Chapter 1

In my past life, during the military academy’s physical exam, my childhood best friend reported me for color blindness—just so my spot could go to an impoverished girl.

"She has it worse than you, Nina. She needs this way out more than you do."

Those were his exact words back then.

My dreams were shattered, my health deteriorated, and I died in a cramped studio apartment in the dead of winter at twenty-eight.

Before I took my last breath, I sent him one final text: *Did you know about that bottle of water?*

He never replied.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the early morning of exam day.

The bottle of water was still sitting in the fridge, its plastic seal completely intact.

I emptied it down the sink, refilled it with plain tap water, screwed the cap back on, and placed it right back where it was.

Outside the door, his familiar voice called out: "Nina, did you grab the water? Don't forget to drink it."

I opened the door and offered him a faint smile.

"I have it. I'll drink it."

Ethan Cole stood in the hallway. His voice was just as gentle as in my previous life, his tone unchanged.

"Let’s head to the academy together."

Only our footsteps echoed down the stairwell.

He walked half a step ahead of me, then suddenly glanced over his shoulder.

"Nina, once we get into the academy, we can train together every single day."

He had said those exact words in my past life, too.

Later, while I was dying alone in that freezing rental, he was running side by side with Chloe Evans on the academy track.

I cast my eyes downward. "Yeah."

His father’s black sedan was parked downstairs.

Chloe was already sitting in the back seat, wearing a faded school uniform, her head lowered as she flipped through the physical exam guidelines. Strands of loose hair covered half her face.

She looked up and gave me a timid smile. "Nina, Mr. Cole said it was on the way, so he offered to let me hitch a ride."

I ignored her, pulled open the passenger door, and sat down.

Ethan started the engine and reminded me once more:

"Nina, where’d you put the water? You’ll get dizzy fasting for so long. Make sure you drink it."

A soft sigh came from the back seat. Chloe’s fingers clenched the exam paperwork so hard the paper creased.

Ethan instantly glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "What’s wrong? Nervous?"

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep at all last night."

Her voice was soft and frail, sounding terribly wronged.

"Don't be. With your grades, you’ll breeze right through." His voice was light, filled with the gentle patience one uses on a small child.

I leaned back against the headrest, silently watching the city streets blur past the window.

A long line stretched outside the medical center.

After parking, Ethan pulled another bottle of water from the trunk and handed it to Chloe.

"Brought one for you too. Wet your throat while fasting."

Chloe took the bottle with both hands, murmured a thank-you, and followed behind us with her head down.

The waiting area smelled heavily of disinfectant.

Chloe sat beside me, endlessly fidgeting with the water bottle in her hands, twisting the cap back and forth at least ten times.

"Nina, drink the water now." Ethan checked his watch, prompting me for the third time.

"In a minute."

"Just don't forget."

The PA system called my name.

I stood up. The bottle in my bag rested quietly in the side pocket, its cap screwed on tight, not a single drop missing.

In the color vision testing room, the examiner pointed emotionlessly toward the chair opposite him.

"Say the numbers as soon as you see the patterns. Don't hesitate."

The first test plate flipped open.

In my last life, this was the exact plate where everything blurred into an unrecognizable mess.

"29," I said immediately.

The second plate, the third... all the way to the most difficult red-green dot pattern.

"A butterfly. And the number 12 in the bottom right corner."

The examiner pushed his glasses up his nose, flipped to two more high-difficulty plates, and I rattled off both without breaking a sweat.

"Color vision normal. All items passed."

When I walked out of the examination room, Ethan and Chloe stood up simultaneously.

"Nina, how was it?" Ethan rushed over, a smile on his face.

"Passed. Even the color vision test was fine."

His smile froze for a split second before returning to normal. "That's great! I knew you wouldn't have any trouble."

Chloe stood frozen in place, the water bottle nearly slipping from her fingers.

"Nina, you're amazing." The corners of her mouth tugged upward into a stiff, forced smile.

Ethan reached out to ruffle my hair, but I tilted my head, dodging his touch.

His hand stalled in midair, his tone laced with confusion. "Nina?"

"I'm tired. I want to go home."

On the drive back, Chloe didn't say a single word in the back seat. Ethan checked on her through the rearview mirror several times.

I kept my eyes closed, leaning against the seat as the cool breeze drifted through the cracked window.

In my past life, on the day he drove Chloe back to school, they had taken this exact same road.

I had been standing on the curb. Their car drove right past me without stopping.

That night, my phone lit up.

A message from Ethan: *Nina, are you free tomorrow? I want to go check on Chloe. Her exam didn’t seem to go well today, and she’s in a terrible mood.*

I didn't reply.

I closed the chat and placed the phone facedown on the desk.

At noon the next day, my phone rang.

The caller ID showed the landline from the medical center.

"Candidate Nina Vance, someone has filed an official complaint against your color vision test results from yesterday."

The voice on the other end was cold and bureaucratic, every word striking like a hammer.

"Please report to the center tomorrow morning for a re-examination."

I gripped my phone, my knuckles slowly turning white.

The person who reported me was Ethan.