Chapter 4

The blood froze in my veins. As I stared back into those bloodthirsty eyes, a single voice screamed inside my head, "Run!"

Dad was warm and welcoming, clearing off a table and inviting my classmates inside to rest.

I wanted to stop him, but my entire body was paralyzed with fear.

Reeking of alcohol, Luke leaned in close and hissed a low threat into my ear, "Come with us. Don't make me say it twice."

Faced with dozens of cold eyes, I had no choice but to follow Keyla out the door.

I tried my best to comfort Jake as we walked, but the sheer terror wouldn't leave me.

The convict's words—"Men taste even better"—rang relentlessly in my ears.

We finally pulled up to a hotel entrance. Luke turned to me with a sickening smirk. "Since you love snitching and sticking your nose in other people's business so much, consider this a graduation gift you'll never forget."

Panic took over. I looked desperately at Keyla. "Keyla, do you even know what you guys are doing? Let me go home. I swear I won't say a word!"

But she just wrapped her arm tighter around Luke and stepped into the lobby, completely ignoring my pleas.

With my back against the wall, the man in front of me reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"Justin!"

Dad's voice suddenly echoed from down the street as he sprinted toward us. The convict panicked and scattered into the night.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the edge of a planter.

Back at the bookstore, the rest of my classmates were still casually sipping the tea my mother, Dayana Hydem, had brewed for them.

When they saw me walk back in, their eyes glinted with amusement and disgust. "We have leverage on you now, Justin. If you dare snitch about the app, your little secret gets out."

So, they were all in on it. I clenched my fists and forced the words through my teeth. "I don't give a damn whether you use AI for your applications or not."

"Good. We're adults now. We don't need those old-fashioned parents meddling in our business."

Looking around the room at these arrogant faces, I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "Do you really think changing my scores means I won't get into an elite school?"

The day after applications closed, Edward threw a celebratory party.

The moment I walked into the grand hall, I saw Keyla and Luke standing at the entrance, arms locked as if it were their own wedding reception.

Classmates were teasing them left and right, and Keyla was giggling.

After all, Luke was a wealthy heir. Securing his affection meant she was set for life.

The rest of the room was buzzing with excitement over yesterday's final submissions.

"I went with Engineering Thermodynamics. It's such a cutthroat major. I never would've had the guts to apply without the AI."

After gloating for a while, a few of them finally noticed me sitting quietly in the corner.

They covered their mouths, giggling. "Hey, Justin. Don't be so depressed. Your sacrifice helped the whole class. Once we make it big, we'll definitely come back and buy a membership card from your bookstore."

I let out a sneer and pointed to a poster hanging not far away. "Oh, I'm not depressed at all. I just hope you guys won't be."

The poster read, "Congratulations to Justin Drew for his successful admission to Westbridge University!"

The crowd stared at it, stunned for a split second, before bursting into a wave of mockery.

"Oh my god, look! Justin's gone completely delusional. He actually printed a fake poster just to make himself look good!"

"Hahaha! He's probably terrified of being embarrassed when the news reporters come to interview us, so he made up a fake acceptance!"

While they were riding high on their laughter, Edward walked into the hall, scowling.

I could vaguely make out a few reporters trailing behind him, but was held back by security.

I knew the AI glitch had finally appeared. Their time to celebrate was officially up.

Completely blind to Edward's dark expression, Luke laughed boisterously and threw an arm around his shoulder, eager to share the joke.

"Mr. Hopkins, look at the poster Justin brought in. I wonder what kind of idiot gave him the idea to pull a stunt like that."

Edward's face darkened even further as he replied through gritted teeth, "I am that idiot."

The rowdy hall instantly plunged into dead silence.

Luke broke the quiet with a nervous chuckle. "Mr. Hopkins, why didn't you make one for the rest of us then? Talk about playing favorites with Justin."

Edward violently ripped Luke's arm off his shoulder. Trembling, he pointed at each of the students in turn and shouted, "Every single one of you failed to match any college, except Justin!"