Imelda handed me a card, granting me a day off. Gildo drove me to the city center.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I spotted a familiar face—Regina.

She was wearing a red-and-white mascot costume. When I saw her, she was holding the oversized mascot head with one hand while using a flyer to wipe the sweat off her forehead with the other. Her pale face had turned bright red from the heat.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I noticed a young man rushing toward her. It was Dario.

He, too, was holding a thick stack of flyers. He hurried over to Regina and used the flyers to fan her.

"Regina, are you okay? Can you hold on a bit longer? If you're too tired, we can go home."

Hearing the concern in his voice, Regina weakly smiled. "I'm fine, Dario. I can continue. Isn't it almost time for your tutoring session? Go ahead and get to class. I'll be fine alone."

In my last life, I did the same thing—working multiple jobs every day. I had no time for breakfast in the mornings and would rush off to do odd jobs after school. On weekends, I'd be out handing out flyers in the busiest part of town, braving the heat and cold.

Only by doing all this could I earn the chance to attend school at my adoptive parents' family.

To pay for college tuition, I even worked as a waitress at a bar after graduating from high school. I endured all kinds of harassment, just so I could make a few extra bucks.

I turned to walk toward the building when suddenly, Regina, still in her mascot costume, blocked my path.

"Livia?"

When she saw the Hermès bag in my hand, a flash of jealousy crossed her eyes.

"You sure seem to be living the good life. But don't forget, the mafia devours people whole. You might end up dead in the streets one day."

I looked at her without responding.

Unable to hold back any longer, she started bragging about her adoptive parents.

"My parents treat me so well. Dario even more so. He tutors me after school and brings me all sorts of snacks."

"Oh," I replied, my voice cold and indifferent.

My reaction seemed to finally irritate her. Her face flushed as she was about to say something, but Dario walked over just in time.

"What did you do to my sister?" he asked, his gaze sharp as he stood protectively in front of Regina.

Ignoring him, I bypassed them and walked into the mall.

Behind me, I heard Regina's voice full of schadenfreude. "Dario, why were you so harsh with her? She's my sister…"

I used Imelda's bank card to purchase many luxury goods—too many to carry by myself —so I called Gildo to pick me up.

Just as I was about to get in the car, Regina's mocking voice reached my ears. "Hmph! What's the point of buying all this stuff? You're going to die anyway."

I raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Gildo helped me carry the mountain of shopping bags into the living room.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard a sharp voice cutting through the air. "You really went all out, huh? Do you really think you're the Principessa of the Vicino family now?"

I ignored his mocking tone and sweetly greeted him, "Pardo, long time no see. I got you a gift. Wait right here. I'll grab it for you."

With that, I took the box from Sabele's hands and placed it on the coffee table in front of Pardo. "Pardo, here's a gift for you. Open it and let me know if you like it."

He sneered as he opened the box. "You're from the slums. What kind of gift are you going to pick out? Don't tell me you brought back some junk."

But as soon as he saw what was inside, his tone shifted dramatically. "The latest gaming laptop!"

I couldn't help but smile when I saw Pardo's surprised expression. It seemed like I made the right choice with this gift.

Although a laptop like this wasn't much to the Vicino family, Pardo had been denied his allowance because of his lack of ambition, and he couldn't afford the latest version himself.

When he noticed my smile, his expression immediately hardened, and he tried to act indifferent as he grabbed the box. "You really know how to win people over. I guess you're quite a good person."

With that, he hurried off, clutching the box.

Sabele shot me a look filled with approval.

"Sabele, can you gather everyone? I got gifts for everyone."

After a brief moment of surprise, Sabele turned to call the others.

I handed out the gifts one by one. Everyone seemed genuinely touched. They expressed their gratitude with heartfelt thanks.

As the group was about to leave, Alano and Imelda returned.

Seeing everyone smiling and clutching gifts of various sizes, they turned toward Sabele.

"Why is everyone gathered here?" Alano asked.

"Don Vicino, Ms. Vicino gave everyone gifts. Everyone's really moved."

I picked up two boxes and approached them. "Papa, Mamma, these are gifts for you. I hope you like them."

Alano opened the gift to reveal a pair of exquisite cufflinks. His eyes lit up with a smile. "Grazie. I really like them."

Imelda took the rose-shaped brooch I handed her and smiled warmly as she gazed at me. "Livia, I love it. Grazie."

With that, she pulled my hands into hers and lightly patted the back of my hand. "You know how to show gratitude. That's a good trait."

Everything seemed to be falling into place. I was growing quickly under the guidance of various tutors.

After the graduation ceremony, the teachers swarmed Imelda, raving about how I grasped everything with incredible speed, precision, and ease.

At dinner, I stepped into the dining room to find both Imelda and Pardo already seated.

When Imelda saw me, she waved me over. "Livia, come sit by me. Your teachers are all full of praise for you. They say you've already finished all your high school courses. Do you want to join the family business now and start learning about family affairs with Pardo?

"I originally planned to let you finish high school first, but you're so impressive. You've already completed your high school courses."

"Sounds good to me. What's the point of finishing high school anyway?" Pardo immediately chimed in.

Noticing his excitement, I smiled and turned to Imelda. "Mamma, if it's possible, I'd still like to finish high school with Pardo before joining the family business. Would that be okay?"

On the first day of school, Pardo sat in the car, looking thoroughly impatient.

I didn't expect him to wait for me, so I ran toward him, shouting, "Pardo, are you waiting for me?"

He snorted and responded, "Stop shouting. Get in, or I won't forgive you if we're late."

Just before getting out of the car, he finally turned and glared at me. "Listen up, don't tell anyone at school you're my sister. If you do, don't blame me for what comes next."

Upon hearing that, Gildo immediately turned around to comfort me. "Don't be upset, Ms. Vicino. Mr. Vicino just talks tough, but he's actually soft-hearted."

Smiling, I nodded at Gildo, then quickly walked toward the school.

At the school gates, I saw Regina and Dario surrounded by a crowd.

"Are you Dario Bivona? The one who took the top spot in the entrance exams?"

"They're wearing cheap clothes. If they didn't have good grades, how would they have gotten into this prestigious school?"

The onlookers pressed in, hurling malicious questions at them. Dario shielded Regina in front of her.

"Class is about to start. Get inside now."

The crowd broke apart as a teacher approached. Just as I was about to follow Pardo out, I heard Regina's voice call out. "Livia?"

She blocked my path.

"Livia, it's really you? Did you get into this school too? What's your rank? I didn't see your name on the list."

Dario grabbed Regina and shouted at me, "Stay away from my sister!"

I didn't bother to engage with them and simply walked around them and headed into the school. But I couldn't miss the flash of jealousy in Regina's eyes.

With my memories from my last life, all the courses felt effortless.

Pardo, however, still spent his days immersed in the digital world, routinely sleeping in class or playing games.

We had agreed to meet in the car every night to head home together.

Even though he still wore a grumpy expression whenever we met, he always stood up for me whenever the other rich heiresses picked on me.

A month had passed, and our relationship had gradually softened. We could even exchange a few words in the car now.

Then, one night, after a month had gone by, I waited in the car for an hour, but Pardo never showed up. His phone was unreachable.

It suddenly hit me. Earlier that day, some classmates had mentioned a race.

The location of the race was the mountain area where Pardo had crashed and lost his legs in my last life.

No! I couldn't let him get into another accident!

I started frantically banging on the seat, urging Gildo to take me to the northern mountain range.

By the time we arrived, the race had already started. Several sports cars zoomed past me, and I spotted Pardo's red car, swerving out of control as it crashed into the mountainside.

"Pardo!"