Chapter 3

I put down my pen once the bell signaling the end of the exam rang. My palms were completely soaked in sweat. I knew right then that the real battle had only just begun.

There was a huge crowd right outside the school gates. Winnie squeezed through the crowd and grabbed my arm, her eyes brimming with concern. "How did you do, Hazel?"

I intentionally furrowed my brow. "I have no idea."

"Did you struggle with Math?"

I lowered my gaze and said, "I had some trouble with the last question…"

Winnie's eyes briefly lit up with satisfaction. She patted my shoulder and said, "It's alright, Hazel. It's something everyone struggled with. Your fundamentals are so good, so you won't do too poorly."

Winnie's comforting just seemed like an attempt to justify my upcoming "downfall" ahead of time.

I was on my way home, and my phone was buzzing nonstop. Our class group chat was already flooded with messages—some people were comparing answers, while others were calculating their estimated scores.

"Please stop pressuring Hazel to calculate her estimated scores! She's been under a lot of stress lately!" Winnie sent a message to the group chat, adding a hug emoji at the end.

I looked at the message and scoffed.

Ms. Hall personally messaged me a while later. "How are you holding up, Hazel? Winnie told me you had a bit of trouble with the Math paper."

I replied, "I did fine on the paper. I'll organize my answers for all the subjects and send them over to you tonight, Ms. Hall."

Ms. Hall fell silent for half a minute before sending another message. "Got it. Get some rest first, Hazel."

In my past life, I let panic get the best of me. I merely cried out loud and insisted that the scores weren't mine when the results came out. I had no records or evidence back then, so no one believed my claim.

I wasn't about to make the same mistake in this life. That evening, I compiled my estimated scores for every section into a spreadsheet. I went so far as to screenshot every conversation where I cross-referenced answers with my classmates post-exam.

It was already 2:00 am by the time I was done organizing everything.

Mom walked into my room with a glass of warm milk, her eyes brimming with concern. "You should stop staying up so late. You're already done with your college entrance exam, Hazel."

Mom looked slightly younger than she had been at this time in my past life, with fewer gray hairs at her temples.

In my past life, as I waited outside the ER, my biggest regret was that I hadn't taken her to the hospital earlier. I put down my pen and said, "Please come to the hospital with me tomorrow, Mom."

Mom was momentarily stunned. "Do you feel unwell, Hazel?"

I held her hand and said, "I'm not the one feeling unwell, Mom. It's you. Didn't you mention feeling a tightness in your chest a couple of days back? I'll feel much better if we go get a checkup before the results come out, Mom."

Mom waved her hand and said, "It's just a recurring health issue; there's no need to waste any money on that."

In that instant, my eyes welled up with tears. She wouldn't think twice about dropping hundreds on stacks of prep books for me, but she wouldn't even spend a few dollars on a doctor's visit herself.

I said softly, "I'll be worried sick if you don't go to the hospital, Mom, so much so that I won't be able to focus on filling out my university applications properly."

That statement worked like magic, better than anything else I could have said.

Mom immediately relented. "Alright, alright. I'll go to the hospital to get it checked."

I instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

In my past life, on the day the results came out, my relatives had crowded into our home and neighbors had gathered at the door. They all had their phones out, recording it all to post online.

I intended to keep Mom completely away from that chaos in this life.

It was the following day, and I sent a message from a burner account in the temporary group chat I had created for the top 20 students in class.

"Please make sure to screenshot your total score, subject scores, and individual question scores the moment your results are released. If something looks off, apply for a recheck immediately instead of sitting on it."

Someone in the group chat asked, "Who are you? Is this some kind of scam?"

I posted a screenshot from the good-luck relay video, cropping out faces to show just the rosary. "It's up to you whether you want to believe me or not. It's not as if taking a few screenshots would cost you anything."

Rachel replied in the group chat a few minutes later. "I have no idea who you are, but I'll do as you say."

Chris' reply was straight to the point. "Got it."

I switched off my phone after that.

Winnie began laying the groundwork by posting on social media. "I hope everyone gets the result they want. I also hope my best friend doesn't let a single exam get to her."

She included a photo of the two of us in her post.

Someone asked in the comment section, "Did Hazel do poorly on the college entrance exam?"

Winnie replied, "We don't have the results yet. Hazel has been under a lot of pressure, so I'm just a little worried about her."

Winnie sure knew how to put on an act.

I clicked on her profile picture and stared at it for a long time. In my past life, these seemingly harmless remarks had already convinced everyone that I was going to bomb the exam before the results even came out.

Thus, when my score of 467 came out, everyone wasn't even surprised at the outcome. Winnie's score of 1,560 served as the ultimate contrast—the fall of the "fake academic ace" and the rise of the "prodigious student".

Winnie had put together such a convincing story in my past life, but unfortunately for her, she had stolen from too many people in this life. That perfect story she had carefully built would end up becoming a complete fiasco.