Chapter 1

Even after I was poisoned to death in the private room of the restaurant, my girlfriend, Sasha Corbin, was still not satisfied. She searched my body, fished out my phone, and contacted Mom and Dad.

After hearing that something had happened to me, Mom and Dad rushed to the private room without a second thought. When they saw me lying on the floor, blood pouring from all seven orifices, they bawled their eyes out until they could barely catch their breath.

Sasha and my other classmates helped them to their feet and helped them sit down. "Calm down, Mr. and Mrs. Marlowe. The ambulance is already on its way. Have a sip of water first."

Without a hint of suspicion, Mom and Dad downed the glasses of water that were offered to them. In no time, a sharp pain tore through their chests, and they immediately spat out mouthfuls of blood.

At that moment, Sasha and my other classmates finally revealed their true colors.

"We poisoned your precious son to death too. He killed Ethan, so he has to go down to hell to pay for his sins! You two old fogeys can go down and keep your son company too. If you want to blame someone, blame your vicious son for dragging you down with him!"

The three of us died on the spot. My soul floated in the air, and I wished I could drag them all down with me, but I couldn't do a thing.

Yet, the very next second, a familiar voice sounded in my ears. "Whoa, Ethan! Did your chauffeur drop you off at school again today? That's a Rolls-Royce!"

Standing in the corner of the classroom, I stared at everything before me in disbelief. It dawned on me that I had been reborn.

"No, that's my dad, not my chauffeur."

The crowd went wild. "Damn, your dad's so good to you! He's so busy, yet he still drives you to school."

Our class president, Ethan Barron, smiled as if he agreed. However, I knew everything he had said was a lie. Remembering the agony I had endured before my death in my previous life, I shot daggers at him.

Perhaps sensing my hostile gaze, Ethan shifted his attention to me. "Francis, your grades are so good. I'm sure you don't need my help to get into Meridian College, right?"

I withdrew my gaze and was about to respond when Sasha beat me to it. "Don't worry about him, Ethan. Look at how broke he is. Even if he gets into Meridian College, he won't be able to afford the tuition. He might as well go to some lousy vocational college."

"Exactly. He probably can't even afford the tuition. Francis, even if Ethan helps you get into Meridian College, you won't last a month in the capital.

"Ethan, you can't take care of him for the rest of his life, you know."

At that moment, all my classmates firmly believed Ethan's words and were convinced that he could pull strings to get them into Meridian College. I had already checked my grades the night before, and my score exceeded the admission threshold for Meridian College. So as long as I filled out my college preferences correctly, I was guaranteed to get in.

Ethan's eyes lit up when he heard that. "To be honest, my family does charity work all the time and sponsors underprivileged students. If you drop to your knees and beg me right now, I can pay for your college tuition."

I clenched my fists, suppressing the urge to lunge at him and punch him in the face. "That won't be necessary. If you forcefully try to take things that aren't yours, it will eventually come back to bite you."

Ethan's expression froze for a moment before he immediately squeezed out a few crocodile tears. "I'm only doing this for your own good. After all, if you attend Meridian College, your destiny might actually change in the future. But if you don't appreciate the offer, you can forget it."

Drinking in his pitiable demeanor, Sasha immediately stepped forward and kicked me in the knee. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Francis Marlowe! You should thank your lucky stars that Ethan's willing to sponsor you. Now, hurry up and get down on your knees to thank him!"

"Exactly. What's the point of holding onto your pride when you're dirt poor? Can your pride put food on the table?"

Pain shot through my leg, but I still forced myself to stay on my feet. I merely glared at Ethan venomously. Dozens of eyes were on me, eager to watch me grovel in humiliation.

"I'll pass. My family may be poor, but we still have enough money for me to go to school. Besides, there are student loans. There's always a way to make it work.

"You guys, on the other hand, don't have high enough scores and want to get in through connections. Be careful not to let your cleverness backfire on you!"