Chapter 1

"Can you share Nash’s contact info with me?" The girl who was well-known around campus lightly poked my arm.

Near the classroom window, a figure came into view.

It was 17-year-old Nash Xander.

I suddenly snapped back to my senses, clutching my chest and gasping for breath.

"What's the matter with you?" The person who poked me was my desk mate, Yvonne Quinn, who had just transferred here a week ago and was crowned as the most beautiful girl on campus.

In my previous life, she had been just as carefree and self-assured, declaring, "Give me his contact info, and I'll have him in a week."

Back then, I had dismissed it as mere boasting.

But that very evening, I witnessed her seated on the table, sharing a kiss with Nash.

The plaster statue that should have been on the table tumbled to the ground, breaking into pieces.

I was reborn!

I found myself transported back to a time when tragedies hadn’t unfolded yet.

I clenched my hands, battling to suppress the quiver in my voice. "Sure, I'll send you on WhatsApp."

In my previous life, I hadn't given her Nash’s contact info, and she had held a grudge against me for quite a while.

After a straightforward operation on my phone, I set it aside. "Alright, if there’s nothing else, I should get back to my studies."

Yvonne added Nash on WhatsApp while inquiring, "Studying again? Aren't you curious why I said I wanted to win him over? Aren't you secretly infatuated with him?"

My heart constricted.

At the age of seventeen, I had made two grave mistakes.

First, I harbored a secret affection for Nash but lacked the courage to confess it.

Second, I reported his relationship with Yvonne, which resulted in him being sent abroad.

Thus, he held a deep-seated grudge against me, a hatred that endured for eight long years.

He was even willing to destroy me, all to exact revenge for what had transpired back then.

Recalling that humiliating night, a wave of nausea washed over me.

"No, you've got it all wrong. I've never secretly crushed on him," I asserted, raising my head and locking eyes with Yvonne, my expression deadly serious.

My earnest response caught Yvonne off guard, and she slyly curled her lips. "Well, now that you've said that, I can breathe easy. I wasn't sure how to tell you about me and Nash, afraid it might upset you."

In my previous life, Yvonne had displayed the same audacious confidence.

Yvonne was stunning, possessing a well-proportioned, tall frame, flawless fair skin, and striking facial features that radiated even without makeup. Among our rather ordinary-looking group of students, she was the most dazzling rose.

Yvonne had earned the moniker of a "campus heartbreaker" – she had dated practically every good-looking guy in the school. Her personality matched her appearance, passionate and outgoing.

While others anxiously studied for exams, she was smoking, drinking, partying, and skipping classes. She didn't fit the mold of a conventional "good girl." However, for those who didn’t dare to defy conventions, she exuded a deadly allure.

Nash was one of those who couldn't resist her charm.

I recalled the moments just before my death in my previous life.

I gripped the cuff of Nash’s white shirt, telling him, "Nash, you shouldn't treat me like this, even if you despise me. Seeking revenge in this manner isn't right."

As his cuff slipped from my grasp, my arm bore permanent scars from cigarette burns and a curling iron.

Nash peered down at me with a patronizing smirk.

"So, what's your suggestion then? If it weren't for you, Yvonne wouldn't have married someone else, and she wouldn't have met her end in that underground clinic."

"You played a part in her demise, and yet, you have the nerve to ask for my forgiveness?"

"Wendy Carter, you're incredibly naive."

Yes, in my previous life, I had confided in Mr. and Mrs. Xander about Nashi's relationship with Yvonne. It led to Nash being forced to go abroad, while Yvonne, entangled in a love affair, failed SAT.

She graduated shortly after and became involved with a punk. She became pregnant out of wedlock, and her boyfriend abandoned her, with her parents also neglecting her.

In desperation, Yvonne sought an abortion at an underground clinic but didn't survive the procedure.

Nash firmly believed that if I hadn't disclosed their relationship to his parents, he wouldn't have left the country, and Yvonne wouldn't have met her tragic end.

I was the root cause of it all.

I smiled warmly and offered my best wishes, saying, "That's wonderful! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and love."

Yvonne glanced at me with a hint of puzzlement but remained silent.

As time passed, Nash and Yvonne carried on their secret romance.

They were just like any other couple, skipping classes to catch movies, adorning their ears with flashy jewelry, sharing kisses on the Ferris wheel, and racing through the streets on motorcycles.

Yvonne was introducing Nash to all the experiences he had missed in his previous life.

Their carefree existence didn't quite fit the mold of typical students. Perhaps they had forgotten that they were still in school.

I observed it all from a distance, choosing not to be foolish enough to report them to Mr. and Mrs. Xander.

I had a busy schedule preparing for SAT.

In my previous life, under Nash’s influence, I had enrolled in the same high school as him and pursued an art major. I had even resolved to specialize in the same field as Nash, willingly becoming his shadow.

However, things were different now. I had decided to switch from being an art student to a regular one.

I was preparing to take SAT and carve out my own path.