📕Reborn, I quit the competition. My junior who plagiarized me, my sister, and my girlfriend panicked

After winning 80 million in the lottery I immediately withdrew from the National Online Novel Competition. My junior Vincent slapped me across the face when he found out. "Running away at the crucial moment—do you even care about the teacher’s guidance or the hopes of your friends " "Could it be that there was a problem with your entry and you're afraid the judges will find out " In my previous life Vincent submitted an entry for the National Online Novel Competition that was exactly the same as mine.

I asked the editor who had given me the novel inspiration as well as the friends I had spent so much time with to clarify things for me. But they issued an apology statement begging the judges to give me a chance to reform considering my youth. The netizens were relentless calling me a shameless plagiarist.

Unable to prove my innocence I was branded as a plagiarist. Not only was I expelled from school but I also faced huge breach of contract compensation. My mother tried to fight for me but she was subjected to online abuse and fell ill overnight.

One blow after another left me despondent. In my despair I jumped off the rooftop hoping to no longer be a burden to my family. But when I opened my eyes again I had returned to the week before the competition.

Chapter 1 "Bruno I made your favorite ribs. Eat some before you write okay " "You haven’t eaten all day. " Sister Daniella made a gesture towards me her face full of concern.

I was so shocked I almost fell off my chair. Just then Julia pushed open the door. She handed me a box and said with a caring tone "I heard your shoulder's been bothering you lately.

This massager might help you relax a bit. " Scenes like this weren’t new to me. In my past life I thought I was the happiest person in the world.

My sister Daniella who was five years older than me had always taken such good care of me. Julia my childhood friend wasn’t family but was closer than any family could be. But after being reborn I felt cold inside.

In my past life during the national online novel competition the piece I submitted was exactly the same as the one by my junior Vincent. When the judges noticed they took immediate action. As an author who had won multiple awards I had been quite hopeful of winning first place.

But when the truth came out I was quickly pulled into the vortex of public opinion. I reached out to my editor sister who always provided me with inspiration and to Julia my childhood friend asking them to help clarify things. But to my surprise they both refused.

Sister Daniella without consulting me issued a public apology statement. She asked the competition organizers to give me a second chance since I was still young. Once the netizens found out it was a disaster.

"No wonder someone would dare to plagiarize in such a big competition—turns out they had an editor sister covering for them. A whole family of scoundrels " "Yeah just a simple apology and everything's forgiven Who do they think they're fooling If an apology worked why would we need the police " "Still so young Fine but isn’t he already over 18 If you want to be a giant baby go home don’t gross us out " Under the public pressure the competition organizers rejected Daniella’s request. In truth I had joined this competition for the 300 000-yuan prize.

Sister who had fallen ill had damaged her voice and could no longer speak. I wanted to win the prize money so I could take her for surgery to restore her vocal cords. But after the competition ended not only did I not win the prize I also incurred a huge penalty for breaching the contract.

Meanwhile Vincent who had no writing experience unexpectedly won first place. His entry was even awarded as one of the best short stories in recent years. It was sold to a film company and was soon to be adapted.

And just like that he became a sensation—a male god writer overnight. As for me I became the villain the plagiarist everyone despised. The scandal over plagiarism was so damaging that I was expelled from school.

To pay off the massive penalty I with no qualifications had to work delivering food. But when customers recognized me they deliberately left bad reviews wasting all my hard work for the day. Mom trying to help me get justice ran around everywhere.

But she was bombarded by netizens fell ill overnight and ended up in the ICU. To pay for her medical bills I took a job on a construction site moving cement. But after just a few days the foreman kicked me out deducting all my wages.

Then I received a call from the hospital. They told me that Mom’s condition was critical and that I should be prepared for the worst. With the final thread of hope snapped I completely lost the will to live.

One night I climbed to the hospital rooftop and jumped. But when I opened my eyes again I found myself back in the week before the writing competition. Seeing my sister and childhood friend who were taking such good care of me I suddenly felt so conflicted.

"Bruno this is the writing material I managed to get through internal channels. If you follow this you'll definitely win first place. " Daniella signed as she placed a file in front of me.

Julia teasing me from the side said "Bruno you have to win first place. I’m waiting for your prize money to treat us to a big meal " I knew she was joking but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Daniella was my sister.

