Both I and the impoverished student I had sponsored were reborn, yet she had the audacity to come to me for money, dragging her childhood sweetheart along. In my past life, I had dedicated all my assets to catapulting her to the zenith of the business realm. But she, in her conceit, mistook it for her innate good fortune to be wealthy. She even haughtily commanded me to pay off his money in return for her to be my girlfriend. In an instant, I froze her bank card and handed her a bottle of sleeping pills, leaving her to carry on daydreaming of being the richest businesswoman. At noon break, Raina Simmons showed up, her arm entwined with that of her childhood sweetheart, striding towards me to demand money. She slammed the slip of paper with the account number written on it onto my desk and declared, “Starting today, wire 50 thousand dollars to Marlowe Bradley’s account as his monthly allowance.” In the classroom, all the students turned their heads and shot peculiar glances our way. It seemed that no one had witnessed such an audacious impoverished student before. Here she was, asking for money without even bothering to conjure up a plausible pretext. I gave a scornful laugh and inquired, “Why?” She spun her head in my direction, her countenance filled with astonishment bordering on disbelief, and uttered with contempt, “Just 50 grand. Do I need a reason for that? It’s not even enough to buy me one bag.” Almost instinctively, she reached up and patted the empty spot on her shoulder, as if a designer backpack ought to be dangling there. However, it was plain to see that her outfit was street-market wares. That faded denim jacket of hers was so worn out that the edges were practically fraying. In the past life, she had long grown accustomed to being a domineering female president. So much so that she had completely forgotten her humble origins as a poverty student, who used to scrimp and save even when dishing up food in the cafeteria. Back then, I poured in investments and lent unwavering support, painstakingly propelling her all the way to the top of the business realm. Yet, instead of showing gratitude, she took all that success for granted, as if it were an innate privilege. She even started bossing me around. Without me by her side, what would she amount to? Where would she be? I responded with a counter-question, “Fifty grand for a bag? Raina, are you out of your mind? If I hadn’t been bankrolling you, you couldn’t even afford a burger.” I crushed the paper into a little ball and chucked it into the bin. Right after that, I went on, “Besides, why the hell should I give him money for living? I’m not his father.” Her complexion went ashen with anger, her rage simmering just beneath the surface and on the brink of erupting. Right at that instant, Marlowe darted in front of her, assuming a protective stance, and exclaimed, “Forrest Gibson, how can you say things like that? It’s just petty cash for you, but it’s what we spend in a whole month. You’re loaded. Isn’t it the least you could do to help us out? Why do you humiliate people like this?” With that, he feigned a pitiful look and sobbed as he said, “Raina, even if I wind up homeless on the street, I won’t let you throw away your dignity for my sake.” Seeing that he was on the brink of tears after being picked on by me, Raina’s heart clenched with pain. Without hesitation, she enfolded him in her arms and delicately patted his back as she murmured soothing words. In the last life, Marlowe donated a kidney for Raina, and she was so certain that it was an act of true love. Consequently, she saw me as nothing but an obstacle, a stumbling block in their relationship. But the truth was, that very kidney was actually procured by me at an exorbitant cost. Marlowe tried to rip me off by upping the price. It was precisely this underhanded maneuver that paved the way for their reunion. And later on, when Raina went as far as embezzling public funds to lavish him with luxurious mansions, swanky sports cars, and to settle his father’s gambling debts, I bit my tongue and bore it all. Now that she had come back to life through rebirth and wished to reignite the flame with him, I wouldn’t interfere. However, it really took her some nerve to even think about using my money to reciprocate Marlowe for donating a kidney. Why should I allow that? Did she seriously regard me as some kind of fool? With a disdainful snort, I fished out my phone, fully intending to revoke her funding. However, before I could even make a move, she beat me to the punch and blurted out, “Forrest, I don’t need your charity. I can manage just fine on my own.” What was with this superior air she was putting on? Like she thought granting me the honor of helping her was some huge favor, and she even anticipated me being deeply touched with gratitude? Looking back at my past life, I couldn’t believe I was actually attracted to a woman like her, someone with a princess syndrome but without an ounce of a princess’ real charm. I must’ve been completely off my rocker. I brought up the transfer records of the past two years and hissed through clenched teeth, “Raina, if you still have a bit of conscience, pay me back the money you blew. I’ll cut you some slack. Let’s just call it half a million dollars and leave it at that.” “Just half a million dollars. Wait and see. In fifteen years, I’ll let you know what real strength is.” She said with a scornful expression, “Forrest, let me give you a friendly heads-up. This is your last shot. Miss it, and don’t blame me for being cruel.” I had been wracking my brain, yet still couldn’t fathom where on earth she got such audacious confidence. Seriously, did she honestly believe that she alone could scale to the pinnacle of the wealth rankings within a mere fifteen years and effortlessly smash my family’s business foundation to smithereens? It was downright