I was reborn, brought back to life on the very day my roommate wanted to swap online boyfriends with me. Waking up from the excruciating pain of being stabbed, I heard Isabella complaining to Chloe, who was on the bed opposite, about her online boyfriend. “I suggested going to the movies, and he said, ‘How about studying at the library instead?’ I suggested a walk in the park, and he said, ‘How about a lab project instead?’” Isabella rolled her eyes. “Three months of online dating, never met, never spent a dime on me. It’s so boring.” She saw I was awake, hopped off her bed, and grabbed my arm. “Catherine, you have an online boyfriend too, right? Why don’t we swap?” I looked at her, saying nothing. In my last life, I refused her. And what was the result? My online boyfriend was a good-for-nothing jerk, pretending to be a rich kid online, sweet-talking me into dating him. I fell for his lies, flunked my exams, and only got into an average university. After graduation, he conned me into taking out online loans, and I ultimately died by a debt collector’s knife. Meanwhile, Isabella’s online boyfriend was a brilliant student, excelling in both academics and character. He pushed her to study, got into a top-tier university himself, and dragged her along to an elite institution. They went from college sweethearts to walking down the aisle, but on their fifth wedding anniversary, Isabella’s secret lover burst in and stabbed her. That’s when everyone found out she’d been cheating, embezzling funds, and faking her degree all these years. Now, looking at Isabella’s expectant gaze, I nodded. “Okay.”
The first thing I did after getting Isabella’s social media account was link it to my phone. Isabella scoffed, watching my actions. “Seriously? I won’t go back on my word.” I ignored her. In my last life, she didn’t go back on her word, but in this life, I wasn’t going to gamble. After logging in, the last message in the chat history was from the guy, asking Isabella to the library, to which Isabella had responded with a sarcastic eye-roll emoji. I scrolled further back. They had been chatting for three months, and the total word count was less than what my online boyfriend and I exchanged in a week. Every time, he initiated the conversation, asking how many problems she’d solved that day, which concepts she didn’t understand, or if she needed help organizing her notes. Isabella would usually reply with “Mhm” or “Oh,” and most of the time, she didn’t reply at all. For three months, Isabella found him unromantic and never even met him. He, however, kept actively asking her to the library, but Isabella always made excuses to push him off. Perhaps it was this contrast that made Isabella conclude he was a boring bookworm, which conveniently benefited me. It had been three days since their last chat, and Isabella hadn’t replied. I quickly tapped the input box, typed a few words, deleted them, and repeated the process several times before finally sending a message: 【Isn’t meeting like this a bit too casual?】 He replied quickly: 【Then what do you want to do?】 I thought for a moment, then typed: 【Let’s go for a run on the track tonight. 800 meters. The loser does ten practice tests.】 This time, he paused for a few seconds. I stared at the screen, my palms a little sweaty. A message popped up: 【Okay.】 I breathed a sigh of relief. Even though I was reborn, my memories of studying hadn’t faded. This life, I had a chance to turn things around. I immediately got out of bed, packed my backpack, and got ready to leave. Isabella was chatting with Chloe, laughing loudly. “I’m meeting my boyfriend for bubble tea tonight. There’s a new trendy spot that just opened, and I haven’t been able to go, but tonight someone’s finally treating me!” She glanced at me, her tone boastful. “My new boyfriend? He’s so generous. You can tell he’s willing to spend money on me.” I didn’t reply, just slung my backpack on and walked out the door. After dinner, I waited for him by the track. My heart was pounding, not because we were meeting, but because I knew this man could change my destiny. In my last life, the first time I met my online boyfriend, Federico, he dragged me to a bubble tea shop, ordered two of the most expensive drinks, and then told me he’d forgotten his wallet. I ended up paying. I wondered if Isabella would manage to get anything out of him this time. Footsteps sounded behind me. I turned and saw a guy walking over. He was tall, with clear, sharp eyes, and held a bottle of water. His name was Gabriel, and in my last life, I’d seen his face on TV. I felt a little guilty and avoided eye contact. He looked at me, then handed over the water. “Warm up first, or you’ll cramp.” I took the water and started jogging slowly behind him. Neither of us spoke; only our footsteps and breathing filled the track. When we finished, I leaned on my knees, panting. Gabriel stopped beside me, glanced at his stopwatch. “Four minutes and two seconds. You lost.” “Ten practice tests,” he said. “Start tomorrow.” I looked up at him. In the moonlight, his expression was serious, and he looked handsome and fresh. “Okay.” My heart thumped uncontrollably, and my face began to flush. He nodded, then turned and walked away. I stood there, watching his retreating back, then looked down at the water bottle in my hand. My heartbeat returned to normal. Catherine, you don’t need a man; you need a top-tier university. By the time I returned to the dorm, it was almost ten. Though my legs were wobbly from exhaustion, I felt incredibly happy. In my last life, this was the day I started down the wrong path. This life, no more. I looked at Isabella’s bed; it was empty. Chloe poked her head out. “Isabella said she’s not coming back tonight. She went to an all-night karaoke with her online boyfriend.” I didn’t reply, just lay back on my bed and closed my eyes.