She wouldn’t hurt me. Julia my childhood friend though sharp-tongued had always supported me. So it couldn’t have been either of them.

So where had things gone wrong Back in elementary school I had won first place in a children's writing competition. Later in university I often published novels in magazines. My mentor always said that winning first place in any competition was a breeze for me.

So when the plagiarism scandal broke he believed in me. Not to mention my serialized novels had even been published and sold well. So there was no need for me to plagiarize Vincent.

Just then Vincent suddenly released screenshots of the timestamps of when he and I had submitted our entries. The timestamp showed that he had submitted his an hour before mine. Moreover he had posted his writing ideas and outline on his social media a week before the competition.

The online abuse against me became overwhelming. "Of course Bruno plagiarized from Vincent. The evidence is clear.

How dare he try to defend himself " "I heard Bruno had already published books before he must have plagiarized them too just hasn’t been caught " "Good thing his sister and childhood friend had a conscience and didn’t cover for him. Otherwise the original author would have been wronged " Because the scandal became so heated it quickly made it to the trending topics. The competition organizers also took it seriously and immediately began verifying Vincent’s evidence.

After verification the evidence was all genuine with no signs of tampering. They concluded that I had plagiarized from Vincent. Chapter 2 I was stunned.

That competition novel I had clearly written it based on the inspiration and material my sister had given me—how did it turn into plagiarism But I had no proof to clear my name. What I couldn’t understand was why Vincent’s entry was exactly the same as mine. Had my sister given him the same material too But right now there was nothing unusual about Daniella and Julia’s behavior.

I could only start by investigating Vincent’s social media. Looking at the timeline he must have shared his writing ideas and outline already. But with people constantly around me I quickly jotted down a novel outline as a cover-up.

Then I pretended to have a stomach ache and asked to go to the bathroom. Julia shot me a displeased look. "You’re such a troublemaker.

Daniella already gave you the inspiration and material and you still want to slack off " Daniella quickly gestured to smooth things over. "There’s still a week before the competition don’t rush Bruno. There’s plenty of time.

" "As long as you follow my plan you’ll definitely win first place " But there wasn’t much time left for me to uncover the truth. Once I was in the bathroom I immediately locked the door opened Vincent’s social media account and started browsing. I had heard that his father was a senior executive at a state-owned enterprise his mother was a university professor and because of his handsome looks he had quite a few fans.

But I wasn’t close to him. However Daniella's work did require her to interact with Vincent’s mother so they were likely acquainted. Once I had seen her gesturing to Julia saying that Vincent was suave and refined unlike me a country bumpkin.

She had even advised Julia that when looking for a husband she should aim for someone like Vincent—handsome and from a good family. At the time I thought she was just joking. But looking back I realized she had probably been serious.

What confused me even more was why someone like Vincent with such a high social status would want to hurt me. Just then I came across a recent post from him. In it he shared his writing inspiration and novel outline.

I froze. Wasn’t this the same inspiration material Daniella had just given me Even his novel outline was exactly the same as the one I had quickly written earlier. The comments section was full of praise from netizens.

"This unique novel structure is a first for me. The online literature world is finally saved " "Yes hurry up and write the novel I have a feeling you’ll definitely win first place " It was understandable that the inspiration might coincide. But why was his novel outline identical to mine The study room had only been visited by Daniella and Julia—could it have really been them The thought sent a chill down my spine.

But why would they do something like this Could it be that the bond of family and the years we’d spent together meant less to them than their connection with Vincent whom they’d only known briefly I stayed in the bathroom for an hour making a bold decision. In my past life my competition piece was in the fantasy genre which I was most comfortable with. Though I won first place it was more of the same—nothing innovative.

This time I decided to switch to writing suspense and mystery. Since I had been accused of plagiarism in my past life I would rewrite a new piece. No matter what the outcome was at least I could clear my name and shed the accusation of plagiarism—that was enough.

Because of the sudden change in genre I couldn’t sleep that night. Early the next morning I secretly left the house and went to my mentor’s home. My mentor was my first teacher and the one who had encouraged me to pursue writing.

