As soon as I walk out of the college entrance exam venue, the police bring me to an interrogation room for interrogation purposes.

There, the officers are able to dig out the tools used for cheating in the exams from my clothes. Then, they arrest an accomplice who has helped out with the cheating process in a nearby hotel.

As soon as the accomplice sees me, he claims that I'm the one who has hired his services. After that, he gives a confession on the entire cheating process and how we conducted this transaction.

All the evidence is present. Soon, news of me cheating on the college entrance exam is spread throughout the Internet.

My parents try to defend my innocence, but they ultimately fail. In the end, they die gruesome deaths at home due to cyberbullying.

As for me, I suffer from a cardiac arrest shortly after receiving the bad news of their deaths, and I die soon after.

I still fail to understand what has happened, even when I draw my last breath.

After all, I've never done anything, but why is it that the evidence all points to me being the cheater?

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day before the college entrance exams are set to begin.

"Jade, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and hand over your ID so we can check in." My best friend Lily Carter's voice snapped me back to reality. I shuddered.

I was standing in the lobby of a hotel. Behind the front desk, a clock on the wall showed the date 6th of June.

Lily nudged me. "Hello? Your ID!"

The slight jolt finally made me realize that I had been reborn.

In my last life, the exam center was far from home. Afraid of traffic delays on the college entrance exam day, Lily and I had booked a hotel less than a hundred yards from the venue the night before.

After my last paper, the moment I walked out of the exam hall, I was arrested for cheating. And the person who had supplied the answers had been hiding in the very hotel room I'd stayed in.

"Jade, why are you being so slow today? The receptionist is waiting!" Lily complained, reaching straight into my bag to grab my ID.

I grabbed her wrist. "I'm not staying!"

Lily frowned. "Jade, what's wrong with you? Do you know how hard it was to get this room? No. You have to stay!"

I stared at Lily, somewhat puzzled. She had always been gentle and soft-spoken when she talked to others. Why was she speaking so forcefully that day?

I forced a smile. "Lily, you know I'm picky about where I sleep. If I stay at a hotel, I might be awake all night. That'll mess up my exam tomorrow. I thought about it, and I'd rather go home. I'll just wake up earlier tomorrow. I'm really sorry."

Lily covered her mouth and laughed. "I was just kidding. You took that seriously? But think it through. Hotel rooms are really hard to book before the exam. If you cancel now and change your mind later, there might not be a room left."

I nodded, firm in my decision to head back.

"Take a cab back yourself then. I'll head to my room to study first."

I watched her disappear into the elevator, then waved for a cab. I got in the car and said, "Driver, take me to the nearby cybercafe."

In my past life, everything had happened too fast, like fireworks bursting and vanishing instantly.

How had cheating devices ended up on me? Where had the evidence provided by the culprit come from? Who had wanted to ruin me? And why? The questions swirled in my head like fog.

Maybe I'd never know the truth. But at the very least, I could avoid the disaster.

That meant I couldn't take the college entrance exam, so I couldn't go home. I needed to take shelter somewhere open 24 hours a day and with surveillance cameras. A cybercafe was perfect.

Soon, the driver dropped me off at the cybercafe. I paid for two full days of internet access and picked a seat. Then, I binge-watched reality shows and dramas nonstop.

When I got hungry, I ate instant noodles. When I was sleepy, I dozed off for a bit. But every time I fell asleep, memories from my past life rushed back, jolting me awake again.

This went on, over and over, until 5:00 pm on the third day.

I had just closed my eyes when a browser notification popped up. "College Entrance Exam Alert: A student in Southport City has been caught cheating during today's college entrance exam. The suspect has fled the exam center. Police are actively searching."

I had a bad feeling.

Just as I was about to click on the news article, the computer screen went black.

The entire cybercafe erupted in complaints. "Hey! What's going on? My screen went black!"

"Sorry, everyone. It looks like the circuit breaker tripped. I'll go reset it right now. Please stay calm."

Not long after, police sirens wailed outside the cafe. Several officers rushed in and surrounded me. One of them flipped open his badge and said, Jade Cromwell, you run pretty fast. One moment you vanish, the next you're hiding in a cybercafe."

I was stunned. "Excuse me. Why are you looking for me?"

The officer scoffed. "Quit playing dumb. You were caught cheating on the college entrance exam. We're here to arrest you!"

My mind went blank instantly. "Me… cheating?"

While I was in a daze, Lily and my childhood friend turned boyfriend, Sean Humphrey, rushed inside.

Lily was out of breath as she exclaimed, "Jade would never cheat! You have to trust in her character. Besides, she was already granted early admission. She had no reason to do this."

Sean pushed through the crowd and stepped in front of me protectively, "Officer, she wouldn't take that kind of risk. There has to be a mistake."

A few classmates who had followed them to watch the drama snickered.

"Who are you two to decide whether or not she cheated? Then what do we need the police for?"

"Exactly! I think you're all accomplices. You should all be arrested for interrogation."

Lily panicked. "Jade, say something. I'm freaking out here."

Amidst the chaos, my mind turned blank. When I didn't respond, Lily's resolute expression wavered into doubt. "Jade, you didn't really cheat, did you?"

Her voice was soft, but loud enough for those around to hear. They began whispering among themselves.

"Oh my God! I can't believe someone dared to cheat in such a strict exam. That takes guts."

"I recognize her. She's that top student from my friend's school. I've seen her on their honor board. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I guess it was all fake."

