Reborn to Uncover the Truth

My SAT score was over 1500, yet I never received an acceptance letter from Lintdon University. Instead, I was admitted to a vocational college. Meanwhile, Megan Foster, the school beauty who had scored just one point below me, was accepted into Lintdon. I remembered that she'd been sitting right beside me when the school had us set the passwords for our college applications. I couldn't help but suspect that she'd stolen my password and changed my college preferences. I reported the matter to the police, but they uncovered solid evidence that proved she hadn't done it. The entire internet accused me of staging the whole thing to gain fame and make money by livestreaming product sales. My parents desperately defended me, only to get dragged into the mess as well. They searched for evidence to clear my name, but they got into a car accident and both died. I knelt beside their bodies in despair and cried for an entire day and night. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day we submitted our college preferences. This time, I was determined to find out who had changed mine. Chapter 1 Today was the first day we could submit our college applications. Our school advisor stood at the front of the computer lab and slapped the desk to emphasize each word. "Set your own initial password and college applications. Log in and submit them yourselves. Nobody touches anyone else's account!" Every year, students made mistakes with their applications, so this year, the school had specifically called us all back and arranged for everyone to submit their applications on campus. In my previous life, this was where I revealed my login password and set off the tragedy that would ultimately destroy my life. The thought sent a cold sweat down my back. I opened the website and immediately turned sideways, using the oversized sleeve of my jacket to block the screen completely. "Naomi, why are you hiding it so carefully?" A voice suddenly came from beside me, and my hand jerked. The cursor slipped away from where I'd intended to click. "Seriously? You're acting like you're guarding a vault." I turned around. Megan was looking at me from the side, disdain curling her lips. She had scored just one point below me in the entire school. That single point put her outside the number of spots Lintdon University had allocated to students from our state. If I got in, there would be absolutely no chance she could attend Lintdon. That was why, after what happened in my previous life, she was the first person I suspected. However, the evidence the police found couldn't be faked. She hadn't left her house at all during the three days after we submitted our applications. After the technicians recovered the data, they also discovered no record of her phone, tablet, or computer accessing the college application website. Everything pointed to the same conclusion: she really hadn't done it. If it wasn't her, then who was it? I looked away and continued shielding the password field firmly with my arm. "The school advisor said we're supposed to keep it private." My voice remained calm. Megan scoffed and stood up. "What an act. Just because I'm one point behind you doesn't mean I can't get into Lintdon. "And I certainly wouldn't need to steal your application information and change your preferences. Stop assuming the worst about people." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried far enough for half the computer lab to hear. She rolled her eyes, straightened her back, and walked out of the computer lab with her head held high. I ignored her mocking words and focused on the schools and programs listed on my screen. I checked each one carefully. School codes… Program codes… Order… Everything was correct. I logged out of the system and shut down the computer. This time, absolutely no one had seen my login password. … On my way home, a familiar figure suddenly stopped me in my tracks. It was Daniel Hayes, my childhood sweetheart. We had grown up together, and he had gotten into Lintdon the year before. Just last night, when I checked my SAT score, he had messaged me and said he was in Benton working on an experiment. So why was he here now? I said nothing and followed him from a distance. He turned into a narrow alley. I moved closer and kept against the wall. I cautiously peeked around the corner, then immediately held my breath. He wasn't alone. Megan stood in front of him, her tone casual. "Daniel, you know Naomi's application password, right?" Daniel hesitated for a moment before nodding. Megan's eyes lit up. A terrible feeling rose in my chest. Sure enough, she spoke again. "Then help me change Naomi's first-choice school. Let me get into Lintdon. Please?" Her voice was as casual as if she were deciding what to have for dinner that night. I stared at Daniel. Thankfully, he frowned and shook his head. "Megan, I can't do that." Megan's smile instantly turned cold. Chapter 2 "Why not? Don't you want me to go to the same school as you?" Megan asked. "Of course I do!" Daniel replied. Megan gently slipped her arm through his and softened her voice. "Then do as I say." Daniel remained silent. After a long pause, I heard him say, "Fine." Megan smiled in satisfaction. I stood a few steps away, my blood turning to ice. Could the person who had changed my college preferences in my previous life have been him? … Daniel and I had grown up together. We told each other everything. He knew all my habits and every password I commonly used. In my previous life, I'd never suspected him. I'd always thought I'd accidentally revealed my password somehow, which had allowed someone to alter my college preferences. It wasn't until today that I realized the person behind it all had been right beside me the entire time. I made my way home in a daze. The moment I opened the door, my parents happily came to greet me. "Naomi, how did your college applications go?" my father, Richard Fox, asked with a delighted smile. My mother, Lynette Hann, playfully smacked his arm. "What do you think? Our daughter ranked first in the whole school. Lintdon