Chapter 2

To catch up quickly, I made a strict study plan.

The last month of senior year was mostly for review anyway. But since I was slightly out of touch, I had to start from the basics. I pulled out freshman and sophomore math and physics workbooks, picked the hardest problems, mastered them, and moved on.

During recess, Tyler walked over to my desk with his hands in his pockets, whistling. He had a mocking smirk on his face.

"Yo, little bro, studying hard?" Tyler laughed. "Why put in so much effort? Come on, let's go ditch class and grab a burger!"

I looked up at him, my voice completely flat. "The finals are around the corner. Aren't you going to study?"

I remembered the betrayal of my past life vividly.

The moment he dragged me off that roof, all brotherly love and blood ties had died. I felt nothing but cold indifference toward him now.

"I already got the Ivy League early admission with a full scholarship. Why would I need to study? Did you forget?" Tyler smirked, leaning over my desk.

Ah, right. I remembered now. During our senior year, the school had offered me an early admission spot, but the old me had turned it down because I wanted to prove myself in the actual SATs.

But on the day of the exam, I mysteriously got severe food poisoning and ended up with a terrible stomach bug, messing up my scores. In the end, I had to settle for a mediocre state college.

It didn't matter.

This time around, I would do even better!

Because throughout my entire life, I had always relied on my own brain and hard work. That was where my confidence came from.

"Oh. Well, congratulations then," I said, completely unbothered.

Tyler’s face fell slightly when he didn't see the jealousy or anger he expected. Finding it boring, he muttered a curse and walked away.

I put my head down and went back to solving calculus problems, sharpening my mind.

I had to admit, Tyler's body was incredibly healthy.

He had been athletic since he was a kid, strong and rarely getting sick. I, on the other hand, had been a sickly child who caught a cold whenever a cool breeze blew.

Later in life, due to constant stress and heavy drinking at business dinners, I had developed liver cancer. To keep my family from worrying, I had kept it a secret. No one knew.

In this life, I would take care of this body. Health is the ultimate wealth!

While I was deep in study, Skyler nudged my elbow with her pen. "Are you sick or something? Why are you suddenly studying?"

She paused, looking at me suspiciously. "And you didn't even yell back at your brother. Usually, you two would be throwing punches by now... What's up with you? You feel like a completely different person."

I smiled but didn't explain.

I actually felt a lot of sympathy for Skyler. She was a good girl. In our past life, she had worked tirelessly to support Tyler, never complaining about his laziness.

Back then, I always thought she was way too good for him.

Soon, our homeroom teacher gave us a surprise pop quiz, telling us to swap papers with our desk partners for grading.

Since the test was easy, I finished it in ten minutes. Skyler was still struggling, nodding off every few seconds.

When we swapped papers, I got a near-perfect score, while Skyler’s paper was a disaster of red ink.

"How... did you cheat?" Skyler gasped, staring at my paper. "No, wait, I watched you the whole time. Have you been secretly studying behind my back?"

"These questions aren't that hard," I said casually.

Skyler looked at her own failing grade, her shoulders slumping. "Not hard? I couldn't understand a single thing. I guess I really am just stupid."

Seeing her sad face, I felt bad.

If things went normally, once we graduated, Skyler and I would never cross paths again.

Unless...

I asked, "What are your plans after graduation?"

Skyler kept her head low. "My dad said if I don't get into a decent college, I have to marry the local mechanic's son and work at his garage."

No wonder she was trying so hard.

No wonder she ended up marrying Tyler in the previous life just to escape her family.

"How about I tutor you?" I offered.

Skyler stared at me. "You?"

"You don't trust me?"

"I do! Almost nobody in our class got the score you just did!" Skyler sighed. "But even with a tutor, I don't have time. I barely get any sleep as it is."

"That's easy. Move into the school dorms. I'll pay for your housing and meal plan," I said.

"Where would you get that kind of money?" Skyler asked, her eyes wide. "Wait, why are you being so nice to me? Are you possessed by a ghost?"

"Do you want to get into college or not?" I cut straight to the point.

This was Skyler’s only shot at changing her destiny. There was no way she would say no. She agreed immediately, saying she would tell her parents she got a school grant for accommodation.

As for the money, that was easy.

In our past life, during senior year, a friend and I had walked past a local convenience store and bought lottery tickets for each other. I didn't win, but he won fifty thousand dollars. The winning numbers happened to be my birthday plus my lucky number. The store owner had even hung a banner celebrating it for a month.

I remembered those numbers vividly.

Now, I just needed to buy that ticket.