Chapter 176
Tina’s angry gaze suddenly lit up with realization. She thought, “Oh! I get it now. No wonder she got first place in the interview.” She quickly pulled out her phone and took several pictures of the two figures in the distance.
In the photos, Paul was a step behind Miranda; his tall frame cast a shadow over her slender figure. From this angle, it appeared he was half-embracing her.
Tina felt her trip had been worthwhile. She narrowed her eyes and thought, “Don’t blame me for being ruthless. Miranda, you brought this on yourself by competing with me.”
She returned to her car, eagerly retrieved her laptop, and opened the Bedford College website. She found the reporting email address on the homepage, uploaded the photos, and typed a self-righteous message: “To protect Bedford College’s reputation and set a good example for its students, I urge the school to reconsider Miranda’s admission.”
She clicked “Send Anonymously,” and the email was sent. She also posted the same message on the college’s forum.
The post was particularly sensitive, especially after the second-round interview, as it involved the top scorer of the postgraduate admission exam and a renowned genius professor. It quickly went viral.
Within minutes, the post became a hot topic across the forum. Comments included:
“With all these academic scandals and corruption in the admissions process, it’s no wonder so many candidates are failing. It turns out someone is just trying to exploit the system for personal gain.”
“If Bedford College operates like this, what about other institutions? The extent of academic influence is greater than we knew, and corruption is more widespread than we thought.”
“When college and postgraduate admissions are unfair, ordinary students lose their chances.”
“The evidence is clear. How long will Bedford College keep ignoring this?”
“We demand Bedford College revoke Miranda’s admission and take action against the professor’s misconduct.”
“Let’s make this go viral. If we ignore this now, who will stand up for us if this happens to us later?”
“I support the call for Bedford College to respond.”
“Expose her identity. Let’s see which university would still accept her.”
Winter was at home scrolling through short videos when a flood of notifications about Miranda and Paul suddenly popped up. She jumped from the couch; her face darkened as she read the comments. “This is bad.” Seeing the comment section explode with outrage, she quickly exited the app and called Miranda.
Meanwhile, Miranda was focused on her reading. After passing the second-round interview, she was finally able to concentrate on preparing for the research team selection. Her workload was heavy, so she created a simple plan with detailed daily goals. When she answered her phone, she didn’t look away from her notes and responded absentmindedly.
Winter could tell Miranda was likely unaware of the situation. She said frantically, “Some fool snapped a photo of you and Paul going home and shared it online. It’s trending on Twitter, and the hype keeps growing.”
Miranda tightened her grip on the pen. She quickly clicked the link Winter had sent and noticed the blurry photo that seemed to create an ambiguous impression. The comment section was full of haters and trolls. As she scrolled, the remarks grew increasingly harsh. Her hand trembled, and she nearly dropped her phone.
“Mimi? Miranda?” Winter didn’t get a response and grew increasingly worried. She spoke louder, “Can you hear me?”