After transferring into an elite high school, I was bullied. However, it was not my classmates that bullied me; it was every object in the school.

The private bathroom in my dorm only ran icy cold water when I showered, forcing me to trek to the public bathhouse in the dead of winter.

When I begged the dorm supervisor, Mrs. Linda Mercer, to submit a repair request, she rolled her eyes and said, "The students who lived here last year never had this problem. Why is it suddenly broken when you move in?"

My student ID card never worked in the library or the cafeteria. Every single time, it failed to scan, and I had to register manually.

The multimedia equipment in the classroom froze whenever I touched it, dragging down the entire class schedule.

I went to the teachers for help. They frowned and complained instead. "Everyone else can use it just fine. Why does it only malfunction when you do?"

Even my deskmate rolled her eyes and mocked me. "You put on such a show every day. You are the only one who's so special. Are we supposed to stop studying just for you?"

One strange incident after another completely isolated me at my new school. I cried and begged my parents to let me transfer again.

They said, "The college entrance exam is right around the corner. Stop making trouble. Just endure it, and it will pass."

I listened. I decided to grit my teeth and push through.

Then, on the day of the college entrance exam, the security gate malfunctioned and started leaking electricity. Everyone else was fine. I was the only one who was electrocuted to death on the spot.

Until the moment I died, I could not understand why the entire school seemed to be pushing me out. I was just a newly transferred student who had no grudges with anyone.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I arrived to register at the new school.

"Wynn Stone, welcome to Northcrest High School.

"Your student ID has already been registered. From now on, you will need it to enter the dorms, the cafeteria, and the library."

The dorm supervisor, Mrs. Linda Mercer, handed me a brand-new student ID card.

I froze for a brief moment.

Memories from my previous life of being tormented again and again by every object in this school came flooding back into my mind all at once.

It all started with this card.

On my very first day at school, my student ID malfunctioned on every single machine.

When I went to the library, the turnstile’s red light flashed wildly, and the alarm blared.

When I went to the cafeteria, the card reader did not respond at all. The line behind me erupted in complaints.

I went to the teacher in charge, Mr. Thomas Whitaker. After checking the card, Mr. Whitaker said there was nothing wrong with it. The problem was my own improper use.

One strange incident after another turned me into the laughingstock of the entire school. The students thought I was putting on a show to get attention, while the teachers thought I was nothing but trouble.

I cried as I called home, begging my parents to let me transfer schools.

Dad snapped, "Do you know how many favors I had to call in and how much money I spent just to get you into Northcrest? And now you want to quit just like that? Endure it. Once the college entrance exam is over, it will all be fine."

My mom also tried to persuade me from the side. "Wynn, are you under too much pressure? You must be overthinking things. How could objects possibly target a person?"

All I could do was tolerate it.

On the day of the college entrance exam, I died beneath the security gate at the entrance to the exam site.

The searing pain of the electric current ripping through my body was something I would never forget.

Luckily, I was reborn.

This time, I would uncover the truth, no matter what secret is hiding behind all of this.

Thinking of this, I accepted the student ID and gave the dorm supervisor a well-behaved smile.

"Ma'am, I lost a card back in middle school, so I am worried this one might have issues too. Could you take me to the entrance gate to test it first? That way, if I cannot get back into the dorm later, I won't have to trouble you to come downstairs and open the door."

Mrs. Mercer froze for a moment. Seeing my sincere attitude, she still waved her hand impatiently. "Fine, fine. Hurry up."

I took a deep breath and walked to the turnstile at the dorm entrance, pressing my student ID steadily against the sensor.

Beep.

A crisp confirmation sound rang out, and the gate opened in response.

I let out a quiet breath. It seemed that after restarting everything, some things had not happened yet.

Mrs. Mercer rolled her eyes. "See? It works just fine. Young girls should stop being so suspicious all day long."

I smiled, thanked her, and headed straight for the academic building.

In my previous life, this was where I had first humiliated myself in front of everyone.

Mr. Whitaker stood at the podium to introduce me, "This is our new transfer student, Wynn Stone. Wynn, come up and say hello to everyone. While you are here, why don't you play us your introduction for this week's homeroom slide show?"

My heart started pounding wildly.

In my previous life, the moment I touched the computer, the multimedia system immediately blacked out and froze. No amount of restarting had worked.

In the end, the class monitor, Jenna Reed, had gone up to the podium. With just a few quick moves, she fixed everything. Then, she had pointedly said, "Mr. Whitaker, some people might not be very good with this equipment. Maybe I should handle it from now on."

From that moment on, my reputation for being clumsy and incompetent spread.

This time, I walked up to the podium but did not touch the computer right away.

I turned to look at Jenna, who was sitting in the front row, watching me coldly.

I gave her a look of helpless appeal. "Jenna, I just transferred here and am not familiar with the school equipment. I am afraid of wasting everyone's time. Could I trouble you to operate it for me?"

Jenna clearly did not expect this move. She frowned.

Mr. Whitaker spoke up as well, "Jenna, help the new student."

Left with no choice, Jenna reluctantly stood and walked to the computer. She plugged in the USB drive and opened the file. The projection screen immediately displayed a clear image.

Everything worked perfectly.

She shot me a disdainful glance, as if to say, "Such a simple thing! Is it really worth making such a fuss over?"

I ignored her look, picked up the presentation clicker, and smiled at the class. "Hello, everyone, my name is Wynn Stone. I'm delighted to be your classmate."

Then I pressed the button to move to the next slide.

Click.

The projection screen went black instantly.

The entire classroom fell into dead silence.

Everyone froze.