He had high expectations for me in this competition. When he saw me he immediately smiled brightly and handed me a steaming meat bun. "Bruno you haven't had breakfast yet have you " Noticing that I seemed troubled he quickly asked "Is something wrong Tell me what's bothering you " I forced a smile and said "Teacher if I don’t win first place in this competition will you be disappointed " My mentor smiled and ruffled my hair.

"It doesn’t matter if you don’t win first place. I know your abilities. You can try again next time.

" "As long as you're happy that's the most important thing. " Hearing his words I suddenly felt more resolute. After leaving my mentor’s home I received a message from Daniella.

"Bruno where did you go Julia brought you breakfast but didn’t find you. She's getting upset " I replied "I went out to buy some writing materials. I’ll be back soon.

" I decided not to use the inspiration and materials Daniella had given me. I hadn’t told them about changing the genre for my entry. After all they were the prime suspects.

Chapter 3 I decided to go to the school library to rework my competition entry. I stayed there until nightfall finally finishing the novel outline. Stretching I planned to take a break and check if there was any activity from Vincent.

To my surprise Daniella and Julia showed up. I was puzzled—how did they know I was here Without a word Daniella placed a steaming lunchbox on the table and gestured "I thought you’d be too caught up in writing so I brought you some food. " Julia handed me a thermos "I boiled this chicken soup for you this afternoon you need to replenish your energy.

" They both looked so sincere it didn’t seem like they would ever harm me. Could it be that I had overthought things But if it wasn’t them then who could it be My mind was in turmoil but I forced a smile and said "You two came at the right time I’m starving. " "Let me wash my hands and I’ll eat.

" With that I grabbed my phone and headed to the restroom. Instead of going into the men’s bathroom I stood by the sink and opened Vincent’s social media account. As expected he had posted something new.

"How can there be such shameless people I kindly shared my inspiration and outline and someone just took it without asking—how is that any different from stealing Looks like I’ll have to rewrite everything. " The accompanying image was of a male student’s back in the library. Anyone familiar with me would immediately recognize that it was my back.

But who had taken the photo The comments were filled with fans expressing concern for Vincent wondering if rewriting the entire novel in such a short time would be possible. Vincent responded saying he planned to write a suspense thriller and had already finished his outline. I froze for a moment.

I had never told anyone about changing my genre. Why did our topics still coincide There had to be someone spying on me. Was it Daniella or Julia But why were they doing this Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Bruno what are you spacing out for " I jumped realizing it was Daniella and Julia who had come to check on me because I hadn’t returned. Still startled I tried to avoid their gaze. "Sis why don’t you two go ahead I’ll eat later.

" I wasn’t sure if they had seen me browsing Vincent’s posts. Before I could say anything more Julia snapped "Bruno after Daniella and I went out of our way to bring you food is this how you’re going to treat us " "Don't think I don't know you've been keeping your guard up against us these days. You've really lost all sense of conscience" Daniella quickly gestured to calm Julia down.

"Julia has a sharp tongue but a heart of gold. " "We were just worried you’d overwork yourself that’s all. " I quickly responded "Sis I understand.

Don’t worry about me. " "If it gets too overwhelming I can stay in the dorm for a few days so you two don’t have to stress. " Julia scoffed "Do whatever you want.

I don’t care " With that she dragged Daniella out of the study room. I sighed in relief. At 10:30 p.

m. I packed up and headed back to the dorm. As soon as I walked in I overheard my roommate Sam talking about Vincent.

Curious I leaned in and saw that they were discussing Vincent's latest WeChat Moments post. It was a photo of three hands holding cans of cola in a toast. The caption read "Thanks to the beautiful ladies for the feeding~" I immediately recognized the hands in the picture—they were Daniella’s and Julia’s.

When had they become so familiar with Vincent The post had two comments below it. Julia: "Vincent will always be my heartthrob. " Daniella: "Don’t worry Vincent I’ll make sure you win first place " I blinked doubting my own eyes.

But when I refreshed the page the comments were gone. It was clear now—this plagiarism scandal was definitely tied to them. I wasn’t surprised to reach this conclusion.

Thankfully since I was staying in the dorm no matter what they tried they were too far away to interfere. I could finally focus on my writing with peace of mind. But just as I was about to sleep I saw my roommate Sam sneaking around flipping through my notebook.

