Chapter 342 A Face Behind the Mask
Elsie curled her lip, annoyed by how harsh Yunice’s words sounded.
Owen said, “Weren’t you the one who cheated, too?”
Yunice replied, “I didn’t cheat.”
Owen said, “You didn’t cheat, but people still made a huge deal out of reporting you?”
Yunice said, “You didn’t watch the full news report. You only know I was reported, but did you ever look into who reported me?”
Owen said, “Of course it was some concerned citizen!”
From the moment he saw the news, he was dead certain that Yunice had cheated, and that someone who noticed the signs reported her. If that’s not a concerned citizen, what is?
Yunice lowered her head and scrolled through her phone, then handed it to Owen. “This is the video from the inspection team’s investigation on me.”
Owen watched the video in shock. In the clip, Yunice calmly asked the man sitting across from her, “Hello, teachers. Could you tell me how I was reported for cheating? Did someone witness how I cheated?”
The man answered, “We received a report off-campus. Your mother said she gave you cheat sheets and tools, and even bribed a teacher to look after you…”
Owen stared at the screen for a good ten seconds before turning to Lily in disbelief.
Yunice’s phone volume had been loud. After the video ended, she casually put the phone away.
Lily had clearly heard it too. She met Owen’s gaze, a flicker of guilt flashing in her eyes, but quickly composed herself and asked, pretending to be calm, “What’s the matter?”
Owen said, “The video said you were the one who reported Yunice.”
Lily was so startled she jumped up, her expression complex as she looked at Yunice. “Yunice, how could you lie like this? I’m your mother. Why would I hurt you? Even if we don’t get along, I’d never interfere with your SAT… If you succeed, I’d benefit too…”
Yunice knew she’d deny it, so she played a second video.
This one had been recorded by another student’s parent. In the video, a woman in a hat and mask was speaking on the phone.
“Yeah, thanks again for the cheat sheets. Yunice is definitely going to get a great score this time. Good thing you talked to the teacher in advance to watch out for her. With those cheat sheets, there’s no way she’ll get caught. Don’t worry–once the test is over, I’ll take Yunice to treat you to dinner.”
Owen stayed silent for a long time. The woman in the video was masked and hatted, but they were far too familiar with Lily. From the little things–the way she moved, the tone of her voice–they could tell exactly who it was.
Lily denied it flatly. “That’s not me. Her face is covered like that–who’s going to believe it’s me? Yunice, you can cheat on your scores, but you can’t cheat life. What’s the point of lying to yourself like this?”
Yunice didn’t argue with her. She said, “I was falsely accused of cheating, and Lily was the one behind it. So if Ms. Elsie wants compensation, she should be demanding it from Lily.”
Owen’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Yunice. Why did she refer to Elsie as Ms. Yunice? That wasn’t a slip of the tongue. What was she trying to pull?
Owen suddenly caught on!
His eyes darted to the door, but it was empty. No sign that anyone had been standing there.
Yunice stood up. “As for helping Yunice get a job through the back door, I can’t do it. But I’ve already submitted the evidence of the false accusation to the SAT department, and we’re forwarding it to the court. The parties involved will be receiving a lawyer’s letter soon. I hope it won’t be any of you.”
Owen stared, dumbfounded. As Yunice turned to leave, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “What do you mean? What are you planning? Yunice, you’re becoming more and more of a stranger to me. You’re getting scarier and scarier!”
Yunice turned back and stared at him deeply.
Owen didn’t feel like he’d said anything wrong. “What can you prove with those two videos? Cheating is still cheating. Just because no one reported you, you think you could’ve been top scorer in the SAT on your own? You haven’t even touched a textbook in years. Everything you learned, you already gave back to the teacher.”
Yunice sneered. She was starting to wonder if Owen had his brain swapped with his butt.
All the evidence was right in front of him, and yet he still preferred to believe she had cheated. You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to sleep.
Yunice didn’t argue with him. She glanced at a book on Elsie’s nightstand–the one Elsie pretended to study from, just for show.
Yunice flipped it open at random, skimmed a few lines, then picked up a pen and drew a few marks on the page.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she tossed the pen aside and walked out.
Owen was furious at her behavior and shouted, “Stop right there! You think you can just walk away without finishing this!”