Chapter 1

After her college entrance exam results were canceled due to a framed cheating scandal, Celine spent five years climbing the ranks to become the youngest CEO in the history of a major overseas unicorn company.

Upon returning to the country for a business trip, she had barely landed when she received a plea from her best friend, asking her to fill in as an interviewer for a newly recruited batch of candidates at the branch office.

The moment she pushed open the door to the conference room, every eye turned toward her, filled with astonishment.

Celine realized she had walked into the wrong room—the waiting area—and prepared to leave.

"Celine? Is it really you?"

A person inside spoke up first, offering a mocking sneer.

"Oh my, isn't this the infamous cheater from our school? This company is quite prestigious in San Francisco; how on earth do you have the audacity to come here for an interview?"

As the words fell, every look of disdain and ridicule landed squarely on Celine.

"Does that even need asking? She must still be obsessed with Julian. Knowing he would be accompanying Sienna to the interview today, she just shamelessly forced her way in."

"She only cheated back then because she wanted to go to the same school as Julian. She wouldn't even admit it after she was caught—it’s absolutely disgusting!"

"What a shame, though. Julian and Sienna are so deeply in love. The top science student and the top liberal arts student—a match made in heaven. A cheater like her isn't even worth half a strand of their hair!"

Celine tightened her grip on her bag, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of a man sitting by the window—

Julian.

Five years had passed, and he was still the unattainable, high-mountain flower she remembered.

Yet, cold as he was, he had once, during that summer, offered her a dream-like tenderness.

Back then, Julian was the top science student, the star worshipped by the entire school, yet he treated her with unique kindness.

During morning reading sessions, he would bring warm breakfast and set it on her desk.

After evening study hall, he would wait for her downstairs, walking with her along the long, plane-tree-lined campus paths. When the evening breeze swept fallen leaves onto her shoulders, he would reach out to brush them away.

When she suffered from cramps during exams, he would abandon his own test, carry her to the infirmary, and say, "The exam isn't as important as you are."

Those fragments of tenderness built the most precious summer dream of her youth.

But on the day of the college entrance exam, it shattered completely.

A scrap of paper filled with answers appeared out of thin air, placed abruptly beside her test paper.

The moment the proctor arrived, in her panic, she looked up and met Julian’s icy gaze from the back of the room.

"I saw it with my own eyes. Celine pulled out the cheat sheet."

A light, airy sentence that sealed her fate as a cheater, nullifying all her scores and leaving a permanent stain on her academic record.

The summer sun was blinding and scorching. She stood pale and trembling by the roadside, waiting for him.

She wanted an explanation.

But all she got was the sight of him and Sienna walking away side by side.

He didn't even glance her way, refusing to spare her a single extra look.

Later, she learned that the person he had always liked was Sienna. Being close to her was merely a way to distract her, ensuring Sienna could focus entirely on her studies to surpass her and become the top liberal arts student.

And that cheat sheet? Sienna had merely told him she lacked confidence before the exam, so he chose that method to crush all of Celine's hard work in one stroke.

But what he didn't know was that she had never cared about the top liberal arts student position.

She had long since received an offer for guaranteed admission to a prestigious university abroad; she had just been hesitating, wanting to stay and attend the same university as him. She just hadn't expected...

It was completely unnecessary now.

"Alright, everyone, let's stop talking. We were all classmates, after all."

Sienna smiled, looking toward Celine.

"Celine, it's really not right of you to have lost touch for five whole years. I heard you went abroad for work—is that true?"

Before Celine could speak, the others chuckled again.

"Sienna, you're just too gracious. Who doesn't know she was detained for cheating back then? No one would have hired her even if she tried to find work, so she must have run off abroad to work illegally. In those backward, filthy places, she probably has already... ugh..."

"No wonder she's dressed so flashy this time. Where would she get the money? It must be from that cheap, selling-her-body kind of business..."

"Enough."

A low voice rang out.

Julian lifted his eyes, his gaze landing coldly on Celine.

"Celine, stop playing these games and leave immediately. With your track record, it is impossible for you to pass the interview. Staying will only bring humiliation upon yourself."

He paused, then continued, his tone icy.

"No company would hire such a filthy employee."

The people in the waiting area exchanged glances and erupted into laughter.

"What is all the noise? The interviews are about to begin. Keep quiet!"

Just then, the staff member in charge of the interviews walked in.

The others quickly shut their mouths.

Sienna, seeing this, straightened her back, a calm smile on her face as she stepped forward to greet the staff. "Hello, I am candidate number 1..."

Before she could finish, the staff member walked past her and stood in front of Celine, his tone respectful.

"Ms. Celine, so you are here. The interview room is next door. Mr. Sun told me to bring you over earlier. The candidates today actually have quite impressive resumes, especially number 1, Sienna—she has won four national awards and three international gold medals. A rare talent indeed..."

"No need."

Celine's calm gaze swept over the people present, and she spoke slowly.

"Cancel their interview eligibility."

Chapter 2

At these words, the smile on Sienna’s face froze for a moment.

Julian frowned.

The expressions of the others also darkened, but a moment later, someone scoffed with disdain.

"Oh, Celine, I didn't expect you to hire someone to act for you."

"It's hilarious. What kind of degree do you have, or what status, to dare pretend to be an interviewer here? Do you think we're fools?!"

"Exactly! To try and scam us with such cheap tricks—you really are just an uneducated working girl, stupid and laughable!"

"How can you talk like that?"

The staff member couldn't watch any longer. "This person is your interviewer for today! Your attitude is atrocious; daring to insult an interviewer means you will be disqualified!"

He was met with even louder mocking laughter. "Oh look, look, the actor is getting anxious now!"

"Disqualified? Do the two of you even have the authority to say that? How dare you bark nonsense here!"

"You, you..."

The staff member’s face turned livid.

"Alright, alright."

Sienna took the opportunity to step in, looking at Celine with a curled lip. "Instead of wasting time here, why not let the department manager, Mr. Sun, verify Celine’s identity? That would make it convincing for everyone."

As soon as she said this, everyone echoed her.

"Exactly! If you're capable, show us the proof!"

"Right, didn't Celine just invoke Mr. Sun's name earlier? If she really is an interviewer, she must have Mr. Sun's contact information."

Sienna took the chance to smile again. "Why not call Mr. Sun right now and have her come over?"

Celine squinted slightly, watching the look of contempt and provocation in her eyes.

"That's right! Celine, why are you still standing there? If you really are an interviewer, call Mr. Sun and have her prove who you are!"

"I think she's been so busy impersonating one that she doesn't even know who Mr. Sun is in reality!..."

Seeing them all jumping around because of a few words of provocation from Sienna, Celine only found it laughable.

A bunch of clowns.

She lowered her eyes, took out her phone, scrolled to Stella’s contact in her address book, pressed the call button, and turned on the speakerphone.

The surroundings suddenly quieted down, with only the ringing of the phone sounding exceptionally clear.

However, a second before the call connected, a knuckled hand reached out, gripped Celine’s wrist, and snatched the phone from her hand.

"Click."

The crisp sound of the call being hung up rang out abruptly, breaking the deathly silence.

Everyone in the room was stunned, their eyes full of surprise.

No one expected that Julian, who had been watching from the sidelines, would suddenly intervene.

Before they could react, Julian dragged Celine away with long strides.

"Let go of me!"

Celine struggled, her fingertips turning white from the effort, but she was no match for his strength.