Chapter 283 Someone Locks Her Up
Charmaine smirked. “How childish.”
She didn’t panic at all. Tossing her backpack aside, she took a few steps back to judge the distance.
48 Pearls
Then, without hesitation, she turned, raised her leg high, and struck the rooftop door with a powerful kick.
Nothing happened.
Undeterred, Charmaine kicked again and again.
Bang!
On the fifth try, the aluminum door finally gave in, crashing backward with a loud thud, sending dust into
the air.
Brushing the dust off her belongings, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and calmly made her way downstairs.
Sure enough, at the stairwell landing, Charmaine spotted a small signal jammer.
She picked it up, stashing it in her bag before heading straight to her classroom.
By the time she arrived, the exam had already begun, and students were focused on their papers.
Her late arrival naturally caused a stir.
“Whoa, why is Charmaine late? The listening section is already over!”
“Will the invigilator replay it just for her? She’s a top student, after all.”
“Are you kidding me? Rules are rules. If she missed it, that’s on her. She’s either finishing too soon or arriving late–so arrogant.”
“The listening section alone is worth 40 points. If she loses that, she might not keep her second–place ranking.”
“Quiet down, everyone!”
The invigilator, recognizing Charmaine, addressed her seriously. “You’re 20 minutes late. Take your seat quickly.”
Charmaine accepted her exam paper and nodded. “Thank you.”
She paused briefly, then added, “By the way, the rooftop door upstairs is broken. It’ll need replacing.”
The invigilator was momentarily stunned.
Even after arriving late, Charmaine was still the first to complete the exam and leave.
Naturally, this incident set the campus forum ablaze, with students buzzing over Charmaine’s unexpected
behavior.
“She’s seriously brilliant. Finishing the exam that fast? She probably didn’t even take the time to read all the
1/3
11:36 Fri, 7 Mar ti
Chapter 283 Someone Locks Her Up
+8 Pearls
“Wait a second, doesn’t anyone feel like Charmaine is just putting on a show? Don’t come at me, but her recent behavior seems way too calculated.”
“Exactly! Her academic performance wasn’t particularly outstanding before college. How did she suddenly improve so dramatically? Maybe she thinks she’s already secured a spot with Cross Group and doesn’t care anymore?”
“Who’s making up these ridiculous theories? Charmaine took a test in front of everyone when the school year started and proved her abilities fair and square. She’s been working hard behind the scenes–why should she have to explain herself to you?”
“Don’t make me laugh. Now she’s got an entire fan club? She’s just benefiting from special treatment, and people are blindly supporting her. It’s not like she saved your lives. Why are you all acting so devoted?”
The forum was in chaos, with heated debates flooding the site all night. Eventually, the university administration stepped in with an official notice.
“The use of signal jammers on campus is strictly prohibited, and non–staff members aren’t allowed to lock the rooftop access without proper authorization.”
This announcement sent shockwaves through the forum.
“Wait, what? A signal jammer? The rooftop?”
“Hold on, Charmaine mentioned to the invigilator that the rooftop door was broken before she took the test. Does this mean…‘
Н
“She was trapped up there! Someone locked her in on purpose and even blocked the signal. She almost missed the exam completely!”
“In the Al teaching building? I was in a classroom on the top floor when the listening test started. No wonder I heard loud banging outside! That must’ve been Charmaine trying to break the door down!”
“I was up there too! I heard it!”
“Same here!”
“To all the people doubting her, are you seeing this? She wasn’t late on purpose–someone deliberately locked her in! If she hadn’t found a way out, she wouldn’t have made it in time. This is insane! Who would go this far just to stop her from taking an exam?”
“This is terrifying. Someone must’ve realized they couldn’t beat her fairly and resorted to something this underhanded! The university needs to investigate and expel whoever did this!”
“I take back everything I said about Charmaine. I misjudged her, and I feel awful.”
“Me too. I can’t believe I ever doubted her.”
Meanwhile, Charmaine remained completely unaware of the online uproar–she had never even made an account on the forum.
When Celeste filled her in on the drama, they were casually browsing a mall, picking up supplies for their camping trip the next day.
213