Jenna's eyes widened as she stared at the black screen in disbelief.

I pressed the button a few more times in feigned panic. "It is not responding! How could this happen? Jenna, it was working just fine a moment ago!"

I deliberately raised my voice, making sure everyone could hear.

In my previous life, I had stood alone on the podium, flustered and helpless, becoming the butt of everyone's jokes.

This time, I wanted Jenna and the entire class to be witnesses.

Jenna hurried up to the podium, snatched the clicker from my hand, and started operating the computer frantically.

There was no response.

She tried restarting it, unplugging and reconnecting the power several times.

The multimedia system was like a brick. Completely dead.

Mr. Whitaker's expression darkened. "What is going on? Jenna, did we not just have this equipment serviced last week?"

Jenna was drenched in sweat, and her face was flushed red. "I do not know, Mr. Whitaker! It was working perfectly before Wynn came up. The moment she touched it, it broke!"

I immediately lowered my head, twisting my fingers together aggrievedly and said softly, "I am sorry, sir. Maybe... maybe I am just unlucky."

The way I looked made me appear, in the eyes of the other students, like a pitiful victim being publicly scapegoated by Jenna.

Whispers immediately broke out.

"What does Jenna mean by that? She messed it up herself and is blaming the new student?"

"Exactly. If the machine is broken, it is broken. Is there really a need to dump the blame like that? That is pretty low."

"The newcomer is kind of pitiful. She got targeted the moment she arrived."

Hearing the murmurs around her, Jenna's face shifted between pale and green. She trembled with rage.

Mr. Whitaker frowned and cut her off. "That is enough. Stop messing with it. This period will be self-study."

Then he looked at me, his tone softening. "Wynn, go back to your seat. This is not your fault."

I looked at him with gratitude, hugged my backpack, and walked off the podium.

As I passed by Jenna, I clearly heard her squeeze out through clenched teeth, "Just you wait."

I lowered my head, a cold smile curling at the corner of my lips.

Wait, then.

In this life, I was not the one who should be afraid.

After resolving the chaos in the classroom, I returned to the dorm.

In my previous life, the private bathroom in my dorm only ran cold water once winter arrived, forcing me to squeeze into the overcrowded public bathhouse.

I walked into the bathroom and twisted the shower knob.

A blast of icy water sprayed out, splashing onto the back of my hand and making me shiver from the cold.

From the neighboring dorm came the sound of hot water rushing, mixed with girls laughing and chatting.

As expected. It was happening again.

This time, I did not go argue with Mrs. Mercer as I had in my previous life. Instead, I took out my phone and turned on the video recording function.

I held up my phone, aimed the camera at the shower head, and took a close-up shot of it trickling nothing but cold water — the stream was thin and weak, not a wisp of steam rising from it.

Then I knocked on the door of the neighboring dorm.

A short-haired girl opened the door. She looked a little surprised to see me.

I put on a friendly smile. "Hi. I just moved in and wanted to ask, does the hot water in our dorm require swiping a card? Mine does not seem to have any hot water."

The short-haired girl, Nova Lin, was very warm and welcoming. "No card needed. Just turn it on. Maybe there is something wrong with the pipes in your room? Come try mine."

I followed her into her bathroom and turned on her shower. Hot, steaming water poured out instantly.

"Go ahead and use it," Nova said.

I nodded. "Could I trouble you with one more thing? Could you go to my dorm room and take a look, just to prove that mine really only runs cold water? I am worried that Mrs. Mercer will not believe me."

Nova looked confused but still nodded and went over.

In my previous life, I had only told Mrs. Mercer verbally, and she never believed me. This time, I wanted a witness.

It was not long before Nova came back, but what she said hit me like a thunderbolt.

"Your dorm room is fine, too. I checked. There's hot water."

"What? That is impossible!"

I rushed back to my room and reached out to test the water temperature. It was indeed scalding hot water.

I froze.

Unwilling to accept it, I turned off the faucet and turned it on again. That familiar icy chill surged out once more, cold enough to seep into my bones.

Nova watched me repeatedly turn the faucet on and off, her gaze growing increasingly strange.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Are you under too much pressure?"

I refused to believe it and asked her to watch again with her own eyes.

However, the moment she stepped into the bathroom, the water turned hot. The moment she left, it turned cold again.

The bizarre phenomenon made my scalp go numb. I stared at the showerhead in collapse, almost wanting to rip it apart.

"Why? Why is it only targeting me?"

Seeing me muttering to myself like that, Nova looked at me as if she were looking at a madwoman. "You... you should probably get some rest early."

After saying that, she fled back to her own dorm as if avoiding a plague, locking the door behind her.

Before long, rumors that the new transfer student was mentally unstable spread through the dorm building.

"I heard she talks to the showerhead. Is there something wrong with her?"

"She looks so quiet and proper. Who would have thought she acts like a lunatic?"

"This is a school, not a psychiatric hospital. How can they accept just anyone?"

The gossip eventually reached Mrs. Mercer. She stood at the door of my dorm room with her hands on her hips, glaring at me with disgust. "Wynn, what nonsense are you stirring up again? It is the first day of school, and you are already causing chaos. If you do not want to live here, then get out!"

I pointed toward the bathroom, utterly unable to defend myself. "Ma'am, my shower really only runs cold water. As long as I am alone, there's cold water!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Mercer walked into the bathroom and twisted the faucet.

Thick steam instantly filled the space.

She put her hand under the stream, then glared at me even more impatiently. "Where is this cold water? Is this not hot? Other students live here just fine. Why is it that the moment you arrive, there are endless problems? Try causing trouble again, and I will report you to the school and have you written up!"