Chapter 1

[Hank, I gave Stanley your experimental results. You've already won many awards and honors. His mother only has a few days left, and this is his last chance to fulfill her dying wish.]

[Once he wins, I'll say yes to your marriage proposal right away, okay?]

Just seconds before the explosion, I spotted the note my fiancee, Yelena Quincy, had left beneath the lab table.

But it was too late.

The chemical she had substituted reacted violently inside the test tube. It triggered an explosion that tore through the entire lab building, blowing me to pieces!

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the auditorium for the chemistry competition awards ceremony. The place was packed, and everyone's attention was focused on the stage.

Stanley Johnson and Yelena stood together holding the trophy. They basked in the spotlight as they gave a speech for the cameras.

"I have to thank my senior, Yelena Quincy. She pushed me to improve and encouraged me every step of the way. I wouldn't be here without her," Stanley said.

Yelena smiled modestly. "Stanley's success comes from his hard work and commitment to his research. He's spent years working day and night in the lab, studying all kinds of experiments."

As she praised him, people in the crowd started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss him!"

Stanley raised an eyebrow and jokingly put up his hands in surrender. "I wouldn't dare. Yelena would hit me for that."

Yelena playfully punched him on the arm.

The crowd erupted into a deafening chorus of cheers.

But my heart clenched painfully. Even as nothing more than a lingering spirit, I could still barely breathe from the pain.

Stanley's winning project was based on three months of experiments I had worked on late into the night.

And Yelena was my fiancee, the woman I had loved for five years.

But now, I had nothing left. I had even lost my life in that horrific explosion.

And to think the person behind it all was Yelena, the woman I trusted most.

I should have seen it coming.

The night before, Yelena had asked a question out of nowhere.

She asked if I'd be willing to give up the work I had done on my experiments for her.

I found it strange.

She had never asked me such a childish question.

We had both worked our way up from the bottom of the chemical field. We knew that experimental results were about respecting science and pursuing the facts.

I thought she was testing me again, so I firmly told her I wouldn't.

But she suddenly grew anxious. "Even if I'm the one asking you to give up these results, you still wouldn't do it?"

Completely confused, I asked her what was wrong. Yelena distractedly changed the subject instead.

It wasn't until I died that I learned Yelena had replaced my research with an unknown chemical to help Stanley win the competition.

Stanley was my student. He wasn't very gifted, but he was desperate for fame and always wanted to make a name for himself in the chemical industry. Yet he had never accomplished anything.

That's why Yelena stole my experimental results and gave them to him. It allowed him to enter the competition and win.

But Yelena clearly hated dishonesty in scientific experiments.

When she competed in the past, she could've placed much higher, but she was eliminated after her opponent cheated.