Chapter 1

After the SAT scores were released, Sean White threw a lavish graduation party. He was the most popular guy at school and had been on financial aid.

That night, I got a text saying my credit card had been maxed out.

I went to confront Sean. Instead, I found him standing next to my girlfriend, Janine Slater, looking like he was about to cry.

"Just because I'm on financial aid, does that mean I can't hold a graduation party?" he asked.

Janine rushed to comfort him, then turned on me.

"Your family has plenty of money. Spending a little on Sean isn't going to hurt you," she said.

Sure, my family was wealthy, but that didn't make me a charity case. Why should I pay for him?

I refused to back down and called the police to get my money back.

However, Janine retaliated by sabotaging my family's company, pushing it to the brink of bankruptcy.

While I was on my way to meet with investors, Janine and Sean plotted together and ran me over.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of Sean's graduation party.

Chapter 1

"Yes, please freeze all transactions on this card," I said.

The first thing I did after opening my eyes was call my bank. As soon as I froze the credit card Sean White had taken, I could finally breathe easier.

I looked around the room, lost in thought.

Just then, my phone rang. Sean's name flashed across the screen.

The memories of how my previous life ended kept replaying in my head.

I scoffed and answered the call.

"Hello? Jensen, is that you?"

Hearing Sean's voice again made my blood boil.

"Is there something you need?" I asked.

He clearly wasn't expecting such an icy response from me. After all, my family had supported Sean through financial aid for years, and I had always treated him like a brother.

He quickly recovered. His voice was warm and a little too eager to please.

"I do! I'm having my graduation party at Lawson Hotel tonight. Will you come?" Sean asked. "It's the biggest celebration I've ever had. Please, you have to show up.

"Janine will be there too. It's been a while since you two have seen each other, hasn't it?"

I ran my fingers over the new Patek Philippe watch on my wrist and smiled.

"Sure. It's your big day. Go ahead and order the good stuff," I said.

After I hung up, I clenched my fists.

He talked about how Janine Slater and I hadn't seen each other in a while, as if he knew where my "girlfriend" had been better than I did.

In my previous life, I thought Janine was overseas taking over the family business, so I didn't think much of it.

Later, I found out the two of them had been traveling the world together in secret. They had just returned the day before.

That earlier comment from Sean was a blatant jab at me.

-

At 7:00 pm, I walked into the Lawson Hotel ballroom.

Everything was exactly as I remembered. 18 tables were loaded with caviar, lobster, and top-shelf liquor.

Crystal chandeliers overhead gave the room a luxurious feel.

Sean wore an expensive, tailored white suit. He stood beside Janine, making the rounds from table to table with a drink in hand.

The two laughed together, and Sean stayed close to her the whole time. They looked like a happy couple.

This event looked less like a graduation party and more like an engagement party.

The moment I walked in, every head in the ballroom turned toward me. People immediately started whispering.

"Is that… Jensen Lancaster? He and Sean must be really close if he came all the way here."

"Right? I heard the Lancasters treat Sean like one of their own. They've practically adopted him at this point."

"Then it makes sense that Janine is here. Didn't they say she and Jensen are engaged?"

"Don't make things up. Janine and Jensen might not be dating. Someone asked her that before, and she never answered."

I smirked as I listened to the gossip.

The moment Sean saw me, he hurried over with Janine, pretending to be pleasantly surprised.

"Jensen, you made it!" he said.

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and his face turned slightly red as he lowered his voice.

"Please don't get the wrong idea," he said. "Janine was worried I couldn't hold my liquor, so she insisted on coming with me while I toasted everyone."

Janine hadn't looked happy since the moment she saw me. After hearing Sean's explanation, she frowned even harder.

"Jensen, don't give Sean a hard time," she said.

Their behavior was so ridiculous that I almost laughed.

I couldn't help but say, "But I haven't even said anything yet."

Seeing the situation getting more heated, Sean quickly jumped in.

"Janine, don't say that," he said. "I'm already happy enough that Jensen came. How could he possibly be giving me a hard time?"

