When my roommate learned that getting pregnant in university came with special treatment, she brazenly posted on the campus forum, openly recruiting a "baby daddy."

[Requirements: over 5'11", eight-pack abs, handsome, assets in the millions, no bad habits.]

Afraid she would ruin her life on a moment of reckless impulse, I snatched her phone, deleted the post, and gave her a serious rundown on the risks and consequences of early pregnancy while still studying.

After much deliberation, she was finally persuaded.

But a month later, a classmate struck it rich by getting pregnant. She not only married into a wealthy family, but also received a million-dollar childbirth bonus from her in-laws.

My roommate was driven mad with jealousy. She stormed into the dorm, shrieking at me at the top of her lungs.

"If it weren't for you, I'd be a rich wife by now! You owe me my life!"

As she screamed, she stabbed me over and over, venting her rage until I was dead.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day she first posted on the forum, brazenly searching for a baby daddy.

With a loud bang, my thoughts snapped back to the present.

I looked around. This was the dorm room from my very first day of university. The source of the noise was the bed beside mine—Lucy Windham.

She had flung her pillow straight down. It smashed into my thermos. There was water inside; the inner liner shattered on impact. Hot water spilled across the floor, and steam curled upward.

"I'm so sick of this! Why do we even have to run morning drills? And there's an eight a.m. class too! Didn't they say university was supposed to mean freedom? I nearly killed myself studying to get in—if I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have enrolled in university!"

As Lucy vented, the other two roommates exchanged glances. One of them, Joey Marcell, laughed and teased, "Then just get pregnant. Pregnant students get special treatment. You wouldn't have to do any of that."

The moment those words left her mouth, my body began to tremble.

The same scene. Exactly the same.

Last time, Lucy had taken Joey's words to heart and immediately posted on the campus forum, openly recruiting a "baby daddy."

The post had gone viral in no time. When I saw it, I rushed to persuade her to delete it, warning her that early pregnancy came with severe morning sickness and endless inconveniences—not to mention the lifelong responsibility of raising a child.

After thinking it over for a long time, Lucy finally listened to me.

Later, another girl copied the idea, found a rich heir, and instantly rose in status through pregnancy, marrying into a wealthy family.

When Lucy found out, she stormed into the dorm with a knife and stabbed me multiple times. As she did, she screamed curses at me.

"This is all your fault! You said early pregnancy was bad. You ruined my chance to marry into money!"

I bled out on the dorm room floor.

The most tragic part? Lucy was diagnosed with a mental illness and spared the death penalty.

I had died for nothing.

Since heaven had given me a chance to start over, I would never be stupid again. No more savior complex. No more interfering in other people's fate.

"Tricia, what do you think?"

Lucy looked straight at me, clearly waiting for my answer.

In the dorm, my grades were the best. I'd entered university as the top scorer, and Lucy always came to me for advice.

In my last life, she'd asked me the same question. I'd rejected the idea outright, furious on her behalf. But she hadn't given up. Under Joey's constant influence, Lucy still posted on the forum behind my back.

This time, I simply smiled faintly.

"Being a mom early isn't bad. You recover faster because you're young. By the time you graduate, your kid could already be in kindergarten. Saves a lot of trouble."

Lucy froze.

In her mind—and in everyone else's—I was always extremely conservative.

Still, she hesitated after hearing me.

"Huh? But giving birth really hurts. And if I have a baby, who's going to take care of it while I'm studying?"

My heart skipped.

So she did know the risks of early pregnancy. She just wanted me to be the bad guy.

This time, I wouldn't let her have her way.

I pressed on, gently fanning the flames. "If you land a rich heir, would you really need to worry about any of that?"

Lucy fell silent. She seemed to think for a long time before finally nodding.

The temptation of becoming a wealthy wife was simply too great. And this time, since I wasn't stopping her, even if she failed, she wouldn't be able to blame me.

Almost the very next second, Lucy posted her recruitment message on the campus forum. She even raised her brows at me smugly.

"Tricia, I think you should find a rich guy too. What's the point of studying yourself to death? Studying well isn't as good as marrying well."

Her tone made it sound as if she were already a rich wife.

I couldn't understand why Lucy held such hostility toward me. This time, I wasn't even stopping her—yet she still spoke to me with sharp, barbed words.

