Switching Scores

The mock exam just finished. A beggar outside the school gate pointed right at me and said, "Zero points." I laughed. "The score for the top scorer in the college entrance exam always shows up as zero. Thanks for the blessing, I guess." The beggar gave me a meaningful look. "The top scorer in the college entrance exam will be your best friend. You'll actually get zero points." I just laughed. There was no way the school's top student would get zero points. As I was about to walk off, he pointed at my bracelet. "Score-Switching Bracelet. When she hands in a blank paper, you'll get zero points." I was taken aback. My bestie did give me this matching bracelet recently. I thought it would be a pain to wear because it would be uncomfortable when I write, but she insisted I put it on. I tried taking it off a few times but couldn't. Recently, my grades had indeed slipped, while my bestie's scores had consistently ranked first three times in a row... "What should I do then?" "Transfer it to a close family member. They can bear the misfortune for you." The beggar pointed at the boy coming to pick me up. "Like him." I turned around. Standing not far away, waiting for me, was my childhood friend. Chapter 1 "No way!" I hurriedly covered my bracelet. I had known my childhood friend Zonday Lester for eighteen years. Ever since my father passed away and my mother fell ill, he had been there with me through thick and thin, even using his pocket money to help with my living expenses. I could transfer the misfortune to anyone except for him. "After a while, the bracelet will completely tighten around your wrist, and you won't be able to transfer it anymore. When that happens, you'll get zero points for sure." The beggar didn't seem to care about my decision. He lit a cigarette and ignored me. I covered my bracelet and walked back. Maybe he was lying? How could there be something like a Score-Switching Bracelet? It was impossible. In this mock exam, I had checked the answers and I hardly made any mistakes. First place should be mine. But when the results came out, I found myself outside the top ten. First place belonged to my bestie, Camilla. But her best grades before were only in the teens... I entered the classroom in a daze and heard a familiar voice say, "A Score-Switching Bracelet? That's messed up, man! But why? Isn't Yunara your childhood friend?" Zonday absentmindedly twirled a pen with his fingers. "I've always told Yunara that even if she can't get into college, I'll support her financially, but Camilla's different. She has her academic pursuits, yet Yunara has been hogging the top spot that should belong to her. When I asked Yunara to let Camilla take the top spot, she even got into a fight with me. I had to use a lot of connections to acquire the bracelet. Since Yunara wouldn't cooperate, I have no choice but to do this." I pressed my back against the wall, breathing heavily. My grades had always been top-notch. My bestie Camilla had joked since junior year that she would surpass me. I'd always said I'd never give her the chance, but I still helped her with her studies. But she never managed to beat me. Finally, she cried, sobbing her heart out on the exam paper. Nothing I said could make her feel better. Zonday had asked me to let her win, but I had refused, leading to an argument with him. That fight had ended with him backing down, and he never brought up the matter again. But it turned out... The bracelet was his... Wiping away my tears, I rushed to find the beggar before he packed up. "What counts as a close family member? Do they have to be blood-related?" The beggar paused before answering, "As long as you consider them to be family, then they are." I tightened my grip on the bracelet. "Sir... please help me..." Chapter 2 That evening, I had to dislocate my wrist to remove the bracelet. The rub left my skin bleeding. The beggar gave me an identical one to wear, then shattered the Score-Switching Bracelet and turned it into a chain bracelet of a different color. The next day, I put it on Zonday's wrist. "A lucky charm?" Zonday looked at the bracelet that had a different color and design than before and narrowed his eyes. "Since when did you become so superstitious?" "I want us to attend the same college." Zonday peeked at my wrist without changing his expression. After confirming that I was still wearing the bracelet, he smiled. "Silly girl. Even if we don't go to the same college, I'll still visit you regularly." I looked down, pretending to be shy, but I was actually concealing the coldness in my eyes. Before entering the classroom, I heard a commotion inside. When I pushed the door open, I saw my bestie Camilla being pulled by her hair, her face filled with tears. "You stole my patent, didn't you?! The patent is crucial for my college application! How dare you!" The one shouting was the daughter of a member of the school's board of directors. She had recently developed a patent and was preparing her college application. However, her patent suddenly went missing yesterday. Upon reviewing the security footage, the only person who had returned to the classroom in that time period was Camilla. