"Betty is just too kind for her own good. If it were me, I wouldn't even waste my breath on trash like that!"
Seeing me sitting motionless in my chair, Betty simply stood up, walked over, and opened my MacBook Pro with a smile.
"This is no time to be shy, sweetheart. I'll help you play it!"
She pressed the play button, and the exact same beat from moments ago erupted from the speakers.
"Wait... Margaret, why is my demo on your computer?"
Betty's expression immediately shifted to one of hurt, her eyes already welling with tears.
"This morning, I told you I was having problems with my Logic Pro and asked you to take a look... You... you didn't... back then, did you...?"
The expressions of the surrounding contestants and the panel of judges all changed. They stared at me, their eyes filled with utter disdain and contempt.
"I knew it. That bitch never learns. Stealing Betty's work again!"
"Holy shit, I broke out in a cold sweat. If Betty hadn't gone first, was that bitch really planning to pass this track off as her own for the competition?"
"You can tell this is Betty's style the second you hear it. Margaret is such a clown! Can they just disqualify her already?!"
Just as the live stream’s comment section was screaming for my blood, Betty stood before me once again, delivering a passionate speech to the cameras.
“Everyone, please don’t say that! This competition is a world-class stage. The ultimate champion won’t just receive a massive cash prize, but will also land a record deal with Interscope and become the brightest of stars!”
“With so much on the line, Margaret simply made a mistake in a moment of desperation. I completely understand!”
“I don’t intend to hold her responsible, and I’m asking the judges and the fans to please give Margaret another chance! After all, for every Asian-American producer who makes it on the world stage, our American EDM culture gains another layer of diversity!”
Under the flashing lights of the cameras, Betty looked like a saint, a savior of all mankind, basking in everyone’s praise.
In my past life, even though I was certain I hadn't plagiarized, I was backed into a corner. Unwilling to give up on my dream, I gritted my teeth and continued with the competition.
But who would have known that in every single round, Betty, who performed right before me, would present the track I had just finished, claiming it as her own.
In order to advance, I had no choice but to scramble during the meager break—a mere few dozen minutes—to hastily slap together a subpar version.
Even so, I was still accused by the judges and the audience every single time, who claimed I was crudely imitating Betty's style, a despicable and shameless music thief.
And just like that, Betty skyrocketed to fame as her fanbase exploded, while my own reputation was dragged through the mud.
In the grand finale, besides Betty and me, there was also a famous DJ from Sweden.
The challenge, conducted under fully isolated and live-streamed conditions, was for each contestant to independently compose a one-minute single based on a given theme within two hours, and then present it on the spot.
I was ecstatic at the time, believing that under the scrutiny of the 360-degree, all-seeing cameras, there was absolutely no way Betty could steal my work again.
But who could have guessed that when it was Betty's turn to present, the sound coming from her player would be the very audio track I had finished rendering just a minute before, identical down to the millisecond.
I was utterly dumbfounded, not even realizing when my own turn came.
By the time the judges played my track for me, I was branded a plagiarist forever, with no hope of recovery, a fate that ultimately led to the tragic deaths of my entire family.
Now that fate has given me a second chance, I will turn the tables and expose the real plagiarist for all the world to see.