"The photo turned out well," Xander said, looking at the computer screen tenderly. Grace said reminiscently, "I remember taking this photo on my first day at school. I had casually tied my hair into a bun and taken the picture." As Grace spoke, she scrolled down, and memories of her student days began to emerge, including clear records of each semester's final designs and grades. Continuing down to her collection of design works, Grace opened the page. However, she froze in place, and her smile gradually disappeared. Xander noticed her unease and followed her gaze to the computer screen, where several clothing designs were displayed. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Grace turned to him and exclaimed incredulously, "No! This isn't my design! How did it end up in my files?" Even Kelly directed her attention to Grace when she noticed the commotion. She quickly tried to explain, "The school records student information accurately. The likelihood of an error is very low. A
The next second, information about Jessica appeared on the computer screen. The first thing Grace saw was Jessica's youthful photo from when she had enrolled. There were some differences compared to the present. She had matured a bit, and her features were more defined. The enrollment information showed that Jessica was a year older than her. "So it's true," Grace murmured. Xander also leaned in, staring at the screen intently, but Grace didn't stop scrolling. She scrolled to the end and opened the drafts from Jessica's student days. Her eyes widened in astonishment. "How ... how is this possible?"The first image was of the flagship design of the boutique, although it looked less aesthetic. The design looked more like a modification and processing of this one. It was as if this was the original design! "This can't be!" Grace's tone was firm. "There must be something wrong here." Not completely convinced, she clicked the mouse again, finding several more designs in
They reached the laboratory's entrance, and Kelly pointed to a door on the far right on the second floor. "He should be there. Let's go!" Grace followed closely. The door to the laboratory on the second floor was slightly ajar. Kelly knocked on the door and asked, "Professor William, are you in?" There was no response. Kelly pushed the door open, and the two walked along the corridor until they reached the end. Grace saw a man with slightly white hair, wearing a white coat, conducting experiments in the laboratory. He held a pipette, dripping liquid into a glass bottle, creating a dazzling light inside the bottle. William stopped and recorded the data with a smile. After completing his experiments, he took off his safety goggles and walked out of the laboratory. "William! You're messing around again." William, however, was thrilled."There's a breakthrough. I can finally continue writing the new research paper." He looked at Grace and asked, "Who is this?" Grace to
As he spoke, William took his phone and logged onto his online storage system. He quickly swiped across the screen, finally stopping at the time point of the year 2019. Then, he handed the phone to Grace. "I was a judge for this competition. The entire competition was recorded with videos and photos. Take a look at the video of the awards session. Didn't she come first?" Grace took the phone and opened the video, but found no trace of herself. Jessica, however, stood on the highest podium, and William personally presented her with the trophy. Grace's mind was filled with confusion. This was absurd. How could this be? In disbelief, she reopened a picture of the list of contestants, only to find that her name wasn't on it.Yet she distinctly remembered competing in three rounds, defeating six opponents, advancing to the finals, and ultimately winning the championship. "Professor Kelly, this can't be real ..." Grace looked at Kelly with hope, hoping the latter could spe
Jessica laughed. "Grace, you really overestimate yourself." With that, she hung up. Grace tightened her grip as she listened to the dial tone, and her eyes gradually darkened. After a pause, she made another call. "Victor, are you busy?" Victor thought he had misheard and took another look at the number. He teased Grace, "Gracie, you finally decided to call me! This is rare."Grace puffed her cheeks and retorted, "Not at all, Victor!" Victor interjected, "Alright, what's up?" Grace smirked and answered, "It's a small matter. I was wondering if you could help with something." "Let me hear it." "Can you access Coronia University's archive system?" As she spoke, violent coughing erupted on the other end of the phone. After a moment, Victor asked in astonishment, "Gracie, you're not asking me to hack the system, are you?" "Well, I want to know if someone has ever tampered with it." Grace suspected that Jessica had manipulated the records and wanted confirmation
Grace raised her eyebrows and muttered, "He's too efficient!" However, the siblings were unaware that someone was already a step ahead of Victor. In the archive room, the sound of someone tapping away on the keyboard could be heard, and a series of numbers and characters appeared on the blank computer screen. Xander's fingers quickly danced across the keyboard, and in just two minutes, he had accessed the academic information system. He also took the time to fix a few bugs in the system. After five minutes, he smiled and exited the academic information system after transferring all the information he had found to his phone. After clearing all traces, Xander finally left the archive room. ... At this moment, Grace was holding William's phone, watching the competition video again. After talking with Jessica, she became certain the video had been edited.But she didn't say it out loud in front of William. Instead, she asked, "Professor William, can you send me a copy of t
Grace was surprised that Xander was so skilled in computer software. Even Victor, who was a top-notch hacker, had said that hacking into this system was tricky. How had Xander managed to get in so quickly? He had even managed to obtain information! "Xander, how did you do it?"Callum coughed lightly on the side. He wanted to help Xander explain but feared that saying too much would expose Xander's secret identity. He had to control himself. Xander cleared his throat and didn't answer her question. "I've checked your information file, and the altered information has been restored." Grace felt relieved. With this, all of Jessica's plans had fallen apart. "But ..." Xander paused and continued, "I didn't find the original design that was plagiarized in your file."Grace felt like she had been struck by lightning. Her expression stiffened, and she asked, "How is that possible?" Xander looked grave as he explained, "There's only one possibility. That original design was never
It took about two hours by car to reach Jessica's house from Coronia University. The road was bumpy along the way. During the journey, Callum briefed them on Jessica's background. In short, she was the only child from a wealthy family. This became evident when they saw the large villa when they got to the Landon family's house. The villa had an antique design, with a large garden in front featuring meticulously cared-for flowers and plants. "This is the place," Callum said, stepping out of the car first. "Let's go look," Xander said, reassuringly gripping Grace's hand. Grace nodded and followed him out of the car. Standing outside the villa, they started to examine it closely. Callum was the first to speak. "Theoretically, the Landon family hasn't lived here for a long time, but the villa is so well-kempt. It doesn't look abandoned." After saying this, he stepped forward and rang the doorbell. Soon, a woman in her 50s or 60s emerged from the house and slowly approac