After Sean and I were reborn, we both pretended not to know each other. He followed the most popular girl in class to attend university out of state, while I stayed in our hometown. Using the experience from his previous life, Sean quickly became a rising star in his industry and married the beauty. His life seemed perfect. I, on the other hand, stayed close to my parents and built a quiet life in our hometown. We met again at our 10-year high school reunion. With his arm around Rose, the former prom queen, and a cigar between his fingers, Sean looked at my simple attire and sneered, “Is this all you’ve accomplished in the past decade?” I remained unfazed. That is, until the fashionably late business tycoon arrived and wrapped his arm around my waist. “I apologize for our tardiness. My wife is pregnant, so I hope everyone can refrain from smoking indoors.” Sean, usually so composed and confident, visibly panicked. He finally realized that after all these years apart, I wasn’t just holding a grudge against him.
My reunion with Sean took place at our 10-year high school reunion. As I pushed open the door to the private room, I overheard someone teasing: “Sean, you dog! You even managed to snag the prom queen!” “No kidding! Look at how well Sean’s doing in the big city. How can we small-town folks compare to Mr. Big Shot here?” “But I heard you and Amber used to be an item back in the day. You two were always studying together, and everyone thought you were a couple.” At that moment, I heard a familiar voice casually reply, “We were just study buddies. It wasn’t anything serious.” I smiled wryly. After being reborn for ten years, I naturally didn’t have any emotional response. So I calmly pushed the door open. Even after a decade, I recognized Sean immediately. He was sitting on the couch, puffing on a cigar, with Rose leaning against him. Our classmates were all gathered around them. The couple was the center of attention, like stars surrounded by adoring fans. The moment I appeared, all eyes turned to me. Our class president enthusiastically called out, “Speak of the devil! Amber, look who’s here!” Sean and I locked eyes. He held Rose close, his gaze condescending as he looked me up and down, a hint of disdain in his eyes. I was dressed simply today. Thinking about my pregnancy, I hadn’t bothered with makeup. I looked a bit worn out compared to Rose. She was wearing a Chanel outfit, carrying a Hermès bag, her perfect makeup making her look like she’d been pampered all her life. I greeted everyone casually, “Long time no see.” Sean nodded slightly, his demeanor cold. Rose only offered a faint smile. I didn’t bother trying to warm up to them and instead turned to chat with some of the classmates I was closer to. “We’re just waiting for Luke now,” the class president suddenly said. “He just messaged that his flight was delayed. Told us not to wait for him.” All the classmates gathered around the dining table. They were all eager to toast Sean, praising him to the skies. After a few rounds of drinks, I excused myself to use the restroom. As I came out, I ran into Sean, his face flushed from alcohol. He sneered, “Amber, is this all you’ve amounted to in the ten years since you left me?” I remained unmoved. Instead, I suddenly remembered what had happened before our rebirth.
Before our rebirth, Sean and I had a fierce argument on the highway. After graduating from college, I had followed Sean to the big city and worked alongside him for ten whole years. Now that we had achieved some success, I wanted to return to our hometown. I was an only child, and my father had passed away last year due to a cerebral hemorrhage that wasn’t treated in time. Only my mother was left at home, and I was worried about her. Sean had promised me years ago that once we had earned enough money, we would go back. But now he kept putting it off, saying our hometown had no future and wasn’t worth returning to. He made it clear that he would never go back. At most, he said we could bring my mother to live with us in the city. But my mother had visited before and didn’t like it here. She had no friends or family around. To be honest, even after all these years, I still didn’t feel at home in this city. I finally lost my temper and told him, “If you won’t go back, I’ll go by myself!” “Why are you forcing me like this?!” Sean demanded. “What’s wrong with staying in this city? Do you want to be a small-town nobody forever? When our child is born, do you want them to start life at a disadvantage?!” I was five months pregnant at the time. It was partly because of the pregnancy that I wanted to go back even more. I knew how difficult it would be to leave a city once the child was born. Besides, our hometown wasn’t that bad. Although it wasn’t a top-tier international city, it was still considered a second-tier city. It wasn’t as hopeless as Sean made it out to be. “So according to you, everyone who stays in a small city is useless?” I asked. “Only useless people are content to vegetate in small cities, living mediocre lives without ambition,” Sean said with contempt. “I despise such people!” “In your eyes, am I that kind of person?” I asked with a cold smile. “I don’t want you to become that kind of person,” Sean said self-righteously. Then he added out of the blue, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen to stay in our hometown for college with you. It wasted four whole years of my life. I should have gone to the big city with Rose early on to get a head start.” Rose had confessed to him before high school graduation, but he had rejected her. He and I had been study partners for three years and had developed feelings for each other. But ever since he accompanied me to enroll in our hometown university, he had repeated this regret countless times over the past fourteen years. At first, I thought he was just joking. Or perhaps he was indirectly telling me how much he liked me and how much he had sacrificed for me. Later, I realized he truly regretted it. So when we were reborn after the car accident, back to the day we were filling out college applications, he unhesitatingly followed Rose to an out-of-state university. I stayed in our hometown. We both knew the other had been reborn, but we tacitly agreed not to interfere with each other’s lives.
