Chapter 2

On the same night I set things up, I feigned sleep.

The dormitory was so dark with the lights off that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

I closed my eyes and counted my breaths.

At half past two in the morning, I heard a creaking sound from the upper bunk of the bunk bed across from me.

Mona had gotten out of bed.

First, she stood barefoot before her own desk for a short while.

Then, she walked toward me.

She didn't knock anything over, kick any chairs, or bump into any bedframes.

For someone who couldn't even keep her own space tidy, she was incredibly surefooted in the night.

She stopped in front of my desk and opened the drawer with a faint creak.

She then reached a hand in and felt around.

It wasn't my money she found but June's wallet.

She didn't hesitate or open the wallet to check its contents. Instead, she immediately tucked it away.

Then, she turned and walked toward Rosa.

I held my breath and kept my eyes on my phone screen.

The red recording icon was blinking.

Early the next morning, June blew her top.

"Where's my wallet? Why is my wallet missing?"

She ripped her bedsheets off and turned her drawers inside out until, eventually, her gaze landed on me.

"Natalie, did you touch my desk yesterday?" she asked.

The dormitory fell silent instantly.

Mona curled up in her bed without saying a single word.

I looked up at June and replied steadily, "I didn't take it. Your wallet is with Mona."

June was stunned.

Mona sat up in bed with a jolt, visibly tearing up.

"W-What did you say? Natalie, you can't randomly lash out at people just because you lost something! Why would I have taken June's wallet?"

As she spoke, tears started slipping down her face.

She continued, "No matter how poor I am, I wouldn't steal from a classmate. How could you think that of me?"

Rosa quickly stepped in to mediate. "Nattie, could you be mistaken? Mona isn't that sort of person. How could someone like her, who lives off plain bread, possibly steal money?"

June also snapped out of her stupor and said in a softer tone, "In that case, tell me, Mona—did you take my wallet or not?"

Mona started crying even harder, her shoulders shaking. "June, I really didn't. Will you please believe me this one time? I have enough on my plate already, so please stop pushing me. I'm close to my limit."

She wept with such anguish and sincerity that June was clearly prepared to let the matter go.

I could already predict the words at the tip of her tongue.

"Forget it. Let's just assume I misplaced it."

I watched her fiddle with the wallet straps.

The wallet had held her living expenses for the following month—a total of 680 dollars.

I knew that she was feeling hesitant.

While she felt sorry for Mona, it also hurt her to lose that money.

I sneered inwardly.

She'd also given me similar advice in my past life.

"You're doing well for yourself, so what's wrong with letting her use it for a bit?"

Now that it was her turn to lose her wallet, could she still remain so magnanimous?

After several seconds of hesitation, June turned away and said quietly, "Forget it. I may have just misplaced it somewhere. It's just a few hundred dollars, so I'll let it slide."

Rosa immediately piped up, "Exactly. We see each other all the time, so let's not make things awkward."

Mona sniffled and nodded repeatedly. "Thank you for your understanding, June. And thank you, Rosa."

Her tears seemed so genuine. She made it look like she'd suffered a terrible injustice.

I stood to one side, watching her with a chill in my heart.

In my past life, she'd cried just like this when she had stolen my money.

I cried, threw a tantrum, and got my revenge on her.

Yet, everyone accused me of being petty and cold-blooded for bullying a pitiful person.

Now, even though it was June's turn to lose her wallet, she eventually dropped her accusation as well.

In fact, she'd given up even faster than I had in my past life because she was afraid of being labeled as a heartless person.

I slowly reached into my pocket and pressed the stop button on the audio recorder inside.

I intended to keep thorough records of certain conversations.