All Chapters of The One Went Up in Flames: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

"Connor! What are you still staring at?!"The door to the studio flew open. My best friend Hayden Tucker burst in, his phone raised high.I was jolted awake, and my eyes fluttered open. The familiar easel and the unfinished graduation project on it came into view.I had regressed.Time wound back to the day Bonnie Lane accused me of plagiarism."Go look at the university message board! That scheming Bonnie is at it again," Hayden hissed.My eyes glanced at Hayden's phone screen.At the top was a pinned post. The title was, "To All Art Lovers. When My Inspiration is Stolen by Someone Close, What Should I Do?"He didn't give any names. He simply told a story about a hardworking senior whose work had been shamelessly copied by a so-called genius junior. Even without being named, everyone knew that genius junior was me.During the art exams, I was the living legend of our year. When I first enrolled, people already called me a genius.Bonnie had even attached a comparison photo

I bought a professional signal detector online and swept through every inch of the studio. I even searched the power outlets as well.In the end, there was nothing.To be safe, I packed up my painting tools and took a cab to a paid studio far from the university.I chose a completely enclosed room and made sure there was absolutely no way any surveillance equipment could have been installed in advance.This time, I painted a still life titled "Fragmented Statue."I deliberately used unconventional colors and lighting. These were ideas I had only come up with recently and had never mentioned to anyone.When I finished, I didn't take the painting with me. I locked it in a storage cabinet.That night, in a private group chat full of well-known painters and industry veterans, Bonnie posted a more polished painting on the same theme, pretending to ask for advice.The painting was "Fragmented Statue."The timestamp on his post was thirty minutes earlier than the time I finished my o

Bonnie's retaliation worked perfectly, and all the focus came back to me."True. Now that he has no painting, he just wants to sneak a look at someone else's work!""Connor really is quite shameless! He still hasn't given up after everything!"With the crowd supporting him again, Bonnie straightened up with renewed confidence. "I'll bring a piece that'll amaze everyone, unlike some people who rely on cheap tricks for attention!"The others viewed him with confidence and expectation. Meanwhile, the same people sneered at me and told me to stop making a scene, that I should hurry back and paint something new while there was still time.I simply smiled. I said nothing and walked out of the hall.After leaving the university, I found a quiet cafe, ordered a glass of water, and sat there the entire afternoon.I closed my eyes and began to build my next masterpiece in my mind.Its title was "Twin Lives."At first glance, it would look grand and spectacular. The composition was m

As soon as I finished speaking, Bonnie looked as though every ounce of strength had been ripped from him. His legs buckled, and he collapsed on the stage.He grabbed his head and started screaming in despair. "It's not me! I didn't do it! It was the system. The system forced me!"The crowd went wild."System?""What system is he talking about?"Cameras flashed as reporters rushed forward, lenses aimed at his crumpled figure on stage.In the midst of the turmoil, I revealed the truth calmly.I had suspected for a long time that Bonnie was stealing my thoughts and ideas, so I hired a private investigator to look into him.The investigator discovered that Bonnie had something called the Creativity Pillaging System. The system he mentioned is a tool that can ignore physical distance, reach directly into my mind, steal any fully formed artistic concept, and convert it into his own work.On its own, the explanation sounded absurd.However, when compared to his total collapse, h