As soon as I walked out of the SAT exam hall, I was dragged into a dark interrogation room by the police. Officers found cheating tools sewn into my clothes. And in a nearby hotel, they arrested the "gunman" (a hired test-taker) who was collaborating with me. The moment the gunman saw me, he identified me as the buyer. He voluntarily confessed to the crime and detailed the financial transactions between us. The evidence was undeniable, and it was broadcast all over the internet. Overnight, I went from being hailed as a genius scholar by the media to a prisoner. My parents tried to appeal but failed. Unable to withstand the cyberbullying, they died tragically at home. Not long after receiving the news of their deaths, I died of a heart attack. Until my last breath, I didn't understand. I clearly did nothing, so why did all the evidence point to me cheating? When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the eve of the SATs. 1 "Elena, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get your ID out to check in." My best friend Lana's voice rang in my ear. I shuddered violently. I was in a hotel lobby, and the clock on the wall behind the reception desk showed the date as June 6th. Lana nudged me. "Why are you still spacing out? ID!" The shove finally made me realize I had been reborn. In my past life, because the exam center was too far from home, we were worried about traffic jams on the day of the SATs. So the night before, Lana and I checked into a hotel less than a hundred meters from the exam center. On the last day of the exams, as soon as I walked out, I was arrested for cheating. And the gunman who provided me with answers was hiding in the room I stayed in. "Elena, why are you so slow today? The receptionist is waiting!" Saying that, Lana eagerly reached into my bag to grab my ID. I grabbed her hand. "I'm not staying." Lana frowned and complained. "Elena, why are you like this? Do you know how much effort I put into booking this hotel?" "No, you have to stay!" I looked at Lana in confusion, puzzled. She usually had a gentle temperament and spoke softly, so why was she being so pushy today? I forced a smile. "Lana, you know I have trouble sleeping in a strange bed. I might stay awake all night in the hotel, which would affect my performance tomorrow." "So I thought about it and decided to go home. Worst case, I'll just get up earlier tomorrow. I'm really sorry." Lana covered her mouth and laughed. "I was just teasing you; you actually took it seriously?" "Then think carefully. Rooms are super hard to book before the SATs. If you cancel now and change your mind later, there won't be any rooms left." I nodded, insisting on going home. "Then call an Uber yourself. I'm going to the room to review." I watched her enter the elevator and hailed a cab. "Driver, to the nearest internet cafe." 2 Everything in my past life happened too fast, exploding and vanishing like fireworks. Why were cheating tools found on me? Where did the evidence provided by the gunman come from? And who wanted to harm me, and why? These questions were like a fog in my mind. I might never find out the truth in this life, but at least I could avoid this disaster. That is, by not taking the SATs, so I couldn't go home. I had to go to a place open 24 hours, where I could stay and which had surveillance. An internet cafe was perfect. The driver quickly took me to one. I paid for two consecutive days. After finding a seat, I binge-watched variety shows and dramas. When hungry, I ate instant noodles from the cafe; when sleepy, I slept a bit. But as soon as I fell asleep, images of my past life surfaced, and I'd wake up startled. This repeated until 5 PM on the third day. Just as I closed my eyes. A pop-up appeared on the webpage. [Breaking News: A candidate was caught cheating in the SATs in South City. The suspect has fled the exam center, and police are in hot pursuit!] I had a bad premonition. Just as I was about to click on the pop-up, the computer screen went black. Complaints erupted in the internet cafe. "Admin, what's going on? Why did the computers go black!" "Sorry everyone, the circuit breaker probably tripped. I'll go reset it now. Please be patient." Not long after, sirens wailed outside. 