Chapter 1

The night before the grad school recommendation list drops, a video of me sneaking into the archives to alter evaluation scores goes viral across campus.

The security footage clearly shows my face, and the access log records my student ID.

Overnight, the entire university brands me a cheater. Cruel taunts and insults rain down from every corner.

No matter how hard I try to explain, nobody buys a word of it. In the end, I'm expelled, and my parents are forced to apologize in public.

The empty slot naturally goes to my best friend, Jessica Morin.

My childhood friend, Ethan Jackson, is the only one who stands by me through the storm, even offering to marry me. I see him as my sole lifeline in the abyss.

The night before our wedding, I overhear Jessica laughing in his arms. "You tampered with the access log, faked the video, and now you're marrying her. Was all that trouble really worth it, just for me?"

Ethan kisses her. "Keeping her right under my nose is the only way I can relax."

Outside the door, I freeze, feeling my blood run cold. The frame-up that destroyed my future and humiliated my parents was their grand design all along.

When I open my eyes again, I am back to the night before the video is released.

This time, I don't stop Jessica from stealing my student ID, nor do I expose Ethan for tampering with the access log. I simply swap a photo inside their face model dataset.

At the disciplinary hearing, the video plays right on cue.

I watch the university president sneaking into the archives on screen and burst into a smile.

Let's see who they try to expel this time.

Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes, my best friend, Jessica Morin, was standing by my desk.

She waved my student ID in her hand and gave me an apologetic smile. "Demi, could I borrow this? The printers over at the administration building are only available tonight, and I'm still missing two documents for my grad school application."

I stared at the card, speechless.

Outside, the sky was dim and overcast. The dorm loudspeakers were broadcasting an announcement—the grad school recommendation list would be posted in two days.

That meant tonight was the night.

In my past life, Jessica had borrowed my student ID on this exact evening.

The next morning, a secretly recorded video spread across the entire campus. The person in the video wore a hat, swiped my student ID to enter the archives building, and tampered with the evaluation scores on the computer.

The security camera had caught my face. The door logs had matched my student ID. Even the search history on my laptop had been framed as premeditated evidence.

I had explained, I had cried, and I had even called the police.

Yet everyone had said the same thing. "The evidence is right here. How long are you going to keep lying?"

At the disciplinary hearing, Dad had worn his faded white shirt and bowed to the faculty and students, apologizing for me.

He had never begged anyone in his life, but that day he held the dean's hands, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "She's young and just made a silly mistake. Please don't expel her. I'll get down on my knees if I have to."

Three months later, he died of a sudden heart attack.

Even on his deathbed, he was still comforting me. "Demi, I believe you."

Mom never set foot near the university again. Every time she passed the entrance, she would take a long detour.

As for me, all my honors were revoked, I was expelled, and I never even got my degree.

Those who used to praise me for being brilliant suddenly claimed I was corrupt. Those who used to beg for my class notes turned my photos into memes.

It took me seven long years, and I still couldn't prove that the person in the video wasn't me.

"Demi?" Jessica waved her hand in front of my face. "What's wrong? You look pale."

I snapped out of it and clenched my trembling hands.

Right now, she was still the sweet, gentle Jessica in everyone's eyes.

She was the one who brought me breakfast when I stayed up late, joined competitions with me, and took attendance for me when I had a fever.

Nobody would ever suspect her.

Just like in my past life, nobody believed that someone's face could be altered on a crystal-clear security tape.

I let go of my student ID. "Sure. Go ahead."

Jessica visibly let out a sigh of relief. "I knew you were the best! I'll definitely give it back before 11:00 pm."

She took the card and walked toward the door, then turned around. "Oh, right. Ethan was looking for you earlier. I think he fixed your laptop."

Right on cue, my childhood friend, Ethan Jackson, appeared outside the door.

He was holding a laptop bag, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. "Have you been waiting long?"

He set the laptop down in front of me, his voice as gentle as ever. "The hard drive is fine, and all your files are safe. I made a separate backup of your award photos and ID shots, so you don't accidentally delete them later."

He was always so thoughtful.

In my past life, after the scandal broke, everyone had avoided me like the plague.

He'd been the only one who shielded me from reporters and helped me look for evidence. At Dad's funeral, he had held me tight and said, "Demi, you still have me."

I used to cling to those words like a lifeline.

Only later did I realize that not everyone who reached out to help me was trying to save me. Sometimes, they just didn't want me to climb out of the abyss.

I swallowed the hatred rising inside me and booted up the laptop. "Where did you put the backup?"

"Same place as always." Ethan leaned over and opened a folder for me.

