Knowing the plot, Nina Donovan was aware that her original self had plagiarized just to steal Jasper Sherwood's spot.
However, in the book, her plagiarism hadn't been exposed at this point. The school had let her into the training camp as a favor to the Donovan family, only for her to be utterly humiliated by the male and female leads for being as dumb as a rock.
Afterward, the male lead still secured a spot to represent Ninth High in the competition, while Nina Donovan became the laughingstock of the entire school.
'But this plot... is it really happening now?'
Misty panicked too. "This isn't right! Why has the plot changed? Host, no matter what happens, you absolutely cannot admit to plagiarizing! You have to get into the training camp, use your own stupidity to highlight the female lead's intelligence, then get framed by her and lose your spot. With the female lead's help, the male lead will return to the training camp, and the two of them will slowly reconcile."
Nina Donovan was speechless.
'Do they really have to go through me, the middleman?'
'If it weren't for the ten billion propping me up, whoever wants to follow this bullshit plot can go right ahead.'
The crowd grew larger and larger, eventually attracting the attention of Ninth High's dean of students.
The dean, his expression stern, looked very displeased.
It was because of this flock of rich kids that Ninth High had become such a mess.
With Nina Donovan's grades, they had held their noses and let her into the training camp just for the "experience," never expecting her to bring any honor to the school. But now that this plagiarism scandal had erupted, the school couldn't be blamed for being ruthless.
With this in mind, the dean puffed out his chest and strode into the crowd.
The students parted to clear a path.
Nina Donovan spotted several familiar faces.
The first person to step into the circle was Ian Donovan. Seeing Nina Donovan being gossiped about, he only frowned slightly and said nothing.
Then Leon Grant sauntered in with Evan Sinclair in tow.
His gaze first fell on Nina Donovan. Even in the hideously drab school uniform, her beauty made her look exceptionally fresh and radiant. A flash of stunned admiration crossed his eyes; he had never seen her look like this before.
Vivian Sterling drew near, her pretty face cold. Her critical gaze fell upon Nina Donovan, as if she were looking at a common thief who couldn't bear the light of day.
Trailing closely behind Vivian Sterling was a tall, long-legged boy in a white T-shirt. He had soft, delicate features and a gentle, ethereal air about him—the kind of dazzlingly handsome and gentle pretty boy who seemed born to live in the spotlight.
When Tara Sutton saw the boy, she couldn't help but blush as she called out, "Elliot."
Elliot Prescott offered Tara Sutton a warm smile. "Tara, you're here too."
Tara Sutton's face grew even redder, and she didn't dare meet his gaze with her large, bright eyes. "Y-Yes, I'm here to help my cousin."
Only then did Elliot Prescott turn to Nina Donovan, noticing she was sizing him up as well. His strikingly clear eyes curved into a smile, and his tone carried a note of resignation. "Nina, I could overlook it on a normal day, but on a math practice exam? How could you plagiarize?"
With that one sentence, he sealed Nina Donovan's fate.
This was because Elliot Prescott, Evan Sinclair, Leon Grant, and Nina Donovan all belonged to the same social circle, their lives intertwined in one way or another.
Because the original Nina had been in love with Leon Grant, she was always exceptionally nice to his friends. They had all practically grown up together, and she would do almost anything they asked.
But in the book, while Elliot Prescott appeared gentle and kind, he was actually a sanctimonious hypocrite.
Interestingly enough, he also had a crush on Vivian Sterling.
Not even Leon Grant knew about his best friend's feelings.
Nina Donovan threw an imperceptible glance at Tara Sutton, who practically had hearts in her eyes.
Anyone with eyes could see that Tara Sutton had a crush on Elliot Prescott.
But the young girl's crush was doomed to be unrequited. Elliot Prescott would never spare anyone who had bullied Vivian Sterling.
Nina Donovan's brow furrowed in displeasure. For the first time, she lashed out at Elliot Prescott and the others. "What proof do you have that I plagiarized? You convict people just by flapping your gums. Who do you think you are? Some righteous judge here to pin a crime on me?"
Elliot Prescott was stunned, and Evan Sinclair's jaw dropped. 'Is this really Nina Donovan?!'
'When did she get such a backbone?'
A moment later, Evan felt a pang of guilt.
Although he was just following orders, he was the one who had leaked the news about Nina Donovan's plagiarism.
Elliot Prescott chuckled, not at all angry. "Then let's let the facts speak for themselves."
Nina Donovan stood tall, her head held high. 'As if,' she thought. 'In my memory, my original self literally memorized the answers before taking the test. The person who sold her the answers took the money and skipped town. With no one to testify, there's no way I'm going to admit to anything.'
Just then, Fischer, the head teacher of Class One, pushed through the crowd holding two exam papers. His face was grim. "Nina Donovan, if you didn't cheat, then why are your answers identical to Vivian Sterling's? Down to the very last punctuation mark."
Nina Donovan was dumbfounded.
Huh???
'Could this be any more ridiculous?'
'My exam answers are identical to Vivian Sterling's.'
'Doesn't that basically prove I copied directly from her paper?'
Vivian Sterling spoke up then. "I remember you were sitting in the seat next to me. I don't know how you managed to copy all my answers, but your actions are disgraceful."
It was at this moment that Jasper Sherwood finally made his way through the crowd, arriving at the center of the storm.
The cool, aloof, and exquisitely handsome boy captured everyone's attention the moment he appeared.
Vivian Sterling held her head high. "You can never steal knowledge that belongs to someone else! If you think you can sneak into the training camp this way, you're only going to humiliate yourself!"
Her words were sharp and forceful.
Murmurs rippled through the surrounding crowd.
"Nina Donovan only gets away with this crap because her family's rich."
Nina Donovan decided to try and defend herself one more time. "I—"
"Exactly. I'm so sick of these rich princesses. Can't they just start their own school to mess around in and leave the rest of us alone?"
Her words were cut off by a random bystander in the crowd.
Nina Donovan gritted her teeth. "I didn't—"
"Hah. What would she be without the Donovan family? With her grades, she wouldn't even get through the gates of Ninth High. It's one thing to be spoiled, but this is too much. Is she trying to steal Vivian Sterling's spot out of jealousy?"
A vein throbbed in Nina Donovan's temple. "I didn't—"
"Everyone knows what she's like. I feel embarrassed for the Donovan family."
'Fuck!'
'Are these random nobodies ever going to shut up?'
'They're acting like a running commentary, cutting me off every time I try to speak.'
Her anger bar instantly maxed out. She roared at the chattering crowd of nobodies, "Little mouths!"
Someone aptly finished the phrase, "...shouldn't be talking."
Everyone was speechless.
And with that, the entire area fell silent.
Nina Donovan felt much better.
She looked everyone present straight in the eye, her expression one of righteous indignation. "I did not plagiarize!"
Perhaps it was because her expression was so earnest and sincere, but her words were surprisingly convincing.
Once again, everyone was speechless.
'The world must have gone mad.'
Leon Grant spoke up then, his voice dripping with mockery. "So what you're saying is that Vivi, the second-ranked student in the entire school, copied *you*? With grades like yours, have you no fucking clue where you stand?"
Nina Donovan looked at Leon Grant coolly. Without the adoration she once held for him, she seemed like a completely different person. Leon was struck by the strange feeling that she was miles away, looking at him as if he were a complete stranger.
He quickly shook off the absurd thought. When he looked back, he saw Nina Donovan turning to the dean. "I demand to take another test with Vivian Sterling. You can write the questions on the spot or use problems from past competitions. I'll accept any form of supervision. As for whether I cheated or not—let my ability speak for itself!"