Chapter 3

At that moment, I felt as if I'd been plunged into icy water. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

The cafe manager pointed at the small red flower pinned to my shirt. "Didn't you just rush in from outside a moment ago? I might not be good with faces, but I remember that red flower on your collar. It's really eye-catching."

Agitated, I shouted, "You're lying! I've been sitting at my computer the whole time. I never went anywhere!"

The police officer chuckled. "Jade, stop arguing. That flashy little red flower is exactly where you hid your cheating device."

As he spoke, he took out a pair of scissors and cut the flower off. He ripped it open, revealing a tiny electronic device hidden inside.

My eyes widened in utter shock.

In my past life, an identical device had been found in my clothes as well. The sight of it brought me straight back into that past moment.

I screamed in terror, "That isn't mine!"

At the same time, Lily cried out, "Jade, isn't that the thing?"

Sean looked at me with a mix of disappointment and frustration. "Jade, I can't believe you'd do something like this."

Watching their reactions, I felt as though all the strength had been drained from my body. "So, you both saw me in the exam hall too?"

The two of them nodded.

My vision went dark. All I could hear was Sean's bleak, despairing voice by my ear, saying, "Jade, the best thing you can do now is come clean. Confess and try to get a lighter sentence, okay? As for your parents, we'll take good care of them. You don't need to worry."

When I woke up again, I was already in an interrogation room at the police station.

The investigators pulled up surveillance footage from the exam hall. On the screen, it clearly showed me rushing into the exam room at the very last minute on both days of the exam.

After finding my seat and sitting down, I kept turning my head, even pressing my ear against the little red flower. And each time I did, I immediately started writing furiously.

Once, when an invigilator stood beside me for several minutes, I froze, not writing a single word. Only after he walked away did I tilt my head again toward the red flower.

Anyone watching would inevitably suspect the person on screen of cheating.

One of the investigators tossed the electronic device onto the table and said sternly, "Jade Cromwell, this is what you used to cheat. Just state the truth!"

I gulped, forcing myself to stay calm. "I only have one thing to state. From start to end, I never once stepped into the exam hall today. As for where this video came from, or why the person in it looks like me, I honestly have no idea."

As long as I insisted that I wasn't present at the scene, then even if the device had been found on me, it couldn't be definitively used as evidence of the crime.

The investigator laughed. "That's how you want to play, huh? Then take a look at this."

He handed me two test reports. One was a fingerprint analysis from the exam papers. The other was a saliva DNA test from a water bottle. Both reports showed that the final result was a 100% match to me.

I stared at the two reports, desperately trying to find a flaw.

The next second, the interrogation room door opened. Another investigator walked in, leading a frail-looking man behind him.

"It was her. She was my buyer," he said, pointing at me. Then, he turned to the officer. "Officer, I've already confessed. Does that mean I can get leniency?"

I had never seen this man before, nor had I ever had any contact with him.

Before I could speak, the investigator slammed a stack of documents onto the table in front of me. "Jade, your accomplice has already confessed. These are your chat logs and transaction records. Take a good look!"

My hands trembled as I flipped through the papers. They showed me communicating in detail via WhatsApp with the man, discussing the time, location, payment, and method. The final screenshot was a bank transfer record, showing a transfer of the agreed-upon amount from an account under my name, shortly before the exam.

My breathing grew heavier.

Witnesses. Physical evidence. Proceeds of the crime… They had formed a perfect chain of evidence.

In other words, at this point, even without my confession, there was more than enough to convict me.

I replayed the entire process over and over in my mind, but I couldn't find a single flaw. Once again, I was trapped in a dead end.