It contained all my photos from recent years, along with front-facing footage captured while filming the school's promotional video.

He chuckled softly and explained, "Our lab has been testing facial recognition software lately, so I organized them for you while I was at it. Don't mess with them. Once the system syncs, they'll be hard to recover."

"Okay." I sounded completely compliant.

Ethan ruffled my hair. "The list is coming out soon, so don't stress too much. Even if something goes wrong, I'm right here."

I looked up at him. "You'll stay by my side no matter what happens?"

"Of course." He didn't hesitate for even a second.

Once he left, I locked the dorm room and reopened that folder.

The photos were arranged neatly. They included front-facing shots, profiles, and photos of me looking down or up. There were even images of my expressions under different lighting conditions.

I didn't delete a single file.

I simply opened the lab's shared cloud drive and found the dataset folder marked with my initials.

Then, I replaced every single file inside.

The new materials came from the anniversary interview video released this afternoon.

In the clip, the university president, Frankie Harper, sat up straight, facing the camera solemnly. "This university has zero tolerance for fraud."

At 1:00 am, Jessica returned and set my student ID on my desk. "Demi, thanks a lot!"

My eyes swept over the fresh scratch on the card's surface.

"Finished printing your stuff?" I asked.

"All done." She grinned and crawled into her bed.

A moment later, a pop-up appeared at the bottom right corner of my screen. "Cloud sync complete."

Staring at those words, I smiled too.

I hoped they would be just as happy when they saw the result tomorrow.

Chapter 2

The next morning, the counselor, Olivia Sutton, pushed open our dorm room door. "Demi Nicholson, get up!"

A phone was thrown onto my bed, its screen looping a 15-second video.

A figure in a black jacket swiped a card to enter the archives building. The door access prompt sounded painfully distinct. "Authentication successful. Demi Nicholson."

The camera cut to the person sitting at a computer, bringing up the evaluation score sheet. At the very end of the clip, there was a zoomed-in shot of a face—my face.

The campus forum was in an absolute uproar.

"She's ranked first for the grad school exam and is still cheating? Is she that scared second place might catch up?"

"The access log and the face both match. Nothing to defend here."

"Just expel her. Don't let people like this walk away with a degree from our school."

Olivia glared at me. "Where were you at 11:47 pm last night?"

"In the dorm," I replied.

"Who can prove that?"

The room went dead silent.

One roommate spoke up in a low voice. "We were all asleep after 11:00 pm."

Another roommate hesitated for a moment. "I think Demi went downstairs once in the middle of the night."

"I went to pick up a package and was back in ten minutes," I said.

Olivia sneered. "The archives building is right next to the dorms. Ten minutes is plenty of time."

Jessica had just gotten out of bed. When she saw the video, her face drained of color instantly. "That's impossible! Demi would never do something like this!"

She scrambled to stand in front of me. "Ms. Sutton, Demi did lend me her student ID last night, but I returned it around 10:00 pm. The card was already back in her hands by 11:47 pm."

On the surface, it sounded like she was standing up for me. Yet that single statement neatly cleared her of all suspicion.

Olivia pressed further, "Are you sure you returned it around 10:00 pm?"

"I'm sure." Jessica's eyes flushed red with tears. "When I got back, Demi was in the dorm. She's definitely being framed. Please, couldn't you check again?"

A crowd was gathering outside the doorway.

Someone chimed in mockingly, "Her face is right there on video. How could she possibly be framed?"

"Jessica is way too naive. Demi stole her spot, and she's still defending her."

"No wonder Demi had to forge the scores. Jessica was closing in fast on her overall rank."

Jessica bit her lip, and tears streamed down her cheeks. "I don't even want the grad school slot anymore."

She looked at me, her voice trembling. "Demi, as long as you're okay, you can have the slot."

The onlookers grew even more furious.

"Why should you give it to her?"

"Since when does the cheater get to play the victim?"

Olivia's expression darkened. "Enough, all of you. Demi, come with me to the administration building."

I put on my jacket and grabbed my phone. "Fine. I request to see the raw surveillance footage."

"The university will investigate."

"I also want the backend access log for the security system," I said.

"You don't just get to view those whenever you feel like it."

I raised my head. "Then I'm calling the police."

Olivia's expression shifted immediately. "Nothing has been proven yet. Do you really want to drag the police into this and disgrace the university?"

I retorted, "Someone stole my student ID data and forged a fake video with my face. What's wrong with calling the police?"

"Fake?"

The security officer, Randy Deleon, stepped out from behind the crowd. He held up a printed sheet of the card access logs. "There are no anomalies in the system backend, and the video passed preliminary verification. Demi, all the evidence points directly to you."

