Chapter 4

Back then, Whitney had sworn up and down that she only cared about studying as she planned to be our parents' successor and take over the family business.

When Dad found out about her and Simon, he was furious and made us kneel right then and there. Mom couldn't bear seeing us kneeling out at night, so she pleaded, threw a fit, and eventually got him to soften a little.

"I'll let you off if you get first place in this month's exam."

When Whitney heard the condition, she agreed confidently. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll always be first in our grade no matter what."

Meanwhile, I let out a cold laugh where no one could see. Perhaps it was time for some change, seeing as she'd gotten all her luck from me.

Even after Whitney reunited with her birth parents, it hadn't been easy. Dad's expectations were high—he wanted her to study finance and master every subject.

He was grooming her to be the heiress, but she'd grown up in the orphanage and had barely attended school. Compared to kids her age who'd received high-level education since they were young, she struggled.

Night after night, I'd seen her studying until she was exhausted. I would run to her and hold her to comfort her. "Don't be afraid, Whitney. As long as I'm here, you'll only get better and better."

No one knew that every time I hugged her, my luck would flow into her. I never told her that because I didn't want to hurt her pride. I wanted her to believe that she'd earned all her success through her own talent.

Now that she didn't have my extraordinary luck to help her, I planned to see just how she would get first place.

…

The news of my fight with Simon spread quickly. Some students even found out about his secret relationship with Whitney.

When Simon came to school that day, he glared at me as if he wanted to rip me apart. I didn't even flinch under his stare. Perhaps he remembered just how vicious I could be, for he didn't bother me after that.

I also heard that his parents froze all his cards and that he would only get an allowance if he ranked in the top 30 on the exam. He'd always been a poor student, ranking at the very bottom of the grade. In my past life, Whitney had even helped him cheat just so he could scrape by.

Even so, none of the ongoing drama could stop Simon from sneaking off to meet Whitney after school. Many students even caught them in the act.

During class, they would exchange looks and gestures. Even the teacher, Mr. James Watson, couldn't tolerate it anymore and threw a piece of chalk at them.

"That's enough, you two," Mr. Watson warned. "You're in your senior year now. I know you both come from wealthy families, but you still need to prove yourselves with your grades!"

However, Whitney dismissed Mr. Watson with a scoff, not showing an ounce of respect for him. "With all due respect, sir, I can still get first in the entire school even without your class."

Back then, with my luck lending her an edge, Whitney could read a page at a glance, remember everything perfectly, and ace every test effortlessly.

So, she didn't care about Mr. Watson at all. Instead, she laughed at him openly. "Honestly, your class is boring anyway."

Mr. Watson's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Looking at the overbearing Whitney at that moment, I couldn't understand why I'd ever been so devoted to her.

After that, I paid little to no attention to her and Simon. I buried myself in my studies instead. In my past life, my memory had worsened after I'd lent Whitney my luck, and misfortune had followed me everywhere.

Even though I still had some of my luck, half had gone to Whitney. That left me with only half.

Indeed, my luck wasn't unlimited. Once it was gone, it was over. That was what the fortune-teller had told me, looking deadly serious.

So I could only rely on hard work. It didn't bother me because I didn't regret lending my luck to Whitney before. She'd deserved it because she'd given me the warmth I desperately needed at that time.

From that moment on, though, we would walk our separate paths.