I suddenly heard Mom's voice, which possessed a warmth and affection I hadn't experienced in years. "Your classmates are here, Zach!"

I jerked my head up from a desk covered in textbooks and instinctively ran my fingers over my stomach, finding that it didn't hurt anymore. It appeared that the stomach cancer hadn't manifested yet. There was neither blood nor the previous excruciating pain.

Mom knocked on my door again, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I noticed that I was still in my high school uniform. I thought that everything felt like a dream, yet the memories of that agonizing pain were still vivid in my mind.

I finally understood what happened after standing there in a daze. I had been reborn back into my high school years.

I stepped out and found Queenie and Timothy sitting stiffly on the familiar couch in the living room. Their presence caused me significant internal distress, as I realized that this was the day she proposed the shared tutoring sessions, marking the onset of my future misfortunes.

Queenie suddenly stood up after spotting me. She then looked at me with anticipation and said, "Is it possible to include Timothy in our tutoring sessions, Zachary? You see, Timothy's academic foundation is also somewhat lacking."

Timothy stood beside her, a flicker of discomfort crossing his eyes as Queenie's request had clearly embarrassed him. She noticed and silently patted his hand to comfort him.

I slowly shook my head while facing their expectant gazes and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that."

In my past life, Queenie began to resent me because I turned down her request.

Timothy had transferred into our class during our senior year. He was slender and pale, with the appearance of a fragile, sickly youth that easily charmed many of the young women in our class, as though he were a delicate glass ornament.

Queenie, too, found herself unconsciously drawn to Timothy the moment he introduced himself to the class.

Timothy came from a poor family, and his father suffered from a disability. He and Queenie quickly connected, perhaps out of mutual sympathy for their situations.

I thought that Timothy had a perfect setup—a poverty-stricken home, a disabled father, and his own delicate nature.

He often struggled to keep up with the lessons, so he often brought over test papers covered in mistakes and took a seat next to Queenie, asking rather shyly, "Can you help me with this question, Queenie?"

Queenie would patiently accept the test paper and go through it step by step with Timothy, in stark contrast to the impatience she displayed when helping me.

She had once unhesitatingly moved his seatmate out of the way so she could sit beside Timothy when he was distressed by his poor performance in physics, occasionally patting his back in silence to console him. She even spent the entire study session drafting a detailed review for him.

The classmates around us kept whispering among themselves, convinced that Queenie and Timothy were made for each other, while I became the odd one out.

I didn't refuse Timothy's participation in the tutoring session out of jealousy. I refused it because three days before Queenie's suggestion, I had inadvertently overheard Timothy speaking with his friends in the restroom.

"I think Queenie has a thing for you, Timothy. Are you already dating her?" one of Timothy's friends asked.

Timothy sneered, his voice dripping with contempt as he replied, "How could I possibly be interested in Queenie, especially with her scrappy, dirt-poor appearance? I'm only using her to get through my schoolwork."

"You're something else, Timothy! Zachary actually has to pay for Queenie to tutor him!"

"Zachary's not going anywhere in life anyway, especially with that brain of his. You guys should just wait and see. I'll have Queenie all to myself sooner or later."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I sat in one of the cubicles in the restroom. His remarks stood in stark contrast to the character he portrayed to our classmates.

I chose not to tell Queenie the truth to protect her emotional state, fearing it would ruin her focus during such a crucial final year of high school.

I tried to warn her indirectly to keep away from him, and when she finally asked if Timothy could join us for the tutoring session, I gave her a firm refusal.

Timothy walked away disappointed, only to be struck by a car. That moment marked the beginning of his life falling apart.

In the end, Queenie cried and blamed me.

In my previous life, I didn't realize she was guilt-tripping me, which led me to become entirely submissive to her. I eventually realized my sacrifices were futile, as she didn't want my devotion but rather my demise.

In this life, I finally learned my lesson. I figured I would just let the two of them have each other and be done with it. I saw no point in saying anything else to them.

