On the day of the SAT exam, my fiancé Julian suddenly went ballistic. He pulled out a handgun and blew up every single computer in the testing center. The reason? His sister, Willow, had been caught cheating during the SATs, and her score was invalidated. Even the backup servers failed, canceling everyone’s scores for that entire section. Julian faced severe criminal charges because of it. To save him, I arranged for everyone in our class to study abroad, covering all their tuition and living expenses. Later, he and I successfully got into a world-renowned university. But then, his sister Willow was caught cheating again during another exam. Her cheating scandal went viral online, and consumed by the cyberbullying, she fell into depression and jumped from a building, taking her own life. Julian locked himself away for days. When he finally emerged, he looked at me and said he’d figured it out. “This was her destiny.” But then, on the day we were supposed to fly overseas, Julian drugged me and pushed me out of our private plane. “You were jealous of her since you were a child, always trying to put her down.” “Her depression? You drove her to it.” “If you hadn’t falsely accused her of cheating, how would she have died?” I opened my eyes again. And I was back on the day of the SAT exam. Julian wants to go crazy? Fine. Let him. This time, no one’s bailing him out.
Screams echoed through the testing center. When I opened my eyes, Julian had already pulled out his handgun and destroyed the last row of SAT computers. Several proctors and security guards rushed in, pinning him to the ground. As he was dragged away, Julian laughed maniacally: “If Willow can’t take the test, then none of you will!” Twenty minutes later, everyone from the testing center was escorted to the school’s main conference room. The school administration urgently reported the incident to higher-ups, hoping to use backup servers and test papers. While we waited for a resolution, everyone was cursing Julian. “Julian is a lunatic. Willow deserved to get caught cheating. What does that have to do with us?” “This whole section is gone. One SAT score can make or break our college applications. With no score, all our applications are ruined!” “If there’s no retake, I swear I’ll kill Julian and Willow.” “Shh, lower your voice. Scarlett’s here too.” The moment those words dropped, everyone glanced at me. Their expressions were complex, subtle. They all knew Julian did it for Willow. And they all knew Julian was my fiancé, Scarlett. I had always been sickly as a child, repeatedly hospitalized, but doctors could never find a cause. My father was incredibly worried, constantly searching for someone reliable, someone who could look after me from a young age. So, he chose Julian from the welfare system–exceptionally intelligent, incredibly handsome–and groomed him from childhood to be my fiancé. Willow, on the other hand, was the daughter of the maid who later came to work at our house. After Julian met Willow, he changed. He treated Willow like his own sister. But he was my fiancé. Yet he showered her with endless affection. When I brought it up, he’d sneer: “How could someone like you, a rich girl, ever understand what it’s like for Willow and me, living under someone else’s roof?” “I treat her like a sister. We just… understand each other’s struggles, that’s all. Don’t twist it into something sordid.” In my previous life, I believed him. I thought my privileged background made him feel pressured, so I always went out of my way to accommodate them. Over the years, Julian caused endless trouble at school. And every single time, I was the one who cleaned up his mess. But this time, I wasn’t going to. I lowered my head and opened my phone, preparing to message Mr. Davies, telling him to stop handling Julian’s affairs. Just then, the conference room door swung open. The entire room fell silent instantly, all eyes turning to the entrance. Julian walked in, swaggering, hand-in-hand with Willow. Seeing them, everyone’s anger flared. “Julian, how dare you show your face here? Look what you’ve done to us!” “Shouldn’t you be detained? How are you even here?” Julian just smiled dismissively. “Of course I’m here for the exam. The police have cleared everything up. Willow and I are completely fine.” With that, he led Willow directly to the seats beside me and sat down. No one believed the matter could be resolved so easily. But when their eyes fell on me, everyone quieted down again. After all, two-thirds of the students’ parents in this city worked for my family’s corporation. They were angry with Julian but dared not speak out. Julian sat down, not even glancing at me. He was too busy asking Willow if she was feeling better. “I was so scared, my hands are still shaking.” Willow’s eyes were slightly red as she extended a trembling hand. Julian took it publicly, comforting her softly. “It’s okay now. After the SATs, I’ll take you to the Maldives to relax, and you can forget all these unhappy things.” Only then did he bother to look at me. His tone was harsh, like he was ordering a servant. “Scarlett, did you hear me? You’re responsible for making this happen.” I ignored him. Lowering my head, I continued looking at my phone. But then, a message from Mr. Davies popped up: [Mr. Julian and Ms. Willow’s matter has been resolved.]
