After we were both reborn, my wife and I decided to part ways and live our own lives.

She went to Newport with Klay Bernhard, the son of a wealthy family, while I went to study at a university in the capital.

By leveraging her past life's experience, she helped her new boyfriend avoid investment risks and devise a brilliant business strategy. It didn't take long before she got everything she wanted in the past life.

Meanwhile, I continued to focus on my studies and was content with living a mundane life.

We met again at a class reunion years later.

I saw her arm-in-arm with Klay. She was showing off the enormous diamond ring she wore.

"It's been ten years, haven't you made anything of yourself?"

All I did was smile and remain silent. That was until a wealthy businesswoman showed up late to the scene and threw herself into my arms.

"You promised me we would go get our marriage license when I come back, you can't go back on your word!"

At that moment, my wife from the past life, who was usually prideful, had a look of sheer disbelief in her eyes.

It finally clicked for her that the reason I was willing to separate from her for so many years was not that I was stubborn. It was because we were through.

I was reborn in my senior year of high school.

I found myself in a noisy classroom. The students had their textbooks wrapped in their arms and were waiting for the teacher to assign seats to them.

The moment I made eye contact with Enya, I realized she had been reborn as well.

I knew because the way she looked at me was completely different from the way she looked at me in our previous life.

Her gaze was icy and wary. She regarded me with the hostility of a stranger.

“Dominic Kubert, you will be sitting with Enya Heathfield. Help her with her math homework. Exams will be starting soon, yet her grades haven’t seen much improvement!”

Enya and I looked at our teacher at the same time.

In my past life, I remember I immediately rose and assured the teacher that I would do as instructed.

After all, I have always wanted to get a chance to spend time with Enya. It was my sole desire in my schooling days.

It was the first seed that would eventually blossom into a romance.

This time around, I frowned faintly and refused without hesitation.

“My grades haven’t been doing well lately either, and my family got me a tutor. I don’t think I have time to help her with her homework.”

A dreadful silence fell over the classroom.

Enya abruptly turned toward me. She instinctively scrunched the cover of her textbook.

She must be taken aback by the sudden change in the man who spent his past life chasing after her and doing everything he could to spoil her. This time, I cut off ties with her by my own choice.

Since the teacher was fond of me, she did not insist.

With that, she nodded and made arrangements for another student to help Enya. That was the end of the matter.

During recess, Enya intentionally bumped into my shoulder.

“Is this your idea of getting revenge on me? How much more childish are you going to get, Dominic?”

I shot her a look. "Revenge? You’re not even worth something like that."

Her expression dropped.

“Quit playing dumb! Meet me in the alleyway after school.”

I did not think much of it and agreed to meet her anyway.

Now that I had a second chance at life, I wouldn’t have to worry about her grades. I wouldn’t have to take notes for her or fix her mistakes.

That afternoon, I got to enjoy the classes without pressure for once.

When the bell rang for the second time, I leisurely strolled to the alleyway to meet her.

As soon as I showed up, Enya seized me by the strap of my backpack.

“Explain! Were you reborn, too?”

I replied straightforwardly, “Yes.”

She released me as if her hand had been burnt.

“I had a feeling… Perfect. We’re going to be strangers in this life. You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. Deal?

I watched as she gallantly tossed her hair and kept her distance from me. I had to admit I was slightly hurt by the sight.

However, it was only a very faint headache.

After spending decades together in the past life, I was more than aware that we were not compatible.

I nodded.

“Deal. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? If not, I'm going.”

She must not have expected me to agree so heartily because I recognized a tinge of shock in her eyes.

She hid her surprise with a smug smile.

“You're not trying to get my attention out of spite, are you?

“I advise you to give up while you still can. I already agreed to be with Klay Bernhard. After we graduate, I’m going to Halo City with him.

“We’re going to be in different social classes from now on, so don’t you hatch any ideas about me.”

I remember Klay. He was a good-for-nothing brat who was born into wealth.

Even though I wanted to have nothing to do with her anymore, I still asked about her plans for the future out of the kindness of my heart.

“Right after graduation? Aren't you going to university?”

