"Almost five years now," Helen replied. "When the master first hired me, it was mainly to look after Bullet. He belonged to histe ex-girlfriend. I heard that after she passed, her parents were so grief-stricken they both fell ill, so he took the dog in.


    "When Bullet first came here, he was a real handful. He kept running away, all the way back to his old home. It''s over twenty miles away-I have no idea how he managed it. A dog doesn''t understand death, you see. It only knows its owner is gone. He would just sit by their front gate every day, waiting for her toe back.”


    Helen sighed, her voice thick with emotion. Yvonne''s eyes welled with tears. All these years, someone had been waiting for her toe home.


    A short distance away, Bullet frolicked in the grass before disappearing into a thicket of bushes. He emerged a few momentster with a small bouquet of purple wildflowers in his mouth, which he proudly presented to Yvonne.


    "Are these for me? Thank you,” she said, her voice catching as she wrapped him in a fierce hug.


    After their walk, they returned to the apartment. Yvonne had just washed her hands and was about to help Helen with lunch when her phone, left in her coat pocket, began to ring. It was her academic advisor, reminding her that she had to be on campus tomorrow for her final exams.


    The original Yvonne was still a student, and exams were an unavoidable part of that life. Fortunately, this Yvonne had been diligently attending sses and studying.


    That evening, she informed Bet about her exams. He listened and simply said, "I know."


    The next day, he drove her to the university. As her guardian, he was nothing if not responsible.


    Yvonne first stopped by her


    advisor''s office to pick up her exam permit, then found her assigned ssroom. As she entered, she immediately spotted Queena and Luna After the truth about Queera''s identity had been revealed, many of their ssmates had started to distance themselves from her. Tina, ever the opportunist, was no longer part of their circle. Only Luna remained Queena''s loyalpdog.


    Yvonne ignored them and made her way to her seat. Soon, other students began to file in. As luck Would


    it Queena''s seat was directly in front of her, with Daisy and Rachel on either side. Not a single friendly face among them. Cóntent


    Daisy and Rachel were students at Istra Theater Academy but from different departments, so Yvonne rarely saw them on campus. Today, however, they were all in the same room for a core curriculum exam.


    "Well, well, look at the star student," Daisy said with a sneer, leaning toward her. "Make sure you answer everything correctly. I might need to ask for your helpter."


    Queena turned around, her eyes filled with malice.


    Yvonne met their res with an icy stare of her own. Clearly, she hadn''t hit them hard enoughst time. They still hadn''t learned their lesson.


    Just then, the proctor entered and began distributing the exam papers. Yvonne took hers and immediately started writing. She was halfway through when a small crumpled piece of paper flew from behind her andnded at her feet. She frowned but ignored it and continued


    working.


    A momentter, Daisy kicked her chair hard. The sharp noise caught the proctor''s attention.


    “What''s going on here?" the proctor asked, walking over with a frown.


    "Professor, I''d like to report Yvonne for cheating," Daisy announced loudly, raising her hand.