Queenie grew unusually agitated when I refused her suggestion. She glared at me and started guilt-tripping me just like she used to.

"Why can't you let Timothy join in on the tutoring session? You shouldn't behave so selfishly during this crucial time for our studies, Zachary."

Queenie's grades were excellent in high school, but she was also quite haughty. She was also so broke that she frequently couldn't even afford three meals a day.

I wasn't particularly interested in studying, but I still paid for her tutoring and had her tutor me, doing it merely to protect her pride.

I even arranged for her to intern at Dad's company after she graduated and secretly helped her secure the role of project manager. I then handed over full control of the company's operations to her once we were married.

I had done so much for her, yet Queenie still bore resentment toward me over Timothy. I had been granted a second chance in life now, so I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Timothy joined in at that moment, his indifferent eyes turning bloodshot as he gently tugged at Queenie's sleeve. He looked quite miserable, with tears brimming in his eyes but never quite dropping.

I secretly marveled at his performance, finding it hard to believe that a guy could pull off that kind of "innocent act" so effectively.

Timothy suddenly said, "I'll end up working in a factory if I don't make it into college, so please just think of it as saving my life. I swear I'll do everything I can to pay you back for your favor later, Zachary."

Queenie roared, "Do you really have to push Timothy into a corner before you're satisfied, Zachary?"

I picked up a tissue from the coffee table and handed it to Timothy, who was on the verge of tears. "You can't be serious, Timothy. I wouldn't dream of taking responsibility for something as important as your future."

I immediately took out my phone and transferred 150 dollars to Queenie right then and there, all while finding it quite ironic how she was still pinned at the top of my messaging app. I felt utterly disgusted by it.

"I've sent you the tutoring fees for this month, Queenie, so you don't have to come here anymore. You should just focus on helping Timothy from now on. I won't interfere with any of it from today onward."

I noticed that a hint of delight flickered across Timothy's face as he looked at Queenie expectantly. She didn't react to him in the slightest, simply staring at me with a furrowed brow.

Queenie fixed her gaze on me in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? Does this mean you're actually firing me, Zachary?"

I repeated myself just to make sure Queenie understood the situation. "You don't have to come over to my place to tutor me anymore. You should help Timothy instead. Otherwise, his future will be ruined if he doesn't make it into college, Queenie."

"I've been tutoring you for two years already, so aren't you afraid that stopping so suddenly will affect your chances of getting into college?" Queenie asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"You don't need to worry about that, so please see yourselves out," I said as I politely held the door open for the pair.

In my previous life, Queenie tutored me right up until the exams, but my grades barely improved. I ended up going abroad to study anyway, yet I was still held responsible for Timothy's tragic circumstances.

I couldn't help but realize what an absolute fool I was in my past life.

Queenie's hands trembled, her knuckles paling from clenching them too hard. She then said through gritted teeth, "You'd better not regret this, Zachary!"

With that, she left with Timothy.

She made a point of studying with Timothy more openly from then on. Their discussions were loud enough that my earplugs couldn't keep the sound out.

I also made a study plan and decided to begin reviewing from the fundamentals.

Timothy looked very upset about the effort I was putting into my studies. He came up to me with a textbook that contained Queenie's recent annotations and said derisively, "You're actually taking your studies seriously now, Zachary.

"Do you even understand what you're studying by doing it on your own, though? You see, I have Queenie's notes here if you need any help."

He slightly shook the notebook in his hand, a sneer tugging at the corner of his lips. "How forgetful of me. Queenie isn't tutoring you anymore, so I guess I can't share these valuable notes with you."

He spoke sharply, making sure the surrounding classmates could hear him. Queenie, who usually kept herself out of such matters, even looked toward us.

Resting my chin with my hand, I retorted, "You should first worry about your own appalling physics marks instead of being so concerned about someone else's education. I mean, don't you feel ashamed of that single-digit score of yours?"

Timothy turned red with rage, but he had no comeback for what I said.

Queenie suddenly knocked on my desk and asked, "Can we step outside to talk, Zachary?"