She looked at me like I had said something stupid and scoffed.

“Why would I bother with that? I’m going to be rich! You’re saying it as if studying had given me a better life!”

I knew she was mocking me for not giving her a life of luxury in our past life.

I was done bickering with her and turned to leave.

Before leaving, I offered one last word of advice.

“I just think a woman should value their independence and not rely on another person too much…”

“Shut up!” Enya sharply cut me off, “Are you jealous because I’m going to live a better life than you?

“Or are you angry that I didn't want to be with you and am going to run off with another man?”

Knowing that I had nothing in common with Enya anymore, I wisely kept my mouth shut.

Suddenly, the deafening blare of a horn interrupted us.

It was followed by a red BMW pulling up to the side of the road. Klay leaned out of the window and cried out, “Let’s go, Enya!”

Enya's expression changed instantly. She ran to the car, but not without issuing me one last warning.

“Remember what I said!”

I watched as the BMW sped away. Then, I took the phone out of my pocket and deleted all her pictures from my phone.

Conveniently, a message happened to pop up from the class’s group chat.

“Here is the list of students with guaranteed admission to the National University.”

I couldn’t find the words to describe the mix of emotions within me.

In my past life, I ended up giving up on the opportunity after giving it countless thoughts. The main reason I did so was that Enya claimed she would feel insecure if we were in a long-distance relationship.

This time, things would be different. My fingers were trembling when I called Mrs. Crosby.

“Hello, Mrs. Crosby. I changed my mind about not enrolling.”

Mrs. Crosby was elated about me changing my mind and deciding to take the guaranteed admission.

However, the admission process was far trickier than I had imagined.

I was practically living in the registrar's office during that period. I spent my days organizing documents, stamping them, and signing paperwork. I was so busy that I barely had time to go to my classes.

Occasionally, I'd run into classmates in the hallway who would regard me with a mix of curiosity and what seemed like hesitation.

Finally, one of them blurted out the question, "Dominic, are you and Enya... How are things between you two?"

I continued flipping through the application form, hardly bothering to look up.

“What could happen between us?”

“I’ve been seeing Enya getting really close with Klay lately. I heard rumors they're together…

“You’ve always taken care of her in the past? Everyone just kind of assumed you two were a couple.”

I smiled briefly and jammed the application forms into a folder before stating plainly, “No. We’re just classmates. Don't look too much into it.”

They didn't seem convinced but knew better than to press further.

For whatever it was worth, I wasn't lying.

In my past life, I was completely dedicated to Enya. In this second life, just the idea of glancing at her felt like a waste of time.

On a certain day, I happened to bump into her outside of school.

It was a weekend, and I was heading to the bookstore to buy some reference material. As soon as I stepped out, I heard a shrill laughter.

It was Enya, and she was holding hands with Klay. They just happened to be stepping out of a luxury store across the street. I noticed they were carrying several bags branded with the store logo.

She noticed me immediately. Her expression turned glacial in an instant.

After some hesitation, she finally let go of Klay's hands and made a point of confronting me.

“What are you doing here? Are you stalking me? I told you, we're not together anymore!”

I couldn't be bothered to explain. All I did was glance at my watch before brushing her off.

“You're overthinking it. I don’t have time.”

“Quit pretending.”

She scoffed while jabbing at the books in my hand.

"Why are you still wasting time with these books now that you've been reborn? Is there anything else you know how to do other than read?"

I clenched the spine of the book and felt like I was on the verge of snapping.

What held me back was the thought that there was no point arguing with someone like her.

“Are you done?” I shot her a look. “If you are, I’m leaving.”

She did a double take, which suggested she wasn't expecting such a reaction from me.

Then, she turned around and took Klay's arm before declaring in a loud voice, "Let's go get something to eat, babe. I'm starving!"

Klay gave an offhanded nod before sizing me up. He regarded me as if I were someone beneath him.

"Bro, do you want to come with us? My treat."

“I’m good.”

As I was leaving, I heard Enya mocking me from behind.

"Quit acting all high and mighty! You're pathetic!"

I didn't take the bait and proceeded to cross the road.

