Numbers and shapes had always looked like gibberish to me. I looked down at Jeremy, who was staring intently at the wall with his wide, bright eyes.

Just then, Harry made a few quick moves on the puzzle.

A sharp, grating alarm blared through the room, and red lights flashed violently. Wrong password.

Victorias smile stiffened, and she quickly knelt down to comfort her son. "It is alright, sweetheart. This one is tricky. Let us try again."

Harry threw his marker to the ground, his face red with frustration. "It is all Aunt Daisy's fault!" He stamped his foot, pointing a finger at me. "She smells weird, and it distracted me! If she and that little bastard weren't standing here, I would have solved it already!"

Victoria turned on me, her expression sour. "Daisy, can you please take your child and stand back? If you cannot solve it yourself, at least do not ruin things for my Harry."

I trembled with anger. He couldn't solve it, so he blamed me?

Just then, Jeremy waved his little fists.

Mommy, don't be mad. Jeremy already solved it. Go to the wall and press the third blue star on the left. Then, slide the red star on the right to the center. Trust Jeremy, Mommy. I will carry you to the finish line.

I nodded vigorously. "Okay! Mommy trusts you!"

By the time I carried Jeremy to the wall, Harry was sweating profusely, scrambling the blocks into an even worse mess. His eyes were welling with tears of frustration.

Following Jeremys mental instructions, I pressed and slid the blocks.

A satisfying click echoed through the room. The heavy metal doors slid open, and the bright lights of the next corridor flooded in.

The automated broadcast rang out. "Congratulations to Daisy's team! Clearance time: two minutes and twenty seconds!"

"Impossible!" Victoria shrieked, whirling around. "How could you solve that? You must have cheated!"

Harry, startled by her scream, burst into tears.

The live chat went dead silent for a moment before exploding.

"What just happened? Daisy solved it in seconds?"

"There is no way. She can't even do basic math!"

"Pure luck! A blind squirrel finding a nut!"

"Yeah, she must have just pressed random buttons and gotten lucky."

I blinked innocently at Victoria. "I didn't cheat. I just slid them around, and the door opened. Is this puzzle really that hard?" I tilted my head, offering her a sweet smile. "How strange. Why couldn't the genius solve it, but a dummy like me did?"

Jeremy giggled in my arms, kicking his tiny feet.

Mommy is the best! Auntie looks like she is going to explode.

I felt a surge of pride and planted a soft kiss on Jeremy's warm cheek.

Victorias face turned purple. "Fine! Let us see if your luck holds up in the next room!" She grabbed the crying Harry and dragged him roughly toward the second challenge. "Stop crying! You useless thing!"

The second room was crisscrossed with red laser beams.

Having learned her lesson, Victoria rushed forward the moment the door opened and snatched the only clue card hanging on the wall. She shoved it into Harry's hands, looking at me triumphantly.

"Daisy, this room requires music theory and complex logic. Let us see you get lucky this time."

Harry stared at the card, trying to look professional, before pointing at the floor tiles. "Mommy, I got it! Step on C4, then E4, and finally G4!"

Victoria beamed, patting his head. "I am so proud of you, my clever boy."

I stood at the entrance, looking at the grid of red lasers, feeling lost. The only clue was in Victoria's hands, and I knew nothing about musical notes.

Jeremy squirmed in my arms, his mental voice filled with amusement.

Auntie's clue is a decoy, Mommy. Don't look at the floor, look up. There are three small lights on the ceiling: red, yellow, and blue. Just step on the corresponding colored tiles on the floor in that order.

I looked up, and indeed, three small bulbs were blinking in a red, yellow, and blue sequence.

Without hesitation, I followed Jeremy's lead and stepped on a red tile, then a yellow one, and finally a blue one.

A soft chime sounded. A green light flared, and the exit door swung open.

On the other side of the room, Victoria was guiding Harry onto the tile marked C4.

"Warning! Incorrect step!"

A loud siren blared, and a harmless but intense pulse of air swept across their ankles. The sudden vibration knocked Harry flat on his bottom, and he began to howl.

I stepped through the exit door easily, holding my baby. I turned back to the frantic mother and son, offering some sincere advice. "Sister, that clue card is a trap. You just need to look at the lights on the ceiling."

Victoria snapped her head up, staring at the flashing bulbs. Her face flushed a deep crimson.

The chat went wild.

"She cleared it again? Who is the real genius here?"

"Red, yellow, blue? It was that simple? What was Harry calculating all that time?"

"Victoria treated a trap card like a prize. This is hilarious. The self-proclaimed prodigy is getting schooled by an airhead."

But soon, a suspicious narrative began to take over the chat.

"This feels rigged. How did she know the trick without even looking at the clue?"

"Did the production crew leak the answers to Daisy? This is too obvious."

"This is disgusting. Ruining a child's confidence just to build up a fake persona for a dummy?"

Victoria caught on to the shift in public opinion. She looked at the camera, her eyes instantly pooling with tears.

"Daisy, I know you have always been jealous of me, but you shouldn't resort to... to indecent transactions just to win. I didn't want to say anything about you visiting the director's room in the middle of the night, but this is too much."

The chat erupted.

"What? Sleeping with the director? That is vile!"

"No wonder she cleared the rooms so fast. She sold herself for the answers!"

"Get this fraud out of the industry!"

"I feel so bad for Victoria. She has to share a stage with someone so dirty."

Victoria put on a heartbreaking performance. "Daisy, don't deny it. I got up last night and saw you leaving the director's room in your pajamas. I thought you were just lonely, but to think you traded your body for puzzle answers. I cannot stay silent."