I had thought Sean and I would never cross paths again in this life. Looking at him now, it was clear he had been waiting for me on purpose. Seeing that I didn’t respond, he sneered again, “Now you finally understand that staying in our hometown couldn’t lead to any great achievements, right?” “Look at yourself, then look at our old classmates. Has anyone really made it big?” “But it’s too late for regrets now. I’m planning to marry Rose.” He took out a large diamond ring. The diamond was big, probably about five carats. The reason I could tell at a glance was that it looked slightly smaller than the one I had at home. He said, “If you hadn’t been so stubborn, this ring would have been yours.” In our previous life, when Sean and I got married, he wasn’t as wealthy as he is now, so the ring he bought was quite ordinary. His boasting now was completely undisguised. “Congratulations to you both, then,” I said indifferently. I walked past him. I could feel Sean’s gaze on my back, seemingly displeased. I didn’t know what he was unhappy about. He had chosen this path himself, and this was the life he had dreamed of in our previous life. Could it be that he would only be happy if he saw me regretting my choices? I sat back down in my chair, and suddenly my phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, I answered, “Have you landed?” “Yes, I’m on my way now,” came the reply. “If you’re tired, you don’t have to come. I can head back by myself later.” “How could I let my wife attend a reunion and go home alone? I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I smiled and didn’t say anything more. As I put down my phone, someone approached me. “Amber.” It was Rose, who had come over with a glass of wine. “Long time no see. Let me toast to you. I should thank you,” Rose said with a smile. “I heard from Sean that if it weren’t for you being his study partner, he wouldn’t have been able to get into a good university.” “There’s no need to thank me. We just helped each other,” I replied. “Regardless, Sean’s current success is partly due to you. Let me drink to you on his behalf.” She was about to pour beer into my glass. “I don’t drink,” I refused. “Just a little bit.” She ignored my refusal and started pouring. I pushed her hand away slightly. “Ah!” Rose suddenly let out a scream. The beer had spilled on her clothes and bag. She quickly grabbed some napkins and started wiping frantically, saying, “My clothes and bag can’t get wet…” The other classmates knew her outfit was expensive and looked on nervously. After wiping for a while, Rose turned to me and said, “Amber, even if you’re jealous of me, you shouldn’t do this! Do you know how much these clothes and this bag cost? Can you afford to compensate me?!”
Before I could speak, Sean walked over and angrily rebuked me, “Amber, you’ve gone too far.” “It wasn’t intentional,” I explained. It really wasn’t on purpose. I hadn’t even pushed the beer bottle that hard, I had just tried to stop Rose from pouring. But for some reason, the beer had spilled from the bottle in her hand onto her. “I just told you that Rose and I are getting married, and you lost it?” Sean criticized me in front of everyone. The classmates around us couldn’t help but chime in— “No way? I thought Amber was pretty calm. She doesn’t seem like the type to be jealous.” “You can’t judge a book by its cover. Some people act like they don’t care, but they’re actually seething inside.” “I heard Amber and Sean used to be together, but they broke up when Sean went to college out of state. Now that Amber sees how successful Sean is, she must be regretting not leaving with him, right?” I was truly speechless. But I still patiently explained again, “I really didn’t do it on purpose. I said I don’t drink, but Rose insisted on pouring me a drink, which is why the accident happened.” “I sincerely appreciate you helping Sean study back then, and I hope you can let go of your lingering feelings,” Rose said with a seemingly sincere face. “I know you’ve never gotten over Sean.” I was stunned. I looked at Rose in confusion: “How did you come to the conclusion that I’m not over Sean? Did I say something to make you misunderstand? Or is there something wrong with my expression or the look in my eyes today?” “Amber, stop pretending,” Rose said confidently. “Sean is so successful now, you must feel regretful.” “I don’t feel regretful at all,” I said slowly and clearly. “We all chose our own paths, and I’m very satisfied with my life now.” Sean let out a cold laugh, clearly not believing me. I didn’t want to explain further. There was nothing to explain. We were no longer relevant to each other’s lives. Today’s meeting was just a coincidence. If I had known Sean would be here, I might have avoided coming. Not because I couldn’t let go of anything, but because there was no need to meet people from my past life again. People from the past life should stay in the past. “I’ll compensate you for the clothes and bag,” I said, not wanting to argue anymore. “Send me the price and your bank account number, and I’ll transfer the money to you.” “Compensate?” Sean spoke up directly. “Do you know how much Rose’s clothes and bag cost? The clothes are $15,000, the bag is $30,000, not including accessories. Let’s say $45,000 at the very least. How are you going to compensate that?” I took a deep breath. I told myself not to get angry at Sean’s condescending attitude. The doctor said pregnant women should maintain a good mood. “I’m not that petty. Just sincerely apologize to Rose, and we’ll let it go,” Sean said magnanimously. “An apology isn’t enough,” Rose quickly added. “You have to promise in front of all our classmates that you won’t have any inappropriate thoughts about Sean in the future.”