I found myself thinking about my past life. Though I wasn't very rich, I was nowhere near as pathetic as Enya described me.

If she wanted something, I would buy it for her even if she did not explicitly ask for it.

I got her luxury bags worth tens of thousands, even bracelets worth hundreds of thousands. I didn't hold back with my love and did everything I could to keep her happy.

All that just to end up with her shunning me like this.

I found it quite laughable when I thought about it.

Upon getting home, I tossed the books on the table.

Then, my phone rang.

It was Mrs. Crosby from the National University. She called to tell me that my application had passed the initial screening and that I should start preparing for an interview.

After hanging up, I breathed a long sigh of relief.

Thankfully, I chose the right path in this life.

Nearly nobody in the class brought up Enya in the period leading up to the exam.

Occasionally, someone would mention her name while chit-chatting, saying she didn't show up for the graduation photo and had completely skipped the exam.

Klay did show up to take the exam at least. I know he was out of the exam hall within half an hour for each paper and he would speed off in his red BMW, as if he wanted to show off.

My deskmate shook his head while we were studying.

“Enya's lost her mind. Is she going to skip university so she can end up with some rich guy?”

I twirled my pen and commented nonchalantly, “Everyone has their goal in life.”

“You're being quite open-minded about it.” He gave me a look. “I heard Klay is going to take her to Newport. She’s going to be living the life of a rich wife from now on.”

I smiled but had nothing more to add.

If this were in my past life, I would have panicked. I might have even started begging her not to leave me.

I would try to convince her that she should at least go to university because it was what was best for her.

But now, what she wanted to do was none of my business.

To my surprise, Enya came to see me two weeks before the start of my first semester in university.

The sun was blazing overhead when she stood outside my door.

She was wearing a designer dress I had never seen before, and she was in full glam makeup.

Enya carried a large cardboard box with her, which she shoved so hard at me that it nearly hit me in the chest.

“Here, take this back.”

I looked at the contents of the box that were scattered all over the place.

There were bookmarks, a fountain pen for her birthday, a scarf I knitted for her… There were even piles of math notes I stayed up all night writing down and organizing for her.

She tossed her hair and flashed a dismissive smile at me. “Here’s your pile of junk. Klay is taking me to Newport, and I’m not going to keep this filthy stuff in my new house.”

I crouched low and rummaged through the contents. Surprisingly, everything was in excellent condition. Even the notes were pristine.

Then, I kicked the box aside and made no attempt to bring it into the house.

“Thanks. Is that all?”

Enya frowned.

She seemed thrown off by my reaction and soon began to scowl at me.

“Dominic, quit trying to play it cool! You’re the one who gave me all of these because you were into me!”

“Yes.” I nodded stiffly. “But now they're worthless to me as well. I don’t need them.”

She bit her lip before suddenly crying out, “Klay got me the newest designer bag and booked a seaside restaurant! Don’t even think about...”

“Is that so? I wish you two a long and fulfilling relationship.”

After cutting her off, I slammed the door shut in her face.

She hastily wedged her hand at the door frame and nearly had her nails clipped off.

“Don't you have anything to say to me?!”

When I looked at the way her eyes reddened from sheer rage, I found myself rather amused.

Haven’t I poured my heart out to her in our past life?

For all my sincerity, I never got what I hoped.

If that was the case, why bother wasting my breath?

I looked at her and calmly shook my head.

“No. Have a safe journey.”

She burst into scornful laughter before jabbing her freshly done manicure in my face.

“That’s how you want to do it? Dominic, you'll regret this!”

Bang!

After I slammed the door shut, I could hear the sound of her kicking the box.

Soon, her stomping footsteps faded into the distance. When I went upstairs to watch her walk away, I found myself somewhat perplexed.

She was the one who suggested that we part ways in this life. She was the one who wanted to go to Newport.

I have stayed out of her way the entire time. What did I do to warrant her anger?

Then, I received a notification on my phone. It was a message from my counselor at the university.

“Registration Instructions for New Students.”

I took a deep breath before putting my phone in my pocket.

Who cares?

Enya could do whatever she wanted. I’m going to live my life the way I want, and I will not have anything to do with her.