Harry chimed in, pointing a finger. "Aunt Daisy is a bad woman! She is a cheater!"

I trembled with rage. I spent the entire night in my room putting Jeremy to sleep. I hadn't even opened my door. "You are lying! I never went there!"

Suddenly, the directors panicked voice came over the speaker system. "Everyone, please calm down! This is a misunderstanding! Miss Daisy did not visit my room last night. The hallway security footage can prove it!"

However, his defense only fueled the fire.

"Of course the director would deny it. Who would admit to taking bribes like that?"

"They can edit security footage however they want. Victoria has an flawless reputation; she would never lie about this."

As the accusations grew worse, a post on social media skyrocketed to the top of the trending charts.

It was from my biological father, Charles, the head of the Stone Groups regional branch.

Charles: A family disgrace. Daisy has suffered from cognitive delays since childhood and has never passed a basic math exam. She begged and threw tantrums for a chance to appear on this show. Please be patient with her, and do not hold her poor decisions against her.

Attached to the post were high-definition photos of my failing childhood report cards and a medical evaluation indicating a low intelligence score.

This post sealed my fate in the eyes of the public. The chat turned into a vicious torrent of abuse.

"Even her own father called her out. There is no digging her way out of this."

"Her family must be so embarrassed of her."

"I bet the baby is a bastard from some random hookup too."

Staring at the cruel words, tears streamed down my face. I couldn't understand why my father would do this. He was the one who promised me a sum of money for Jeremy's formula if I agreed to join this show. Now, he and Victoria were actively trying to destroy me.

A tiny, soft hand reached up, clumsily wiping away my tears.

Mommy, don't cry. Grandpa is a bad man. They are bullying you, so Jeremy is going to teach them a lesson.

I sniffled, whispering, "What do we do, Jeremy?"

Jeremy let out a small, proud huff in my mind.

They don't believe you? Then we will make them believe. Tell the director to let the viewers submit questions in real-time. A live duel. Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins.

I froze. "The viewers? But Mommy doesn't know any of those things."

Jeremy snuggled his small head against my chest.

You have Jeremy. Jeremy is the smartest boy in the universe. Just repeat what I tell you.

I took a deep breath, wiping my tears away, and looked directly at the camera. "You claim my answers were bought? Fine. Let the viewers submit the questions in real-time. If you lose, Victoria, you will publicly admit to your lies and apologize to my baby and me on your knees!"

Victoria sneered, letting out a sharp laugh. "Deal! You brought this on yourself. Let us see how you survive without your script!"

The chat went wild.

"She is asking for it! Let us give her the hardest questions we can find!"

"Bring out the university-level math and science. Let us expose this fraud!"

To maximize ratings, the director immediately agreed. "To ensure complete fairness, we will open a live submission channel. We have also invited three industry experts to act as judges. Viewers can submit questions in the chat, and our judges will display the selected ones on the screen."

As the viewer count hit ten million, the system began to lag.

The director was sweating when his private phone rang. The caller ID read: Wolf Stone.

The director answered, his voice shaking. "Mr. Stone, to what do I owe the honor?"

A cold, smooth voice replied, "Is there still a vacancy on the judging panel?"

The director gasped. "Sir, do you mean..."

"I will join."

Those three words, caught by the director's microphone, leaked into the live stream.

The entire audience went quiet before exploding into chaos.

Victoria immediately smoothed her hair, smiling coyly at the camera. "Wolf praised Harry's intelligence at a charity gala recently. He must be here to support us after seeing how we were treated."

The chat agreed.

"Oh my god, the elusive Wolf Stone is joining the stream for Victoria!"

I stiffened, holding Jeremy tightly.

Wolf Stone. He was actually here.

The live stream turned into a high-level academic examination. The questions submitted by the audience were brutal, ranging from university calculus to quantum mechanics, and even translations of obscure, ancient texts.

Victorias face turned pale as she stared at the screen. Harry broke down, crying and hiding behind his mother. "Mommy, I don't know these! What are those letters?"

Victoria grit her teeth, glaring at me. "Daisy, do you even understand a single word of this? Stop pretending!"

In truth, I didn't understand a thing. But my baby did.

Jeremy sat calmly in his stroller, whispering the answers into my mind, and I simply repeated them.

"First question: the limit is the square root of two."

"Second question: the probability of wave function collapse is forty-five point six percent."

"Third question: the ancient text translates to 'May peace prevail upon the earth.'"

I spoke rapidly, barely pausing for breath. I didn't even know what I was saying, but as fast as Jeremy fed me the answers, my mouth delivered them.

While Victoria was still sweating over the very first calculus question, I had already answered a hundred.

The chat was flooded with question marks.

"Is she chanting gibberish? She must be making it up!"

"No computer could calculate those quantum equations that fast!"

Victoria grabbed onto this theory like a lifeline. "Yes! She is just making up random words! Director, have the judges verify her answers and expose her!"

The three judges finished their calculations. Five minutes later, the final scores appeared on the screen.

Daisy's Team: 100 questions answered, 100% correct.

Victoria's Team: 0 questions answered.

The internet went dead silent.

Victoria stared at the screen, her body shaking violently. "How... this is impossible! Why?"

I patted Jeremys head and smiled gently. "Because my baby is a genius."

Victoria snapped, screaming hysterically, "You expect anyone to believe that? He is a newborn! How could a newborn teach you? Besides, a dummy like you could never give birth to a genius!"

A deep, commanding voice echoed through the speakers.

"She certainly could, because she is my woman."