Reborn to Destroy the Cheaters!

Once that idea hit me, I couldn't stop.

Every night after work, I locked myself in my room, buried in drafts, digging through research and perfecting my arguments.

By the seventh night of burning the midnight oil, the door creaked open, and there was my mom, her familiar, kind face smiling at me. She set down a bowl of sweet soup on my desk.

My throat tightened, and my eyes stung a little. "Mom, why are you still up this late?"

"Sweetheart, you're pushing yourself too hard. Staring at the screen for hours like that isn't good for your eyes." Mom's words hit me like a splash of cold water.

One simple remark, and suddenly, I had an epiphany!

Why hadn't I thought of it before?

I didn't need to write everything on the computer. I could handwrite the drafts, and then, when the deadline got closer, I'd type everything up. That way, no one could accuse me of plagiarizing. If any similarities popped up, I'd edit them later.

Plus, I was the only one in the hospital with expertise in both surgery and orthopedics. No one, not even Lily, could pump out a high-level orthopedic paper like that in a week.

With this realization, I felt lighter, like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. There was no way plagiarism would come up again this time.

I kissed my mom on the cheek, grinning. "Get some sleep, Mom. I've got this."

Then I got back to work, handwriting every part of my paper.

By morning, I had finished the first draft of my orthopedic medical paper. My heart soared with pride. This paper was my ticket to represent the hospital in an international academic exchange.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime career milestone. I couldn't afford to screw it up.

But even as I sat back to admire my work, doubt started to creep in. I remembered how, in my last life, Lily had stood in front of the entire hospital, sobbing while accusing me of stealing her paper. She even streamed it live online.

Lily, with her innocent face and soft voice, had everyone wrapped around her finger. Her tearful act triggered a wave of public outrage. People I used to work with shook their heads at me in disappointment. Others flat-out accused me of my face.

And the internet? It was brutal, and ruthless comments flooded in:

'You can tell by looking at her. This woman's trouble. Who steals from a sweet, young girl like that?'

'Ugly inside and out. Someone should just beat her to death and be done with it!'

'That poor girl is too nice. If I were her, I'd rip that woman's face off!'

'Is anyone putting together a protest? Let's take down that trashy hospital and get her fired!'

The more I read their comments, the angrier I became. My work had nothing to do with Lily.

Why was she accusing me of plagiarism?

Every time I tried to defend myself, it only made the hate grow stronger.

One thing Lily said stuck with me the most: "Rachel Carter got a higher position than me. I was always afraid if I said anything, she'd push me out. It took me days to build up the courage to come forward. Kevin was right. I shouldn't let plagiarism slide."

Lily's innocent, wounded look only fueled the public's rage against me. It was that comment that eventually led to that psycho driving a car into my parents and killing them.

Thinking about it tore me apart inside, but underneath the grief, a burning rage started to grow. I couldn't let this mess spiral out of control again. I had to get to the bottom of it this time.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized the sun had already risen. I quickly got ready and headed to the hospital.

As soon as I walked in, I overheard some nurses gossiping.

"Did you hear? Lily posted at 4 a.m. that someone plagiarized her paper, and now she has to rewrite it. This time it's about orthopedics."

"No way! I thought Lily was only good at surgery. She's doing orthopedics now, too?"

"That plagiarist has no shame. Lily worked her butt off for a month, and now her paper's trashed."

Hearing that hit me like a punch to the gut. I was in shock.

My first instinct? Confront her face-to-face.