Catching the Falling Star Chapter 1

During finals week, the campus queen bee was caught cheating.

Crying, she claimed I forced her to do it.

She even pulled out medical records, falsely accusing me of driving her to depression.

"Why won't you just admit it? Are you trying to force me to die?"

With those words, she took another step toward the edge of the roof.

My boyfriend didn't even ask for my side of the story before demanding I take the blame: "Riley, that's a human life! How can you be so cold-blooded?"

Everyone around me urged me to remember that a life was more important than anything else.

I gave a sinister smile. "Isn't it just dying? Come on, let's die together."

I lunged forward, grabbing the terrified queen bee, and we tumbled off the roof together.

Of course, I wouldn't die.

Because down below, I had already prepared an inflatable rescue cushion.

Sorry, but I’ve been reborn.

* * *

I was shaken awake by the proctor.

Staring at the unfamiliar yet familiar exam hall, I was dazed for a moment.

Wasn't I dead?

Mia’s carefully orchestrated cyberbullying campaign not only stole my guaranteed grad school admission but also doxxed all my personal information online.

In an instant, I went from a straight-A student favored by professors to public enemy number one.

I was pushed to the center of the storm by self-righteous internet vigilantes.

I lost my education, couldn't find a job, and eventually died under the wheels of a car driven by one of Mia’s extreme admirers.

How could I be sitting in an exam room for finals?

Before I could figure it out, I saw a small piece of paper drop to the floor diagonally in front of me.

That was Mia's seat.

Looking closely, Mia seemed a bit younger than I remembered.

She didn't have the heavy makeup or the head-to-toe designer brands from my past life.

Looking at the scene before me, I felt a sense of unreality.

I never thought I'd actually experience the reincarnation trope you only see in novels.

I was reborn. Back to my college days, on the day of finals.

The very day that marked the turning point of my destiny.

In my past life, in this exact same scenario.

I discovered Mia cheating.

When she bent down to pick up her cheat sheet, she met my gaze.

She turned pale with fright.

In a panic, she put her hands together in a pleading gesture, begging me to stay quiet.

Living by the principle of minding my own business, I didn't do anything.

I just lowered my head and continued my exam.

It was just a regular final exam; passing was enough. It wasn't some life-altering test.

College exams... they were what they were.

But to my surprise, she was so focused on copying that she was caught red-handed by the proctor.

This particular professor was notoriously strict in our department.

He exposed her right there in the dead-silent exam hall.

Mia had always maintained the persona of a beautiful, brilliant scholar.

Being caught cheating on the spot—if it were any other student, they might have just laughed it off and taken the makeup exam.

But to her, it was a matter of life and death.

Her persona collapsed instantly.

"I can't believe the campus queen's 'genius' persona is fake!"

"Who knows if she cheated on all her previous exams too. No wonder she didn't get the grad school recommendation this time."

"So fake. She doesn't look like that kind of person. She looks so innocent... do you think she smokes and drinks in private too?"

In my past life, on the day the university issued the disciplinary notice, I had just received my offer for a master's program at an Ivy League university.

I was immersed in the joy of my admission, completely missing the venom in her eyes.

I never expected she would go to such lengths just to destroy me.

In my past life, I couldn't figure it out. Just because I saw her cheating, she had to ruin me?

Was it just because I was an orphan with no backing?

Only after I died, when I hovered around her as a ghost, did I find out.

She did it because I had discovered her secret.

—I had once seen her getting into a black Mercedes that had a bottle of water placed on the roof.

At the time, I hadn't realized what she was doing.

"You can't blame me, you can only blame yourself. Who told you to see something you shouldn't have seen?"

She had muttered to herself, her face showing not a shred of guilt.

A person with a dark heart sees darkness in everything.

The memory of being crushed under those wheels, the agonizing pain of my body shattering, was still fresh in my mind.

Right now, the campus queen was playing the victim, hands clasped together, begging me not to report her.

I smiled at her. What are you thinking?

If I lived this second life like a coward again, I'd want to slap myself.

I glanced over and saw the proctor walking toward us.

Under her terrified gaze, I raised my hand, feigning confusion.

"Professor, there seems to be something on the floor."

"It looks like it belongs to Mia... but maybe I'm mistaken."

I pretended to be unsure, my tone hesitant, but I practically threw the culprit right under the bus.

And I added a layer of uncertainty to the situation.

In my past life, this was exactly how the campus queen had cleared her own name.

I was just a fast learner.

The proctor also happened to be our major's professor.

She picked up the paper from the floor, opened it, and then her gaze shifted to Mia.

She escorted her out of the classroom.

This time, the disciplinary notice came much faster than in my past life.

When I returned to the dorm, Mia was lying on her bed sobbing, while our roommate Chloe was comforting her.

Seeing me, Chloe immediately started pointing fingers: "Riley, what is wrong with you? So many people cheat, why did you have to target Mia?"

Chloe came from a wealthy family, but despite her princess temper, she was easily manipulated by Mia.

She was her loyal pawn.

In the same scenario in my past life, because I didn't expose Mia, Chloe still blamed me: "Riley, your grades are so good, why didn't you clear Mia's name?"

Back then, I actually internalized it, doubting if I had truly done something wrong.

Now I understood that no matter what I did, it would always be "my fault" in their eyes.

They didn't care about my perspective.

So, instead of reflecting on myself, it was better to blame others.

If they wanted to drive me crazy, then no one was going to have a good time.

I put down my textbook, pointed to the recording app on my phone, and opened the university's online forum.

I sneered darkly: "So you mean to say she cheated, and I should take the blame? Am I her mother or her father that I have to be so considerate of her?"

"I've posted what you just said on the forum. Let's see what everyone else thinks."

Probably not expecting me to be this unhinged, both Chloe and Mia looked up at me simultaneously.

Mia panicked and lunged to grab my phone.

I shoved her away, looking down at her from above.

"If you want to act like a spoiled princess, go work at a hostess bar. Don't mess with me."

After speaking, I looked at the two girls who were too scared to respond. I smiled slightly and added,

"By the way, I do have a mental illness, so stay out of my way. You wouldn't want my condition to worsen and make me start talking nonsense, would you? Like that day I saw..."

I trailed off, but I knew Mia had a guilty conscience and would definitely overthink it.

That was enough for now.

In my past life, I suffered so much. I was going to pay it all back, item by item.

I wouldn't expose everything right away.

A game of cat and mouse.

It's only fun if you play it slowly.