Chapter 4

I stated calmly, "You can rest assured that it'll never happen again."

Monica looked coldly at my departing back, her tone arrogant and cold while saying, "I'll give you a few days to think it over, Hugh. You'd better come and apologize to Michael once you've thought it through; otherwise, don't bother coming back."

Monica had indeed thought too highly of herself.

In the period that followed, I rented a place for myself. I focused entirely on preparing for my exams, ignoring every single call that came from Monica.

I had just walked out of the exam hall when I received a flood of messages—some from my classmates and some from my teachers.

"You have to come to the university as soon as possible—Michael has filed a complaint against your scholarship, Hugh.

"There might be an issue with your scholarship, so please come to the campus this instant, Hugh."

I had to take certificate exams and write my thesis with graduation drawing near, and now Michael had to show up on top of that. I sneered and immediately took a cab to the campus.

I walked into the student advisor's office and noticed Michael sitting there with bloodshot eyes, encircled by familiar faculty and classmates. They were taking turns offering him comfort.

I couldn't help but feel my heart skip a beat, as though I realized what was happening.

Upon seeing me, Michael immediately sprang to his feet. His shoulders trembled ever so slightly, as though he had been badly frightened. "I couldn't watch someone like you keep the scholarship after what you did, Hugh."

I cocked my brow slightly and asked, "What exactly did I do?"

"You really don't know what you did, huh?" Monica asked as she pushed open the door and walked in slowly.

Having not seen her for over a month, Monica's cold, haughty attitude had become even more pronounced, while her eyes were fixed on me as though I were a complete stranger.

Michael hurried over to Monica and intertwined his fingers with hers. He grew even more confident with Monica by his side. He looked at me as though he held the moral high ground and said, "You're the one who injured my back, Hugh. You weren't even punished for it, yet you won't even apologize to me."

I didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Why on earth should I apologize for anything when you're the one who orchestrated the whole thing yourself?"

Michael seemed to have anticipated this response from me. His face instantly flushed while his body shook slightly, looking as though he was too furious to speak.

In that instant, even several of my classmates found the situation intolerable. They felt compelled to intervene and stop me, saying, "You shouldn't take this too far, Hugh; no one sane would inflict harm upon themselves."

"I know, right? Is apologizing really so hard? You're only treating him like this because he's from an underprivileged background, aren't you?"

Mason Lowe, Michael's best friend, looked at me with undisguised contempt. "You're just jealous because Monica likes Michael. You were merely an unwanted stray until Monica kindly took you in. You shouldn't harbor any improper expectations; whoever she chooses to love is her own business!"

He spoke with absolute conviction, looking as though he were defending what was right.

I, however, was aware that Michael had instructed him to say these things. They had planned this from the start—they meant to destroy my reputation in front of everyone.

Mason's speech successfully appealed to the gossipy nature of the surrounding crowd, who began pointing at me and whispering to one another in succession.

"Hugh seemed like such a nice guy. Who would have thought he could be so malicious?"

"I know, right? You just can't judge a book by its cover!"

Monica just stared at me in total silence, her brow furrowed as if she were deep in thought.

Michael hid behind Monica and subtly cocked his brow at me in a blatant, provocative gesture.

Jodie Clark, who had been my student advisor for four years, immediately lowered her voice and said, "You should just offer an apology first, regardless of the facts. It won't do you any good if this blows out of proportion."

Mason immediately barked, "Why shouldn't we blow this up? You can't shield him just because you're his student advisor! You're supposed to serve as an exemplar of your profession, for goodness' sake! You're an absolute disgrace to your profession!"

Ms. Clark hadn't anticipated such insolence from him and was intending to confront him out of sheer anger.

I reached out to stop her. I then smiled and winked at her, saying, "I have a video to show you, Ms. Clark."

Ms. Clark looked down in confusion, and gradually, her rapid, heavy breathing began to calm. She then looked up, offering a subtle smile that only I comprehended.