Chapter 4

"No, we do," I said. "We're not that close, after all."

Kara's face turned pale. She looked at me in disbelief. "Adam, what are you talking about?"

I smiled and walked away without replying to her.

The next day, the faculty member in charge of the exchange program informed me that my application had been approved and asked me to sign the paperwork.

When I finished and walked out of the office, I ran into Sally. She was dressed in professional attire, paired with high heels. Not only was she a professor at this college, but she was also Mom's distant relative.

Thus, our families had always kept in touch. After I started college, she had always taken good care of me—except when it came to Jackson, the student she sponsored.

In my previous life, to get justice for Jackson, Sally reported the matter to the administration and requested that I receive the harshest punishment possible.

She also called my family. When Mom heard that I had bullied a friend at school, she became so angry that she couldn't catch her breath and suffered a heart attack.

I desperately tried to explain myself to Mom, but Sally took my phone away and told me I would only get it back after apologizing to Jackson.

Because of that delay, Mom's condition worsened from the stress and anger. She died despite receiving emergency treatment.

Now, Sally appeared as gentle as always. Her long, dark hair fell gently over her shoulders. The moment she saw me, her smile faded, and her brows scrunched together.

"What are you doing here? Are you planning to go abroad?"

I casually made up an excuse and brushed it off without mentioning my plans. "How could that be? I'm just passing by to use the restroom."

She looked at me dubiously, her eyes overflowing with disgust. "That had better be it."

I didn't argue, but her words struck a painful chord deep in my chest.

It turned out that the professor who had always cared for me, who was like a second mother to me, actually valued Jackson more than she valued me.

"Jackson is the student I pay the most attention to. If you hadn't hurt him, I wouldn't have cared about how much trouble you caused. But you did, and that crossed my line."

I took a deep breath. "I messed up, Professor Robinson. I've decided to apologize to Jackson. I'll admit my mistake, make a public apology, and reflect on myself in front of the whole campus."

Sally, however, didn't seem convinced. She let out a suspicious scoff.

"You're not planning some kind of trick, are you? If you dare pull anything like that, I'll strip you of all your previous credits, ban you from joining any clubs, remove you from every award selection list, and make sure you never graduate from this college."

I forced myself to put on the most sincere smile I could to quell her suspicion. Naturally, I wouldn't pull any tricks. But I would surely do something that would make them regret everything.

Sally turned and walked away, contempt written across her face. I silently watched her disappear into the distance.

…

Three days later, Sally arranged the time and place, then sent me a message. "Come to the auditorium. I want you to kneel and apologize to Jackson in front of the entire student body."

I didn't go to the auditorium after reading the message. Instead, I grabbed the plane ticket I had purchased and left the campus without informing anyone.

At the auditorium, someone eager for drama livestreamed the entire scene and shared it on their social media. On my way to the airport, I tuned into the livestream and saw Meryl and Kara helping Jackson sit in the front row.

Afraid that he would catch a cold, Meryl thoughtfully draped her coat over his shoulders.

Kara looked at Jackson, who seemed uneasy, and gently comforted him. "Don't be afraid. Adam was the perpetrator, while you were just the victim. All you need to do later is openly accept his apology."

Sally nodded and said coldly, "If he dares to pull any tricks today, I'll ensure that he can't survive at this college anymore."

Meanwhile, Jackson basked in their careful attention, all while pretending to be meek. He glanced around the auditorium before letting a look of disappointment settle on his face when he didn't see me.

He asked pitifully, "Why hasn't Adam come yet? Does he think apologizing to a poor student like me is too embarrassing, so he decided to stand us all up?"

Suddenly, the auditorium lights dimmed, catching the entire student body off guard. The big screen lit up, broadcasting a video.

Instantly, whispers and discussion rippled through the crowd.

Sally frowned at first. As the video continued, her expression slowly morphed into shock. "That's…"

The moment she realized what it was, she called my phone. It didn't connect because I had already blocked her.

As Meryl and Kara watched the video in disbelief, they slowly let go of their hands that had been supporting Jackson. Then, they rushed to find people who knew me.

"Where's Adam? Where did he go?"

Someone who had seen me answered, "He applied for an international exchange program and moved out of the dorm long ago. Didn't you guys know?"