“Heh.” I laughed. I laughed out of anger. Looking at Rose’s arrogant expression, I picked up the half-empty beer bottle next to me. The doctor said pregnant women shouldn’t get angry, but they shouldn’t suppress their emotions either. So, without rushing, I poured the remaining half bottle of beer all over Rose’s clothes and bag. Rose was shocked. She looked at me in disbelief, taking a moment before she could speak, “Amber, have you gone crazy? What are you doing?!” At the same time, Sean pulled Rose behind him protectively and pushed me. Fortunately, our class president quickly shielded me and stood between us, afraid Sean might do something rash in his anger. He tried to calm the situation, “Sean, don’t get worked up.” “Amber, do you think I’m easy to bully?” Sean said menacingly. “How dare you treat Rose like this? Who do you think you are?!” “I don’t need you to give me face, and I’m not pretending to be anyone. I am who I am,” I said coldly. I added, “Since I agreed to pay for it, her clothes and bag are mine now. How I choose to ruin them is my business. What right do you have to interfere?” “Can you even afford it?” Sean asked harshly. “Give me the bank account number,” I said firmly. “Are you willing to bankrupt yourself just to prove a point? Amber, you should have gotten rid of this stubborn attitude long ago. We wouldn’t have ended up like this otherwise.” “Give me the bank account number!” I repeated, my voice a bit louder this time. “Don’t regret this,” Sean threatened. “Sean, stop wasting time with her,” Rose called out, almost bursting with anger. “If she doesn’t appreciate our kindness, just give her the account number. Let’s see if she can actually afford to pay this much!” Sean didn’t hesitate any longer and recited a string of numbers. I entered the bank account number and proceeded to transfer the money. But the system prompted me that the password was incorrect. I thought I remembered this password. I thought for a moment and entered another password. It still showed an error. I pressed my lips together. Was pregnancy brain really making me this forgetful? I suddenly couldn’t remember the correct password. Sean and Rose were waiting beside me, and our classmates were all watching this drama unfold. Seeing that I still hadn’t made the transfer, Rose laughed first: “Amber, weren’t you so proud just now? Where’s the money? I don’t see Sean’s account balance increasing by a cent.” Sean was holding his phone, and there was no notification of any incoming transfer. “I forgot the password,” I explained. I was afraid that if I entered the wrong password again, the account would be locked. “What a convenient excuse,” Rose said with extreme sarcasm. Sean laughed disdainfully. The surrounding classmates were whispering among themselves— “I thought Amber was really going to pay. I was feeling bad for her.” “Who would be that stupid? $45,000 is almost enough for a down payment on a house.” “Sean and Rose were willing to let it go, but Amber had to make things difficult for herself.” “Now she’s been slapped in the face, hasn’t she? How embarrassing!” Rose coldly asked me, “So, are you going to write an IOU? How long will it take you to pay it back? A year, two years, or a lifetime?” “Ten minutes,” I said directly. In ten minutes, Luke would definitely be here. “Stop pretending, Amber. You clearly can’t afford it,” Rose didn’t want to waste any more time with me. “Originally, a verbal apology would have been enough, but now, you’ll have to get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness.” Everyone was watching me, waiting for me to make a fool of myself. Fortunately, at that moment, the door suddenly opened, accompanied by a familiar voice: “I’m sorry I’m late.”
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