Chapter 24
Mem
I was a bit taken aback by the principal’s words.
I never expected him to bring this up. Glancing at Luke and Chloe across from me, I maintained a calm demeanor.
However, Luke’s expression had turned quite awkward; it was always me chasing after him, never the other way around.
He was used to being the big brother, always on a pedestal.
Now, asking him to apologize felt like a fate worse than death.
Chloe quickly interjected, “Alice, you’ve become so amazing! You’ve been secretly studying at home; and we didn’t know it. You get such great grades, and they suspect you of cheating. Luke rushed to the school to help you out; he actually cares about you!”
After Chloe gave Luke an out, he coldly replied, “Chloe, stop. Some ingrates just won’t understand.”
He was clearly pleased with Chloe’s performance; that was how a sister should act.
I shot him a half–smile, “Yes, Luke came to school. Then what? He told the teacher I cheated, forced me to write an apology, and publicly humiliated myself. Do you want that kind of ‘help‘?”
Chloe was left speechle
Luke, embarrassed and furious, snapped,“Alice, were the one who worked hard in secret without telling us, making me think you cheated! Sure, your grades improved, but was that little stunt really necessary?”
The principal interjected, looking at the homeroom teacher, “Who was the first to accuse Alice of cheating? Bring them in to apologize.”
The teacher called the two lackeys forward. They were clueless about the situation, thinking I had actually cheated, and smugly said, “Teacher, we said Alice cheated to get those good grades. Isn’t it clear now?”
The homeroom teacher nodded. “Exactly, it’s been confirmed that Alice didn’t cheat. You two need to apologize to her right now.”
The lackeys were shocked. I hadn’t cheated? How could that be?
Chloe played the role of a good Samaritan.“Alice didn’t cheat. I told you not to spread rumors. Apologize to her.” With that, she cleared herself of any
blame.
The lackeys reluctantly apologized.“Sorry, we were
wrong, it
was our mistake;
e; we shouldn’t have said anything.”
The homeroom teacher turned to me.“Do you have any other requests?”
I shook my head.“No.”
The teacher smiled, “Alice has worked hard. Chloe, your grades dropped significantly.” Chloe felt einbarrassed, especially since I had done well; it was downright humiliating.
Chloe, with red–rimmed eyes, said, “I–I just wasted some time; I won’t let it happen again.”
Luke also felt a bit ashamed, “What’s the point of good grades? When it comes to gaming, making money is way more important than this.” Chloe actually agreed with that.
The homeroom teacher was furious, never expecting a parent to say such things. He looked at Chloe, “You should learn from Alice!”
Chloe bit her lip and stormed out of the office.
Luke shot me a glare,“So what if you got good grades? Is it worth showing off in front of Chloe? She’s just falling behind because of her gaming team. You, who haven’t put in any effort, have no right to brag.”
I raised an eyebrow.“Did I brag?”
The principal spoke up again,“I clearly heard the homeroom teacher say those things; Alice didn’t say a word. As a parent, you shouldn’t be so biased.” Luke was momentarily speechless, replying, “I’m not biased. Alice’s just like that.”
After saying that, he rushed out to catch up with Chloe.
I turned to the principal. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me; you’ve earned this with your talent. You can head back to class now; I need to have a meeting with the teachers to things.” I left the office.
As I walked a few steps, I spotted Jack standing in the hallway, wearing a white lab coat.
emphasize a few
C4
< Chapter 24
Menu
He leaned against the wall, seemingly waiting for someone. When our eyes met, my heart raced unexpectedly.
He stood up, his voice cool.“How did it go?”
“Of course, I won! The principal gave me
even more valid.
another test, and I scored even better than in the monthly exam.” I was proud. Seeing him made my victory feel
Jack lowered his brows, speaking slowly, “Did they apologize?”
I paused. Did he mean Luke and Chloe? I shook my head.“Only the scapegoats. Not the masterminds, but I don’t care. I already slapped them in the face!” I still felt pretty good about it!
Jack’s refined features broke into a smile, “Come see me after school.”
With that, he walked away. I noticed someone approaching in the hallway but didn’t ask any further. I turned back to my classroom.
The once noisy classroom had quieted down a bit. The homeroom teacher soon announced that my grades were legitimate, and there was no cheating involved. Chloe slumped over her desk, feeling down, losing interest in the cake as well.
She had to think of a way to prevent me from getting such good grades. There was no way I could be better than her!
After school that afternoon, I went to the infirmary. Jack was sitting in a chair, glancing back at me, “Have you finished your homework?”
“The teacher asked me to check my mistakes, and I’ve done it all.” I hadn’t made many mistakes; the ones I did were from topics I hadn’t reviewed and didn’t grasp.
Jack nodded toward the computer beside him,“Wanna play some games? Do you have an account?”
“Yes, but I want to create a new one.”
“Good idea. Let’s both use new accounts.” He didn’t plan to use his main account with me.
I started the game and chose the name:“Sweet Lemon“.
Once I entered the game, I looked at Jack, “What’s your name? Let’s add each other as friends.”
I caught a glimpse of his game screen, and the name looked familiar:“If Time Could Turn Back.”
I suddenly remembered something. In my past life, I had a virtual boyfriend with the
Isame name, identical.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at? Accept the friend
request.
”
My face flushed instantly as I hurriedly accepted the friend request, feeling a bit excited looking met my virtual boyfriend at this time.
Maybe it was just a coincidence?
I sneaked a glance at him,“Why did you choose that name?”
Jack paused, lowering his brows,“Just picked it randomly.”
I nodded; maybe it really was just a coincidence.
at
my
character in the game. But in my past life, I hadn’t
Once we started playing, we went straight to the newbie area to complete tasks. I sensed that Jack wasn’t a complete newbie; he probably made a new account just to play with me, but I didn’t ask too many questions.
But his gameplay was eerily similar to that person.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, is that your main account’s name?”
“No.”
“Then is today the first time you created this new account and chose this name to play?”
Jack looked at me.“Yes. What’s wrong?”
I quickly lowered my head, blushing. “Nothing.”
I felt conflicted; was he really that person? But the timing didn’t match up. In my past life, I met him after the revival match, and he was the one who taught me how to improve my gaming skills, helping me advance to the finals.
Even until the end, I never met my virtual boyfriend.
But I was still grateful for his help when I was down and out.
I seemed a bit distracted.
< Chapter 24
After we finally finished our tasks and left the newbie area, we encountered another team while doing the next task. I recognized the team’s name and couldn’t help but smirk. It was Luke and Chloe. Jack narrowed his eyes slightly.“Should we go for it?”
“Go for what? We’re all on new accounts, and our gear can’t compete with theirs; we’d just be asking for trouble.” Though I said that, I felt a bit tempted.
Jack said, “Wait until they’re almost done with their task, then take their boss while they’re low on health.”
