All Chapters of The Scholarship Trap: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"He said he graduated years ago but still misses this soup. We used a lot of good ingredients today. I'll save a bowl for you later."She stirred the pot as she spoke to me with a smile.I smiled back and thanked her.Looking at the steaming, fragrant pot of soup, I raised the corners of my mouth.When no one was watching, I poured that bottle of water into the pot.After pouring the water in, I immediately threw myself into my cafeteria shift.The lunch rush was brutal. The cafeteria was packed with students and faculty coming and going, and I worked straight through until noon.When I pushed open the dorm door, I immediately saw Caleb sitting at his desk.His gaze locked onto me the moment I entered. His eyes were full of urgency, as if he had been waiting for me for ages.Before I could sit down, Caleb got up and walked quickly toward me. He held a nicely packaged bag of toast, his smile gentle and sincere."Julian, you must be exhausted after working all morning. You must

The panic in the main auditorium was still spreading. Cries of alarm and angry questions tangled together, shattering the solemn atmosphere of the alumni lecture.Everyone was frantically refreshing their mobile banking pages. One face after another shifted from stunned to bloodless as fear flooded the entire auditorium like a tide.And the person who had caused all this was sitting not far away.I turned my head and looked at Caleb.The thrill of sudden wealth that had just been in his eyes had vanished completely.In its place was pure panic and terror. He clenched his phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his body trembled uncontrollably.Huge sums of money were still pouring into his account nonstop. Everyone else's savings had vanished into thin air and gathered under his name.The police sirens drew closer, sharp and piercing as they cut through the noise in the auditorium.Several uniformed officers walked in quickly, scanned the room, and asked, "Which st

The police verified my bank records, login devices, spending records, and movements at the same time. Every piece of data was clean and transparent, without a single abnormality.I had no time to commit the act, no means to commit it, and no motive to seize anyone else's property.Soon, a staff member notified me that I needed to participate in a simple confrontation to corroborate details.I entered the interview room again. Through the headphones, I heard the police play a synchronized recording from Caleb's interrogation.In the recording, the officer's voice was calm and stern."Mr. Foster, according to the bank's back-end data, all abnormal outflowing funds from across the school ultimately gathered in your personal account."Hundreds of transfers entered your account at the same time, with no manual operation traces. How do you explain that?"Caleb's voice was obviously tearful, anxious and panicked, full of grievance and denial."I don't know! I really don't know! I neve

In the dorm group chat and class group chat, Tyler Brooks took the initiative to speak up. Every sentence was about distancing himself from Caleb and exposing Caleb's true nature."I thought Caleb had been acting way too vain lately. He kept comparing luxury items and spending money like water. I was blind to speak for him before."He always deliberately buttered people up and gave out snacks and drinks. Turns out it wasn't kindness at all. He had ulterior motives."Julian is so pitiful. That scholarship was his grandfather's life-saving medical money, and his roommate still tried to plot against him. Who wouldn't feel chilled by that?"For a time, everyone saw through Caleb's gentle, friendly facade and recognized the greed and malice underneath.The good relationships and warm persona he had carefully maintained for so long shattered completely.At five in the afternoon, the cybercrime department and the bank's technical team completed the final trace investigation.The techni

My fingers paused slightly, but I said nothing.Mr. Bennett continued."I've looked at your transcript and school record. You are diligent, grounded, and sensible. In hardship, you don't complain or become extreme. Even when your roommate maliciously plotted against you, you held onto your principles and stayed rational."After years of entrepreneurship, young people like you are the ones I admire most."When he finished, Mr. Bennett looked at me seriously, his tone solemn."Julian, I have decided to personally fund your education long-term."I jerked my head up, shock filling my eyes.Mr. Bennett smiled and explained,"I will personally cover all of your grandfather's future hospitalization, rehabilitation, and medical expenses until he fully recovers."On top of that, I will cover your remaining tuition, housing, and living expenses through university, so you no longer need to run between medical bills and tuition by working part-time."Not only that, he added,"When you n