From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 106: Lines That Repeat

Chapter 106: Lines That Repeat

The next morning, Micah woke feeling oddly refreshed, as if that nutrient soup had supercharged his body. The sun had not yet risen, and the cool air made him appreciate the quiet hush of dawn. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, unaware that the vest he had so carefully crafted, Asena, had already been exposed. He didn’t know that Clyde Du Pont had put the pieces together and laid a trap for him last night. Blissfully ignorant, Micah had drunk that soup, never realising it was more of a poisoned apple, or the kind of sweet lure Gretel and Hansel might have found in the witch’s house.

All Micah knew at that moment was that his muscles tingled pleasantly from the hot shower he had just taken, and the military uniform clung neatly to his frame as he walked into the training fields with his roommates.

Students stood in rigid lines, postures stiff and expressions sleepy, all waiting obediently for the morning flag-raising ceremony to end.

Sergeant Seth McKay walked to the podium, four students trailing behind him.

"Attention, for the next ten days, you will all be treated as military recruits. Any misdeeds and disobedience will result in disciplinary actions. Last night, some of you ignored the curfew or left the university grounds. According to regulations, these students will be punished by running around the training field five times," Seth announced loudly.

There was a harsh gasp from students in the training field.

"Isn’t it, like, 10k or more?" someone whispered.

"They will be dead before they finish," another said.

"It’s so cruel!"

"Silence!" Seth barked. "Proceed with your training. Dismissed."

As the students began to disperse, Seth’s gaze lingered on Micah. He gave a half smile.

Micah froze, sensing the peculiar stare. He ducked his head and moved closer to his roommates.

"Hey, do you think he saw us last night?" Micah murmured to Emile. "He was staring at me strangely!"

Emile glanced toward the podium. "Where? He had already left. Maybe you’re just being paranoid. If he saw us, we would be up there too."

Micah nodded, half convinced.

Then he craned his neck, scanning the field until his eyes locked on a familiar tall figure with black hair tousled under a military cap.

Darcy.

He stood a few rows ahead, head bowed, expression unreadable. A student beside him leaned in, trying to speak, but Darcy didn’t so much as flick his eyes toward the boy. Micah tilted his head curiously. What was he talking about?!

Micah gingerly got closer to them, trying to overhear the conversation.

"Why don’t you join us?" said a cheerful voice. "Our gaming club is pretty famous on campus. With how you look and your super brain, I bet we will win every tournament this year." The speaker was a boy with soft black hair that curled slightly at the ends, a pair of cute dimples flashing when he smiled. His expression was all warmth and enthusiasm, clearly convinced that Darcy would accept on the spot.

"We just started uni," another student interrupted, stepping into the exchange with a scoff. "Why are you already acting like you own that club?"

"Ah, my brother is the president of the club," the first boy, Russell Norris, replied with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. "So I kinda jam at the club a lot!"

Micah, still half hidden behind another student, stiffened. Gaming club?! No way! Archie’s brother?! Why was he pestering Darcy?!

"So, what do you think??hm?" Russell asked again, nudging Darcy lightly on the arm.

But Darcy didn’t respond. He stood silent, gaze fixed on the ground, his brow furrowed slightly as if his mind were miles away.

Then another voice cut sharply through the chatter.

"Hey! Just because you were the top scorer doesn’t mean you can look down on us!" The voice was louder, more hostile. A ginger-haired boy with narrowed eyes stepped forward. He stood roughly the same height as Russell, his posture tense and aggressive. "Who do you think you are, huh? We all have heard the stories from your old classmates! You, just a penny beggar, always sucking up to teachers, acting all high and mighty while backstabbing others, really thinking you’re better than everyone else?"

Micah’s heart sank. Those words... he had seen them before, or rather, read them in the novel. That scene. That line.

It was exactly how Archie had once accused Micah of being the root of these rumours, using them to win Darcy’s trust and paint himself as a hero.

But Micah hadn’t said anything like that. Especially now that the swapped case had not been revealed... so who was the real culprit?

Could it have been someone else all along? Or was this the so-called power of the plot? Forcing events to replay themselves? No, if it was truly fate, why hadn’t Darcy reacted to Silas the way he did in the book?

Micah stepped forward before he could think twice.

"Hey, where exactly did you hear that?"

Darcy jolted at the sound of his voice. His head turned, eyes wide, and for a moment, something like relief passed through his gaze. Micah stood casually at his side now, arms folded, his head tilted with mild interest as he looked at the two students.

"Hmm?!" Micah pressed again, his tone deceptively light, almost amused.

Flinn pressed his lips together and glanced at Russell.

"Well, it was uploaded to one of the forums, we didn’t talk to them directly. Just saw the posts," Russell said.

"Can I get the name of the forum? You see, from what I know, most of those posts are probably full of nonsense. Just some jealous losers trying to stir up drama." Micah said.

"What do you mean, nonsense?" Flinn’s eyes narrowed. "Are you saying he is not poor? Or an opportunist, trying to reap the benefits and everything others had worked hard for?"

Micah let out a barking laugh. Then he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Sorry, man! That was the funniest joke I’ve ever heard!"

Micah stared at the boy with sharp eyes. "Are you accusing the Education department? Are you saying he had cheated on his college entrance exam? Or those international competitions? Are you ready to take responsibility for what you said?"

Flinn flinched. Honestly, he hadn’t thought deeply about those rumours. He had only heard Russell going on about how dashing and cool the freshman representative was, and let his jealousy get the better of him.

"No... I.." Flinn felt frustrated. "I’m sorry..." he mumbled.

Russell bowed slightly, too. "I apologise, we didn’t mean to tarnish his reputation or anything. I’ll report those posts on the forum. If you’ll excuse us..." he said and grabbed Flinn’s arm, yanking him away.

As Micah watched them go, he realised he had probably made himself too obvious. Archie surely would notice him and Darcy now, especially after humiliating his little brother. But he didn’t care. From the corner of his eye, he looked at Darcy. He couldn’t stand by and see others bad-mouthing him.

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