is practically guaranteed!" The image of them lying in a pool of blood in my previous life remained vivid in my mind. I'd been given a second chance at life. Now that I saw them safe and sound again, my nose stung, and tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them. They panicked and crowded around me to ask what was wrong. I shook my head and smiled. "It's nothing. I'm just really happy." Now that I knew who was behind everything, I wouldn't let my parents worry about me again in this life. … At midnight, I lay in bed with my eyes wide open. Daniel and Megan's conversation kept replaying in my mind. If he had really done it, then he should have changed my college preferences by now. I sat up, turned on my computer, and quickly entered my admission number and password. I pressed Enter. The moment the page loaded, my vision went black. [Last modified at 11:39 p.m.] It was half an hour ago. My gaze traveled down the page and landed on my first-choice school. I could never forget its name. It was the same vocational college I'd been admitted to in my previous life. My heart felt as though someone had clenched it in a fist. My entire body began to tremble. Daniel had really changed my college preferences for Megan. A suffocating sense of terror engulfed me. I didn't dare imagine what would have happened if I hadn't overheard their conversation. I might have repeated the same tragedy all over again. I took a deep breath and clicked Change Password with trembling fingers. I created a long, completely random string of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Even I would need half a day to memorize it. The system displayed a message: [Password changed successfully.] As soon as dawn broke, I called Daniel. "Naomi? Why are you calling so early..." "Come downstairs. Meet me at the convenience store below your apartment." I hung up. … Twenty minutes later, Daniel pushed open the door and walked in. He looked so natural that anyone would have thought nothing had happened. "What is it? Why the rush?" I stared straight into his eyes and said with certainty, "You changed my college preferences." Daniel's smile froze. Once he realized what I'd said, he quickly looked away and forced a smile. "What are you talking about? How could I possibly do something like that..." I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. "I heard everything you and Megan said in that alley by the school gate." Daniel's face went deathly pale. He stared at the table. After a long silence, his shoulders finally slumped, as if all his strength had deserted him. "Yes… I changed your college preferences." The moment he admitted it, I could no longer contain my anger. I shot to my feet and shouted at him, "How could you be so cruel? You changed my first choice to a vocational college just for her! "Don't you know you ruined my life? You ruined everything I worked so hard for!" "I didn't!" Daniel suddenly raised his head and nearly shouted, "I admit I changed your first choice, but I changed it to Caldwell University!" … Caldwell was also a top-tier school, just slightly below Lintdon. Compared with a vocational college, the difference was like night and day. Chapter 3 I stared at Daniel's face. He didn't look like he was lying. However, the name of that vocational college was clearly displayed on the computer screen. I let out a cold laugh. "You expect me to believe you?" He grabbed my arm, panic creeping into his voice. "We grew up together. No matter how stupid I might be, I would never do something that cruel to you!" I yanked my arm free and slammed my palm against the table. "Then why does the system say it's a vocational college?!" Daniel opened his mouth, his face growing paler by the second. "That can't be... It can't be..." he muttered, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He hurriedly pulled out his phone and searched through it. A few seconds later, he thrust the screen in front of me. It showed a screenshot of his chat with Megan. My college application page was visible in the screenshot. Under my first choice, it clearly read: [Caldwell University. Last modified at 11:06 p.m.] The system had shown the last modification time as 11:39 p.m. the previous night. The changes were 33 minutes apart. My heart jolted. In that instant, I finally understood what had happened in my previous life. After I reported the incident to the police, I'd seen a flash of guilt cross Megan's face. However, when she learned that I'd been accepted into a vocational college, she'd visibly relaxed. She'd seemed completely at ease. Thus, that was what had happened. She had asked Daniel to change my college preferences, and he had changed my first choice to Caldwell. But afterward, someone else had altered my preferences a second time! I'd thought I'd found the culprit, only to discover that the truth was far more terrifying than I'd imagined. Who was the person who truly wanted to destroy me? After leaving the convenience store, I began frantically suspecting everyone around me. My school advisor? He had access to all the students' application information. Maybe he'd secretly written down my password. Even so, that made no sense. He had no grudge against me. A distant relative? That uncle who always made snide comments at family gatherings about how there was no point in a girl getting so much education? One of my parents' coworkers? Maybe Mrs. Wilson, who was always comparing her child to me and would turn livid every time her kid lost to me. ... I sat on the edge of my bed, hugging my knees as I went over every detail from both my previous life and this one again and again. There wasn't a single clue. Not one piece of evidence pointed to anyone. The person who truly wanted to destroy me seemed like a shadow, leaving behind not the slightest trace. I stayed awake the entire night, guarding the computer and refreshing the application page from time to time, terrified that someone would alter my preferences again. Thankfully, nothing happened that night. June 29 was the final day to submit applications for the first round