I instantly woke up anger flaring as I shouted "Sam what do you think you're doing " Chapter 4 Sam flinched his hand trembling as he dropped my notebook on the floor. "Why are you shouting Don’t think I don’t know the person who plagiarized my cousin’s work is you " "How unlucky having to share a dorm with a plagiarist. I didn’t even make you leave and you’re still making a scene like this so rude " It turned out that Sam my roommate was actually Vincent’s cousin.

He had deliberately posted my personal information in the comments section of Vincent’s post. Soon my private messages were flooded with vulgar insults. Some people even went as far as to pour dirt on my bed and put dead cockroaches in my water bottle.

Feeling helpless I reached out to my mentor. In my past life when I was wronged he was the one who tried his best to clear my name. Although he had failed back then he was still the only person I trusted now.

When my mentor heard about my situation he immediately gave me the keys to a small apartment. "Focus on the competition " he told me. "Don’t worry about anything else.

After the contest we’ll deal with everything. " Finally just before the competition ended I completed my novel. Now all I needed to do was submit the document.

Just then Vincent’s social media account updated again. "My entry has been submitted Thanks to everyone for their support during this time. " The post included a screenshot of his document.

Though blurred I could still make out the first few lines of text. It was identical to the novel I had just finished writing. The post was even published ten minutes earlier than when I finished mine.

I completely lost it and smashed my notebook to pieces. Had I been reincarnated yet still couldn’t escape my past fate Suddenly I just wanted to give up. At that moment a notification popped up on my phone.

The lottery ticket I had bought a few days ago had won 80 million I was so excited I almost jumped up. My family’s financial situation wasn’t great I paid for my university tuition with writing fees and student loans. If it weren’t for that 300 000 yuan prize I wouldn’t even have entered this competition.

Now that I had money I didn’t care about the outcome of this contest anymore. A new plan formed in my mind—one where Vincent would pay the price for his shamelessness. I didn’t tell anyone about my lottery win.

Instead I revised my competition entry and submitted it again. Vincent liked to plagiarize right Well I’d let him plagiarize to his heart’s content As soon as the competition ended Vincent eagerly went live to share his "competition experience. " The chat room exploded with comments.

"Streamer you’re so confident you’re definitely going to make the top three right " Before Vincent could even speak Julia replied in the chat "What top three Vincent is definitely going to win first I have faith in him " The chat room erupted with excitement all congratulating Vincent. But just as Vincent was basking in the praise his face suddenly changed. The viewers were confused and then out of nowhere a few police officers appeared in the live stream.

They handcuffed Vincent and said coldly "We’ve received a report that you’re involved in illegal activities. Please come with us. " Even through the screen the authority in their voices was palpable.

Vincent’s face went pale and his expression turned frantic. But what shocked him more was that the number of viewers in the live stream kept rising. The chat room exploded with comments "What’s going on Isn’t he supposed to be the rich charming writer How could he be involved in that " "Yeah he’s so young still a university student.

Could they have made a mistake " "It’s definitely someone trying to sabotage him out of jealousy " I knew why Vincent was so panicked—because he had a guilty conscience. After finding out about my lottery win I disguised myself and went to claim the prize. Seeing the amount in my bank account I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.

The fear of being controlled by money had vanished and with it my intelligence seemed to have sharpened. I began to think back on everything I knew about Vincent. His father worked at a state-owned enterprise and his mother was a university professor—this part was true.

But even with those positions their salaries couldn’t possibly support Vincent’s extravagant lifestyle. Vincent wore custom clothes worth tens of thousands had a limited-edition watch worth millions and even his phone case was from a luxury brand. On top of that he traveled abroad regularly.

This made me suspicious. What was he hiding So I paid a high commission to hire a private detective to investigate him. It didn’t take long before the detective uncovered something shocking.

It turned out Vincent was a "tour companion. " He was a male university student who accompanied wealthy women on trips. As long as he went on a weekend getaway with one of these women he would receive a hefty tip.

It was this tip money that supported his nearly million-dollar monthly expenses. However simply exposing this wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me. So I set a trap.

Since Vincent liked to plagiarize my novels I would use his own methods against him. I would make him publicly admit his plagiarism and the dirty deeds he’d done. I still used the suspense thriller novel I had written for the competition but I deliberately made sure Vincent would copy it.

