Chapter 2

In my last life, I was the one who noticed the road ahead was already flooding badly, and I begged everyone to leave on time.

Even then, we still came dangerously close to missing the exam.

Now, without my warning, they left a full five minutes late.

If they still wanted to make it to the exam on time, it would take nothing short of a miracle.

On the bus, Jeffrey looked at me with an apologetic smile and handed me a lollipop. "Finley, I'm really sorry. It's all my fault. I just thought everyone would be nervous before the exam, so I went ahead and bought these for everyone."

Before I could respond, Heidi snatched the lollipop away. She wrapped her arms around Jeffrey and comforted him. "Jeff, you didn't do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing? Someone as selfish as him doesn't even deserve this."

The others quickly chimed in as well.

"Yeah, Jeff. Don't blame yourself. We chose to stay and wait for you."

"It's just a few minutes. It's no big deal. You always think about us. We'll always remember that. We're not like some people who are just cold-hearted."

Their mocking voices made me smirk faintly.

Good.

I just wondered if they'd still be able to say something like that so casually 30 minutes from now.

That lollipop of Jeffrey's had just cost them the most precious 15 minutes of their lives.

At that moment, the sweetness in their mouths was already starting to brew into something far more bitter.

They sat there eating candy and singing, treating the SAT like some carefree spring outing.

But soon, someone started to notice something was wrong.

Traffic around them grew heavier, and the bus slowed to a crawl.

"Latest update. The road ahead is flooded. It's completely blocked. We'll have to detour. We might be late," the driver said with a heavy expression.

The cheerful mood inside the bus instantly froze.

Heidi looked at him in disbelief. "That's impossible… There's no way this road would be blocked."

In an instant, panic spread through everyone.

"What do we do? If I miss the exam, my whole life is over!"

"You're the driver. Think of something! I can't be late!"

The driver could only shake his head helplessly. "If we want the fastest route, the only option is to switch vehicles and cross the flooded section directly."

I watched everything unfold in silence.

In my last life, once Mom heard we were stuck in traffic, she immediately arranged over a dozen heavy-duty excavators from nearby construction sites to clear the way and get everyone to the exam on time.

And yet, instead of gratitude, they later went online and spread rumors about her, claiming she demanded 100 dollars from each student as "fuel money" for the rescue.

Knowing that they were just a bunch of ingrates, I wasn't going to be naive enough to ask Mom for help again.

Then, Jeffrey suddenly spoke up confidently. "Don't worry. I know a shortcut. It'll definitely get us all to the exam venue in time."

The moment he said it, everyone visibly relaxed, as if his words carried some kind of magic.

They trusted him completely.

In their eyes, I was just a petty, jealous troublemaker. But Jeffrey was the good student they admired.

I was the one who forced them to memorize essays late into the night, not Jeffrey.

I was the one who had Mom buy expensive mock exam papers. Jeffrey only had to hand out a few lollipops.

Even assigning Jeffrey to the cleaning duty was seen as my targeting him.

"Jeff, you really are the best—unlike some people who never say a word when things go wrong. He has no sense of responsibility at all," Heidi said excitedly while looping her arm through Jeffrey's.

She always remembered to jab at me.

I lowered my gaze and let out a sneer, tightening my grip on my phone.

Did they really think Jeffrey would be kind enough to lead them through a shortcut?