"She always acted so superior. I guess she was afraid she'd be exposed during the exam, so she cheated."

"I heard her parents are elite teachers too. Even a teacher's kid cheats now. How will her parents be able to show their faces? They might as well die!"

Every insult sent a chill down my spine.

But I had been in this cafe since the night before. I hadn't stepped outside once. How could I possibly have cheated?

My voice trembled as I spoke. "Officer, I didn't even take the exam. How could I cheat?"

The officer laughed dryly. "You're still claiming that you didn't take the exam? When will you admit the truth? Come with us to the station. I'll show you the evidence!"

A pair of handcuffs snapped shut around my wrists. Clutching the chair desperately, I shouted, "I really didn't take the exam! You can ask the cafe staff. Check the surveillance cameras!"

"Still lying? Fine. I'll check right now. I'll make this perfectly clear for you!" The officer then turned to the crowd and asked, "Does anyone here know for sure that she's been here since last night and never left?"

I looked at the crowd, filled with anticipation. But they all shook their heads.

"Officer, we're just here to play games. No one pays attention to who's sitting nearby."

"I just got here. I have no idea when she came. I don't remember at all."

"Officer, if I testify, do I have to go to the station? Please don't make me. My parents would kill me if they found out I skipped school to come here and play games."

Panic surged in my chest. "If they won't testify, then check the cameras!"

The cafe manager hurried over, looking apologetic. "Officer, I'm really sorry. Our cafe faced a power outage earlier. The system that stores the surveillance footage burned out. All the footage is gone."

I stared at her in disbelief. "That's impossible. How could it be destroyed at a time like this? I want to see it for myself."

She led me behind the counter. On the monitor, the words "Hard Disk Corrupted" glared back at me.

Grasping at my last lifeline, I turned to the manager. "Miss, you checked me in last night. Don't you remember me?"

She nodded, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm terrible with faces. I really can't remember."

At that moment, I felt as if I'd been plunged into icy water. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

The cafe manager pointed at the small red flower pinned to my shirt. "Didn't you just rush in from outside a moment ago? I might not be good with faces, but I remember that red flower on your collar. It's really eye-catching."

Agitated, I shouted, "You're lying! I've been sitting at my computer the whole time. I never went anywhere!"

The police officer chuckled. "Jade, stop arguing. That flashy little red flower is exactly where you hid your cheating device."

As he spoke, he took out a pair of scissors and cut the flower off. He ripped it open, revealing a tiny electronic device hidden inside.

My eyes widened in utter shock.

In my past life, an identical device had been found in my clothes as well. The sight of it brought me straight back into that past moment.

I screamed in terror, "That isn't mine!"

At the same time, Lily cried out, "Jade, isn't that the thing?"

Sean looked at me with a mix of disappointment and frustration. "Jade, I can't believe you'd do something like this."

Watching their reactions, I felt as though all the strength had been drained from my body. "So, you both saw me in the exam hall too?"

The two of them nodded.

My vision went dark. All I could hear was Sean's bleak, despairing voice by my ear, saying, "Jade, the best thing you can do now is come clean. Confess and try to get a lighter sentence, okay? As for your parents, we'll take good care of them. You don't need to worry."

When I woke up again, I was already in an interrogation room at the police station.

The investigators pulled up surveillance footage from the exam hall. On the screen, it clearly showed me rushing into the exam room at the very last minute on both days of the exam.

After finding my seat and sitting down, I kept turning my head, even pressing my ear against the little red flower. And each time I did, I immediately started writing furiously.

Once, when an invigilator stood beside me for several minutes, I froze, not writing a single word. Only after he walked away did I tilt my head again toward the red flower.

Anyone watching would inevitably suspect the person on screen of cheating.

One of the investigators tossed the electronic device onto the table and said sternly, "Jade Cromwell, this is what you used to cheat. Just state the truth!"

I gulped, forcing myself to stay calm. "I only have one thing to state. From start to end, I never once stepped into the exam hall today. As for where this video came from, or why the person in it looks like me, I honestly have no idea."

As long as I insisted that I wasn't present at the scene, then even if the device had been found on me, it couldn't be definitively used as evidence of the crime.

The investigator laughed. "That's how you want to play, huh? Then take a look at this."

He handed me two test reports. One was a fingerprint analysis from the exam papers. The other was a saliva DNA test from a water bottle. Both reports showed that the final result was a 100% match to me.

I stared at the two reports, desperately trying to find a flaw.

The next second, the interrogation room door opened. Another investigator walked in, leading a frail-looking man behind him.

"It was her. She was my buyer," he said, pointing at me. Then, he turned to the officer. "Officer, I've already confessed. Does that mean I can get leniency?"

I had never seen this man before, nor had I ever had any contact with him.

Before I could speak, the investigator slammed a stack of documents onto the table in front of me. "Jade, your accomplice has already confessed. These are your chat logs and transaction records. Take a good look!"

My hands trembled as I flipped through the papers. They showed me communicating in detail via WhatsApp with the man, discussing the time, location, payment, and method. The final screenshot was a bank transfer record, showing a transfer of the agreed-upon amount from an account under my name, shortly before the exam.

My breathing grew heavier.

Witnesses. Physical evidence. Proceeds of the crime… They had formed a perfect chain of evidence.

In other words, at this point, even without my confession, there was more than enough to convict me.

I replayed the entire process over and over in my mind, but I couldn't find a single flaw. Once again, I was trapped in a dead end.