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Mom.

The moment I picked up, her voice sounded frantic with worry. "Demi, what's going on with all these rumors online? Your dad is already on his way to buy train tickets. Don't be scared. Just wait until we get there."

Hearing her voice, a wave of warmth and sadness hit my chest.

In my past life, they had rushed over just like this. They had arrived with complete, unwavering trust in me, only to be forced to bow their heads before the entire school.

I squeezed my palm so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. "Mom, don't apologize."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line.

Slowly, I said, "No matter who tries to force you, don't ever apologize for me."

Chapter 3

In the conference room, the college leadership pushed the disciplinary document in front of me.

"Admit your mistake, and the university might consider letting you stay as a student. If you refuse to cooperate, it becomes a whole different story."

I glanced at it.

Revocation of recommendation status, a major demerit, and a public apology.

Compared to my past life, it truly seemed like an extraordinary act of mercy.

Back then, I insisted on calling the police and demanding a full investigation, so the university branded me as difficult. In the end, they not only expelled me but also sent the notice of my disciplinary action to all their partner companies.

When I went job hunting, an interviewer recognized me.

He laughed right in front of a room full of people. "You had the nerve to tamper with official archives. We would never risk hiring someone like you."

I stood outside the office building, the resume in my hands soaked and ruined by the rain.

Ethan found me with an umbrella and took off his jacket to drape it over my shoulders. "It's okay. I'll take care of you."

I hugged him and cried, believing I had finally found the only person who hadn't given up on me.

But thinking back now, those perfectly timed appearances were far too convenient.

"Demi?"

The dean, Caleb Jensen, tapped the table. "Sign it."

I pushed the paper back. "I didn't do it."

Jessica sat across from me, her eyes swollen from crying. "Professors, can we please check one more time? Demi's grades have always been better than mine. She had no reason to alter my score at all."

The department head, Alfie Woods, said coldly, "Her overall rating was only 0.3 points higher than yours. Once the volunteer service points are recalculated, you're very likely to overtake her."

Jessica shook her head frantically. "Then I'll withdraw!"

"This isn't just about a single slot." Alfie looked at me with disgust in his tone. "This is a character issue."

The conference room door swung open.

My parents had rushed over.

Dad had run all the way up the stairs and was so out of breath he could barely speak. "My daughter… My daughter would never cheat."

Mom held my hands tightly. "Demi, look at me. You really didn't go in there, right?"

"I didn't," I said.

Her eyes turned red instantly. "Alright. I believe you."

Alfie impatiently replayed the video. "Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, the surveillance, the access log, and the facial recognition all match. We will hold a disciplinary hearing tomorrow. If you make a public apology, we won't expel her."

Dad's face turned pale and rigid. "She didn't do anything wrong. Why should she apologize?"

"Then our only option is to hand this over to the police."

Mom swayed slightly, nearly losing her balance.

In my past life, the moment she heard those words, she immediately gave in. She'd thought that as long as she bowed her head, she could save me.

But after the disciplinary hearing ended, some students uploaded the video of them bowing in apology online.

The comment section was filled with nothing but ridicule.

"A whole family of dramatic actors."

"Parents who raised a daughter like her can't be any better."

Dad had read through those comments over and over until he collapsed right in front of his computer.

I held onto Mom and spoke coldly. "We can have the disciplinary hearing. But I want the complete surveillance footage played publicly."

Alfie frowned. "The video online is already clear enough."

"How does 15 seconds count as complete surveillance footage?" I looked around at everyone. "Since you're going to punish me in front of all the faculty and students, let everyone see how I went in, how I changed the scores, and how I left."

Alfie was about to refuse, but Caleb spoke up. "We can do that. Professor Harper will also be present tomorrow. Let the evidence be shown publicly so no one can say the school treated her unfairly."

As I walked out of the conference room, Ethan was waiting for me at the door. He held two bottles of water, handing one to my parents first before pressing the warm one into my palm. "Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, don't worry. I believe in Demi."

Mom looked at him like she was grabbing onto a lifeline. "Ethan, you know people around campus. Could you please help speak up for Demi?"

Ethan reassured her gently. "I'll stay by her side."

He pulled me to the far end of the hallway. "Demi, don't go head-to-head with the school tomorrow."

"You think I did it too?" I asked.

"No, of course I believe you."

He paused, his tone softening. "But the evidence is stacked against you. Admit fault first so you can keep your status as a student, and I'll stay with you to dig into it slowly."

In my past life, he had urged me the exact same way, telling me to back down, endure it, and not let things spiral out of control.

