Chapter 2

I rubbed my eyes hard. I was certain I had misread it.

But to my surprise, the score on the results page was still 1,550 points!

Mom turned pale and asked me in disbelief, “Sophia, didn’t you turn in a blank test?”

I replied firmly, “I did turn in a blank test. Don’t worry, Mom. There must be a mistake with this score.”

I refreshed the page several times, but the score did not change.

Just then, my phone rang. My homeroom teacher was calling.

I picked it up and hurriedly said, “Ms. Spector, there seems to be a glitch in the score-checking system. My 0 points have turned into 1,550 points.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. I waited with dread.

After a long while, my homeroom teacher finally spoke.

“The score checks out, Sophia Watson. You scored 1,550 points. You’re this year’s valedictorian on the SATs.”

My head spun. I could not make sense of what was happening.

My homeroom teacher’s voice came through the phone again.

“Sophia, if you have any problems, come see me. I’ll help you work them out. Whatever you do, don’t do anything rash.”

I did not know whether to laugh or cry. My homeroom teacher was clearly worried I might commit suicide like the previous valedictorians.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Spector. I won’t do anything rash.”

My parents doted on me. I grew up surrounded by love and had never faced any setbacks. It was extremely rare for me to even feel down.

You could say anyone else may be suicidal, but certainly not me.

It still did not answer my question. I had clearly turned in a blank answer sheet, so how did I end up with 1,550 points?

After speaking with my homeroom teacher, I immediately called the admissions office to request a recheck of my scores.

Upon hearing that I had turned in a blank answer sheet, the admissions office took it very seriously and completed the review quickly.

My exam paper was impeccable. Every question had been fully answered.

The only area of deduction was on the essay. I had made a single spelling mistake.

I was stunned when I heard the verdict.

Seeing me frozen in shock, Dad patted me on the shoulder and comforted me, “It’s okay, Sophia. At this point, don’t dwell on the score anymore.

“Tell me, are you really sure you wouldn’t do something foolish?”

Dad and Mom waited with bated breaths as they looked at me. They were terrified that I might give them a heartbreaking answer.

I nodded solemnly. “Dad, Mom, trust me. I’ll never do anything stupid!”

Dad let out a sigh of relief and said gravely, “Sophia, you’re staying home today. You’re not allowed to go anywhere.”

I agreed without hesitation.

The methods used by past SATs valedictorians who committed suicide have varied.

Some jumped from buildings, some slit their wrists, and others drank poison.

The only commonality was that the higher their scores, the more gruesome their deaths. Also, they all took their own lives before midnight.

At that moment, there were still 11 hours until midnight. I was curious too. Would I really die?

The news of me being the top scoring valedictorian on the SATs caused a huge stir online. The entire internet was shocked by my audacity. Not only did I dare to become the valedictorian, but I also dared to score so high.

At the same time, quite a few influencers arrived outside my villa to start broadcasting.

I casually clicked into one of the live streams and happened to see the host and viewers discussing.

They were talking about how I, the highest-scoring valedictorian in history, would die on that night.

The netizens’ theories ran wild. Every possible way of dying sent shivers down my spine.

But precisely because of that, I was certain I would never take my own life.

Just then, a comment in the live stream caught my attention.

[Sophia knew full well that valedictorians would always end up committing suicide, yet she still scored so high. Is she perhaps lowkey suicidal?]

[Very likely. Seems like Sophia has wanted to die for a long time. If that’s the case, she’s definitely going to die tonight.]

[Ugh, another valedictorian’s going to die. I’m starting to wonder if there’s some kind of curse.]

I was taken aback and suddenly thought of something.

What if I really did die under mysterious circumstances on that night? Then, in everyone’s eyes, it would be a suicide.

After thinking it over, I typed a message in the comments section.

[I’m Sophia Watson. If I do die, it’s definitely murder!]