After the class meeting ended, Henry immediately opened their private group chat, ready to discuss the next step of their plan.
But the moment he tapped into CHATQ—
It crashed.
Not just that. Every other app he tried to open froze or shut down instantly.
Nothing worked.
And it wasn't just him.
Every single student in Finance Class Seven was dealing with the same issue.
"What the heck is going on?"
"Why hasn't our phone access been restored yet?"
Just as confusion set in—
All their screens suddenly went black.
Then a line of words appeared, stark and merciless:
"Submit blank papers or nonsense answers—no access restored."
"Damn it!"
They were furious—and completely helpless.
One by one, they turned to Henry, the only one in the class who knew anything about hacking.
But even he was running his hands through his hair, stuck and frustrated.
That witch… she's going too far.
That afternoon, Riley was once again dropped off at campus by Mr Yeardley.
As she passed the entrance, she spotted Lucas still standing there.
Wow. He really didn't leave.
He was holding two small cakes.
Riley glanced at them.
My favorites.
At least he tried.
Feeling slightly generous, she walked over and gave him a "kind" reminder.
"You should go home. Otherwise, Hubby will worry."
Lucas looked up at her—and instantly remembered the wrench from last night.
He unconsciously took a step back.
"There's no weapon hidden in that bunny, right?"
Riley blinked. "There is. Hubby said I should use it to hit bad people."
"I'm not a bad person!"
He sighed. "Alright, alright. Riley, just go in. You've got an exam."
Speaking of which, his Rye also had an exam this afternoon. After they split up earlier, she had completely disappeared.
He hadn't seen her all day.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Oh right—Riley, do you know anyone in your year named Rye? She… uh, wears a red dress, super pretty, nice voice… kinda cold… and wears a mask?"
Riley pouted, then reached out and snatched the cakes from his hands.
"Beats me."
With that, she turned and skipped into the school.
Only then did Lucas realize—
His hands were empty.
He stood there, stunned.
Those were for the Rye, not you!
***
Riley, now in a better mood thanks to the cakes, walked into the lecture hall hugging her bunny.
The moment she stepped in—
All eyes turned to her.
She remained calm and took her seat.
Then the voices began.
"A backdoor admission like you still has the nerve to stay at Imperial University?"
"Why is there a fool in our class? Get out! You're an embarrassment to Class One!"
"Yeah! Get out of Class One!"
In just one morning, the resentment in the class had reached its breaking point.
Across the room, Felicia watched the scene unfold, satisfaction blooming in her chest.
But on her face—
Worry.
Concern.
She spoke up as if defending Riley.
"Please don't say that. Riley doesn't understand things, but she'll still feel hurt…"
She hesitated, then added gently,
"Besides, the entrance exam results aren't even out yet. It's not fair to treat her like this already."
Riley's eyes flickered slightly.
Classic.
On the surface, Felicia was speaking up for her.
But in reality, she had just reinforced every accusation—
That Riley was useless.
That she got in through connections.
That she didn't belong.
And now, she'd conveniently tied it all to the entrance exam.
A perfect setup.
Because at IU, there was a rule—
Anyone in the bottom ten of the entrance exam would be expelled if they failed to meet the standard.
Sure enough, the moment Felicia said it—
The class reacted instantly.