I'm reincarnated a week before the college entrance exam. Despite being the soon-to-be top scorer, I stab my eye with a syringe.

In my past life, Marianne Quentin, my boyfriend Lance Russell's childhood friend, reported me for cheating off her during the final mock exam.

The teacher compared our papers and found that my essay was identical to hers. He harshly criticized me and warned me not to repeat my mistake.

However, Marianne reported me for copying her answers again during the math exam. Once again, my answers were found to be identical to hers.

The teacher scolded me for being incorrigible and sent me home to reflect on my actions.

I couldn't understand what had happened. Clearly, I'd never cheated, but my answers were nearly identical to Marianne's, whether in writing and language or in math.

As the SAT exam loomed over me, I could only suppress my doubts as I stepped into the exam hall.

I finished the writing paper and thought I was safe. However, Marianne stepped out and accused me of cheating again.

I tried to defend myself, yet the answers on my paper were identical to hers.

In the end, I was disqualified, kicked out of the exam hall, and banned from taking any exams in the next two years—just because I "cheated".

I succumbed to despair and leaped from the rooftop.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back to one week before the SAT.

"Isabelle! Why did you cheat off Marianne's paper? You've even copied her essay word for word! You're the top student in the entire grade!" Mr. Alan Smith, my homeroom teacher, shouted furiously.

I looked up and met his gaze, which was filled with anger and disappointment.

I then turned around blankly to look at my surroundings, only to see Marianne Quentin glaring at me seethingly.

She smirked before shrieking, "You're so shameless, Isabelle. You're even copying my essay now!"

My body trembled as if I'd been hit by a bolt of lightning. Only then did I realize that I'd been reborn—and I'd returned to the moment Marianne first accused me of cheating off her.

…

In my past life, the school held its final mock exam a week before the SAT exam.

Just as the writing exam was about to end, Marianne, who was sitting beside me, suddenly raised her hand and shouted, "Isabelle copied my paper, Mr. Smith!"

Mr. Smith was utterly stunned.

I found it completely absurd. How could I—someone who'd held the top rank in our grade all year round—possibly copy her paper?

Marianne stared at me with an unwavering gaze. Her tone was challenging as she said, "Just compare our papers if you don't believe me, Mr. Smith."

I was the first to hand my paper over to Mr. Smith.

Marianne was the childhood friend of my boyfriend, Lance Russell. Ever since I started dating him, she'd been finding fault with me at every turn.

I figured this was just another petty trick Marianne came up with to target me. Having gotten used to it, I didn't take it to heart.

However, Mr. Smith stared at me in shock after checking the papers. "What are you doing, Isabelle? Why did you copy Marianne's answers?"

My mind went blank as I was left completely stunned. How could I have possibly cheated off Marianne?

She tilted her chin, looking smug. "Don't bother denying it, Isabelle. Just see it for yourself. How shameless of you to even copy my essay!"

I took the papers from Mr. Smith. It was just like what Marianne said—even our essays were identical.

I was utterly bewildered. How could this be possible? I'd clearly answered the paper on my own.

I tried my best to defend myself, yet no one believed in me. After all, both our papers were indeed identical.

Mr. Smith assumed that I was simply under too much pressure over the upcoming exam. He offered me a few words of comfort and warned me not to repeat my mistake again.

Marianne raised her hand again during the math exam in the afternoon. "Isabelle is just too shameless, Mr. Smith. She's cheating off me again!"

After checking, Mr. Smith realized that our answers were identical once more. His face darkened immediately as he scolded me for not learning my lesson and sent me home to reflect.

I racked my brain during the days I stayed at home. But no matter what, I still couldn't come up with an explanation.

I couldn't understand how my answers for both the writing and math papers had turned out identical to Marianne's, down to the essay, even though I hadn't cheated.

When I finally stepped into the exam hall for the SAT exam, I pushed aside all distractions and focused on answering the papers.

There was no way the same thing could possibly happen again with how strict the SAT was.

I felt confident after I finished the writing paper. Yet just as the bell rang signaling the end of the exam, Marianne, who was sitting on my left, raised her hand.

She said, "I want to report the student next to me, sir. She's been cheating off me!"

Two exam supervisors immediately came over to check. Once more, the answers on both our papers were identical.

The punishment came quickly—I would be banned from taking any SAT exams for the next two years.

I came from a poor family, and the SAT exam was my only chance to change my fate. Losing this opportunity meant that I no longer had a future.

In despair, I leaped from the rooftop.

To my surprise, fate presented me with another chance.

This time, I would rewrite my ending.

Back in the present, seeing that I remained silent, Mr. Smith assumed I was admitting to cheating. He knocked on my desk in bitter disappointment.

"I know you're stressed about the SAT exam, Isabelle. But with your excellent grades, you'll have no problem getting into top colleges as long as you perform normally. You have no reason to do this at all," he said.

I snapped out of my initial shock and came back to my senses. Frowning, I gave a slight nod and didn't bother explaining myself.

Just like how things unfolded in my past life, no one would believe me even if I tried. After all, even my essay was identical to Marianne's.

Marianne raised her brows and chuckled coldly. "Who knows? Isabelle might have cheated on all of her past exams. I just happened to catch her red-handed this time."