of undergraduate admissions. If I could just make it until 5:00 p.m. that afternoon, the application window would close, and nothing could be changed anymore. … The next morning, I hurriedly swallowed a few bites of breakfast before rushing back to my room. I opened the application system. I clicked Refresh. The moment the screen updated, the blood in my veins turned to ice. In the application section, my first choice had once again been changed to that vocational college. Someone had changed my application again! The modification had happened just one minute ago. My entire body trembled, and I could barely breathe. Who was this person? The first time, both Daniel and this person had known my password. But I'd already changed it. So how? How could they keep altering my college preferences over and over again? I could no longer control the fear rising inside me. I grabbed my phone and called the police. "I need to report a crime! Someone illegally changed my college application!" … I rushed into the police station with my computer clutched in my arms. In the interview room, I sat in a chair, still trembling all over. The officer across from me spoke calmly and opened his notebook. "Take it slowly. Tampering with someone's college application is a serious matter. We'll investigate it thoroughly." I took a deep breath and told him everything. Daniel had logged in with my initial password and changed my first choice to Caldwell University. Afterward, a third person had changed Caldwell to the vocational college. I'd changed my password in the middle of the night, only to wake up and discover that someone had changed my application back to the vocational college again. "I'll open the system right now and show you the evidence!" My hands trembled as I opened my computer and logged into the application system. It took me three attempts to enter my new password correctly. Chapter 4 The page loaded. The next second, I froze as if I'd been struck by lightning. Two words were clearly displayed in the first-choice field: Lintdon University. The vocational college that had appeared there was gone. "Miss." The two officers exchanged a glance, and their tone changed. "Look. Your first choice is Lintdon University. It hasn't been tampered with." I shot to my feet. "That's impossible!" The chair scraped across the floor with a piercing screech. "I clearly saw the vocational college at home just now! I didn't change anything on the way to the police station. I came here specifically to preserve the evidence!" I frantically refreshed the page. Once. Twice. Ten times... Lintdon University remained unchanged. One of the officers sighed and softened his voice as if he were trying to calm a hysterical child. "Are you under too much pressure from your SAT exams? Could you be hallucinating? You did so well. Don't push yourself too hard." "I wasn't hallucinating!" I was practically screaming. "It really was the vocational college just now! Someone changed it again in the ten or so minutes it took me to get here! This person can change my application whenever they want!" I suddenly looked up and clutched at my last shred of hope. "Check the IP address! Officer, have someone from your technical department check the login IP! You'll know who changed my application as soon as you find it!" The two officers exchanged another glance. One of them picked up the phone and spoke quietly for a few moments. About ten minutes later, the phone rang. I watched the officer's expression intently. When he hung up, the way he looked at me had changed. The helplessness in his eyes had given way to something more complicated. "The technical department checked it," he said after a pause. "The IP address used for the most recent change to your application... was your home." His words hit me like a bucket of ice water. "That's impossible!" I practically shouted. "I didn't change it!" The officer's voice was already tinged with exhaustion. "Miss, are you sure you're remembering correctly? Or... have you been feeling unwell lately?" "No, I haven't. I really haven't. Please check again. Someone has to be changing my application!" I kept repeating the same words. But they only looked at me with pity, as though I were someone who had been driven to a breakdown by academic pressure. Then they began speaking quietly among themselves. Not long after, the door to the interview room opened. The moment my parents walked in, I hurried over and grabbed them. "Mom, Dad, you have to believe me. Someone really is changing my application. They've been watching me! "We have to find them as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll end up at a vocational college just like in my previous life, and you'll both die trying to get justice for me!" I frantically told them everything that had happened in my previous life, hoping they'd believe me. But their eyes immediately reddened. My mother rushed over and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing uncontrollably. "What previous life? What vocational college? Naomi, what's happened to you? "Don't scare me. Are you just too exhausted from studying? We don't have to rush. Let's go see a doctor, okay?" "I'm not sick!" I pushed her away. I used too much force, and my forehead slammed hard against the corner of the table. A dull pain shot through my head, followed by warm blood streaming from the wound. But I acted as though I couldn't feel it and repeated the same words over and over. "Mom, Dad, you have to believe me... "Someone really is changing my application. They've been watching me. They can erase everything before I even realize what's happening." This wasn't an ordinary case of someone tampering with a college application. They could monitor everything I did in real time. They could bypass every password at will. They could alter my application at the exact moment I made each move. They were somewhere I couldn't see, watching me relentlessly. Blood trickled from my forehead to the corner of my eye. In that split second, I suddenly understood everything. "I know who's been changing my application..."