But someone like Lucy, a person who drags others down with her, was best kept at a distance.

I lowered my head, flipping through practice papers, and replied calmly, "I'll pass."

As the popularity of her post continued to climb, Lucy let out a scornful snort in my direction.

"Fake prude. Bookworm. I can tell—you're never going to amount to much in this life."

Just like in my previous life, Lucy's post exploded overnight. The backlash was fierce—people said she'd shattered their worldview. Someone even dug up our dorm information. After that, whenever the three of us went out—even without Lucy—we were met with rolling eyes and open hostility.

"That's them. They think just because they look decent, they can mess around. They've ruined our university's reputation."

"I heard the university's top scorer is among them. Bet she cheated her way to the top with her body."

Last time, I'd made Lucy delete the post in time, so things hadn't escalated this badly. This time, not only was she affected—all three of us were dragged down with her.

Joey grabbed the two of us and stormed back to the dorm, seething with anger.

Lucy was washing her feet when we got there. The towel in her hand looked oddly familiar. I glanced at where I kept my towels—and my heart sank.

That was my face towel.

I'd caught it this time. But if I hadn't—how many times had she already used it?

The thought of wiping my face every day with a towel she used on her feet made my skin crawl.

I rushed over and snatched it from her, furious.

"What are you doing? Why are you using my face towel to wipe your feet?"

I wasn't pretending. I was genuinely angry.

Lucy didn't look the least bit embarrassed at being caught. Instead, she sounded perfectly justified.

"I'm pregnant with a rich man's kid now. You should feel honored I'm using your stuff. If you serve me well, I might even ask my future husband to give you a janitor job after you graduate."

She wasn't wrong about one thing. It had been half a month since she posted on the forum. During that time, she'd been staying out overnight and had us cover for her with the dorm supervisor. Clearly, she was already pregnant.

As for who the man was, she never gave a name—only that he was rich, dressed head to toe in designer brands, and while we were still riding shared bikes, he was already driving a luxury car.

Based on her description, there was only one person at our university who fit.

Nick Swarton, the richest heir in all of Samreen City.

Hearing her say that made my blood surge.

"I don't need you to hand me a job. I have hands and feet of my own. And that still doesn't give you the right to use other people's things without permission."

Lucy let out a cold laugh.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is for university students to find jobs these days? Still pretending to be noble? You'd better not regret it. If you can't find work after graduation and come begging on your knees, I won't let my husband help you."

As she spoke, she stomped her foot hard into the basin, splashing water all over me.

Joey had already been on the verge of exploding. If not for what had just happened, she wouldn't have held back this long.

"Lucy, deal with your own mess yourself. Don't drag the three of us down with you. Get on the forum right now and clarify that this was your personal behavior and has nothing to do with us! Because of you, we're getting criticized everywhere we go!"

Joey planted herself in front of me, hands on her hips, shouting.

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I'm doing this for your own good. I know the three of you are too embarrassed to admit it, but you've been jealous of me for a long time, haven't you? Stop pretending to be pure."

Joey was so angry that her face turned red.

"You—what nonsense are you talking about? We just want to study in peace. Don't project your filthy thoughts onto us!"

Lucy rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"Treat me like this and see what happens. Believe it or not, I can have my future husband make it so you can't even stay in this university!"

"If you've got the guts, have him come after us himself," Joey shot back. "You really think getting pregnant makes you a queen? Everyone out there is calling you shameless, and you actually think you're something special?"

Joey's strength was overwhelming. Lucy flushed with rage, glaring venomously at the three of us, so angry she couldn't speak. Clutching her phone, she burst into tears and ran into the bathroom.

From outside, I could vaguely hear her making a complaint call. Her voice was nothing like usual—pinched and cloying, unpleasant to listen to.

Grinding her teeth, Joey dropped back into her chair.

The other roommate, Carmen Radler, asked worriedly, "She isn't really dating Nick, is she? We really can't afford to offend someone like him."

Joey snorted.

"So what if she is? We're in the right—what's there to be afraid of? Does he really think he can bend the law? We got into this university on our own merit!"

But the moment I heard Nick's name, I glanced at my phone.

There was a message from him.