What he didn’t know was that I had altered the final clue in the story. Anyone with a little intelligence could easily figure out the ending. And the ending was Vincent’s own downfall.

Chapter 5 However I wasn’t worried that Vincent would figure it out—after all he wasn’t very smart. I wanted him to publicly confess his dirty deeds in this national competition. I wanted Daniella and Julia to see the true face of their "perfect" idol.

As Vincent was about to be taken away by the police he suddenly screamed at the live stream "I’ve been wronged The real person who did those things is my senior Bruno " "He plagiarized my competition entry and now he’s turning it around and slandering me " The live stream fans quickly chimed in and even Julia sent a message supporting Vincent. "Vincent’s father is a high-level executive at a state-owned enterprise and his mother is a university professor. How could he possibly do such a disgusting thing " "It must be Bruno who is jealous of Vincent That’s why he framed and slandered him Police officers you can’t listen to him " I wasn’t surprised by Julia’s words.

After all she had done the same in my past life. But unexpectedly just at that moment Daniella entered the live stream. As soon as she entered she started posting nonstop.

"It must be someone deliberately setting Vincent up. He’s such a good person how could he do something like that I’m willing to vouch for Vincent’s character and career " "If you don’t believe me I can go live and confront Bruno directly " Julia quickly joined in. "Daniella I’ll go with you " Looking at their comments I couldn’t help but laugh.

I was living in my mentor’s small apartment and they had no idea where it was. How could they confront me But unexpectedly less than ten minutes later the door to my apartment was kicked open. As soon as the door swung wide Daniella rushed in and grabbed my collar shouting "Bruno it’s you right You’re jealous because Vincent and I are so close so you’re deliberately getting back at us right " Julia followed up and slapped me across the face "Daniella don’t ask it’s definitely him.

He’s been sneaky ever since the week before the competition. I know he’s been stealing the materials and outline Vincent shared on social media trying to use them as his own. Vincent didn’t say anything and yet he’s accusing Vincent now.

What a shameless person " They questioned me while livestreaming with their phones. I looked at the two of them coldly as if I was meeting them for the first time. In my previous life I had been foolish enough to think I could win the prize and help Daniella with her voice surgery.

Turns out she had been faking it all along just to manipulate me into entering this competition and falling into their trap. I slapped one of them back and coldly said "Daniella so you can speak after all You’ve been holding back all this time just to trick me into your scheme huh " Daniella froze unable to respond to my retort. I then turned to Julia and asked "You claim I plagiarized Vincent’s entry.

Do you have any evidence " "Spreading rumors without evidence can lead to legal consequences " Julia arrogantly raised her chin and confidently declared "I’m not spreading rumors. Your competition entry is exactly the same as Vincent’s " "You didn’t apologize and instead hit me even slandering Vincent How shameless can you be " I sneered "Are you sure I plagiarized Vincent If you’re wrong you’ll have to kneel and apologize " Julia scoffed "I’m sure you plagiarized And the evidence is the entry you submitted " "Your entry is identical to Vincent’s " I laughed coldly "Oh really How do you know what entry I submitted " "Are you the judge of the competition I didn’t know that. " "Or maybe you’ve been secretly spying on me so you know exactly what I wrote " Upon hearing this Julia’s face turned pale.

She stammered realizing she had made a mistake but stubbornly stuck to her ground repeating her earlier accusations. She insisted that my competition entry was plagiarized from Vincent. Seeing that she was too stubborn to back down I dialed the competition organizers’ number in front of the hundreds of thousands of live stream viewers.

The organizers verified that I had never participated in the competition so there was no question of plagiarism. Julia was stunned "How is this possible You clearly submitted an entry " "Bruno what kind of tricks did you pull off " I looked at her coldly starting to suspect that everything Julia had done for me over the years had been a lie. I had always suspected that Daniella and Julia might have been monitoring me in some way but I hadn’t been sure until now.

So when I submitted my entry I intentionally disconnected the internet at the last moment. Meaning even though I had tried to submit my entry it didn’t actually go through because I had cut off the connection. But those spying on me didn’t know that so they assumed I had submitted it.

At first I planned to withdraw from the competition altogether. But then I realized that if I did that Daniella and Julia might figure it out and come up with another way to deal with me ruining my plans. So I decided to play along and turn the tables on them.

