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Chapter 4

Author: Perfect Timing
On June 8th, at 2:00 pm, I was in the laboratory measuring the light absorbance of our samples. My phone was on silent mode, face down on the lab bench.

After finishing a set of readings, I looked out the window.

The sun shone brightly, illuminating the lawn in front of the science building, where a few university students sat under the shade of the trees reading books.

At 2:47 pm, the language test began. According to the timeline of my past life, Sabrina should have handed in that whistleblower letter by now.

I lowered my head and continued my experiment.

At 3:20 pm, the experiment wrapped up. I took off my gloves and picked up my phone.

The moment the screen lit up, I noticed there were 37 missed calls, nine from Mom, 12 from Ms. Wells, and 7 from Ms. Hudson. The rest were numbers I didn't recognize.

The class group chat had exploded, showing more than 999 unread messages. I tapped on it and scrolled all the way to the top.

During the noon lunch break, Sabrina had sent a message tagging everyone in the group chat. "There's something I don't know if I should say."

A long string of people below asked her what it was, and it took her five full minutes to reply.

"Never mind, I'll talk about it after the exams are over. I don't want to affect anyone."

That was all it took to send the group chat into absolute chaos.

"Why did you leave us hanging? You're gonna drive us crazy!"

"Seriously, what happened?"

Sabrina never replied again, but screenshots of her messages started spreading beyond the group chat.

Soon, the school forum, social media threads, and local education group chats spread the same rumor—Kiara Callaway, the student who ranked first place in the state mock exams, had allegedly cheated on her exams.

"Did you hear? Someone reported her for cheating and getting the answer keys in advance."

"Seriously? She's always had excellent grades."

"Just because she has excellent grades doesn't mean she can't cheat. Maybe her grades were only good because she cheated."

"No wonder she was always in first place. Did she pull strings to win the State Physics Championship, too?"

"The more I think about it, the more terrifying it sounds."

I read every message without my hands shaking.

In my past life, I had been completely stunned when I saw the rumors. I had cried all night and failed to show up for the exams the next day. But in this lifetime, things were different.

The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky deep red.

"Sabrina, when you reported me, did you think I'd be sitting in the examination hall right now? Did it ever cross your mind that I'd drop out of the game altogether?

"I know you all too well. A person like you never accounts for variables when executing a plan. You only believe in the script you've arranged.

"But it's a shame I changed the script."

I set my phone back down on the desk and went back to writing my lab report.

When Ms. Hudson called at 4:30 pm, I answered.

"Where are you right now, Kiara? Are you aware that someone reported you for cheating in the college entrance exam?"

"I am. I saw it in the group chat," I replied in a calm voice.

"Why..."

She paused, then asked, "Why don't you sound worried at all?"

Amused, I asked in return, "I'm currently in a laboratory at the University of Arendale, Ms. Hudson. I never took the exams, so how could I have cheated?"

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  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 10

    As for Eric, Ms. Wells told me that his role as an accomplice who withheld information was leaked at his university. Now, he could barely hold his head up on campus.I replied with an "Okay" before Ms. Wells sent another message, "I'm so sorry, Kiara. I failed you."I didn't reply, but it wasn't because I held a grudge. Some things were better left in the past.In my past life, Ms. Wells had been part of the investigation team. She hadn't trusted me either, but I didn't blame her anymore. There were too many people to blame, and I couldn't be bothered to remember them all.In November, the weather turned cold. I sat by the window in the library as fallen gingko leaves blanketed the ground outside. They were brilliantly golden, swept up by the wind, only to drift down again.I closed my book and stared blankly out the window.On this day in my past life, I had swallowed the sleeping pills. In this lifetime, I was sitting in a university library with an unfinished textbook spread o

