Chapter 2

Seeing the identical slideshow, the senior scratched his head.

"Lucille, why are you showing your own presentation again?" he asked.

"This is from Jessica's laptop," Jessica replied.

Jessica's eyes were brimming with tears, looking utterly pitiful.

But even the way she cried was just mimicking me.

Back in my previous life, Alexander only started to like me after I broke down crying during one of our arguments.

Sure enough, he was stunned for a second.

Jessica burst into tears, her voice shaking with emotion.

She cried, "Lucille, now I get it. You've been making things difficult for me just because I reported first and didn't let you hog all the attention, right?

"I know you've always had it out for me, but isn't this a bit much?

"If I hadn't stepped up to present just now, were you really going to use my slideshow and pretend it was yours?

"No wonder you offered to help me with my slides before the meeting. So that's what you were planning all along."

She let out a couple of sobs, her voice trembling. "I can deal with your attitude most of the time, but do you really have to pick on me even at an academic conference?"

With that, she dropped herself into my chair, slumped over the desk, and started bawling her eyes out.

Some of the onlookers started exchanging glances.

"These slides are literally identical. Just because she's the senior doesn't mean she can be so obvious about it, right?" one whispered.

"Jessica did a great job. You can tell she put in the work herself. I heard she's really dedicated behind the scenes," another chimed in.

"Yeah, and Lucille's always trying to hog the spotlight. People like her usually don't have any real skills. That demo she did earlier was probably just ripped off from someone else," a third voice added.

Alexander shot me a conflicted look. "Lucille, what's going on here?"

I let out a light chuckle, swaggered over, tossed the stylus onto the desk, and pulled up the simulation software.

I looked at Jessica and said, "So, Jessica, if you're claiming I stole your work, then you must've run the simulation yourself, right?

"Come on, show us how it's done. No need for the whole process, just build the model and let's see what you've got."

Jessica froze, her whole body going stiff.

I was the project lead. Only I knew the key data for this model.

Naturally, I was the only one who could pull it off.

"I," Jessica stammered, her hand frozen in place, refusing to even go near the mouse.

I let out a mocking laugh. "What's wrong? Didn't you run the simulation just yesterday? Or did you lose all your skills overnight?

"No wonder you couldn't even explain the Morrison unit earlier. It's no surprise you can't handle the simulation either."

The onlookers were pretty confused, but the more experienced students all had uneasy looks on their faces.

They knew that if you didn't understand the fundamentals, you'd be totally lost trying to run the simulation.

People outside the field might not catch on, but those who knew their stuff weren't fooled one bit.

Seeing she was about to be exposed, Jessica burst into loud, dramatic sobs.

She cried, "Lucille, do you really get a kick out of cornering me like this?

"How many times have you used my work for your own credit? I've pretended not to know anything in front of everyone just to save your reputation. I respect you, but that doesn't mean you get to treat me like a doormat.

"I joined this team full of excitement and passion. So why do I have to be treated like this?"

Some people started to realize what was going on.

"So, she couldn't answer the questions earlier just to not embarrass Lucille?" one whispered.

"Sometimes being too kind backfires," another chimed in.

"Poor thing," a third voice added.

Jessica's voice shook as she choked out. "Lucille, I went to the hospital last week, and the doctor actually diagnosed me with depression."

Some people in the crowd looked moved, their faces softening.

Alexander's brows furrowed, a troubled look crossing his face.

Jessica caught the crowd's reaction, and a sly smile briefly flashed across her lips. Suddenly, she jumped up and made a run for the door.

She yelled, "Lucille, I can't take this anymore.

"Just because you're the senior, you think you can walk all over me? Fine. I'll jump off this building right now. I'd rather die than let you keep bullying me."

Then she threw open the door and stormed out.

"Stop her," someone shouted.

Alexander was the first to react. He shoved his chair back and bolted after her.

The whole place instantly erupted into chaos.

The school quickly stepped in to settle things.

Even Priscilla Reed, the professor, criticized Jessica for her impulsive actions.

But she was actually quite pleased.

That night, she sent me a picture of her and Alexander out to dinner.

She texted, [When I tried to jump today, Alexander wrapped me up in his arms and wouldn't let go.

[He comforted me for half an hour. Can you believe it? Pretty sure he really cares about me now.

[Lucille, in this life, he's chosen me.

[And I'll be the one who gets all his connections and support.]

I smiled and turned off my phone.

She was convinced that all my success came from meeting Alexander.

But in my previous life, it wasn't him who picked me. It was I who picked him.