Seeing that message, I paused. Julian had contacted Mr. Davies directly, making decisions without consulting me. In my previous life, it was also Mr. Davies who bailed Julian out. But I was the one who called Mr. Davies then, and I certainly didn’t bother with Willow’s affairs. Had Julian also been reborn? Regardless of whether Julian had been reborn or not, I wouldn’t allow him to misuse my family’s name for his nefarious schemes again. I sent a message to Mr. Davies, instructing him not to entertain any of Julian’s requests without my explicit approval. At the same time, I messaged several people, one by one, stopping Julian’s credit cards and informing everyone around me that I was no longer responsible for him. The replies came quickly. Some said “Okay.” Others were surprised. My old housekeeper, Mr. Peterson, replied with immense relief: [Ms. Scarlett, you should have stopped covering for that scoundrel ages ago.] I touched my nose, feeling a bit scolded. While Julian was still discussing what dresses Willow should wear to the Maldives, the door was pushed open. The school principal walked in, looking grim, and addressed everyone. “All the backup servers have malfunctioned. There’s no way to retake this section, and everyone’s scores will be canceled.” The conference room was silent for a few seconds. Then, a wave of despair, screams, and crying erupted. The SAT testing center supervisors also looked troubled. With so many students missing a section score, they definitely wouldn’t get into their dream universities. All their hard work, ruined. Soon, everyone’s attention shifted to Julian. At this point, no one cared about his identity anymore. Several tall boys surrounded us, cursing at him and Willow. “Julian, you’ve completely messed up so many people’s lives!” “Willow, you got caught cheating, that’s on you, but why drag all of us down with you?” Some even turned their anger on me: “You’re no better! Julian has been using your name to bully students at school, and you just enabled him, never doing anything about it. You three are all trash!” They were just teenagers, unable to control their tempers. Their shouting escalated, and then hands started flying. Fortunately, I had taken Taekwondo before. After dodging a few punches, I couldn’t help but shout: “They’re the ones who messed up! What does this have to do with me? I’m a victim too!” But their voices were too loud, and my protests were swallowed by the shouts. I could only continue to protect myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian tightly shielding Willow behind him. Even though I was utterly disappointed in this man, my heart couldn’t help but feel a tiny prick. With school officials present, they couldn’t actually let these students beat Julian to death. The two sides were pulled apart. Julian, having taken a few punches, had blood at the corner of his mouth. He wiped the blood with the back of his hand and cursed, “You damn brutes, how dare you hit me? I’ll sue all of you! You’ll all end up in jail!” Someone in the crowd was furious. “Julian, are you even human? You’ve ruined the futures of so many people, and you can still say something like that!” “We’re not like you, backed by the Scarlett family. We’re ordinary people, and we all relied on the SATs to turn our lives around!” At this, many felt a deep resonance, and couldn’t help but start crying. Julian waved his hand, “Alright, stop crying. I’ll take responsibility for all of you.” One person glared at him, “Easy for you to say. Everyone’s SAT scores are ruined now. How are you going to take responsibility?” “Life isn’t just about the SATs,” Julian smirked. “Don’t you want to study abroad?”
Compared to the SATs, studying abroad was indeed a better and often simpler path. Everyone quieted down, waiting for Julian to continue. He stood on a chair and announced loudly. “As long as you don’t hold me accountable for ruining the SATs today, I’ll help all of you study abroad. I’ll cover all tuition and living expenses.” Hearing that familiar line, I was even more certain that Julian had also been reborn. Because in my previous life, I was the one who said those words. “If anyone prefers not to go abroad and wants to stay and retake the SATs, I’ll also provide appropriate compensation.” At this, no one had any objections. People stopped clenching their fists and instead came forward, fawning, asking if he was serious. Julian tilted his head back, “Of course it’s true. I never lie.” Everyone cheered. Yet not a single person noticed that I, Julian’s financial backer, hadn’t said a word. Not even Julian asked for my opinion. Perhaps in his mind, whatever he said, I would willingly agree. With the problem seemingly resolved, the school no longer detained anyone. The conference room doors opened wide, and Julian and Willow walked out front, as if they had won a great victory. However, as soon as they exited the school building, they were blocked by a crowd of parents. Naturally, these were the parents whose children’s SAT scores had been ruined. Julian was surrounded once again. The parents were even more agitated than the students, yelling insults that were exceptionally harsh. Julian looked annoyed. Seeing this, the students quickly stepped forward to explain for him, saying he had promised everyone a large sum in compensation. The parents naturally didn’t believe it. “He’s just a poor student. Where would he get the money to compensate so many people?” After all, the amount Julian promised added up to tens of millions of dollars. The students excitedly said, “He’s no ordinary student! He’s Julian, Scarlett’s fiancé! You know Scarlett, right? Her dad is super rich!” Hearing this, the parents’ expressions did soften somewhat. My dad genuinely had the means to cover these expenses, and he was famously devoted to his daughter. However, adults thought things through more than teenagers. They still surrounded Julian, blocking his way, saying that a verbal agreement was useless. “You say you’ll arrange for us to go abroad, but how can we believe you without a written agreement? What proof do we have?” Julian coldly swept his gaze over them, disdainfully saying, “You common folk are always so troublesome. It’s just a contract, isn’t it? I’ll call my lawyer to draft it right now.” His tone was arrogant, as if he’d forgotten he was once an ordinary person himself. He pulled out his phone and publicly called Mr. Davies. However, after several attempts, no one answered. Several parents’ faces fell. “See? I told you kids’ words can’t be trusted. Do you really have a lawyer? Why isn’t he answering your calls?” Julian put his phone away and looked at me, demanding, “Why isn’t Davies answering his phone?” I scoffed. “How should I know? Maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to you.” Julian didn’t understand my hidden meaning. He ordered me, “Fire him tomorrow. If he can’t be on call 24/7, then he’s not my lawyer.” I found it a bit amusing. I wanted to say, he’s not your lawyer to begin with. Before the sarcasm could escape, the parents angrily said: “Stop making excuses! No written contract, no leaving today!” Even if Julian had been reborn, he couldn’t handle the interrogation from these adults. “Fine, you just want money, don’t you? I’ll transfer you a deposit first, alright?” Julian took out his phone and spoke to the parent who had been shouting the loudest: “Come on, give me your bank account number. I’ll transfer you one hundred thousand dollars.” The parent happily took out their phone and rattled off their account number. Julian opened his SnapChat, entered the account number, and then the hundred-thousand-dollar amount. After clicking confirm, the screen displayed: [Insufficient Funds!] I couldn’t help but smile.
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