Chapter 1
My name was Keira Knightley. After dropping out of school, my parents didn’t pressure me at all.
But then my boyfriend, Logan Ridley’s so–called high–IQ childhood friend, Megan Robinson, called me out of the blue.
I was too busy working in the fields, planting vegetables, and splashing around in the water to even think about writing code.
In my past life, Megan had submitted an identical program design just a day before I did.
Everyone accused me of being shameless, of plagiarism, and of
deceit.
I tried to set the record straight, but no one believed me.
To make matters worse, Megan went live on social media, slandering me for bullying her in school.
The online mob turned against my entire family, and my parents died in a car accident while trying to escape the extreme harassment from internet trolls.
I couldn’t bear the weight of it all. I jumped from a tall building, unable to find peace in death.
Even in those final moments, I couldn’t understand how
Chapter 1
everything had gone so wrong.
After all my hard work, why had someone stolen my success?
When I opened my eyes again, I realized I hadn’t died at all.
*****
2/6
I had been reborn.
I fumbled for my phone, checking the date–August 28th, the day before I was supposed to submit my most important competition entry.
My teammates gathered around me, their faces lit up
admiration.
with
“Keira, you’re amazing! You cracked such a tough problem! Once you finish the program, we can submit it, right?”
My advisor patted me on the shoulder, looking pleased.
“Keira, you’ve really put in the effort. Thanks to your core program design, I’m confident we’ll take first place in the competition. Your graduate school application will be a breeze.”
A wave of bitterness washed over me.
In my previous life, when I was accused of plagiarism, it was the same teachers and classmates who stood up for me.
But their voices had been drowned out by the torrent of online
Chapter 1
abuse. Some even had their information leaked online, caught in the crossfire of my scandal.
I glanced back at the unfinished code on my computer, a chill running down my spine as horrific memories flooded my mind.
If I remembered correctly, I had stayed up all night on the 28th, excited to finally submit the program.
But the next day, I received a notice of disqualification.
The competition organizers had issued a public statement accusing me of plagiarism, and I was suddenly the target of a relentless online attack.
“Does she think she can cheat her way through this competition? What a disgrace!”
“Plagiarists are the scum of the earth. They should just disappear!”
“It’s disgusting that she would take someone else’s hard work and pass it off as her own.”
Even walking around campus became unbearable; I was bombarded with disdainful glares and insults.
“Isn’t she the one who plagiarized? What a shame for Arona University to have her here.”
“Someone so shameless wouldn’t care about the consequences of her actions.”
Chapter 1
I heard she was just trying to use this to apply for grad school. What a joke,”
The malice in their eyes was palpable, as if they wished for my immediate demise,
Suddenly, a cold shiver jolted me back to reality.
I couldn’t help but reach for my phone and open WhatsApp, searching for Megan.
She was the one I had “plagiarized in my past life, and she was also my boyfriend Logan’s childhood friend.
With her beautiful complexion and cute features, Megan was the picture of innocence that attracted countless suitors. Both of her parents were professors.
Her name often graced the campus confession board, a testament to her popularity.
My boyfriend, Logan, would go to great lengths every day to shower Megan with gifts and flowers. When I discovered his actions, he explained that he only saw her as a little sister and accused me of being overly jealous.
4/6
Later, I stumbled upon chat logs where Logan complained to his roommate about me, labeling me as plain and boring compared to the adorable and cute Megan, even expressing disgust at being with me.
Chapter 1
I’d considered breaking up multiple times, but each time, Logan would transform into a different person, begging for reconciliation
However, now I see through his act.
Scrolling through Megan’s status, I found one of her taking a selfie surrounded by a group of teammates, all huddled around a computer
The caption read: [Pulling an all nighter with the team to finish our code. Hoping for a great ranking in this competition‘)
Curiously, I zoomed in on the photo, only to find several segments of my original code seamlessly integrated into her program, down to the very last character, including an extra parenthesis I had mistakenly typed in.
I was stunned, staring at my serean,
“Could it be that we share the same thoughts?
Her post was set a day before mine, meaning her code was written ahead of mine,
Yet, I had created my code and logic design entirely independently, never borrowing from anyone else’s source code,
Why does Megan’s match mine perfectly, including that careless parenthesis?
This is strange!”
5/6
Chapter 1
I buried my face in my hands, my mind racing with confusion and disbelief. I couldn’t fathom how this could be happening.
Yet, I couldn’t abandon the upcoming contest.
It wasn’t just about me; it was the collective effort of the entire team. Withdrawing would only bring harm to them, and I couldn’t bear to let them down.
As night fell, I finally made up my mind.
No matter what, having a second chance meant I had to protect everyone around me and fight for justice.
I looked at my screen filled with lines of code, then clicked delete and shut down my computer.
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