3 Several police officers rushed in and surrounded me. They flashed their badges. "Elena Chen, you run fast. In the blink of an eye, you ran to an internet cafe!" I asked confusedly, "May I ask what this is about?" The officer snapped, "Still playing dumb? You cheated on the SATs, and we're arresting you!" For a moment, my brain almost lost the ability to think. "Me... cheated?" Amidst my confusion, Lana and my childhood sweetheart boyfriend, Sean, rushed in. Lana panted as she spoke up for me, "Elena couldn't have cheated. You have to believe in her character. Besides, she's already been guaranteed admission." Sean squeezed through the crowd, shielding me. "Yeah, officer, she has no reason to take this risk. Could there be a misunderstanding?" The students who followed them to watch the drama sneered, "Does her innocence depend entirely on your words? If so, why do we need police?" "Exactly! I think you're accomplices. Suggest arresting them all for investigation." Lana got anxious. "Elena, explain quickly. I'm dying of anxiety." Surrounded by noise, my mind went blank. Seeing my silence, Lana's eyes went from determined to doubtful. "Elena, you didn't really cheat, did you?" Her voice was small, but loud enough for those around to hear. They started pointing fingers. "Oh my god, cheating on the SATs when checks are so strict these days? Some people really aren't afraid of death." "This girl seems to be the top scholar from my friend's school. I've seen her on their honor roll. Tsk tsk, turns out it was all fake!" "Pretending to be smart usually, afraid of being exposed in the SATs, so she risked cheating." "Heard her parents are master teachers at the school. Even a teacher's daughter cheated; do her parents have the face to live? They might as well die!" The insults in my ears sent chills down my spine. But clearly, I had been in the internet cafe since last night and never left. How could I be suspected of cheating? My voice trembled involuntarily. "Officer, but I didn't take the SATs, so how could I cheat?" The officer laughed in anger. "You say you didn't take the SATs? You really won't cry until you see the coffin." "Come back to the station with us; I'll show you the evidence!" 4 Handcuffs were slapped onto my wrists. I hugged the chair tightly, shouting, "I really didn't take the SATs. If you don't believe me, ask the people here, check the surveillance!" "Still making excuses, huh? Fine, I'll check now, so you can give up hope!" The officer immediately asked the surrounding onlookers. "Can anyone testify that she has been here online since last night and hasn't left?" I looked at them expectantly. But they all shook their heads. "Officer, we're here to game. Who pays attention to who's sitting next to them?" "I just got here. How would I know when she arrived? I have no impression." "Officer, testifying means going to the station to register, right? Don't make it hard for us. If my parents find out I sneaked out to game, they'll skin me alive." I panicked. "If they can't testify, there's surveillance!" The admin ran over apologetically. "Officer, I'm really sorry. Just now, a high-voltage surge burned out the storage device, and all surveillance footage is lost." I looked at her in disbelief. "Impossible, how could it break so coincidentally? I want to see for myself." She led me to the monitor. The words "Disk Error" stung my eyes. I asked her like clutching the last straw, "Sister, you registered me last night. Do you remember me?" The admin nodded, then shook her head. "Sorry, I'm face-blind and really can't remember faces." At this, I felt like I was in an ice cave, trembling all over. The admin pointed at the small red flower on my clothes. "Didn't you just rush in from outside? I can't remember faces, but I remember this red flower on your collar. It's particularly eye-catching." I got extremely agitated. "You're lying! I've been sitting in my seat the whole time, nowhere else!" The officer sneered. "Elena Chen, stop quibbling. Your cheating tool is hidden in this eye-catching red flower!" Saying that, he picked up scissors, cut off the red flower, tore it open, and indeed, an electronic device was hidden inside. My eyes widened, utterly shocked. In my past life, an identical electronic device was found in my clothes. This moment seemed to pull me back to my past life. I screamed in terror, "This isn't mine!" At the same time, Lana screamed, "Elena, isn't this that?" Sean looked disappointed. "Elena, I can't believe you would do such a thing." Seeing their reactions, I seemed to lose all strength instantly. "So you saw me in the exam hall too?" They both nodded. I only saw darkness, and Sean's hollow, desperate voice rang in my ears. "Elena, your best option now is to confess and seek leniency, understand?" "We'll take care of your parents 24/7, don't worry."
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