  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 9

    At the end of August, I reported to the University of Arendale.The dorm had four loft beds over desks, and the balcony offered a view of the entire campus. My three roommates had tested in from different parts of Crisea, one from Kaselfield, one from Torven, and one from Myersple.The one from Kaselfield was Emilie Tucker. She was loud and boisterous, and she clapped me on the shoulder the second she walked through the door."Hey, you're Kiara Callaway, right? I saw your story online. You were an absolute badass!"I smiled.The one from Torven was named Natasha Forest. She spoke softly and pulled a huge pack of bouillon cubes out of her suitcase."My mom insisted I bring this. She said I can cook a pot whenever I miss home."The one from Myersple was named Kiara Monette. Yes, she shared the same first name as me, just with a different last name.Emilie burst out laughing on the spot. "Are you two trying to play a matching game here?"The dorm erupted into laughter.I stepped

  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 8

    In my past life, I kept asking myself the same questions until the day I died.Why me? Why did Sabrina ruin me?In this lifetime, I stopped asking that question. Some people didn't need a reason to be evil. She envied me, and that was that. To her, even my breathing was a mistake.Later, Sabrina had someone pass along a message to me, saying she wanted to apologize in person, but I never replied.There was no point. Her apology meant nothing to me.Where was she when I died in my past life? She had held up her official acceptance letter and stood at the school gates, posing for a photo with Eric, smiling brighter than anyone else.Eric had come to me, too. He stood outside the main gates of the University of Arendale and waited for an entire afternoon.I saw him when I walked out of the campus. He had lost a lot of weight, his stubble was unshaven, and his eyes were completely bloodshot."Kiara," he called out to me.I paused in my tracks, and he opened his mouth to continue,

  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 7

    When Sabrina was called in for questioning, she stubbornly refused to admit to anything.She claimed Eric was framing her and getting revenge on her because they had broken up. That was until the investigation team pulled up her phone logs.In her chat history with Eric from a month before the exam, there were pages of transcribed voice messages."Kiara has to go. You'll never get your chance if she doesn't drop out of the picture."There's only one guaranteed admission slot. If she gets it, I have no chance at all."Help me out this once, Eric. Just this once. If this works out, we'll go to Montedge together."There were also her chat logs with the two "witnesses" and bank transfer records for 500 dollars with a memo attached, saying, "When the time comes, just say exactly what I told you."The evidence was complete.The day the school announced the investigation results, Sabrina stood outside the academic affairs office. Her face was completely drained of color.I happened t

  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 6

    No one said a word.The conference room fell dead silent for a few seconds before Professor Richard suddenly spoke up. "I probably shouldn't say this, but…"Everyone turned to him."The student who filed the report submitted the whistleblower letter on the afternoon of the second day of the college entrance exam, right before the language test started, correct?"When Ms. Hudson nodded, Professor Richard smiled with a distinctly mocking smirk."So while everyone else waited outside the examination hall doing last-minute review, she wasn't studying or getting ready for the exam. Instead, she was busy filing a whistleblower letter."That takes a lot of nerve."I looked down at the desk and dug my fingernails deep into my palms. It wasn't out of anger, but out of sheer, chilling disappointment.That was exactly what Sabrina had done in my last life.Right before the language test, while everyone else crowded the hallway doing a last-minute review of their essay templates, she quie

  • Reborn Top Student: Clearing a Cheating Scandal   Chapter 5

    There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line before Ms. Hudson's voice changed.It wasn't panic anymore, but rather an enlightened voice, as if a realization had just struck her."That's right. You didn't even take the exams. Did she just report you for cheating on an exam you never even sat for?""Yes."She muttered a curse under her breath, which I couldn't quite make out. Then, she said, "Don't worry about this. I'll handle it."The whistleblower letter was submitted to the State Admissions Board on the afternoon of June 8th. Once the representatives received the report, protocol required them to investigate.First, they pulled up the examination hall's attendance logs. Upon checking, they were completely dumbfounded.Kiara Callaway? Which Kiara Callaway? There wasn't anyone by that name on the list of exam candidates.The admissions representatives called the school, and the school informed them that I had signed a guaranteed admission confirmation form on Ju

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