On the day of the open defense, the grand auditorium was packed.
Besides department heads and university administrators, many students had also come just to watch the spectacle. Everyone wanted to see which of the two would win in the end—the rumored “black-magic-using” top student or the campus heartthrob.
Hugh was scheduled right before me. His presentation was flashy and overdesigned, and his speech was dramatic and full of emotion. However, most of it focused on how passionate he was about charity work and how well he got along with his classmates. As for actual academic achievements, there were barely any.
Even so, when he finished, the auditorium erupted in thunderous applause. Especially Wendy, who was seated on the judging panel, was smiling from ear to ear.
As Hugh stepped off the stage and passed by me, he leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Edward, I’m going to destroy you today and make sure you’ll never recover from this.”
I didn’t even bother looking up at him. “Is that so? Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Next, let’s welcome Edward.”
After the host announced my name, I picked up my flash drive and walked onto the stage with calm, steady steps. The murmuring in the audience instantly grew louder.
“So that’s him? The guy who does black magic?”
“I heard Tina ended up in the hospital because of him. Creepy.”
“Shh, don’t say that. What if he curses you?”
I ignored the whispers and walked straight to the multimedia control desk.
Down in the audience, Hugh was watching me, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Over at the control console, Jocelyn flashed me a strange, unsettling smile.
I plugged my flash drive into the computer and announced, “Good afternoon, professors and fellow students. I’m Edward.”
I opened the folder and clicked on the presentation titled ‘Academic Achievements.’ The moment the screen lit up, the entire hall fell into dead silence. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hugh covering his mouth as he stared at the screen in shock. However, beneath that shock was an unmistakable delight.
My heart skipped a beat. A wave of panic, one I had never felt before, rushed through me. I spun around and looked up at the giant screen. What was displayed there wasn’t my academic presentation at all. Instead, image after image of obscene photographs filled the screen, and the person in those photos had a face identical to mine.
