The office was unusually crowded today. Every teacher from the department had crammed inside, pretending to grade papers while quietly watching the storm Anna Taylor was trying to summon.
Everyone knew Anna wasn't doing this out of concern for academic integrity. She wanted witnesses—people who would nod along when she accused Jade Quinn of cheating. She wanted Jade thrown out of PKU, humiliated, branded a disgrace once and for all.
Human nature was predictable: the other teachers sat with stiff backs and lowered heads, pretending to focus on their test papers while mentally distancing themselves. Anna Taylor had a powerful backer—Dean Lynn—and no one wanted to get involved in something that could ruin their career. So they coughed, shuffled papers, and avoided eye contact.
"Ms. Taylor, accusing Jade of plagiarism without evidence is too arbitrary," Gabriel Flint finally said, frowning. "You can't condemn her based on your own assumptions."
"Oh please," Anna scoffed, her eyes narrowing. She turned to Jade with a sneer. "A child could figure out where these grades came from."
Jade didn't blink. She simply tilted her head, her calm expression slicing sharper than any retort.
Gabriel broke into laughter. "Then Ms. Taylor's toes must've suddenly developed a brain."
Several teachers choked, trying to stifle their amusement.
Jade paused. "…Where was the joke?"
Gabriel was still laughing. "This girl truly has the best timing."
The room's tension cracked slightly—until Gabriel turned serious again.
"Jade," he said, folding his arms, "I want to know why every other subject has full marks, yet my calculus exam shows a 98. Why did you miss two points?"
Jade sighed, already tired of this circus. "I fell asleep."
The room froze.
"…What does sleeping have to do with scoring 98?" Gabriel asked, blinking.
"I finished the whole test in ten minutes," Jade replied. "Then I slept. I didn't check it. That's why I missed a question."
Ten. Minutes.
All the teachers' heads snapped up.
"Gabriel, why were your questions so simple this time?" one teacher blurted.
"But they weren't simple," Gabriel said, insulted. "It was a normal—no, above-normal difficulty level."
Anna tightened her jaw. To her, Jade finishing in ten minutes only made the cheating accusation stronger.
But she had no proof.
And she hated that.
Suddenly Gabriel slammed his hands on the desk and stood. "Jade, you're redoing it. Take a new test paper."
Anna's eyes brightened. Yes—redo the exam. Redo all of them. Then Jade wouldn't be able to cheat.
"Jade," Anna said sweetly, "you wrote the original exam, right? Then redoing it shouldn't be a problem."
Jade stared at her. She could see straight through Anna's fake innocence.
Jade paused deliberately. She knew Anna thought she was hesitating out of fear.
Anna smirked triumphantly. "What? Are you scared? Why not just admit you cheated? It'll be easier for everyone."
Jade slowly smiled. "I'll do it. Prepare the papers."
Her humility left Anna momentarily speechless. Jade then stepped toward the door.
"I'll wait outside. I don't want you accusing me of looking at the papers beforehand."
As soon as Jade stepped out, Anna slammed the office door shut behind her.
Outside, the hallway's heat hit Jade immediately after the cold air-conditioned office. She leaned against the wall—
"Oh look. Isn't this the vase who always hovers around our class? Here to get scolded again?" a voice mocked.
James.
Jade turned slowly to face him.
He froze.
The voice was the same. The posture was the same. But the girl standing before him was indescribably breathtaking—like she'd shed her former self entirely.
Her eyes were clear, sharp, and cold. Her skin was luminous. Not a trace of the old Jade remained.
Jade raised a brow. "Do I know you?"
James swallowed hard. "I—I'm James from Class Five. Welcome to PKU… are you new here?"
Class Five.
The class Adrian Fang belonged to.
Instantly Jade's expression sharpened.
"You're mistaken," she said coolly. "I'm not new. I'm Jade Quinn."
Everyone in the hallway stopped.
She said her name loudly, clearly—deliberately.
She wanted the entire campus to hear it.
James's eyes widened. "Y–You're Jade? The same Jade?"
