Chapter 6

Before Harvey could respond, Selena and Daniel both jumped in, their expressions furious.

"Harvey, so that's why you were being so generous earlier! That scarf was ridiculously expensive, yet you handed it over without a second thought. Turns out you'd secretly put something on it!"

"Speak up! What exactly did you put on the scarf when we weren't looking? Were you planning to hurt Jacob all along?"

Faced with their accusations, Harvey didn't bother defending himself. Instead, he set down his box, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.

Daniel grabbed his arm. "What are you doing? Don't just stand there pretending you can't hear us!"

Harvey finally looked up, his expression perfectly calm.

"I'm calling an ambulance. Since you're all so worried about Jacob, why not have the paramedics come and check what's actually on this scarf?"

Jacob's expression changed instantly. He quickly backtracked, panic creeping into his voice.

"I'm fine! I probably just bumped my wound earlier. It hurt so much that I must have misunderstood what was happening."

Everyone fell silent, momentarily stunned.

Taylor furrowed her brows slightly. "Jacob, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm really fine." Jacob forced a weak smile. "I was just making a big deal out of nothing. I shouldn't have made everyone misunderstand Harvey."

His words left everyone feeling awkward, especially Taylor. Looking uncomfortable, she turned toward Harvey and finally released his arm.

After a long pause, she murmured, "I'm sorry."

In all the years they'd known each other, this was only the second time Taylor had ever apologized to Harvey.

The first time had been when she'd lost a textbook. Everyone in their class had immediately accused Harvey, insisting he was the only one who had gone near her desk when he'd stopped by earlier to drop something off.

It wasn't until Harvey insisted that the teacher review the security footage that they discovered the truth: a boy in their class who had a crush on Taylor had stolen the textbook.

Back then, Taylor had also apologized to him.

And how had Harvey responded?

Taylor still remembered how he'd forced a smile and joked, "I don't want your apology. If you really feel bad, why don't you make it up to me by marrying me?"

She'd secretly worried that Harvey might say something just as shameless in front of everyone today. But to her surprise, the young man simply bent down, picked up his box, and replied indifferently, "It's fine."

Taylor froze. Before she could even react, Harvey had already turned and walked away.

She stood there in a daze, watching him disappear down the hallway. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that something between them had changed.

…

That evening, every class held its own graduation party.

Harvey hadn't planned on going, but his classmates kept pestering him until he finally gave in. Since he was leaving for Matosia the next day and had no idea when he'd see everyone again, he figured he might as well join them for one last celebration.

However, when he arrived at the private karaoke room, he was surprised to discover that Taylor's class was there, too.

His deskmate, Barry Dixon, excitedly pulled him inside.

"Look at this! Good thing you decided to come! We ran into Taylor's honors class when we got here. They were planning to hold their graduation party at the same place, so we decided to combine the two and rent a huge private room. Don't say I never do anything for you, dude. I'm giving you one last chance to make your move!"

Harvey took a seat and absentmindedly sipped his drink, barely paying attention to the chatter around him until someone brought up his college entrance exam results.

He answered honestly, "I don't know."

The exact scores of the top 20 students in the college entrance examination were kept confidential, meaning they couldn't access their individual results.

However, judging by the calls he'd received from admissions officers at several top universities and the hints dropped by the academic affairs teachers, Harvey was almost certainly the top student in the state this year.

Everyone was taken aback by his answer, but before anyone could respond, a sharp burst of laughter rang out from behind him.

Turning around, they saw Steven, the boy sitting beside Jacob, wearing a mocking grin.

"What's that supposed to mean, Harvey? The exam results had come out. The only people who still don't know their exact scores are the top 20 students, like Taylor. Are you seriously trying to tell us that you made the top 20, too?"

The moment he finished speaking, the entire honors class burst into laughter.

Eventually, Jacob spoke up, struggling to suppress a smile.

"Alright, that's enough. Stop making fun of him. Maybe Harvey's just nervous and doesn't dare to check his results."

He then turned to Harvey, putting on a concerned expression.

"Harvey, you really don't have to be worried. Worst-case scenario, you can always repeat your senior year and take the exam again, right?"

The laughter around them grew even louder, but Harvey couldn't be bothered to explain himself.

After all, barring any unexpected developments, the school would announce the state's top student tomorrow and celebrate his achievement. The truth would come out soon enough.

Unfortunately, his classmates had no idea what was going on. Realizing they'd brought up an awkward subject, they quickly suggested having some drinks instead, steering the conversation elsewhere.

Most of the students in their class were already of legal drinking age, and with the college entrance exams finally behind them, having a few drinks didn't seem like a big deal.

As the alcohol began to take effect and emotions ran high over their impending goodbyes, it wasn't long before someone let their feelings get the better of them.

The most emotional of them all was Melissa Summers, who had harbored a crush on Harvey for years.

Clearly drunk, she pushed her glass toward him, her eyes red.

"Harvey, I know you don't feel the same way about me, but I've had a crush on you for three whole years! You have to drink this tonight. Otherwise, I'll take it as a personal insult!"

The others immediately began cheering and egging them on. Harvey felt awkward, but he didn't want to embarrass Melissa by refusing, so he reached for the glass.

Just then, a slender, soft hand suddenly reached out from behind him and pressed down on the glass.

He turned around to find Taylor standing beneath the karaoke room's dazzling, almost hypnotic lights, her beautiful face clouded with displeasure.

"You're allergic to alcohol, and you're still drinking?" she said coldly. "Harvey, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

The room fell silent instantly. Only the music playing on the television continued as everyone watched Taylor pick up the glass.

Without changing her expression, she turned to Melissa and said, "I'll drink Harvey's share."