Chapter 2

Winnie didn't agree right off the bat. She tucked the rosary into her pencil case and said softly, "Mom got this for me, so I don't want to risk losing it."

She was naturally worried that I'd discovered the truth—and even more terrified of letting that rosary out of her hands.

I rested my head on the desk and deliberately drawled. "You said kissing it would bring you good luck, right? If a few of the top students up front kissed it too, wouldn't your luck skyrocket?"

I knew she would be tempted, since she was never the type to settle for what she already had.

In my past life, Winnie stole my scores, which were more than enough for her to get into a top university. She still went out of her way to trash me during the interview, though.

She didn't really care about the high score. She just enjoyed grinding me into the dirt while everyone praised her, as if she had done nothing wrong.

Winnie asked, "You want to let the others kiss the rosary, too?"

I said offhandedly, "It's our last day as classmates since everyone will be going their separate ways after taking their college entrance exam tomorrow. I just thought a good-luck relay would be the right kind of send-off, making the whole thing more memorable."

Chris Lister, who sat in front of me, turned around. "What do you mean by a good-luck relay?"

I immediately held up my phone. "It's simple—everyone just has to kiss the rosary once to get a bit of luck for the college entrance exam tomorrow. I'll film it and post it to the class group chat once the exam is over."

Chris was slightly amused. "It's pretty childish, but I'm down."

Chris was the top student in our grade, with an almost perfect track record. In my past life, he scored a total of 1,590 on his college entrance exam, placing him in the top 20 students in the county. If the malicious program were to target Chris' scores, I was certain Winnie's scores would be affected.

Winnie looked at Chris, and her throat bobbed slightly. She couldn't hide the greed written all over her face. "W-What if the rosary gets dirty?"

I immediately grabbed a clear plastic folder from the drawer and said, "You have nothing to worry about, Winnie. I'll place the rosary on top of this when I film. Everyone just needs to kiss it briefly."

I then leaned in and whispered, "You wanted to grab some luck before the exam, right? Isn't getting the top 20 students in the grade to kiss the rosary a good thing, then?"

Winnie's eyes brightened for a moment. She then handed me the rosary and said, "Please make sure you don't damage it, and give it back to me before school ends, Hazel."

"Got it." I froze slightly when I took the rosary. In my past life, I lacked evidence, and nobody believed that someone could steal someone else's scores. In this life, I would make her steal them right in front of everyone.

During the last study period that afternoon, Ms. Hall left for a pre-exam meeting, and the tense atmosphere that had built up over the past three years finally loosened a little.

I got to my feet and clapped my hands. "Let's do a little something before the college entrance exam, everyone!"

Someone in the class suddenly groaned. "You're not going to make us go over test questions again, are you, Hazel?"

I held up the rosary in my hand and said, "I'm not going to make you guys study. I wanted to do a good-luck relay—kiss it and get ten extra points for the exam tomorrow."

In that instant, everyone in the classroom burst into laughter.

"I'll give it a go! I need those ten extra points to get into my dream university!" Rachel Miller was the first to raise her hand. She ranked eighth in our entire grade.

I started recording the scene on my phone and laid the rosary on top of the clear plastic folder. "Come right up! You just have to kiss it briefly and say your wish!"

Rachel walked over, gave it a quick kiss, and smiled. "I hope I don't go off topic in my essay."

Chris was up next. He looked at the rosary in disgust. "Do you actually believe in this kind of superstition?"

I cocked my brow and said, "You don't have to kiss it if you don't want to."

Chris scoffed, then leaned down and briefly kissed the rosary. "I hope the college entrance exam cuts down on the stupid questions this year."

Everyone burst into laughter.

I kept a tally of the participants in my head. I needed every single student in the top 20 to be involved in this. I would pull out the "graduation video" excuse whenever someone didn't want to participate in the relay.

"It's our last day as classmates, so please just go along with it. It's a video we can watch at our reunions someday. It'll be quite meaningful. If you don't kiss it as one of the top students in the grade, you'll be the odd one out."

They grumbled and joked around, but they still came over and gave the rosary a quick kiss.

I made sure every person's kiss was captured clearly on video.

Winnie sat in the back, pretending to organize her pencil case while keeping an eye on me the whole time. She probably thought she had hit the jackpot.

She had absolutely no idea that I was waiting for her to get complacent, as the greedier she got, the harder she'd fall.

I looped the rosary neatly together after the school bell rang and returned it to Winnie in its original condition.

Winnie's hand shook slightly as she took it back. "Did everyone kiss it?"

I nodded. "Just about everyone in the top 20 kissed it. That rosary of yours is practically loaded with luck now, Winnie."

Winnie held back her smile and suddenly hugged me. "You're the best, Hazel!"

I didn't push her away. I merely looked past her shoulder at the darkening sky outside the window. She had hugged me like this in my past life too, before personally pushing me into the abyss. I gently patted her back and said, "I really do treat you well, don't I?"

I had even prepared a massive surprise for her—one nobody would be able to sweep under the rug.