After learning that I hadn’t participated in the competition at all Daniella and Julia’s faces went pale. Then I displayed the novel Vincent had plagiarized from me in the live stream and revealed the final twist. The twist was that Vincent would have to publicly admit his plagiarism and his dirty deeds.

When the twist was revealed the live stream exploded. Chapter 6 The barrage of comments in the live stream was absolutely brilliant. "I can't believe the handsome and charming idol writer is involved in something like this Didn't they say his mother is a university professor How can a university professor raise such a son " "Exactly he clearly plagiarized someone else’s work but now he's accusing others.

And the girl helping him is no better. She’s not even his sister yet she’s helping an opponent sabotage her own brother. Is this really a blood sister " "I saw this plagiarism scandal a couple of days ago.

This Vincent guy who’s clearly a fake intellectual even had his cousin cyberbullying people. He’s shameless People like him who slander others and invade their privacy should be behind bars " Daniella upon realizing I hadn’t even participated in the competition looked completely stunned. "Bruno why didn’t you tell me you weren’t participating While I’ve been working so hard for you you must have been enjoying yourself huh " Julia jumped in to add fuel to the fire.

"Exactly Bruno you’re so cruel I even went out of my way to cook you chicken soup to help you recover and I thought you were struggling with the competition. I must’ve been blind " I sneered. "Daniella stop with the moral high ground.

Didn’t you hide the fact that you could speak How are you any more noble than me " "Besides whether I participate in the competition or not is my business. Why should I inform you " "As for whether you genuinely care about me or about Vincent you both know it in your hearts " "Your so-called concern was just to monitor my every move and make sure I’d play into Vincent’s hands " Daniella caught off guard by my words became visibly agitated. "Even if that’s the case you shouldn’t have slandered Vincent like that A man’s reputation is incredibly important you should know that better than anyone " "Aren’t you afraid I’ll sue you for defaming Vincent " Vincent watching Daniella’s live stream was tearing up.

"Daniella I’ve really been wronged Bruno is the one slandering me. You must help me get justice " Then Vincent began pleading with the police. "Officers you can’t just listen to Bruno’s side of the story.

Everything has to be based on evidence " "It’s Bruno who’s slandering me He’s the one you should be arresting. " "Why aren’t you arresting him Is it because he’s given you some benefit " The police officer frowned and spoke coldly. "Watch your words.

You can’t just say things recklessly " "We’re here to arrest you because we have evidence. We haven’t made it public yet because we wanted to give you some face but if you don’t care about that then fine " As soon as he finished speaking Vincent’s face drained of color. In this second life as I recalled everything about Vincent I found him to be truly malicious.

But once I had the evidence on him I realized not only was he malicious but also utterly stupid. His dirty deeds which should have been hidden were something he took pride in. He thought this society mocked poverty but excused immorality so he didn’t even try to hide from people.

Meanwhile those who admired Vincent saw him as a genuine rich and handsome young man never doubting anything. So when I hired someone to investigate it didn’t take much effort at all. Once I had all the evidence I immediately submitted it to the police.

Without these pieces of evidence how could the police have made an arrest It was something anyone could have guessed but Vincent never saw it coming. In front of hundreds of thousands of viewers he effectively exposed himself. Since he was so eager to self-incriminate I didn’t need to stop him.

When the police released the details of his crimes during the live stream Vincent’s face went from pale to green and back to pale again. He couldn’t hold back anymore and begged the police to shut down the stream and take him away. Seeing Vincent being taken away in Daniella’s live stream gave me immense satisfaction.

In my previous life he had made me take the fall for his actions. This time I gave it all back to him. Once Vincent’s live stream ended the audience still hungry for gossip quickly moved over to Daniella’s stream.

Upon seeing me on screen they immediately began to shower me with praise. "You’re the one who has won so many awards and even published books right You’re so humble " "Exactly Only a writer with real intelligence would come up with such a smart way to expose the person who slandered him. Clean and efficient—I’m a fan now " "But wait that girl who was defending the plagiarist—she’s really your sister Why would a real sister help another guy like that Are you sure she’s your real sister A sister like that I think you should just cut ties with her " "Not only that the childhood friend who was helping that fake intellectual slander you—man you’ve really had bad luck surrounded by trash like that " Seeing Vincent being taken away Daniella and Julia were already frantic but they were reluctant to leave the live stream with so much good traffic.

