Suddenly, he dropped to his knees beside my bed.
“I’m a bastard. It’s my fault. Please, just don’t call the police. I’m begging you.”
“I’ll take responsibility for you,” he said, his bloodshot eyes filled with a desperate resolve. “If you can’t take the finals, I’ll retake the year with you. We’ll go to the same university next year, choose the same major. After we graduate… I’ll marry you, okay?”
I picked up my phone and started to dial. The system’s warning blared in my mind.
[HOST, YOU ARE A TRANSMIGRATOR. YOU CANNOT INTERFERE WITH THE FEMALE LEAD’S CORE NARRATIVE.]
“What if I do it anyway?”
[ANY ATTEMPT TO ALTER THE NARRATIVE WILL RESULT IN THE ERASURE OF ALL RELEVANT EVIDENCE AND THE FORFEITURE OF YOUR RETURN PASSAGE. HOST, PLEASE RECONSIDER.]
I squeezed the phone in my hand.
I closed my eyes, my voice like ice. “Peter, get out.”
8
For the next few days, Peter didn’t leave.
He didn’t go to school. During the day, he worked at a construction site. At night, he took odd jobs as an orderly at the hospital. He slept in the stairwell, hiding in the bathroom during rounds, and used every penny he earned to pay for my hospital bills.
09-57
Chapter 2
He started talking nonstop.
He talked about my meals, about hospital gossip, about his plans for our repeating year.
09.37
“The cafeteria lady said millet porridge is good for you. I asked her to add extra dates. Is it sweet enough? If you don’t like it, I’ll get you pumpk in porridge tomorrow.”
“The old man in room 302 got caught sneaking out for a smoke again today. He looked like a little kid getting scolded.”
“I looked up the prep schools nearby. There’s a good one. I should have enough saved for tuition by the end of the summer. We can go togeth er, be deskmates again.”
It was as if we had switched places.
I put in my earbuds and said nothing. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I’d tell him to get lost, but he wouldn’t leave.
The day before our final exams, Seraphina showed up at my door. Peter was peeling an apple for me, the knife moving in one long, perfect
spiral.
“Where’s your exam center? I’ll have my family book a hotel for you and arrange a car,” she said to him.
“Not necessary,” Peter replied without looking up.
Seraphina stomped her foot. “What do you mean, not necessary? This is the most important exam of our lives! You need to be well–rested! I’m waiting for you to go to the same university as me!”
Peter finally stopped. He cut the apple into neat slices, placed them on a plate, and pushed it toward me. Only then did he look at Seraphina, his eyes completely void of warmth. “I’m not taking the exam.”
Seraphina was flabbergasted. “What are you talking about?”
“Seraphina,” he said calmly, “I am the son of your family’s driver and maid. I listened to you before because your family took care of me after my parents died. But I’m earning my own money now. I don’t need their charity anymore.”
“What are you saying?” she said, her eyes wide with disbelief. “But you love me…”
Peter shook his head. “I never have.”
“The person I love is Chloe.”
Seraphina’s face turned white. “How can that be?” She grabbed his arm. “Did you remember something?”
Peter frowned and pulled away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is my decision. It has nothing to do with you.”
Seraphina’s head snapped toward me, her eyes filled with hate. “This isn’t how it was in my last life… It’s you, isn’t it? You changed things!” Peter stood up, blocking her view of me. “You should leave. You’re disturbing the patient.”
I looked at Seraphina and silently mouthed two words: It was.
9
After the exams were over, Seraphina organized a class party. She invited everyone, specifically tagging me and Peter, saying it wouldn’t be complete without us.
Peter frowned at his phone. “Don’t go. Your back is still healing. It’ll be crowded and noisy. What if someone bumps into you?”
I stared at the name of the restaurant on the screen. My heart seized. It was the same restaurant, on the same night.
This was my only chance to go home.
“No,” I said firmly. “I have to go.”
“But your injury…”
“It’s fine. I’ll be careful.”
He finally sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll watch out for you. Tell me the second you feel uncomfortable,”
09 Y
Chapter 2
09:37 0
At the party, Seraphina was conspicuously absent. Peter hovered over me, constantly asking if I needed water, putting food on my plate I bare ly ate, just silently counted down the minutes.
“Is your back hurting?” he asked, his brow furrowed with worry. “Should we go home?”
Before I could answer, his phone rang. The name “Seraphina” glowed on the screen
He hesitated, then answered. Her tearful voice immediately came through the speaker.
“I was in a car accident! At the corner of Fortune Avenue! It hurts so much… there’s so much blood, I can’t move please, come quickr
The line went dead.
The color drained from Peter’s face. He shot to his feet, the chair screeching against the floor.
“What’s wrong?” the class president asked.
“It’s Seraphina!” Peter said, his words tumbling out in a panicked rush. “She was in a car accident! A bad one! On Fortune Avenue
A few of the other students stood up. “I’ll go check it out,” one of the guys said. “I live right near there.”
“I’ll go too,” another added.
Peter, who had already reached the door, stopped. “Thank you…” he said, his voice strained. He walked back and sat down next to me, forcing a smile. “You’re still hurt. I’ll stay here with you.”
His fingers tapped a frantic, nervous rhythm on the table. He stared at his phone, but it remained dark. He grew more and more agitated, his lips pressed into a thin, tight line.
I watched him, his anxiety a palpable thing in the air. “You should go,” I said softly. “You don’t have to stay with me. I’ll be fine here.”
Peter looked at me, stunned. “But your back…”
I looked down, hiding the mockery in my eyes. “If you want to go, then go.”
From beside me, Adrian spoke up. “Go. I’ll look after her.”
Peter bit his lip, then finally stood up. “I’ll be back soon. Text me if you feel any pain.”
Then he turned and ran.
A few minutes later, my phone vibrated. A text from an unknown number.
Someone asked me to give you something. I’m waiting in the left stairwell.
1 took a deep breath and opened my messages. I composed a new text to the fire department, clearly stating the restaurant’s address and the potential fire hazards. I scheduled it to send in ten minutes.
Then I stood up.
“Where are you going?” Adrian asked.
“Home.”
He smiled faintly. “Goodbye, then.”