I thought he was trying to protect me. So I gave up on calling the police and missed the golden window to retrieve the original raw data.

I looked into his eyes. "If the complete video is shown publicly, what do you think will be caught on tape?"

Ethan's expression didn't change a bit. "What else could there be?"

"Me, of course." I let out a soft smile. "After all, every piece of evidence says so."

Ethan smiled along. Yet the hand holding the water bottle tightened without him even realizing it.

Chapter 4

Before the disciplinary hearing even started, the auditorium was packed.

The campus live stream's viewer count kept climbing.

My parents and I sat in the front row. Three apology scripts lay on the desk, complete with highlighted marks telling us exactly where to pause.

Mom stared at a line in the script, tears streaming down her face. "It was our failure in raising our daughter that caused such a terrible impact on the university…"

She couldn't read any further.

Dad snatched up the script and crumpled it into a ball. "We're not reading this. Demi didn't do a thing. Why should we admit to it?"

I squeezed their hands tightly.

This time, I would never let them be stripped of their dignity for my sake again.

Up on the stage, Alfie began reading the investigation findings. "Following our verification, Demi Nicholson entered the archives building at 11:47 pm in violation of policy and tampered with the evaluation scores for graduate school…"

A chorus of curses instantly erupted from the audience below.

"Expel her!"

"How does someone like this even deserve to be an honor student?"

"Jessica is the unluckiest one here. Her life was almost stolen."

Shortly after, Jessica walked onto the stage as the affected student. She wore a plain white dress without a trace of makeup, looking pale and thoroughly exhausted.

"Demi and I have known each other for four years."

As she held the microphone, she choked up on her words several times. "I refuse to believe she's a bad person. Maybe she was just terrified of losing her recommendation slot and made a wrong choice. I'm willing to forfeit my recommendation so she can have the spot."

Someone in the crowd immediately shouted, "Don't be an idiot! She's the one who screwed you over, and you're still pleading for her?"

Jessica lowered her head, tears falling right onto her speech notes.

Bursts of applause followed instantly.

Ethan stood behind the side curtain, giving me a reassuring look.

Everyone was pressuring me to plead guilty, while the two of them stood by me in their own ways. One pleaded for leniency on my behalf, and the other stayed quietly by my side.

Anyone who saw them wouldn't help but admire their devotion.

The hearing chair invited me up to the stage.

Alfie thrust the microphone in front of me. "Demi, please give a public apology together with your parents now."

I didn't take the apology script. "I want to watch the complete surveillance footage."

Alfie's expression darkened. "The key snippet was already shown earlier."

"That key snippet is only 15 seconds long."

I turned to Frankie, who was sitting right in the center of the panel. "Today is a public disciplinary hearing. Since the university claims the evidence is ironclad, why wouldn't you dare play the full video?"

Whispers began to spread through the auditorium.

Frankie frowned slightly. Clearly, he didn't want to leave any impression of deliberately hiding evidence in front of a live broadcast camera.

"Play the complete footage," he said.

Randy froze.

Alfie chimed in hastily, "Professor Harper, the complete video contains internal confidential data regarding the archive room."

"Blur the sensitive information." Frankie's tone turned stern. "We need to make sure every student accepts the outcome without question."

The lights dimmed, and the large screen lit up once more.

The surveillance timestamp displayed 11:47 pm. A figure in a black jacket walked into the archives building with their head down.

They pulled out an ID card and lightly tapped it against the scanner. "Authentication successful. Demi Nicholson."

The crowd below exploded instantly.

"How is she going to talk her way out of this now?"

"The door access can't possibly frame her, right?"

"Just apologize already. Stop wasting everyone's time."

Dad stood up in sheer anger. "My daughter was right in her dorm room. Someone definitely tampered with that card!"

Alfie grabbed the mic and barked, "Mr. Nicholson, please remain quiet!"

Mom held Dad tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

I didn't look back once. I just kept my eyes glued to the giant screen.

The figure in the video entered the archive room smoothly and headed straight for the cabinet where the application materials were stored.

Their movements were swift and practiced, without the slightest hesitation.

As Jessica watched the screen, her tense shoulders relaxed bit by bit. She quietly clenched the speech in her hand. A barely perceptible smile played at the corners of her lips.

Ethan stood quietly at the side of the stage too. His gaze remained gentle and was tinged with pity, as if he were ready to wait until everyone abandoned me, then step in as the only person still willing to stand by my side.

The person in the video stepped up to the archive cabinet, took off their hat, and slowly raised their head.

In the very next second, dead silence fell over the entire room.

The smug grin on Jessica's lips froze completely.

There on the big screen, clear as day, was Frankie's face.