Chapter 2

Seemingly not at all expecting that I would have the car key, the crowd clamped their hands over their mouths in surprise.

Someone called out, "Don't tell me that really is Janet's car? Hurry up and return it to her then!"

Melissa stared at me, her gaze burning with disdain. "How ridiculous. What you're holding is nothing but a key. Who's to say it actually is that car's key?"

In response, I answered in an exasperated tone, "If I can unlock the car, then I'm driving it away."

Raising her chin arrogantly, Melissa replied, "Fine!"

With that, several of our classmates led me in the direction of the car. Along the way, many of them were placing bets.

"I bet 80 bucks that Janet's key won't be able to unlock the car."

"Then I'm betting 100 dollars."

Once we arrived at the car, I hastily used the key to unlock it, not wanting to waste another second. The moment the headlights lit up, Melissa's expression fell.

She exclaimed, "How is that possible?"

Unwilling to explain to her, I started the engines.

However, I was abruptly yanked away by Melissa, who yelled, "What's that in your trunk?"

Hearing that, I hurriedly got out of the car to close the trunk. It was only then that I recalled that I must have accidentally opened it earlier in my haste to unlock the doors.

Just as I was about to start the engine again, Melissa smashed the trunk open.

Everyone stared at her in shock. "Melissa, that's Janet's car… It isn't very nice of you to do that, is it?"

Melissa scoffed before retorting, "Her car? Nonsense! I bet she stole that key!"

The crowd then turned their disbelieving gaze to me.

Melissa went on, exclaiming, "Everyone, just look at what's in the trunk! You'll understand then!"

My heart skipped a beat as I cursed in my mind. That drug couldn't be exposed to light!

"Everyone, this drug is a new product developed by Samuel's company! This thief must have thought she could steal it and sell it off for a good price!"

Taking out a vial of the drug, she continued, "Look here! Samuel's products always have a 'J' carved on them, and this vial happens to have it too! Judging from the packaging, I think this is the drug that's going to be released to the market soon!"

The letter "J" was actually the initial for my name. I had the habit of labelling whatever new drugs I had formulated with it.

When I noticed bubbles forming in the liquid drug, I hollered, "Quick, put it back into the cooler box! Hurry up!"

Not only was the drug sensitive to light, but it also needed to be stored under cold temperatures. Otherwise, once the compounds in it started to decompose due to the heat, it would lose its efficacy.

Nonetheless, even after hearing my words, Melissa was unbothered. She shook the vial in my face, taunting, "Oh? And what if I don't put it back? I definitely won't allow a thief like you to steal the fruits of Samuel's company's research!"

I struggled with all my might and finally managed to break free of the crowd's grip on me. Dashing forward, I snatched the vial from Melissa and placed it back in the cooler box. Then, I hugged the cooler box to my chest and made a run for it.

Unfortunately, I was instantly surrounded by the crowd. I bellowed, "Get lost, all of you! If you delay me any longer, you won't be able to handle the consequences!"

They laughed at me. "Who do you think you're scaring? You're just a thief!"

Eyes becoming red-rimmed in my anxiety, I warned the crowd. "Trust me. You'll all regret it if you don't let me leave right now!"

While I was distracted, Melissa came closer and seized the cooler box from me before smashing it onto the floor. "Well, I'd like to see what the consequences are!"

As the cooler box crashed to the ground, the vials inside it spilled out, gaining a cheer from the crowd.

"That's it! Make sure she can't get anything at all from this!"

Their fawning behavior had Melissa nodding smugly.

Suddenly, a low-pitched male voice rang out from the back of the crowd. "What are you guys doing?"