Chapter 3

I left immediately, ignoring the crying behind me.

Just as I reached the dorm building, Tyler sent me a photo.

In the photo, my locked cabinet had a huge hole smashed into it.

"Noah, didn't you say you got rid of the computer? Then what's this in your cabinet, you lying fraud?"

I rushed back to the dorm. The moment I stepped in, the room was a mess.

Tyler was watching short videos with his head lowered. He didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Oh, the liar's back. I thought you'd be hiding outside, too scared to face anyone."

I walked to the cabinet. It was empty.

The black backpack that had been in the corner was gone.

"Where's the bag? Who took it?"

I turned and stared at Tyler.

Tyler blew on his freshly painted nails and rolled his eyes.

"Caleb took it, obviously. He's rushing to write his thesis. Seriously, you had a laptop all along but lied to the counselor that you got rid of it. No wonder your cabinet got smashed."

"He smashed my cabinet and took my things. That's theft, and you're defending him?"

"Don't make it sound so ugly. You're roommates. He's just borrowing it. Once he's done, he'll naturally return it."

Owen poked his head in to help pile on.

"Exactly, Noah. Don't make a big deal out of nothing. Caleb was forced into this by you. If you'd lent it earlier, none of this would have happened."

I took out my phone and recorded the broken cabinet.

"Since you all think smashing a cabinet and taking things is perfectly reasonable, I'll keep this video as evidence."

Tyler immediately put down his phone and glared at me.

"What are you filming? Delete that. Are you really going to call the police on Caleb? How vicious can you be?"

"Whether it's vicious or not, we'll let the police decide."

I ignored him and walked out.

I didn't call the police.

In my last life, Caleb had used this same trick. He cried to the police that it was just a borrowing dispute between roommates. In the end, everyone smoothed it over.

This time, I would make him spit out what he took in front of everyone.

I went straight to the college computer lab. Today was the final day for seniors to revise and submit their theses, and the hall was packed.

Before I even reached the entrance, I heard Caleb's voice.

"Parker, thank you so much. If you hadn't helped move this laptop over, I definitely wouldn't finish formatting today."

Parker stood beside him and scratched his head with a smile.

"No big deal. This Alienware really is heavy, though. Performance should be great for formatting software."

I pushed through the crowd and walked over.

A thick black laptop sat in front of Caleb.

It was indeed an Alienware.

Except it was the dead shell I had bought from a scrap yard yesterday for seven dollars after selling the real ruined unit. I had stuffed two bricks inside for weight. The motherboard had already burned to ash.

The moment Caleb saw me, he instinctively hugged the laptop closer. Panic flashed through his eyes, but he quickly straightened his spine.

"Noah, what are you doing here? I'm telling you now, I took this from your cabinet. Once I submit my thesis, I'll return it. Don't even think about taking it back now!"

The surrounding students stopped what they were doing and turned to watch.

"Noah, this is too stingy. He already brought it here. Just let him finish using it."

"Yeah, chasing him all the way to the lab over a laptop is embarrassing."

I crossed my arms and looked down at him.

"Use it. Use it as much as you want. I'll stand right here and watch."

Caleb gritted his teeth and pressed the power button.

Nothing happened.

He pressed it again and again. The screen stayed black. Not even an indicator light came on.

"What's going on? Why won't this laptop turn on?"

Caleb panicked and looked at Parker.