Chapter 1
I withdrew from the cybersecurity competition the moment my affluent father finally tracked me down. But right then, I was slapped across the face by the department‘ s most adored student, Sisca Gray.
“You lowly scholarship student,” she hissed, her eyes blazing. “What gives you the right to withdraw from this
competition? If you dare to step down, I’ll see to it that you‘ re kicked out of school for good!”
Sisca had already submitted the exact same code as mine in the cybersecurity competition in my previous life. Back then, I’d thought I could turn to my two closest friends, Ben and Nathan, to testify for me, to stand by my side. But when the moment came, both had fallen silent. Finally, they suggested to the judges that perhaps my poverty warranted a second chance, a tiny
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show of pity. I’d become a plagiarist in everyone’s eyes, disgraced and blacklisted by the entire industry even before I graduated.
The constant barrage of hateful comments from netizens, the hardship of my life, it all became too much to bear. Until, one day, alone in a cramped 30–square–meter basement, I broke. I took a blade to my wrist, unable to face any more disgrace.
Yet when I opened my eyes again, I was back in college. Back to that fateful week before I submitted my code for the cybersecurity competition.
***
“Ran, are you dozing off? If you‘ re that tired, you should head back and rest.” Nathan tapped my shoulder gently, his voice pulling me from my dark reverie.
Ben, always quick to joke, leaned in with a mischievous grin. “Yeah, little Ran! Lack of sleep will stunt your growth, you
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know?”
Hearing their words again was like a cruel déjà vu. In my last life, those same teasing remarks had made me laugh. Orphaned young and raised in a group home, I’d always been grateful to have these two by my side, filling the void. They‘ d cared for me like brothers.
But in this life, their words only brought a bitter taste to my mouth.
The cybersecurity competition had been a doorway to so much more than a trophy. The judges were seasoned experts from top companies–winning meant a real shot at a great career. Yet in my previous life, I’d been crushed under false accusations of plagiarism. Desperately, I’d turned to Nathan and Ben, my so–called best friends, pleading with them to defend my integrity.
Instead, they’d stayed silent.
Nathan had even requested that the judges give me “another chance to be a decent.
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human being” out of pity for my poverty, as if I were some kind of charity case.
The internet had its say.
[ “Being poor isn‘ t an excuse to cheat. Just because you‘ re struggling doesn’t mean you can claim others‘
achievements. We don’t want plagiarists in our industry!” ]
[ “If someone would plagiarize now, they’d steal credit at work. This kind of person can’t be trusted!” ]
The big–name companies had blacklisted me. Sisca Gray had walked away with the championship title and the world had dubbed her “the most beautiful programmer.” Meanwhile, I was forever branded a fraud, my name forever tarnished on the college records. I was expelled, labeled and left with nothing.
After college, my life became a series of menial jobs, all dead ends. Every time someone dug up my past, I’d be
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ostracized by my coworkers and fired. Every place I went, the whisper of my shame followed. Exhausted, isolated and beaten down, I fell deeper into despair.
After my 208th job rejection, I couldn’t take it any longer. In the suffocating darkness of my basement, I chose to end my misery.
Then, inexplicably, I opened my eyes again.
Back in the warmth of the school library, with Nathan and Ben beside me, I was thrown into confusion, haunted by what I’d gone through. Yet this time, I could feel the anger simmering within me, a fire igniting where there‘ d once been only despair.
kkk
“Are you still here?” Ben’s voice broke my focus. “Nathan and I have been pulling all–nighters just to help you get this code finished for the competition. You
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better get first place this time, Ran, or you’ll owe us big!”
Nathan shot me a sidelong glance.
“We’ve been staying up with you night after night for this. Ran, don’t make us regret it.”
forced myself to stay calm, though my heart pounded with a newfound purpose. This time, I wouldn’t let myself be crushed. I’d rewrite my story, starting