Nick: [What time do you get out of class? I'll take you to a new restaurant.]

The timestamp was yesterday afternoon.

That's right. Nick and I were childhood friends. How could I not know if he had a girlfriend?

Our chats were always casual—reply when we had time, silent when we didn't. As for whether he had anything to do with Lucy, I'd have to ask him directly to know for sure.

So I quickly typed back.

Me: [Let's go today.]

He replied almost instantly.

Nick: [I'll pick you up after class.]

When Nick's Ferrari pulled up in front of the women's dormitory, it caused an immediate uproar.

Everyone in the dorm crowded by the window to watch. Joey couldn't help but sigh.

"That car is insanely expensive. We'd have to work for several lifetimes to afford it. Some people are born with a silver spoon; others are born to be workhorses."

Lucy, on the other hand, stroked her nonexistent belly, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and looked at us with open disdain.

"See? Believe me now? My future husband is a rich heir. You poor things—take a good look. This might be the last time you ever get to see something like this."

I curved my lips into a faint smile.

Nick spotted me standing by the window and lifted a hand in greeting. Lucy saw it too and immediately waved back, excitement flashing across her face.

I ignored her and headed out. As I reached the door, Lucy slammed her shoulder hard into mine, snapping angrily, "Watch where you're going, okay? If you hurt my baby, could you afford to compensate me? I'm pregnant with the heir of a wealthy family. Why are you in such a hurry—trying to get close to my husband's luxury car?"

I let out a cold laugh. How dumb.

Still, to keep her from blaming me if anything happened to her "child," I stepped aside and let her go first.

Lucy took advantage and still acted smug. She swayed her hips as she walked, then turned back and spat at me, "Good that you know your place. You reek of poverty."

In truth, my family's background was no different from Nick's. I'd simply always kept a low profile. The brands I wore were mostly foreign luxury labels that few people here recognized.

Besides, I didn't even have a driver's license. The Lamborghini my father gave me for my eighteenth birthday was still sitting unused.

So her words didn't anger me. I was curious instead—whether Lucy's dream of marrying into wealth would actually come true.

By the time I got downstairs, Lucy was already seated in the passenger seat of Nick's car. Envious looks were cast her way from all sides. Nick, however, kept his eyes fixed on the entrance of the dorm building and didn't notice her at all.

When I reached the car, Nick frowned slightly.

"What took you so long? You made me wait, although I'm the one treating you to a meal."

I almost laughed. When we were little, Nick had always followed me around like a shadow. I'd thought he'd outgrow it, but apparently, university hadn't changed him one bit.

I raised a brow and glanced at Lucy.

She seemed to catch my look and, in a show of triumph, leaned toward Nick and cooed, "Honey, let's go. I know you just wanted to show me off in front of my roommates. That's enough, our baby and I are starving."

Nick finally turned around. The shock on his face was unmistakable. He pointed at himself.

"Honey? Me? Baby? Miss, who are you?"

Given how well I knew Nick, he wasn't lying. Which meant the liar was someone else.

Things were getting interesting.

Lucy instantly exploded.

"Nick! You slept with me and got me pregnant, and now you're trying to deny it?"

Before she finished, she looked at me, realization dawning on her face.

"I get it now! It's this bitch Tricia who seduced you, isn't it? I admit she studies well and has a bit of looks, but you can't abandon our baby and me for her!"

I felt nothing at all. I took it as a compliment.

Nick was even more horrified. He hurriedly explained to me, "Tricia, I swear I have nothing to do with her. I don't even know who she is!"

I lifted a brow. "So… are we still eating?"

He nodded furiously.

I continued, calm as ever. "Then where am I supposed to sit? On the hood?"

Nick immediately went over and yanked Lucy out of the car. She let out a scream.

"Nick, be careful of the baby!"

Nick acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. After pulling her out, he turned and ushered me into the seat.

Lucy collapsed onto the ground, throwing a full-blown tantrum, crying and wailing.

"How can mistresses be this shameless nowadays? Stealing someone else's man! I'm already pregnant, and she's openly provoking me! Is there no justice left in this world?"

The onlookers' gazes toward me shifted, filled with suspicion and judgment. Nick didn't care in the slightest. He floored the accelerator and sped away.