ridiculous. She fancied herself as some self-made business magnate? Without my family smoothing the path and forging connections for her, a nobody like her wouldn’t even find a way. Even if one provided resources and connections to a cat, it could make a name for itself. It was one thing that she was ungrateful, but it was too much to expect me to fawn over her like those sycophants. Gazing at her smug look of saying, “If you don’t curry my favor now, you’ll be in for a world of trouble down the road”, a wave of nausea washed over me. Without a moment’s delay, I instructed the bank to freeze her account and fetched a pen and paper to jot down a debt note. She was so enraged that her face went pale. After stamping her fingerprint, she didn’t hold back and shouted out, “Mark my words.” After that, she linked arms with Marlowe and strode off, looking all high and mighty. I was seething with regret, kicking myself for having nurtured such an ungrateful brat in my past life. And on top of it all, I was fretting that she might renege on her promise and come hounding me again.
After school, I called my driver to come and pick me up. Just as I was on the verge of getting into the car, someone shoved me violently from behind. Had it not been for a kind passerby who reacted swiftly and caught me in time, I would surely have ended up eating dirt. With great difficulty, I reined in my fury and looked back, only to find that it was Raina. She was stuffing Marlowe, with his eyes all red and swollen, into the car. Right after that, she climbed in herself as well. And before slamming the car door shut, she still managed to throw out a taunting remark, saying, “Marlowe’s father got beaten up by the debt collectors and was sent to the hospital. It’s really bad, and his life is in danger. You’ll have to find your own way back.” Then she turned to the driver and ordered, “Go now. To the hospital.” Alfred glared at her as if she were some kind of lunatics. Without uttering a single word, he immediately reached for his phone, ready to call the police. Flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, she lashed out and gave the front seat a violent kick before snarling, “Hurry up and drive. If this holds up the treatment and something goes wrong, do you think you can take the blame?” Alfred remained calm and composed. Without any haste, he took out his phone and started filming to collect evidence. After that, he promptly switched off the engine and locked the car doors, confining the two of them within the car. Then he called the police, saying, “Two crazy guys just barged into my private car and wrecked the seats. They gave us a real fright. I’ve got them pinned down here. Officer, please come quick and sort this out.” I couldn’t hold back my laughter and just let it out. Standing there with calm, I watched as she put on a show, playing the role of the overbearing president. However, without my support propping her up, she was merely a clown, making a fool of herself. Marlowe was crying his eyes out in the car, his sobs urgent and desperate, and it tore at Raina’s heartstrings, making her ache with distress. She took a deep breath, pivoted towards me, looking every inch the tragic love-struck heroine, and said, “Forrest, I can go on taking the cash from you. But don’t expect me to have any feelings for you.” “No. I can’t sit back and watch Raina take all this crap and sell herself short.” Marlowe jabbed his finger in my direction and said with a torrent of invectives, “Forrest, you actually threatened her with money? That’s so low. I’m not gonna let you humiliate her like this. No freaking way.” Raina interrupted, “Stop it, Marlowe. As long as I can be of help to you, I’ll take whatever comes my way.” What? Why was it that no one seemed to care about my feelings? All I did was undertake my social responsibility by lending a hand to those impoverished students. What exactly did I do wrong? Moreover, it would still be three years from now that I would develop feelings for Raina. So, why were these two people staging such a melodramatic and heartrending performance, as if they were currently experiencing a tragic parting of life and death? Just then, the police officers arrived. Without hesitation, they asked the two of them to step out of the vehicle. Raina, her face flushed with embarrassment, fixed her glare upon me and launched into a stinging interrogation. She asked, “Forrest, what the heck are you up to? Pulling these tricks to get my attention. You’re really being ridiculous.” I subtly gestured towards the police, mimicking the sign for “mentally unstable”, and whispered, “They don’t seem quite right in the head. It’s better to send them to a specialist clinic for a check-up.” After that, I beamed at Raina and said with a warm smile spreading across my face, “Nothing special. I just got the cops to give you a ride to the hospital.” The police officer scrutinized them with a skeptical eye. Observing that, despite their simple and unadorned clothing, they carried themselves with an air of haughty arrogance, he couldn’t help but feel that something was indeed amiss and inquired, “You’re going to the hospital?” “Yes.” “Then get in the car. I’ll take you there.” As to which hospital they were dispatched to, I was completely in the dark. In the dead of night, I was roused from sleep only to be greeted by the sight of 56 missed calls and a deluge of over 99 unread messages from Raina, seemingly intent on blowing up my phone. Right then, it dawned on me that wherever they had ended up, it sure as hell wasn’t ordinary hospitals. Twenty minutes back, she fired off one final threatening text. Raina: [Pick up the call in three minutes. Or bear the consequences yourself.] It seemed that her “princess syndrome” had flared up again. With a yawn, I powered off my phone without a second thought and drifted off to sleep.