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I swear!" Camilla panicked. But Shelly Woods slapped her. "You're still acting innocent!? You think I don't know?! You've always talked bad about me behind my back, saying that my patents are just for show and that I'm a fraud! If you're jealous of me, you should work harder to catch up! What's the point of stealing the results of my work? Hurry up and give it back!" "I... I..." Camilla trembled in fear. "You're not gonna come clean, are you?" Shelly took out her phone. "I'll call my dad. If I can't get direct admission to college, you can forget about going to college!" "No!" Camilla lunged forward in a panic, but was held back by Shelly's sidekicks. Just as Shelly's call was about to connect, someone roared, "Wait!" My arm was suddenly lifted. Zonday, one hand in his pocket, held my wrist tightly with the other. "I saw her in the classroom at that time too." Shelly's eyes widened. "Wait, I wasn't..." Before I could say anything, Zonday pulled me over and said, "This is indeed her fault. I'll talk to her." With that, he dragged me to a quiet area and looked down at me. "Are you really going to let your best friend get bullied?" "But I didn't do it!" "Yunara!" He frowned, disappointment shimmering in his eyes. "She can't lose the chance to go to college. She has academic ambitions. Don't be so willful." My fists trembled. But correspondingly, I also noticed his charm bracelet loosening slightly. Someone is only my family if I consider them to be so… I held my breath, then closed my eyes. "Okay, I get it. I'll help her." At the school assembly, I was called on stage. Shelly's father prepared a long speech naming me a negative example to other students, criticizing me harshly. The whispers of other students filled my ears. "Didn't she used to be the top student? Why would she do that?" "I guess it must be jealousy. I heard her grades have been slipping lately. Seeing Shelly get a direct admission from a top college must be unsettling." "Tsk tsk! Maybe she only got top grades before this by cheating in the exams." "Camilla's awesome, though. Getting top marks at this stage takes real skills." Chapter 3 Zonday sat in the audience, the only one not whispering. He just stared at me with a frown, his expression complex. "In light of Yunara Trent's abhorrent behavior, the school has decided to… cancel her scholarship and remove her from all positions!" "My scholarship?!" I quickly turned to him. "But..." "Miss Trent." Shelly's father squinted at me. "Do you think you're in any position to make demands?" I tightened the grip on my clothes. The ridicule from the other students was relentless. I gritted my teeth, my eyes welling up. I needed the scholarship to cover my mother's medical fees... I hurried down from the stage. While I was walking away, I felt a light grip on my wrist. Zonday looked at me, his expression complicated. I pushed his hand away and rushed back to my seat. After school, Zonday followed me closely. "I've already paid your mother's medical fees." "Thanks." My voice was hoarse. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be publicly criticized or that your scholarship would be canceled." I walked on, not saying a word. "Don't worry, I'll support you financially." I still didn't turn back. He grabbed my shoulder. "I won't do it again, I swear. Yunara, stop ignoring me." Looking into his eyes, I recalled the past. He had sworn that he would protect me for life after my father passed away. But later, I met Camilla. I could still vividly remember the flicker of amazement in his eyes when I introduced him to her. Since then, whatever he gave me, he also offered her. He would always remember the things she liked, but he always seemed to forget mine. I didn't mind, thinking they had just gotten closer. That is, until he asked me to let Camilla beat me in the exam. I took a deep breath and smiled. "I don't blame you. I'm willing to do this for you." I felt his arm stiffen. Simultaneously, his charm bracelet seemed to become a little tighter. A few sneaky figures around the corner caught my attention. My eyes widened, and I grabbed his hand. "If you take me home, I'll forgive you." "Of course." He looked down at me, tenderness filling his gaze. "This time, I'm really sorry." But just as he took my hand to escort me home, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read: [Camilla, the cutest girl in the world] It seemed Camilla had changed her name in his phone herself. "Camilla?" Zonday answered the call. His expression suddenly turned serious, and he forcefully pushed me away. "Shelly is messing with Camilla. You'll have to go home by yourself." "But..." Before I could finish, he had already sprinted away. He even knocked me to the ground. The group of people around the corner finally dared to reveal themselves. The leader, Shelly, grabbed my hair. "Do you think I'll let things slide just because you were publicly shamed? My chance for direct admission is gone. How can I let you off that easily? Get her!" The thugs she brought with her charged at me, grabbing my arms and dragging me into an alley. I screamed wildly, "Zonday, turn back!" But he didn't look back even once. Chapter 4 In the alley, my cries rang out continuously. Half an hour later, I stumbled out of the alley by supporting myself against the wall. My clothes were torn and hanging off me, my hair a mess. In my hand was a tightly-clutched knife. It was this knife that had prevented them from tearing off my underwear. A familiar figure rushed towards me in a hurry. It was Zonday, who had finally taken care of Camilla's problems. I collapsed with a thud on the ground, hazily seeing him picking me up with an anxious expression. His voice trembling, he asked, "Yunara? What happened? I was only gone for a moment. How did you end up like this? Don't be scared. Hang on, Yunara, don't fall asleep!" When I opened my eyes again, my phone had a new group chat. The first message was sent by Camilla: [I got nervous so I mistakenly thought there was trouble, but a certain someone immediately