Misfortune Rebound

Five minutes before the graduate admission exam began, the campus heartthrob quietly slipped a crumpled piece of paper into my pencil case.

Lines of floating text drifted across my vision.

[The paper is filled with answers. The school heartthrob has reported it, and the proctor will be here any second!]

[As long as they find it, his admission slot will be canceled immediately!]

[Serves this bookworm right for standing in our heartthrob’s way. The proctor is his aunt. He’s doomed today!]

The next second, the proctor stormed into the classroom and headed straight for my seat.

“Someone has reported you for cheating,” she said sharply. “Empty your pencil case. We’re checking it.”

Without a word, I turned the case upside down. A few pens fell onto the desk, but there was no paper.

The campus heartthrob’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How is that possible? I–”

Before he could finish, a slip of paper covered in answers slid out of his own pocket and dropped onto the floor.

What they didn’t know was that I was born with a weird power called “Misfortune Rebound.”

Anyone who tried to harm me would end up suffering the consequences themselves.

The proctor, Wendy Reed, bent down and picked up the slip of paper. The moment she saw what was written on it, her face turned ashen.

“What is this?” Wendy asked sternly.

Hugh Jackson had originally called her over to catch me. Yet somehow, the cheat sheet had ended up on him instead. And since everyone was watching, Wendy couldn’t openly cover for him. All she could do was glare at Hugh in frustration.

Hugh panicked. He shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

“Aunt– I mean, Ms. Reed! This isn’t mine! It was in his–” He pointed straight at me, his voice rising with desperation. “It was in Edward’s pencil case! I saw him put it in there myself! How did it end up in my pocket?”

The floating comments refreshed again in front of my eyes.

[What the hell? What’s going on? I’m sure I saw Hugh put it in the guy’s pencil case!]

[Does this bookworm know magic or something? How is he so fast?]

[That’s so sneaky! Edward must’ve slipped it back into Hugh’s pocket during the chaos!]

[Are you blind? Edward didn’t even move his hands.]

Hugh stared at me. The usual fake friendliness and bright smile were gone. What remained was resentment and bitterness.

Then suddenly, his eyes shifted, and he spoke. “Edward, I took you as my best friend. Why would you set me up like this?”

His eyes reddened, and his voice trembled.

“You borrowed my jacket earlier, didn’t you? Did you sneak it into my pocket back then?”

What a clever way to bite back.

Wendy turned to look at me sharply. “Did you frame him?”

I sneered. “Ms. Reed, there are surveillance cameras in the exam hall. And besides, the handwriting on that paper isn’t something I could just imitate, could I? Why don’t we compare the handwriting right now?”

Hugh’s face instantly went pale, but he looked like he had more to say. Wendy shot him a glare, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut.

Around us, the other students had begun whispering. Some of them were even covering their mouths, trying not to laugh.

“Hugh, come with me to the office!”

Grinding her teeth, Wendy had no choice but to take her own nephew out of the classroom in full view of everyone. Angry, Hugh kicked the leg of a desk before following her out, his face twisted with grievance and resentment.

However, just as I expected, Hugh didn’t receive any real punishment as Wendy had her way. In the end, the incident was classified as “bringing unrelated materials into the exam hall.” He only received a verbal warning, and nothing was recorded in his file.

Still, he missed the entire exam. As for me, I answered every question on the paper.