The following morning, while I was walking past the cafeteria, my eyes happened to land on Raina and Marlowe, who were seated there, tucking into their breakfasts. Word had it that they had been confined to the psychiatric ward throughout the night and it was only after the school administration intervened that they were fetched and released. Owen Miller inched closer to me with an air of mystery, then leaned in and murmured softly into my ear, “These two look all right. How come they went nuts just like that? Last night, Raina blasted a group text to our whole class, bragging that she would be the richest person throughout the country. She was begging for a grand to tide her over, swearing she would pay back a hundred times over. It was crazier than that scammer who pretended to be a celebrity locked up and hitting folks up for cash.” Those words hit me like a bolt from the blue, catching me off guard and sending me into a coughing fit as I spewed out the water I had just sipped. Evidently, the number of victims was far greater than I had ever imagined. Last night, not a single department head in the company escaped a call from Raina. She was on the line, spieling about some big business opportunity, vowing that if they would just spring her from the psychiatric ward, she would make them all rich beyond their wildest dreams. My father was so spooked that he hauled the top into an emergency meeting under the cover of night. He couldn’t help but wonder whether it was a rival fishing for company secrets. Otherwise, how on earth could a mental patient have gotten hold of so many internal phone numbers? In fact, it was not entirely fair to pin all the blame on Raina. Having grown up without a single soul to lean on, save for Marlowe, her childhood companion, she was truly alone in this world. Marlowe’s family was in an even more deplorable state, with a father who frittered away his days at the gambling table. Penniless and desperate, they inevitably turned their attention to me, seeing it as their only way out. I had firmly resolved within myself to keep a wide distance from them for as long as I lived. I was on the verge of making my exit when Owen suddenly seized my arm, urging me to stick around and witness the spectacle that was set to play out. Raina’s mental condition relapsed. There she was, cradling a glass of lemonade in her hands, theatrically swirling it around and taking delicate sips, as if what she held was a vintage and costly red wine. Her eyes flicked over to the plate of pasta on the table, and with a disdainful look across her face, she spoke up, “Are you kidding me? This is crappy. Even the stray cats on the street wouldn’t bother eating it.” “Raina, this cheap crap isn’t fit for you. But you’ve been starving all day. You gotta eat something.” “I’d starve to death before eating this kind of junk.” The owner of the cafeteria had always been hot-tempered. With a resounding smack on the chopping board, he bellowed in rage, “You guys used coupons to grab the cheapest pasta and had the nerve to ask me for more tomatoes. Now you’re being all picky. Eat it if you want, or just scram.” Raina snapped with a thundering voice, “Who the hell do you think you are? Talking to me like that. You better watch your back. One call from me and your lousy stall won’t last another day.” Marlowe hastened to intervene and chimed in, “Stop it, Raina. It’s just a small business for them. They’re having a tough time.” Owen, who had been observing the whole affair like a spectator, finally couldn’t contain his amusement and burst out laughing. That sudden chortle instantly caught Raina’s ear. As her eyes darted in our direction, I felt every single hair on my body stand bolt upright, as if an icy wind had just blown through.
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