rushed over to send me home even though we live on completely opposite sides of the city. He's so silly!] Comments flooded in from other classmates: [Oooh, a certain someone? I wonder who it could be~] [Definitely not someone named Zonday, right?] [If these two don't announce their relationship on graduation day, I'll wash my hair upside down!] I turned off my phone, not wanting to see anything related to them. Instead, I stumbled out of bed and borrowed some foundation to cover the bruises on my face. If my mother saw the bruises, she would worry. But when I arrived at Mom's hospital room, I was surprised to see Camilla there too! "Zonday really cares about you." Camilla smiled sweetly at me. "He stayed by your side for three whole days without sleep. When he had to leave, he even called me to come take care of you. As expected of a childhood friend." The words "childhood friend," she said through gritted teeth. Mom, still unaware of what had happened, took my hand with a smile. "Camilla says you two are good friends. We had a good long chat. She said you haven't been visiting lately because something happened to you. What happened?" "It's nothing." I hurriedly deflected. But Camilla immediately said loudly, "How could it be nothing? Yunara was dragged into an alley by over a dozen thugs..." The heart rate monitor beeped rapidly. Camilla smirked, deliberately letting her sentence hang unfinished. Mom said anxiously, "Over a dozen thugs? What happened... what... happened?" "Mom!" I quickly covered Camilla's mouth. "She's joking! If something like that really happened, how can I be unscathed? I was preparing for the college entrance exam these past three days, that's why I didn't come visit." Mom blinked and nodded. "Yes, indeed, the college entrance exam should be your main focus right now." "But Auntie, she has foundation on her face..." Smack! A loud slap echoed in the hospital room. Mom gasped. "Yunara! You can't hit your friend!" At the same time, I was pushed hard, and my lower back slammed against the edge of a table. "Zonday..." Camilla covered her face, tears in her eyes. "I came to take care of Yunara, but she said if it weren't for me, she wouldn't have gotten hurt, so she pulled my hair and forced me to apologize. I apologized to her, but she still wouldn't forgive me. She dragged me to her mom's hospital room to make me get on my knees and apologize to her mom too..." Zonday's fists clenched tight. Then, he looked at me with a frown. "I went to help Camilla willingly. I told you to go home, but you didn't listen. That's why you ran into those thugs! It's your own fault, so why blame it on Camilla?!" Chapter 5 "Zonday, what thugs? What are you talking about?" Mom looked at him in confusion. I clasped my hands together, begging him to keep quiet, but he turned to Mom and said coldly, "Auntie, you still haven't heard? Three days ago, your daughter skipped going home after school and had fun with a dozen thugs in an alley for over half an hour!" A stack of photos was thrown onto the bed. They seemed to be images captured by a dashcam. They clearly recorded the moment I was surrounded by the thugs. However, since they were just photos, they could be easily misinterpreted. "I went out just now to obtain this evidence and was going to submit it to the police, but now it seems..." Zonday turned to me. "You have no self-respect!" With that, he took Camilla's hand and turned to leave. I hurried to the bedside. "Mom, I didn't! I fought them! I merely got hurt, I..." Beep! Beep! The heartrate monitor let out shrill, rapid beeps. Doctors and nurses rushed in, shoving me out. I sat on the hospital floor the whole night. The doctor only came out of the emergency room at dawn. I looked up. My tears couldn't stop flowing. - When the results of the college entrance exam were released, I had to go to school to check my scores together with the other students. The atmosphere was bustling. Everyone excitedly clicked on their pages to check their scores. I sat silently to the side, my gaze downcast. Zonday didn't join in the commotion. Instead, he occasionally looked my way, his expression complicated. Only when it was Camilla's turn did he show interest. "Zero points?!" Everyone gasped. "Camilla, you're the top scorer!" Camilla covered her mouth in disbelief. She then hugged her classmates tightly. "Camilla, don't forget us when you get rich!" "To think I could be classmates with the top scorer, what an honor!" "Let's go eat, it's my treat!" "Wait." I stood up, and everyone frowned at me. "We're treating the top scorer. Who are you to stop us?" "I haven't checked my score yet." "There's no need to check." Zonday grabbed my wrist. "I told you I would support you financially." "Wow, Yunara sure is lucky to have a childhood friend like Zonday." "Right? Everyone knows her scores have been slipping. Why does she want to humiliate herself?" I said nothing. I pushed past everyone and entered my student ID. Before long, the score popped up on the computer screen. "Zero points?!" "Hahaha! Guys, take a look at this! Someone actually got zero points!" Camilla hurried over. Upon seeing the score, she couldn't help but grin. She knew exactly why this would happen. After all, she submitted a blank paper, so I naturally got zero points. My phone rang. A classmate snatched it. "Is it your almost-dead mom calling to ask about your score? Don't worry, I'll tell her for you so that you don't have to lie again!" The call was answered. That classmate's face turned ashen. "Wh-what? The BSAU admissions office… Why are you calling her?" BSAU was the most prestigious university in the country.