Back then, Whitney had sworn up and down that she only cared about studying as she planned to be our parents' successor and take over the family business.

When Dad found out about her and Simon, he was furious and made us kneel right then and there. Mom couldn't bear seeing us kneeling out at night, so she pleaded, threw a fit, and eventually got him to soften a little.

"I'll let you off if you get first place in this month's exam."

When Whitney heard the condition, she agreed confidently. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll always be first in our grade no matter what."

Meanwhile, I let out a cold laugh where no one could see. Perhaps it was time for some change, seeing as she'd gotten all her luck from me.

Even after Whitney reunited with her birth parents, it hadn't been easy. Dad's expectations were high—he wanted her to study finance and master every subject.

He was grooming her to be the heiress, but she'd grown up in the orphanage and had barely attended school. Compared to kids her age who'd received high-level education since they were young, she struggled.

Night after night, I'd seen her studying until she was exhausted. I would run to her and hold her to comfort her. "Don't be afraid, Whitney. As long as I'm here, you'll only get better and better."

No one knew that every time I hugged her, my luck would flow into her. I never told her that because I didn't want to hurt her pride. I wanted her to believe that she'd earned all her success through her own talent.

Now that she didn't have my extraordinary luck to help her, I planned to see just how she would get first place.

…

The news of my fight with Simon spread quickly. Some students even found out about his secret relationship with Whitney.

When Simon came to school that day, he glared at me as if he wanted to rip me apart. I didn't even flinch under his stare. Perhaps he remembered just how vicious I could be, for he didn't bother me after that.

I also heard that his parents froze all his cards and that he would only get an allowance if he ranked in the top 30 on the exam. He'd always been a poor student, ranking at the very bottom of the grade. In my past life, Whitney had even helped him cheat just so he could scrape by.

Even so, none of the ongoing drama could stop Simon from sneaking off to meet Whitney after school. Many students even caught them in the act.

During class, they would exchange looks and gestures. Even the teacher, Mr. James Watson, couldn't tolerate it anymore and threw a piece of chalk at them.

"That's enough, you two," Mr. Watson warned. "You're in your senior year now. I know you both come from wealthy families, but you still need to prove yourselves with your grades!"

However, Whitney dismissed Mr. Watson with a scoff, not showing an ounce of respect for him. "With all due respect, sir, I can still get first in the entire school even without your class."

Back then, with my luck lending her an edge, Whitney could read a page at a glance, remember everything perfectly, and ace every test effortlessly.

So, she didn't care about Mr. Watson at all. Instead, she laughed at him openly. "Honestly, your class is boring anyway."

Mr. Watson's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Looking at the overbearing Whitney at that moment, I couldn't understand why I'd ever been so devoted to her.

After that, I paid little to no attention to her and Simon. I buried myself in my studies instead. In my past life, my memory had worsened after I'd lent Whitney my luck, and misfortune had followed me everywhere.

Even though I still had some of my luck, half had gone to Whitney. That left me with only half.

Indeed, my luck wasn't unlimited. Once it was gone, it was over. That was what the fortune-teller had told me, looking deadly serious.

So I could only rely on hard work. It didn't bother me because I didn't regret lending my luck to Whitney before. She'd deserved it because she'd given me the warmth I desperately needed at that time.

From that moment on, though, we would walk our separate paths.

Soon, it was time for the monthly exam. I'd worked really hard that month, but unfortunately, I only improved a little. There were still a few tricky questions I couldn't figure out.

Still, compared to the 30-something score I got in my past life, I figured I wouldn't do so bad this time.

I wrote down every question I couldn't answer. The moment I got home, I wolfed down my dinner and rushed back to my room to study again. Every night, I studied past midnight, only going to bed when I couldn't keep my eyes open.

One night, I'd just finished solving a tough problem when I heard a commotion outside. I went to my door and twisted it open.

Dad was sitting on the living room couch in casual clothes. His expression gave nothing away as he spoke to Whitney, who reeked of alcohol. "Why are you coming home this late again?"

Whitney wobbled a little as she walked, smiling drunkenly. "The monthly exam just ended. I went out with some friends to relax."

"Ridiculous!" Dad snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "This is the most critical period before your college entrance exam! It was just a monthly exam, yet you're already staying out all night. Don't tell me you've been hanging out with that Campbell punk again."

"Dad, we just hung out. It's not like we did anything else. Besides, with my ability, there's no way I'd mess up an exam."

Whitney hadn't realized how serious things were. She'd always been overly confident in herself, and she had no idea that it would backfire this time.

She couldn't tell the difference yet because she still had some of my luck. It wouldn't disappear all at once, but rather fade slowly, along with all the advantages that came with it.

Dad scoffed. "You'd better not let me down. If you worked even half as hard as Gabriel, I wouldn't have to worry about you."

Mom came out when she heard the commotion and tried to smooth things over before the situation got out of hand.

"Whitney, it's late. The results will be out tomorrow. Why don't you wash up and get some rest?"

She clearly didn't want the father and daughter to keep butting heads. After all, Dad's temper wasn't something she liked to poke.

Meanwhile, Whitney's face was as dark as coal. She'd been lectured several times lately, and her patience was wearing thin.

In my past life, I would take the blame for her or warn her ahead of time anytime she was about to get in trouble.

She used to sneak home late all the time, so I would drag Dad away to play chess with me after dinner. Once he got tired, he never had the energy to notice she was acting suspiciously.

Perhaps she still believed Dad was the same as always—gentle, indulgent, always siding with her. Maybe that was why she acted so recklessly.

In my past life, because my grades were bad and because I'd lied to cover for her repeatedly, she only needed to say a few words to make Mom and Dad lose trust in me completely. In the end, they'd kicked me out of the house.

The next day at school, Whitney pulled me aside. I frowned, glancing at my watch, and said flatly, "You have ten minutes. My time's valuable, so start talking now."

Maybe I'd been too distant lately, because her face tightened for a second. Still, she forced herself to continue, "I want you to apologize to Simon. You were in the wrong first, after all."

For some reason, hearing that made my chest tighten.

One time, a chubby kid tried to steal my food at the orphanage, and I immediately started fighting him.

When Whitney saw us, she rushed in front of me without hesitation, not caring who was in the wrong, and beat up the kid until he apologized to me.

Back then, she'd felt like a guardian angel to me. But now, everything that had once moved me had turned back on me.

I asked casually, "And if I don't want to?"