Chapter 3

Sophie burst into laughter first. "Hahaha! Royce actually applied for a vocational college!"

"We were pretending, but his must be real, right?"

"It's a mechanical engineering college. After graduation, will he become an electrician or repair electric scooters?"

"He's not capable of that. He'll probably be one of those assembly line workers in a small factory."

"Oh, he'll marry a masseuse when he graduates. The two people from the lowest social class will earn a combined monthly salary of 5,000 dollars."

"Say, vocational colleges shouldn't exist!" Someone slapped the table. "Let all these low-IQ people attend vocational colleges. How dare they claim to be college students once they graduate? It's simply a waste of educational resources!"

The whole class burst into laughter again.

I knelt on the ground, with blood trickling from my lips and the skin on the back of my hand scratched and bleeding. However, I felt nothing inside.

I looked up and scanned the podium. The livestream that was supposed to be paused was continuing.

I stared at the camera and smiled, thinking, 'Don't worry, Zach. Your performance is getting more and more exciting.'

Sophie finally released me and disgustedly shook her hand. "Alright. At least he knows his place."

I fell to the ground, silently wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth.

After they finished laughing, someone finally frowned. "Well... Speaking of which, there’s less than 20 minutes left until the deadline, right? I just tried logging in, and the website is indeed lagging."

Sophie glanced at him dismissively. "What are you scared of? We're going to do a livestream later, so let's stir things up and get a few more idiots to sign up for vocational college with us."

A boy chimed in. "Yeah, let's have a competition later. Whoever signs up for vocational college with us gets money!"

Sophie nodded. "That's a great idea!"

Then, she looked at me, "Royce, you have a lot of pocket money, right? Here's your chance to show your loyalty; you'll pay for the whole class."

I laughed in exasperation.

I felt sorry for her family's financial difficulties back then, so I subsidized her tutoring fees and treated her to meals from time to time. After graduation, she not only brazenly spent my money to buy gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars for teachers, but she also dared to say things like this.

I looked up at her. "Sophie, do you remember who paid for your mother's medical bills when she was hospitalized?"

Her expression changed. "Don't try to change the subject!"

I continued, "You said you'd pay me back 36,000 dollars back then. Five months have passed since then. I don't want the interest, but when are you going to give me the principal amount?"

She glanced at Zach and paused for a moment before suddenly laughing. "You did it voluntarily! I only took your lousy money as a gesture of courtesy! Do you think just anyone deserves to spend money on me? I've always only liked Zach; you were the one who relentlessly pestered me to pay my medical bills. Now that I'm your girlfriend, you've got me, and you're asking me to pay you back? People can be shameless, but not this shameless."

Someone chimed in, "Come on, Royce. If you want to bring up old grudges, you should at least consider your own limitations. Who told you to cling so tightly to her? You poured money, food, and feelings into her. Who is to blame in the end? The school heartthrob and star girl are a perfect match. What are you?"

"Alright, alright." Zach waved his hand. "Time's running out, let's start the livestream competition!"

They all turned on their livestreams.

Comments instantly filled the screen, but not the flattering praises they expected. Instead, the comment section was flooded with insults.

[Are you a school or a gang?]

[Public bullying on livestream. Is no one going to do anything about it?]

Finally, someone noticed something was wrong. "The comments seem off... Why are they all insulting us?"

Zach frantically checked his phone, yelling, "Who the hell started this livestream? I turned it off just now!"

The whole class panicked instantly.

Sophie's expression changed. "You didn't turn off your livestream?"

Someone asked in a trembling voice. "Was everything we said just now... recorded?"

Zach instantly turned livid, and he immediately roared, "Turn off your phone! Delete the livestream account!"

"Never mind that for now!" Sophie jumped up. "Change your college application back right now! Quick! It'll be too late if you don't!"

The whole class frantically tapped on their phones.

However...

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