Chapter 5: Outnumbered

Melissa’s words seemed to clear my name on the surface, but she’d basically called me a homewrecker for chasing her boyfriend.

Some classmates who’d felt sorry for me now just looked at me with contempt.

I knew, nothing I said now would help.

I could feel my fingers tightening around my pen, my breath a little shaky. Just as I was considering whether to go all out and slap Melissa—

Footsteps sounded at the door. Jason walked in.

I’d almost forgotten: I’d fought to get into this class with Jason, just so I could be with him.

His face was tired, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at me.

He looked like he hadn’t slept, hair uncombed, dark circles under his eyes—totally unlike the perfect image on his Instagram. I couldn’t help wondering if he’d been up all night thinking about us, or if he just didn’t care.

I looked back, hoping Jason would help clear things up for me.

After all, being wrongly accused sucks.

But Jason still said nothing.

He just slid his hands into his hoodie pockets, jaw clenched, gaze flicking from me to Melissa, then away. He avoided my eyes, jaw tight, fiddling with the drawstrings of his hoodie like he wished he could disappear. The pop-up comments were chaos.

[Ahhh, as expected, the official couple’s chemistry is the best. Just looking at each other makes me dizzy with sweetness.]

[Main girl, cry! As soon as you shed a tear, the guy will soften, dump the side girl, and announce you as his girlfriend.]

[I really don’t like the main girl right now. The guy didn’t sleep all night, missed his big experiment, and now he’s falling apart. Can the girl stop being so stubborn?]

[I don’t get it. It’s clearly the guy’s fault, so why is everyone blaming the girl? Does even the world of pop-up comments love men this much?]

In the end, I didn’t ask Jason for help. I just looked away and packed up my stuff.

My fingers shook, but I kept my head high. I zipped my backpack, tossing in my battered notebook, not caring that the whole class was watching.

Jason seemed to sneer, walked past my seat, and sat down right next to Melissa.

That move pretty much confirmed what Melissa had said.

Melissa looked at me smugly, then quickly ran to Jason’s side and clung to his arm.

And Jason didn’t push her away.

Just like that, the rumor that I was a homewrecker spread even wider around campus, eventually making its way to the college’s online forum.

I saw screenshots of forum posts in group chats: “Homewrecker in Chem 101?” and “Emily can’t take a hint.” The comments stung, but I kept my head down and walked on. Every time I walked through the student center, it felt like every table was whispering behind a Starbucks cup.

Even for group projects in my major, no one wanted to team up with me.

But I still did my work seriously.

If no one wanted to do group projects with me, I’d just do them myself.

After all, these days most group projects end up being finished by one person anyway.