Chapter 4 The Process Must Continue

"I did it! The proctor only glanced at it and didn't ask me a thing!"

"Mine got recorded! Does that mean it's going into the special review process?"

"Bonnie was right! It really worked!"

A voice message from Bonnie arrived soon after. Her voice was sweet and as soft as silk. "Don't panic, everyone. If your paper got recorded, that means the system has flagged it. You have to do it in this afternoon's math exam as well.

"If the process gets interrupted, everything we've done so far will be wasted."

I slid my finger across the screen, taking screenshots of every single message and saving them one by one.

My phone suddenly vibrated, and a message from Leon popped up. "Come here."

I didn't budge from where I was.

To my annoyance, Leon appeared in front of me with two other of his lackeys nary a second later.

Then, he slammed down a bottle of mineral water in front of me, causing the droplets to splash onto the cuffs of my pants.

"Sinclair." His eyes were dark and menacing, as though he wanted to see straight through my soul. "Did you do it this morning or not?"

I slowly raised my eyes. "Do what?"

"Quit playing dumb!" Leon clenched his fists, his voice filled with barely restrained anger. "Everyone in the class did exactly what Bonnie said. You're not going to be the odd one out!"

Our classmates nearby turned to look at us, their whispers drifting over.

"She didn't actually chicken out, did she?"

"Could she mess things up for all of us?"

Bonnie hurried over, her eyes already tearing up. She gently tugged at Leon's arm. "Don't yell at Ondine. She was probably just so nervous that she forgot."

The gentler Bonnie sounded, the angrier Leon became. He grabbed the strap of my backpack. "She did it on purpose! She wants you to take all the blame by yourself!"

I kept my head lowered and didn't struggle.

The study tablet that I'd stuffed inside my pocket had already begun recording this entire farce. Every accusation and every shout was being uploaded clearly to the cloud.

"So… what do you want me to do?" I drawled unhurriedly.

Leon shoved a bottle of water into my hands. "This afternoon, you're going to wet your answer sheet right in front of me during the math exam."

"Ondine, we're all in the same class," Bonnie added softly. "If the process isn't complete, it'll affect everyone."

The criticism around me only grew louder. They called me selfish and accused me of dragging everyone down.

I simply nodded. "Okay."

Leon let out a cold snort and finally released the strap of my backpack.

Bonnie blinked through teary eyes. "I knew you wouldn't leave us behind."

I looked at her, the corners of my lips lifting into the faintest, mocking smile.

…

That afternoon, Leon deliberately lined up behind me before entering the examination room. As we walked inside, he warned me lowly, "I'm watching you."

During the security check, the proctor instructed me to tear the label off my water bottle and place it beside my desk.

The answer sheets were handed out. Just as I was about to fill in my information, Leon gave a quiet cough behind me. I knew what it was. It was a reminder to do as I was told.

I paused for a moment before raising my hand. "Excuse me, ma'am."

The proctor walked over.

I pointed at my answer sheet before asking calmly, "I have a question. We're not allowed to get this wet, right? Would water interfere with the scanning process?"

The entire examination room fell silent.

I heard Leon's breathing stop abruptly from behind me.

The proctor frowned, her expression turning stern. "Absolutely not. If the answer sheet is damaged by water, it may be treated as an irregular examination paper."

"Thank you, ma'am."

I lowered my head and carefully filled in my information. My pen moved steadily across the page.

I didn't hear anything from Leon right after that. However, I heard the faint, hurried click of a bottle cap being twisted open and shut a moment later. It was as though a certain someone was behaving like a thief trying not to get caught doing something wrong.

I never brought anyone's attention to it. Instead, I focused entirely on my exam. The calculations on my paper flowed smoothly, and my answer sheet remained perfectly dry the entire time.

…

The same song and dance repeated itself over the course of the next two days. During the foreign language and science exams, Bonnie would constantly remind everyone in the group chat to "continue the process."

Leon blocked my path every single day, threatening me. I would meekly agree to whatever he wanted whenever he started to throw his weight around, but I continued to do whatever I pleased during every exam.

When the bell rang for the final paper, cheers erupted throughout the school building. Bonnie stood in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by classmates. Tears streamed down her face as she cried out, "We did it. Now, all we have to do is wait for the special admissions."

I walked past her at an unhurried pace, my backpack slung over one shoulder. My voice was flat, but there was no hiding the certainty in my tone.