From that day on, Gabriel and I started studying together. I’d be in my own classroom during class, then go find him after. We’d work on our respective problems in a corner of the library, occasionally swapping notebooks with our incorrect answers. He spoke little when explaining problems, but every word hit the mark. Once, I got stuck on a function problem. He looked at it for two seconds, then tapped a number on the paper with his pen tip. “You missed this condition.” I reread the problem. Sure enough. “How do you see that so fast?” I asked, a little unconvinced. “Because I’ve seen all the problems you’ve gotten wrong,” he said. “Your main issues are careless calculations and missing conditions, not a lack of understanding of the concepts.” I froze. He’d even looked at my incorrect answers? I buried my head deeper, pretending to be diligently working on the problem. But my heartbeat was too loud; I was afraid he’d hear it. Meanwhile, Isabella started skipping classes frequently, and her allowance grew. In the dorm, she’d look at me with disdain, always flaunting things subtly. “Federico bought me another bag. Do you know, that brand costs thousands?” I advised her, “You should really study. Exams are coming up.” Isabella rolled her eyes. “You’ve been spending too much time with Gabriel, your brain’s become a stick in the mud just like his.” She glanced at the practice test I was working on and scoffed. “What’s the point of studying all day, every day? Women, you’ve got to enjoy yourself while you’re young.” I didn’t say anything more. Some paths, you only know they’re pitfalls after you’ve walked them yourself. I had already walked that one once. The day exam results came out, I had moved up thirty-two places. I snapped a picture of my report card and sent it to Gabriel: 【Thank you.】 He replied with a picture of his own report card. He’d also improved, ranking fifth in his grade. I smiled at the screen. Isabella, seeing me smile, leaned over to look and her face immediately soured. “What’s so great about getting lucky?” she suddenly blurted out. “Everyone knows what your real abilities are. Don’t think just because you got lucky on a test once, you’re hot stuff.” I put my phone away and ignored her. The class bell rang, and Federico came to the classroom door to find Isabella. She went out for a moment, and when she returned, a new bracelet adorned her wrist. Isabella deliberately extended her hand and waved it in front of me. “Pretty, right? Federico bought it for me. It cost thousands.” I glanced at the bracelet. I’d had one just like it in my last life. At the time, I thought it was a designer brand and carefully treasured it. Later, I found out it was fake, costing less than fifty dollars to make. Isabella saw I wasn’t speaking, assumed I was envious, and smugly withdrew her hand. “What good are good grades? Marrying into wealth isn’t about scores; it’s about having good judgment and knowing how to pick a man.” I remembered Federico’s cold, detached expression as I lay dying in my previous life. “Yes,” I said. “You definitely need good judgment.”
Because of this improvement, I trusted Gabriel’s abilities even more and studied harder. Isabella’s grades, however, plummeted, and she couldn’t keep up with her classes anymore. Her gaze towards me grew increasingly strange. Then, the rumors started. Chloe secretly told me, “Isabella’s been going around telling people you and Gabriel are dating, just so he’ll help you cheat on tests. She also said…” “Said what else?” “She said you don’t know how much you ‘gave up’ to improve your grades, that you’re too young to be so immoral, clinging to Gabriel because he’s smart, and tomorrow you’ll be fawning over the school’s bad boy because he’s handsome.” She looked at me, cautiously. “She also said you have no self-respect.” My hand, holding the pen, tightened. Chloe looked at me worriedly. “Catherine, maybe you should keep some distance from Gabriel? Until this blows over.” “I’m not dating,” I said. “We’re just studying together.” Chloe opened her mouth, about to say something else, when our homeroom teacher suddenly appeared at the classroom door. “Catherine, to the office, please.” In the office, Isabella stood in the corner, a smirk of schadenfreude on her face. Gabriel was there too, standing beside his homeroom teacher, Mr. Davies. I was a little nervous, but my expression was calm. Ms. Hayes, my homeroom teacher, asked, “Catherine, what’s your relationship with Gabriel?” “Study buddies,” I quickly said. “Gabriel and I both struggled with certain subjects, so we’re tutoring each other.” Isabella cut in, “Does tutoring require you to always be glued to each other? Together during breaks, together during evening study, and even together coming and going on weekends?” I ignored her, intending to continue explaining, when Gabriel suddenly spoke. “I like her. Is that a problem?”
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