As soon as her words fell, the way my classmates looked at me changed. Their gazes were now filled with suspicion and disdain.

Mr. Smith gave me a thoughtful look but said nothing else.

Now that I'd been reincarnated, I had to find a way to deal with this.

…

I'd planned to turn in an empty paper in the upcoming math exam in the afternoon. Marianne wouldn't be able to accuse me of cheating off her as long as I didn't answer anything.

When Mr. Smith saw that I wasn't answering, he walked over to remind me about it.

Marianne cast a sideways glance over and saw that my paper was still blank.

She immediately mocked me, saying, "Looks like I was right, Mr. Smith. Isabelle must have been cheating all along. The moment you start keeping an eye on her, she's unable to answer her papers."

Meeting her disdainful gaze, I picked up my pen and took a deep breath before scribbling nonsense on the paper. There was no way she could claim that I'd copied her if my answers were pure gibberish.

"There are only 15 minutes left. Please use your time wisely."

No sooner had the words left Mr. Smith's mouth than Marianne's hand shot up again from beside me.

She gritted her teeth as she glared at me and shouted, "Isabelle is truly shameless, Mr. Smith! She's copying from my paper again!"

Mr. Smith's expression fell. He picked up our papers and compared them.

I cast a sideways glance at Marianne, confident that her scheme would fail this time. After all, my answers were completely nonsensical.

Mr. Smith slammed the papers onto my desk in a fit of rage. "Isabelle!"

A sense of foreboding crept into me, and I swiftly grabbed the two papers. Even my nonsensical answers were identical to what was on Marianne's paper, word for word.

I was completely stunned. I'd clearly written complete gibberish. So why were my answers still the same as hers?

Mr. Smith's face flushed red with fury. "You're truly incorrigible, Isabelle! Go home and reflect on yourself! Don't bother coming back to school before the SAT exam!"

I numbly packed my things and got ready to head home.

I couldn't understand just how my nonsensical answers had still turned out to be identical to Marianne's.

Marianne called out to me before I left the classroom. She smiled, but it chilled me to the bone.

"Looks like you got your past grades by cheating, Isabelle. What would you do for the SAT exam then? It's the only chance for someone as dirt poor as you to change your fate. You'd be doomed if you can't cheat off anyone then!" She walked away with that cruel smile still on her face.

Marianne was right. The SAT was my only chance at changing my fate. I would be doomed if I missed it.

That was why I couldn't let history repeat itself.

Just as I stepped out of the school compound, a sharp voice rang out behind me. "Stop right there, Isabelle!"

I turned around and saw Lance, his face ashen.

He rushed over and pointed at me angrily. "How can you be so shameless? I always thought you were a good student and that you'd earned your grades. But it turns out you've been cheating all along. And of all people to cheat from, you chose Marie? How dare you, Isabelle!"

I let out a cold chuckle. I was truly blind to have liked him in my past life.

When Lance saw how I kept quiet, he continued to threaten me. "I'm warning you—I'll break up with you if you continue to bully Marie and copy her answers!"

I rolled my eyes and snapped, "No. I'm the one breaking up with you. From now on, stay away from me!"

Ignoring the stunned look on Lance's face, I turned around and left. At that moment, I was too busy trying to survive to waste my time arguing with him.

Once I returned home, I shut myself in to prepare for the upcoming exam.

…

Soon enough, it was the day of the SAT exam.

Just as I was about to enter the exam hall, a hand suddenly reached out to grab me. I knew it was Marianne from the all-too-familiar touch.

Her shrill voice rang as she coldly laughed. "You've been cheating all along, Isabelle. I'd like to see you try copying from me in the SAT exam this time!"

Lance's disdainful tone came right afterward. "Let's see how you'll cheat off Marie when the SAT is so strict. You're finished!"

I'd already taken the exam once during my past life. During the days I'd locked myself away at home, I'd reconstructed every subject's paper and memorized the answers by heart.

As soon as the bell rang, I confidently answered the paper in my seat. I was done with it in no time at all.

The bell finally rang after a long wait, signaling the end of the writing exam. But Marianne, who was seated on my left, raised her hand the moment the bell sounded.

"I want to report her for cheating off me, sir." Under everyone's watchful eyes, she pointed right at me.

The exam supervisors' faces fell as they hastily made their way over to us.

After checking the papers, they questioned me, "Ms. Larson, why are your answers the same as Ms. Quentin's? Even your essays are identical."

I wordlessly shook my head upon hearing the exact words from my past life. I wanted to know the answer to that question too.

Marianne shot up from her seat and pointed at me, yelling, "It's not the first time Isabelle has done this! She copied my paper during the mock exam and even got scolded by our homeroom teacher."

Everyone around us started agreeing with her.

"That's right! Isabelle cheated off Marianne a few days ago!"

"How could she be so shameless? She's even trying to cheat her way through the SAT exam!"

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained! If she manages to cheat her way to the top of the scoreboard, wouldn't that be a hell of a payoff?"

At that moment, Mr. Smith, who was patrolling the halls, rushed over to the classroom after hearing about it. Bitter disappointment tinged his voice as he said, "This is the SAT exam, Isabelle! And you still dared to cheat!"

He clutched his chest, too furious to say anything else.