Chapter 2 Yvonne's Love

My father never spoke like that to me. I used to be brilliant and do everything they asked me to. Now, even my mother was looking at me with displeasure. I could see the scolding in her eyes.

All I did was smile. "You promised you'd have my back all the time, Dad. You too, Mom. So why the long faces? It almost seems like you're making me join the competition to boost your ego, not my future."

"Shut your mouth!" my mother scolded, losing her composure. She lost whatever elegance she thought she had. Her pitiful ego was gone too.

Yvonne put her leg over another and watched me fight back. Zack knew something had gone horribly wrong, so he stepped in to play the mediator.

"Zack, your folks are just worried about you. The nationals can help you a lot if you win. You can't just pull out."

I answered, "I've gotten an offer from Mr. Wendel. He's a world-famous master, and his nation's robot tech is incredibly advanced. I can learn a lot from him."

I did not really care about the nationals. It wasn't important to me. I only joined in the first place for two reasons. One, it would be a good experience. Two, my friends and family encouraged me.

"But…"

I interrupted, "If you love the competition so much, here's an idea. Join it yourself."

That shut Zack and Yvonne up. They exchanged a look of panic.

My father was disappointed. "You weren't like this. Arrogance isn't a good trait. You can't be sure you'll get to Mr. Wendel, even if you have the offer."

I snickered. When that fake scandal made the rounds in my previous life, Mr. Wendel tried to dissuade me from joining him. The furore hit him hard. Even then, my parents did not stand up for me.

Now that I was adamant about not joining the competition, my father decided to give me an ultimatum.

"You're all grown up now. If you won't listen to your old man, then get out of my house! I have no son!"

My mother said, "Now say sorry to your father, Samuel."

I ignored her request. Instead, I went back to my room, packed up, and left the house. Shock grasped everyone as they tried to process my decision. No one tried to come after me.

I helped my advisor at college out a lot, doing things I could manage. He approved of me, and the moment I told him I was moving into campus, he got me a dorm room.

My roommates were surprised I showed up, but they welcomed me with open arms. I was still the talented young man untainted by the scandal at this point.

And I also struck a deal with a company and helped them out with their tech. Every month, I made a lot of money from my side hustle.

I took a shower and hopped into bed, but my mind was still combing out my past life. Though Yvonne was the one who orchestrated everything up to my death, Dick Woody was the one who gained the most.

I searched my friend list. He was on it, and I added him back on onboarding day. He updated his status the day before. The campus' lab stood behind him. He was making a peace sign beside a robot model. The caption read, 'Finally. I'm almost done.'

The comments were filled with praise and encouragement. Many of them suggested that he join the nationals. He said he would, and he believed he could get an award or two.

Unlike in my past life, he was joining the competition himself this time. I enlarged the picture. The part of the robot that was revealed looked similar to mine.

Given my scandal in my past life, I had reason to think that Dick planned this all along. Maybe even longer than I thought.

He was the campus idol of the Art Academy next door. The guy came from a regular family, but he was handsome and had a gentle air about him. Rich admirers lined up for him, including my stupid sister, Yvonne.

But then I had a question. Why did he set me up? The only time we met was during onboarding day.

A chat bubble popped up. Zack's apology.