Chapter 6

In the teacher’s office, Miss Clara’s expression was grave.

“There have been some bad rumors about you in school recently. Those videos are clearly fake, so we’ll set that matter aside for a moment. Although you usually do not take things seriously, your grades have always been excellent. I don’t understand why you would destroy your own future.”

As she spoke, she pulled up Jack’s college application form on the computer screen.

“I don’t recall you applying to community colleges. Why did you change them from the top universities you’ve chosen? The deadline has already passed. Is this a joke?”

Jack looked at the screen calmly. His password was Lily’s birthday, and only Lily knew it. That was likely her trying to make Matthew happy.

He had forced himself to crack jokes for three years to cheer Lily. Yet, all it took was seven days apart for Lily to make him the laughing stock and win someone else over. However, he could not care less anymore.

Miss Clara was still trying to figure out a way to fix the situation for him.

“Miss,” he suddenly spoke, his voice raspy. “I won’t be taking the college entrance exam anymore.”

The next second, a familiar voice came from the doorway.

“You’re not taking the college entrance exam? Are you planning to scrub toilets instead?”

Lily sneered, handed Miss Clara a workbook, and walked out.

Ten minutes later, Jack left the office as well. Everywhere he went, he was pointed at and mocked, but he reacted as if he heard nothing.

He was like a soulless, walking corpse, his eyes dead and emotionless. Even when Matthew intentionally stood in his way, he merely stepped around him.

He intended to return to the classroom and gather his belongings so that he could leave school until he moved overseas. However, his indifference infuriated Matthew instead.

“Jack, who do you think you are? I told you to give me that bracelet that matches Lily’s. Are you deaf?”

Matthew lost his temper, picked up a stainless steel water bottle off a desk, and smashed it hard against Jack’s head. The wound that had just scabbed over after being pushed and cut by Lily ripped open once again.

Blood dripped down his expressionless face and fell onto his black clothing. Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.

Lily, who was walking to the door holding a freshly filled water bottle, sensed immediately that something was off. She rushed inside, stood in front of Matthew, and without asking about the situation, splashed the entire bottle of water onto Jack’s face.

“What kind of fuss are you kicking up again?”

Kicking up a fuss? He no longer had the strength to kick up a fuss.

Jack raised his hand calmly and wiped away the blood and water on his face. Then, from his pocket, he took out that bracelet and placed it on the desk.

Those bracelets were a gift from their families when they went on a holiday together when they were eight years old. Even if Matthew had not fought him for it, he did not intend to keep it anyway.

After packing the last of his books in his bag, he bypassed the people in front of him and walked out without saying a word.

Lily, on the other hand, was taken aback. Jack had always had an endless supply of jokes and a smile on his face. When had he become so… so quiet?

However, she quickly believed that Jack was just playing hard to get, and unfortunately for him, she did not fall for that trick.

With forty-eight hours left until the college entrance exam, the seniors’ group chat kept buzzing continuously. Matthew’s party had begun, but Jack did not go. Instead, he cleared out anything belonging to Ian and himself from their home.

During that time, Matthew sent many provocative messages. There were even photos from earlier of him being forced to dress in disgusting outfits, which were now projected on the large screen at the party. He glanced at them before immediately deleting them.

Lily also sent a message for the very first time.

“Jack, everyone’s here at the party. What are you playing at? Come over now.”

He did not reply, nor could he reply. Lily seemed to have forgotten that she had blocked his contact.

With twenty-four hours left until the college entrance exam, Jack lay calmly on his bed. His social media feed was flooded with posts from Matthew, nine photos per post, and every single photo featured Lily.

Jack suddenly remembered that he had also once taken a photo of Lily using a Polaroid camera.

He had handed the photo to her with a cheerful smile and said, “We should take more photos while we’re young! That way, when we are eighty years old, we can still use them to date people online!”

At that time, Lily had torn the photo to pieces and thrown it into the trash can.

“I do not like taking photos.”

As it turned out, she did not dislike taking photos; she simply disliked him. In this one-sided relationship that had begun at an age he could not even remember, he had lost miserably.

On the day of the college entrance exam, Jack received a video along with a very long document. His eyes, which had been hollow and lifeless for several days, finally showed some emotion again.

His breathing hitched, his eyes watered, and his hand holding the phone trembled. Suppressing the overwhelming emotions in his heart, he quickly replied to that number with a message.

[Contact a lawyer and file a lawsuit immediately.]

He was going to make the murderer who killed his father get the justice he deserved.

As the plane took off, he leaned against his seat, closed his eyes, and never looked back at that city again.