I finished the entire paper with absolute focus.

When I came out at noon, the sun was a bit blinding.

Lucas was indeed still waiting for me at the gate, holding a bag with bread and milk.

"How was it?"

"Not bad." I took the milk and smiled. "I should be able to make it to the next round."

He visibly relaxed. "That's good."

The afternoon was the oral interview.

When it was my turn, standing at the classroom door, I inevitably felt a bit of nerves.

But when I pushed the door open and saw the teachers sitting inside, my heart strangely settled.

They asked me why I wanted to participate in this project.

They asked what I most wanted to see.

They asked how I would handle an unfamiliar environment and pressure.

At first, I tried to use the expressions I had prepared, but as I spoke, I began to share my true thoughts more and more.

I said I wanted to see the wider world—not to prove I was better than anyone else, but just to see how far someone like me could go through hard work.

I said that if the environment was strange and the pressure was great, I would be afraid too.

But fear is no reason to stop.

Because someone has to take the first step to know if there is a path ahead.

When it came to the final question, one of the female teachers looked up at me with a very gentle expression.

She asked, "What if that path is very difficult? So difficult that many people around you feel you shouldn't take it?"

I paused for a moment.

In my mind, images of Sloane, her mother, the rumors, the photo, and that cage-like room from my past life flashed by.

Then I looked up and answered softly but firmly:

"Then I must take it even more."

"Because the more they want me to stay where I am, the more it proves that this is the right path."

17

After the interview ended, I felt as if half of my energy had been drained.

But that exhaustion was completely different from before.

It wasn't the suffocation of being cornered; it was the fatigue of someone who, after giving their all, finally dared to look up at the road ahead.

By the time I walked out of the testing center, the sun was already beginning to set.

Lucas was still waiting for me at the gate.

Seeing me, his first words weren't "How did it go?" but: "Eat something first."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you always afraid I'll starve to death?"

"Because you actually would," he said, handing me a sandwich he had just bought, his tone very matter-of-fact. "When you're nervous, you don't even look after yourself."

I took it and took a bite, finally feeling my stomach, which had been empty all day, settle a bit.

We sat on a bench outside the school gate, neither of us in a hurry to speak.

The wind blew past, swirling fallen leaves on the ground. Students were still running on the distant playground, and the sound of a whistle drifted far through the air.

After a long while, Lucas finally asked, "And this time?"

I thought for a moment and said, "I think it went even better than the written exam."

A relaxed smile finally touched his eyes.

"Then it's almost a sure thing."

"You have that much faith in me?"

"Yeah." He paused. "Besides, the way you looked before entering the hall today, it was like you were going into battle."

I was suddenly a bit embarrassed by his words and lowered my head to bite my sandwich, staying silent.

But my heart stirred.

Yes.

I really was going into battle.

Not in the literal sense, but bit by bit, I was pushing back against the things that once made it impossible for me to breathe.

On the way back, my phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a text from an unknown number.

[The exam went well, didn't it?]

Looking at that line of text, my heart sank instantly.

I didn't even have to guess; it was Caspian.

He even knew I was taking an exam today.

This meant he was still keeping a very close watch on my movements.

The feeling of being watched returned, like fine, cold threads silently entangling me.

Lucas noticed my expression changed. "Who is it?"

I handed him the phone.

After reading it, his brow furrowed tightly. "Block it."

I nodded and immediately moved the number to the blacklist.

But barely two seconds after blocking it, a new number sent another message.

[Blocking is useless.]

[I just want to remind you not to get too happy lately.]

My fingertips turned cold inch by inch.

Lucas’s face was livid. He took my phone and blocked the new number directly.

"Is he insane?"

I said lowly, "Yes."

And he was seriously ill.

In my past life, I didn't understand at first why someone who clearly lacked for nothing would have such a strong interest in tormenting and controlling others.

Later I understood—some people are put on a pedestal from such a young age that they view "what they can't have" and "losing control" as forms of stimulation. The more you refuse to follow them, the more they want to pull you back and pin you down to their rules.

Caspian was that kind of person.

The him of now might not be as mad as he was in the later stages of my past life.

But that danger was already beginning to show its head.

I took a deep breath and put my phone away. "Let's ignore him for now."

"The more he wants to affect me, the more I can't let him."

Lucas looked at me and said in a low voice, "I'll take your calls from now on."

I was stunned by his words, then couldn't help but laugh. "How will you take them?"

"Show me the unknown numbers first."

"What if a teacher from the project group calls?"

"..."

He paused.

For the first time, I saw an expression on his face that showed he was a bit at a loss with me, and it actually made me feel better.

"It's fine," I said softly. "I'll be careful."

But I didn't expect that Caspian's so-called "reminder" would arrive so quickly.

The next afternoon, I received a call from the exchange project group saying my materials had passed the audit and I had entered the final candidate pool. Once the overall rankings came out in three days, the list would be finalized.

This was supposed to be a good thing.

But before evening self-study, an anonymous post suddenly appeared on the school forum.

The title was very eye-catching—

[A certain exchange program candidate has a messy private life. Is she really fit to represent the school?]

When I clicked on it, my entire body stiffened.

Inside was the fabricated photo that Sloane and her friends had stuffed into my desk that day.

Although the school had already dealt with it once, someone had clearly uploaded it to the internet again, accompanied by all sorts of highly suggestive text. Things like "getting a spot through special relationships," "acting pure during the day, who knows at night," "the growth path for girls from poor families is always the same"...

Every sentence was maliciously calculated.

Enough to invite speculation and enough to make those who didn't know the truth take sides quickly.

I stared at the screen, my breathing faltering.

This time it wasn't as simple as a single photo within the school; it was publicly posted on a forum, effectively dragging me into the center of a crowd for everyone to watch, speculate, and humiliate.

That nauseating feeling of being under a camera, under the gaze of others, and being judged from my past life surged up again.

I slammed the phone face down, my palms covered in cold sweat.

Lucas had just returned from outside. One look at my face and he knew something had happened.

"What's wrong?"

I didn't speak, just handed him the phone.

After he finished reading, his face turned cold to the extreme almost instantly.

"I'll go to the computer room to track down the poster."

"It's useless," I said hoarsely. "An anonymous post—there’s definitely someone behind it. It’ll be hard to find them immediately."

"We can't just leave it alone."

"Of course we can't."

I forced myself to calm down, my mind racing.

The key to this matter wasn't just clearing my reputation; it was that it would likely affect the final audit of the exchange program. If the project group saw this kind of post, even if it was fake, they would worry about the controversy and might drop me.

That was exactly the result they wanted.

I looked up at Lucas, my voice light but becoming steady.

"Let's go find Mr. Sterling."

"We can't treat this as just ordinary rumors this time."