Now seeing that they were the new targets of the audience’s ridicule they had no choice but to end the stream with dark faces. They shot me a furious glare before rushing off to the police station to check on Vincent. As I watched the transformation of public opinion I couldn’t help but remember the scene from my past life when I was the one being cyberbullied.

Chapter 7 In my previous life after Vincent accused me of plagiarism my popularity skyrocketed. But in that life it was a case of becoming infamous enduring cyberbullying. This time though it was real fame and praise.

But I couldn’t bring myself to feel happy. The public’s preferences are always so superficial and direct. They never care about the truth they just follow the crowd.

This very fact had ruined my life in the past but it had also become the fuel for my revenge in this life. However the comments in the live stream indirectly reminded me of something. Julia wanted to climb up the social ladder groveling to Vincent.

But what about Daniella Why did she want to harm me too Could it be that she really isn’t my real sister I thought about it for a moment then immediately rushed home. Before Daniella returned I secretly took a strand of her hair and went to have a paternity test done. Things were starting to get more complicated.

But it wasn’t until Vincent was arrested that I found out how exactly he had plagiarized me. At first I thought he had installed surveillance cameras in my house through Daniella and Julia. Or maybe he had put a spying virus on my laptop.

But after I moved into my mentor’s small apartment and had my laptop thoroughly checked there was no sign of anything suspicious. I was frustrated. Fortunately my mentor’s father was a retired police officer.

I told him about the situation. He furrowed his brow for a moment then his gaze fell on my glasses. He asked if I could let him take a look at them.

Without hesitation I took off my glasses and handed them to him. He inspected them with a magnifying glass for a while then suddenly his eyes lit up in realization. "Just as I thought " I was confused not understanding what he was talking about.

He handed me the magnifying glass and told me to carefully examine the screw on the front of the glasses. To my shock right in the middle of the screw there was a hidden pinhole camera. It was so tiny and well-hidden that if you didn’t look closely you wouldn’t notice it at all.

I was frozen in place. I suddenly remembered that about a month ago when I was preparing to register for the competition Daniella had accidentally broken my glasses. She apologized and replaced the frame with a new one.

Since the new frame looked good I wasn’t angry. I never expected that she had tampered with the glasses. No wonder she always seemed to know exactly where I was.

My mentor’s father explained that this kind of pinhole camera was extremely precise and rarely seen on the market. If someone used it they would have to report it to the police. He suspected that Daniella had been involved in something that harmed national interests.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. I suddenly remembered that Daniella had studied programming yet she ended up working as an editor at a publishing house. And editors at publishing houses often deal with professors from prestigious universities.

Could it be that she was involved in something much larger than I realized Without wasting time I took the camera off the glasses and handed it to my mentor’s father asking him to report it to the police. With this camera in hand I now had the proof of Vincent plagiarizing me. In my previous life I had been falsely accused of plagiarism and slapped with a huge fine for breaking the competition rules.

This time there was no way I was going to let Vincent off the hook. I wanted to see how he would wriggle his way out of it once the truth came to light. And as for Daniella and Julia the accomplices—there was no way I would let them off either.

I wrote up a report about my suspicions regarding Daniella’s true identity and submitted it to the authorities. Daniella had hidden her true identity afraid of being exposed right Well I was going to expose her hidden identity and let her taste the consequences. Once everything was in motion I moved out of my house.

I moved into the small villa I had purchased with my lottery winnings. The 80 million yuan prize gave me the confidence to do anything I wanted. Mainly I just didn’t want to deal with Daniella’s despicable questioning or Julia’s betrayal any longer.

After finishing all of this I blocked Daniella and Julia’s contacts then signed up for a national travel group to finally relax. Since it was summer and school was on break it seemed like the perfect time to take a vacation. Besides my experiences in the past life had kept me on edge for too long—I desperately needed a break.

After traveling for a month I returned to the villa with a bunch of local specialties. Just as I was about to send some to my mentor I unexpectedly ran into Daniella outside the community. If I hadn’t spent so many years living with her I might have barely recognized her.

