جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 740

"Rebecca," Fabio started, his voice dripping with impatience, "that video circulating online has caused a serious mess."Our school has always emphasized unity and mutual care and strictly opposes any form of campus bullying. You were supposed to set an example, yet you've done something like this. I'm deeply disappointed!"Rebecca stood in the center of the office, her back straight. "Sir, that video was maliciously edited. It doesn't show the full story. That day in the bathroom...""Edited?" Fabio cut her off with a dismissive look. "Weren't you the one grabbing Beatrice by the hair? Wasn't she shaking with fear? The facts are clear. Stop making excuses! This has blown up all over the internet and damaged the school's reputation. Do you even understand how serious this is?""Precisely because it's serious, we need to uncover the whole truth," Rebecca said, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. "The complete video will prove that Beatrice, acting on someone else's orders, attacked me a

Finally, the post caught the most attention. Rebecca had been waiting for this moment.Just one class period later, she was called out of the classroom again.This time, it was the principal's office. Several unfamiliar figures were present, along with Fabio."This is Rebecca Perry." Fabio stood up with an ingratiating smile. "Rebecca, these are district education officials. Be polite."The officials waved it off. "No need to be so formal. We used to be teachers too."Rebecca gave them a polite nod. "Nice to meet you all.""We've already conducted a thorough internal investigation," Fabio jumped in. "At its core, this is just a small misunderstanding between two girls. Rebecca has a straightforward personality and can be a bit blunt in her speech."Someone with ill intentions recorded it, edited it out of context, and turned it into this. We've already given the involved students a strict talking-to."He turned to Rebecca with that same fake expression of concern. "Rebecca has

There was still one piece of evidence Rebecca hadn't submitted—the one provided by Darren.He had hacked the school's security system and recovered the deleted surveillance footage. It contained crucial evidence, but that approach wasn't a positive act.She didn't want to hand it over and cause trouble for him in this critical senior year. As Fabio had put it, they were all ready for college applications.Lost in thought, she saw Darren walking toward her."How did it go? What did they want?" he asked.His question was almost identical to Vance's from moments ago."I think it should be fine now," she replied simply. "The district office will investigate thoroughly.""Was this the moment you were waiting for?""Yeah.""Good. Only when public pressure is great enough will the punishment be serious enough."Rebecca was surprised that he shared her thinking."You didn't submit the surveillance footage of the bulletin board?""No, I didn't.""Why?" He knew she wasn't trying to

The arts class had just ended. Rebecca and Darren hadn't gone to the cafeteria yet.Her intuition told her that Darren was the poster. After all, the footage was recovered by him.But he denied it with a knowing smile. "It was probably your... friend.""Vance?" Rebecca blurted out.Darren chuckled, which only confused her further. How did Vance even have that surveillance footage?"Did you send it to him?""He got it himself.""Huh?"That strange smile appeared on his face again. "You don't seem to know your friend as well as I do.""What do you mean? Of course, you know him better. You're like brothers.""Vance is really talented with computers. In fact, he is better than a lot of college students.""Really?"Rebecca didn't doubt Vance's abilities.In the other world, he had been the undisputed top student in their grade and later founded a tech company in college, quickly diving into AI.So, it wasn't surprising that he already had such a foundation in high school. "W

In the other world, Rebecca had dealt with too much online drama. She and her family had been forced to defend themselves again and again. It had gotten old.So, this time, she used public opinion to her advantage instead of stepping forward to defend herself. With such a big public outcry, the school and relevant departments would surely step in to clarify things.She hadn't expected Vance to act. It made sense, though, for a 17-year-old boy to have the youthful vigor and hot-blooded courage to charge forward.Only a guy like this would say, "She gave me five dollars."She just wondered what the 27-year-old Vance in this world would be like.Now his eyes held sharp clarity and youthful spirit. She tried to find traces on his face of the commanding presence of the successful man she knew, but she couldn't find any.She couldn't even connect this boy, who had just declared that nothing could stand above Rebecca, with the man she was familiar with."Hey, snap back!" Vance placed a