Chapter 4

When the video finished playing, the public hearing venue was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

The cheerful campus hunk persona Theodore always put on had been ripped away, revealing his true colors.

A cacophony of whispers broke out in the gallery.

"Holy shit, how very wicked of him! Using a pair of scissors to disfigure someone's face?"

"Didn't he claim that he was the victim when he posted that article on the forum before? Turns out he was just flipping the script!"

All color drained from Theodore's face, and his lips trembled faintly as he protested weakly, "T-that must be edited! He must have used AI technology to put my face there! I never did that!"

However, all those who had once thought he was a harmless guy with a sunny disposition and who had insulted me on his behalf were now silent as they shot him dirty looks.

That had Theodore panicking, and he instinctively grabbed Selena's arm. "Lena, help me explain to them! Tell them that I'm not that sort of person!"

Selena's expression was stony, but she still braced herself and stood up for him. "That video could be purposely edited to skew the truth. Theo has always been a sweet guy, so there must be some sort of misunderstanding here—"

"Misunderstanding, my ass!" a furious bellow cut off Selena's words.

Lana stood at the doorway, her complexion pale as her hand clutched at her freshly reattached ribs. She was originally supposed to be resting in the hospital, but for the sake of personally witnessing my expulsion, she had forced herself to come.

Unexpectedly, not only was I not expelled, but she had even gotten a front-row seat to such a wonderful show.

Lana's eyes grew red as they locked onto Theodore's hand on Selena's arm. "Theodore Caldman, you'd better fucking explain! Why are you addressing her so intimately? Just what is the relationship between you two?"

She had a short temper, but that didn't mean she was a fool. Her boyfriend's first reaction upon running into trouble wasn't to seek her out, but to go to another woman. It was more than obvious that something was going on between the two of them.

Just as the scene was about to devolve into a confrontation between the official girlfriend and the other woman, the student affairs advisor quickly stepped in to restore order.

A panicking Theodore hastily let go of Selena and rushed over to appease Lana. However, when he turned to glance at me, the look in his eyes was even more malicious than before.

The public hearing concluded that I had only acted in self-defense, so I wouldn't be punished for it.

On the other hand, Theodore was issued a major demerit for disorderly conduct.

Although the video had proven my innocence, it had also recorded the strange scene of me lifting Theodore into the air with one hand while my eyes were still closed.

That resulted in rumors spreading across campus that made everyone think of me as a monster they couldn't afford to piss off.

Nonetheless, I wasn't bothered. Being a monster was much better than being a doormat everyone could walk all over anytime they pleased. At least nobody dared to cut in front of me when I was queuing to buy food anymore.

Time flew by, and soon, it was time for our finals.

I had to have the worst luck ever, as Theodore's seat just so happened to be beside mine.

A bad feeling rose in me when I realized that, but the exam was more important than anything else, so I shoved down my nervousness and focused on answering the questions.

Halfway through the exam, a ball of paper landed by my feet.

Before I could react, the proctor overseeing the exam had already stopped in front of me. Her eyes were sharp as she ordered, "Pick up the item by your feet."

At the table next to mine, Theodore curved his lips into a triumphant smirk.

I frowned, wondering what he was up to this time. Was he trying to frame me for cheating on the exam?

The possibility that that was his real motive actually had me relaxing. After all, our handwriting was completely different.

Picking up the paper ball, I handed it to the proctor.

She opened it up, her expression instantly darkening when she saw writing on it. "Not only did you bring a cheat sheet into the exam, but you even dared to pass it around right here in the exam venue?"

Theodore raised his hand and loudly proclaimed, "Ma'am, I saw Michael stuffing paper slips into his pockets when I came in here before the exam started!"

Immediately, everyone's attention was focused on me.

The proctor frowned and flipped the paper over, but just as she was about to read out what she thought would be a cheat sheet, she suddenly froze. She eyed Theodore with a strange look on her face, then glanced back at the paper.

"Ma'am, what are you waiting for? Quick, read it out loud so everyone can know what he wrote down!" Theodore urged impatiently.

The unease in me swelled further as I noted how eager he seemed. After all, if it had been just a cheat sheet, the proctor wouldn't have had such an odd expression.

As my mind whirled with chaotic thoughts, the proctor read out the words written on the back of the cheat sheet.

"Dear Lana, head to the hotel opposite the campus after the exam is over. I'll be all cleaned up and waiting for you."