She had lost so much weight and she looked so haggard. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were bloodshot. Before I could even call security she grabbed me and pulled me into a car.

Chapter 8 She gripped my shoulders tightly and demanded "Bruno why did you move out Do you know how worried I’ve been about you " I rolled my eyes speechless and retorted "I think you’re more worried about not finding me so you can help Vincent cover up right " Daniella was taken aback for a moment then her tone softened "Bruno I know I’ve lied to you about being able to speak and I understand why you’re angry. But I’m your real sister I truly care about you and that’s why I’m looking for you. How can you think so poorly of me " I sighed "If that’s the case then now that you see I’m fine can you let me go " As I started to open the car door to leave Daniella grabbed me again.

She looked hesitant so I grew impatient. "Spit it out quickly. I’ve got things to do no time to waste with you " Daniella sighed and tentatively asked "Bruno could you help Vincent He’s the son of an important client of mine.

This situation has ruined his reputation and he nearly fell into depression. Can’t you help him out just for my sake " I responded with irritation "I’m not even close to him how am I supposed to help " Daniella’s eyes lit up. "Just tell them that Vincent’s submission was actually written by you and that you accidentally submitted it using his account as a joke.

That way Vincent can be cleared of all charges. " I scoffed "Daniella are you sure you want to say that " Daniella nodded eagerly her face full of hope. I was beyond angry now "Daniella do you even know what you’re asking If I say that it would be false reporting and that’s a crime.

False reporting gets you thrown in jail Do you really want to put me in that position " Daniella’s face darkened "Bruno don’t think I don’t know. You’ve won 80 million from the lottery so you have everything now. You can’t even help Vincent just once " "You participated in the competition for your sister so why can’t you help Vincent for my sake " I stared at her smiling "You said it yourself—help me for your sister’s sake.

But are you really my sister " As soon as I said this Daniella’s expression shifted and her eyes avoided mine. "Bruno what are you talking about I don’t understand what you mean. " The paternity test results came back but I wasn’t at all surprised.

It felt like I had already predicted this outcome—Daniella wasn’t my real sister. Which real sister would go so far as to ruin her brother’s life for someone else Once the results were in I immediately started looking into my true identity. To my shock this investigation uncovered an old family secret.

It turned out Vincent was actually Daniella’s real brother. And I was the real son of the Wang family. Back then my mother and Daniella’s mother had both been in the same hospital giving birth.

The Song family was poor while the Wang family was well-off. Daniella who had a strong attachment to her brother had secretly swapped me with Vincent so that her brother could have a better life. And so Vincent and I had switched fates.

But genetics are incredibly powerful. I inherited my mother’s intelligence and my father’s emotional intelligence so I excelled in school from a young age. Relatives often remarked that I didn’t resemble the Song family at all.

I thought it was just a joke but it turned out to be true. Seeing that I now knew the truth Daniella’s face suddenly turned cold and she instinctively reached for a knife nearby. I sneered "Sister are you planning to kill me to silence me " "Is Vincent really worth going this far for " I then played the audio recording I had secretly planted on Vincent.

"That Daniella is so annoying a mute. She really thinks that just because I call her sister she’s my sister Dram on " "And Julia she’s no better than Daniella just another simp. That Daniella disgusts me.

I hope she doesn’t have any unrealistic ideas about me. She’s too old for that. If it wasn’t for the fact that she could help me win first place in the competition I wouldn’t even bother with her " "These boundary-less women are so irritating.

They have no money yet they act like they’re high and mighty. They have no idea what they’re really worth. Does she even deserve it " Hearing the recording Daniella pushed me down then drove off in a huff.

I guessed she was probably going to confront Vincent. Not long after the news came in but it wasn’t what I expected. It was Daniella’s death.

After hearing the recording Daniella holding onto a sliver of hope went to find Vincent. She told him about their true sibling relationship hoping to reconcile. But to her shock Vincent refused to accept it.

In a fit of rage he pushed Daniella off the rooftop. The tragic fall ended with Daniella landing directly on Julia below. Both of them died instantly.

Vincent was sentenced to life imprisonment truly a case of fate taking its course. When I heard the news I was stunned but I never thought of reconnecting with my biological parents. If things were meant to go wrong then let them stay that way.

All I wanted was to live a carefree life enjoying the several million in my bank account.