Jade smiled faintly, the expression dripping with scorn.
Lila Quinn suddenly came running down the hall. "Sister! Why did the teacher call you in again?" she asked breathlessly, looking fragile and worried.
James immediately stepped behind Lila like a loyal guard dog. His brother liked Lila, after all—better to choose sides early.
Though the choice was painful.
"Just playing," Jade replied.
Lila was in her usual pink dress, cheeks flushed from running, a soft, pitiful aura surrounding her. The perfect school beauty.
Or rather, she had been.
Not anymore.
"Did you do something wrong again, Sister?" Lila whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I heard someone talking about plagiarism. Does it… involve you?"
The hallway exploded with whispers.
"Plagiarism?!"
"She really has guts…"
"Plagiarism means immediate expulsion."
"Well, she looks amazing, but her IQ must not have changed."
"I don't care if she cheated. She's so beautiful it doesn't matter."
"I feel offended looking at her."
Lila's expression flickered—at first pleased, then annoyed. The more people praised Jade's beauty, the less "unique" Lila felt.
"Plagiarism? You're well-informed," Jade said, her voice silky but cold.
Seeing Lila triggered memories of betrayal—her death, her suffering, her past life.
Lila Quinn wasn't simply an obstacle.
She was an enemy.
"Sister, why did you plagiarize?" Lila asked softly, looking genuinely heartbroken. "Mom and Dad will be so upset. But don't worry—I'll explain to them when we get home."
"Wow, the school beauty is so understanding."
"Jade is such a disappointment in comparison."
"So different, even though they're sisters."
Lila lowered her eyes, pretending to be embarrassed for Jade. "Please don't talk about my sister like that…"
Jade almost laughed. Lila was so talented at reshaping public opinion. If Jade didn't know the truth, even she might be convinced.
"Jade, come in," Gabriel Flint called from the office.
Jade walked in without looking at Lila again.
"Panpan, she's too much," Mia Lee whispered, clinging to Lila. "You protect her but she doesn't appreciate it."
"She's still my sister," Lila said, pretending to scold gently.
The teachers gathered around as Jade reentered the office. The air was tense. Handwritten test papers were placed in front of her. All the teachers stayed to witness the redo.
Anna Taylor stood closest to Jade, hovering like she wanted to swallow her whole.
Jade sat in Gabriel Flint's chair.
"Do the calculus paper first," Gabriel said.
Jade twirled her pen. "As long as I don't score below last place, we're fine, right?"
"No. I want you to do it at your full capability. My exam deserves respect."
"Then please stop staring at me," Jade replied. "It's distracting."
Gabriel coughed. "Okay. Everyone step back."
Even Anna had to move away grudgingly.
Jade scanned the paper. It was complicated—linear algebra mixed with operational research, the kind she mastered during her dual degree overseas.
She began writing.
Anna pretended to check her phone but couldn't stop peeking.
Half an hour later, Jade set down her pen.
"I'm done."
"Already?" Gabriel rushed over.
Anna scoffed. "Blind guessing is fast."
Gabriel ignored her and began grading.
Ten minutes later—
"All correct!" he shouted. "Every single question! She even used two different methods on some of them—methods I've only seen in obscure academic texts!"
The room buzzed.
Teachers came forward one by one, checking her handwriting. It matched her original paper perfectly—clean, elegant, consistent.
Mr. Liu compared multiple subjects. "The writing matches every test. There's no dispute."
"If you scored 100 in this," Gabriel said, eyes sharp, "you can't be last place overall. The previous 'last place' total was sixty points."
Jade glanced at Anna, her eyes cold as steel.
Anna's stomach twisted.
She felt Jade's gaze like a knife.
"Gabriel," Anna snapped, "are you sure there's no problem?"
Gabriel's face darkened. "Are you accusing me of helping a student cheat?"
"I didn't say that!" Anna hissed.
"You implied it."
Anna shot Jade a hateful glare. "This still isn't over."
Jade smiled. "It already is."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
And Anna Taylor felt, for the first time, a twinge of fear.