Chapter 1

Chad Kranz turned to stare at me. His cheekbones had sunken, and his lips had dried. He wore an online‑bought knockoff white groom's suit, a gold‑plated clip‑on bowtie around his neck, and a knockoff gold watch bought off the streets on his wrist while he sat cross‑legged in the middle of his bed.

"Evan." He lifted his chin slightly. "Keep that eggshell far away from me. The stink of food will sully my pure being."

Back in my past life, it was at this moment that I did everything I could to save Chad from dying. I succeeded, and my family paid the price, and they died for it. This time, I would not save him.

"All right. I will throw them away right now." I wrapped the eggshells in tissue and walked toward the balcony.

"Wait." Alec Carter, who slept on the top bunk, rolled his eyes at me. "Do not throw it on the balcony. The stench will fill the room. Throw it in the corridor."

In my past life, Alec was the first one to run when Chad faced mishaps. This time, he seemed concerned.

"Fine." I walked out with the tissue‑wrapped eggshell and threw it in the bin in the corridor.

At this point in my past life, Chad's heartbeat started to become irregular, and I made him consume half a bottle of glucose, which saved his life. The price for saving him was my family's death. This time, I vowed not to step in, no matter what happened. I wanted everyone to know that Chad was the one who refused help.

When I returned to the dorm, Chad was getting Alec to tape the mask tightly all over his face, leaving only his nostrils exposed.

"I will not lose any vital energy this way," Chad nodded as he explained.

Alec said, "Do not forget about me once you get rich by marrying into the Langfords."

"Do not worry. You will be my right‑hand man in the future."

I took out my phone and clicked into our class group chat. "Chad, do you need me to send a text to the group chat? It would be quite a sight if the entire school sent you off when the Langfords came to pick you up."

Chad's eyes lit up. "Do it." His chin lifted slightly. "You can say I have completed the Langfords' inedia trial, and I will be welcomed by them tomorrow. No one should disturb my progress, and anyone who does shall pay the price."

I typed everything he said and sent the text. It created a commotion in the group. Many doubted him, and some laughed out loud.

Alec was about to speak when Chad spoke first. "Ignore them. Once the Langfords arrive in the Rolls‑Royce tomorrow, no one will be laughing."

I read through the texts in the group chat and screenshot all of them to keep in my cloud.

At 2 a.m., Chad's breathing started to become erratic. Loud beeping came from the watch on his wrist, indicating that something was wrong with his heartbeat.

Alec jumped down from his top bunk. "Chad? What is wrong?"

Chad convulsed on his bed, and Alec panicked. He grabbed a bag of consumable glucose from his drawer and stuffed it into my hand. "What are you waiting for, Evan? You are the closest to Chad. Feed him the glucose!"

Jack Wentworth, who slept in the opposite bed, got up and joined Alec to drag me toward Chad. "What are you waiting for, Evan? Are you going to watch him die?"

"But I cannot…" Tears brimmed in my eyes as I cowered and shook my head vigorously. "Mrs. Kranz warned us that anyone who interrupted Chad's effort prevented the Kranzes from enjoying the fortune of a millionaire, and that person would pay with their family's life. I cannot afford that price. Both of you are braver than I am. Either one of you should feed him the glucose."

I wiped my tears while I secretly turned on my phone's video camera and concealed it under my shirt.

"Stop pretending to be a coward!" Alec grabbed me by the shirt angrily. "If you do not feed him today, and anything happens to Chad, our entire dorm will stand as witnesses against you for not saving him."

"Alec is right. You are jealous that Chad will marry into a rich family." Jack tried to blackmail me morally.

Chad suddenly sprang up from his bed and slapped away Alec's hand. "Get away from me! No one is allowed to touch me!" His eyes rolled as he protectively covered the mask tapped onto his face. He growled from his throat, "My pure physical body… My gold watch… No one is allowed to take my fortune from me!"

I watched as Alec and Jack screamed, and they ran back to hide under their covers.