Chapter 6

Joe's voice was full of smugness and self-satisfaction. But wasn't the reason he treated Finn like a thorn in his side precisely because he cared?

He felt really threatened by Finn's return, as he had expected to sit back and relax while inheriting enough wealth to last him a lifetime.

Everything was perfect: a grandmother who spoiled him, parents who doted on him, and three sisters who entertained his every whim.

And then Finn suddenly showed up, while he turned out to be an impostor?

He would rather die than return to where he came from.

He refused to bend over and hence decided to force Finn to leave.

Because everything the Lawsons had belonged to him!

Nonetheless, Finn smacked Joe's hand away and said, "I don't care. You, on the other hand, obviously care a lot—no matter how close the fake is to the real, you'll always be scared of losing everything because you know that none of it belongs to you."

As he finished, the door opened, and he returned inside the dorms.

Joe's expression was dark as Finn was completely right on what he was thinking, and his eyes flashed with rage and ill-will.

Beside him, Eli spat. "Who does that brat think he is?! How dare he smack your hand? Let's give him a proper whooping."

Joe nodded. "Go. Keep it clean, and don't let anyone find out I was involved."

Eli was still under the assumption that Joe was worried that Rain would get upset if she found out. "Ah, you always cover all corners, my man!"

In reality, Joe didn't care about Rain at all.

Zoe had bought him a Maserati when she saw that he was upset, and he definitely couldn't let Zoe find out that he wanted to screw over Finn at this juncture.

But as long as he kept up appearances, Finn would never measure up to him.

-

Back at the dorms, Finn familiarized himself with his new surroundings.

In his past life, he didn't interact much with his roommates.

However, it was not as if they were mean, and Finn was himself withdrawn and kept to himself, while also rarely staying in school.

"So, working a part-time job again?" one of his roommates, Yorick Levine, asked while using his phone. "Do you need money that badly? Try not to kill yourself, man."

His other roommate was Ian Locke, who looked rather odd as he was buff as he dried his clothes. "No, he couldn't pay his tuition fees, and the counselor was just asking about it. If you really can't, why not take a student loan or scholarship?"

"It's settled now. I just paid up at the campus," Finn said, smiling at them.

Even if he didn't spend much time with them in their last life, it seemed to him that they were good people.

Hence, he asked gingerly, "So… Are there any nice restaurants you guys would recommend?"

Yorick chuckled cheerfully. "There are plenty of restaurants, and it depends on whether you're eating with a dude or a chick. With chicks, it'll be grills, full course, Branzino, you name it. With dudes… even a falafel stand is fine.

"Now, that begs the question: who's the date? Don't tell me it's Rain Jenkins? I've heard that you were chasing after her—talk about punching above your weight! You sure have good eyes!"

"No," Finn promptly clarified. "It has nothing to do with Rain—I just want some good food."

He was so frail that he sorely needed proper nutrients.

Being candid as he ever was, Ian clapped Finn on the shoulder. "Don't mourn over that chick too much. And if you don't me being frank… With her looks and your wallet? You were never meant for each other, not with a rich brat like Joe chasing after her."

Finn didn't get upset, as Ian had good reason despite his harshness. "No, you're right about that."

Ian nodded, hesitating again before saying, "Oh, and heads up—said rich brat's gang has been asking about you, so watch out. He's not to be trifled with."

Finn nodded, but he wasn't worried about Joe hurting him.

He was just worried about more slander.

In his past life, it was long after he had split up with the Lawsons that he really found out the atrocities Joe had done to frame him. It was definitely enough to invoke the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act!

And in this life, he had no intention of letting Joe off the hook!

-

The opportunity to buy Sue a meal soon arrived.

The next day, after philosophy class, a pretty figure appeared in the classroom.

It was a tough class for Rain—Finn would usually bring her breakfast every day no matter the weather or circumstance, but not today.

He didn't reserve seats for her and her bestie either, so when she arrived after her nap, they had no choice but to sit in the front row!

Even so, she glanced at Finn countless times throughout the class, while Finn didn't look at her once.

She would then check her phone hesitantly, but still couldn't humble herself enough to text Finn.

After all… It was usually him who came to sweet-talk her!

Her bestie, Ophelia Ingram, poked her cheek and asked, "What's gotten into you? Joe Lawson is inviting us to hang out tonight—if you stay silent, I'll take that as a yes?"

"Wait, what?" Rain blurted.

Ophelia sighed wryly. "Honestly, why would you keep staring at that loser Finn Lawson? I've been telling you all this while that you have no reason to stay with that bum, what with your grades, looks, and family.

"There are so many boys who like you, so can you use your eyes for once? Can he even afford Chanel bags? Burberry?"

"Finn's not a bum!" Rain retorted, arguing for once. "H-He's quite fine…"

Back at the orphanage, he was her knight in shining armor against bullies and always gave her his candy.

In the winter, he would warm her bed for her. On her birthdays, he would give her flowers...

Just the thought left her crestfallen—what on earth had inflated her self-worth so much before?

When the class was finally over, she just reached the door when she saw Finn already out, with a stunning beauty standing right in front of her!

Rain's heart sank.

Sue Cavill?!

She wasn't merely another pretty face in college, but an actual heiress!

She was already tall and elegant, but her beauty would match even A-list actresses. On top of that, she wore stylish dresses and very expensive shoes, and even her handbag looked like it must cost six figures.

And around her, everything seemed dull in comparison, as she had both confidence and stride that shone brightly like the midday sun.

Sue was holding Finn's student ID between two slender fingers as she said, "I brought you your student ID, so buy me dinner. I'm hungry."

Finn pursed his lips in hesitation and took out the replacement ID he just made. "Actually…"

Sue's eyes flashed in annoyance as she hissed under her breath, "How dare you refuse me in public! Do you want to test my patience? Or maybe you just want to get expelled?!"

She could have simply dumped that ID into the nearest bin, but she came to him despite the disparity of their positions, only to end up having her goodwill spat on?!

Finn felt a headache just listening to that.

There went that heiress attitude again… Would it hurt her to stop being nasty for a second?

Nodding repeatedly, he said, "Fine, fine… I'll buy dinner…"

Sue snorted, satisfied. "Finally, some tact! Wait for me at the front gates—if you bail on me, you'll find yourself in a tiny dark room, slowly losing your mind!"