As I watched Sean get more carried away with his act, I patted him on the shoulder and smiled warmly.

"What are you talking about, Sean?" I asked. "Why would I be mad at you?"

Hearing that, Janine seemed to relax. She scoffed and said, "At least you know better."

I kept the smile on my face and continued, "Someone like Janine is only worth wanting if you're the type who collects trash."

The moment I said that, the entire ballroom fell silent.

Sean's smile froze, and Janine's expression turned dark with anger.

"Jensen Lancaster!"

Chapter 2

Janine stormed forward and raised her hand to slap me.

I stepped aside and grabbed her wrist.

"Janine, you've gotten pretty bold, haven't you?" I asked. "Do you know what would happen if you laid a finger on me today?

"The consequences aren't something a second daughter of the Slater family like you could handle."

Janine's expression shifted, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face. "How dare you?"

In the past, I was attracted to Janine's looks, and I also liked that she never backed down.

When we were together, I always gave in to her and tried to please her.

I had never put her on the spot like this before, and she clearly wasn't taking it well.

Yet there was nothing she could do. She couldn't lash out at me right now.

After all, her family's company still depended on mine, so she couldn't afford to fall out with me.

Her face flushed with anger as she yanked her hand free.

"Watch what you say, Jensen!" she hissed.

I looked at her in surprise. "What did I say that was wrong? Wasn't it the truth?"

As the atmosphere grew tense, one of our classmates stepped in with a laugh to ease the tension.

He said, "Come on, today's supposed to be Sean's graduation party. Let's not start a fight."

"That's right. Jensen, try to calm down. You've still got quite a temper," another classmate said.

"But how did Sean suddenly get so much money? We all know the Lancasters have been really kind to you, but…"

He wasn't actually part of my family.

The classmate who spoke last seemed to realize he had said the wrong thing and quickly fell silent.

Sean recovered quickly. At that, he clenched his fists, and his eyes began to well up with tears.

"No, that's not it. It's not the Lancaster family's money. I earned it after the SATs by working at Janine's company," he said. "While I was there, I was always the first one in and the last one out.

"Janine saw how hard I worked, so she gave me some generous bonuses."

He paused, then added, "Everyone here helped me when we were in school. I just wanted to give something back."

As he spoke, his voice caught with emotion. Then he turned to me.

"Jensen, Janine and I aren't like that. How could you say something like that about me?"

His heartfelt words even brought tears to our homeroom teacher Candice Turner's eyes.

She said, "You've always been one of the most thoughtful and hardworking students in this class. The fact that you remember those who've helped you makes me very happy."

Seeing this, class president Harry Burke quickly chimed in. "Exactly, Ms. Turner. So what if someone comes from a wealthy family?

"That's still not as impressive as a financial aid student who earned everything through his own hard work."

The mood shifted instantly, and everyone looked at me differently.

"Isn't Jensen taking this too far?" someone whispered.

"Just because his family is rich doesn't mean he gets to treat people like this. Sean earned every penny!" one of our classmates said.

Another added, "Looks like money really does make people think they're above everyone else. He didn't come here for the party. He came here to pick a fight!"

I remained expressionless, acting as if I hadn't heard a word.

Janine gently patted Sean on the back and shot me a glare.

She said to him, "Come on, Sean. Let's go. Don't waste your time on this lunatic."

The two of them didn't look my way again. They focused on smoothing things over with our classmates and teachers.

Janine stayed by Sean's side the entire time. She poured his drinks and stepped in to take his place when people toasted him.

When sweat formed on his forehead, she even handed him tissues.

Their actions were so natural and intimate that anyone would think they were a couple.

At that moment, Harry seemed to intentionally stir things up again.

"Janine, you're taking all these drinks for Sean," he said. "What's going on between you two?"

"Come on, don't say things like that." Sean's ears turned red as he quickly denied it. "Janine is just kind enough to help me out. There's nothing going on between us."

Janine never tried to clear things up. Instead, she moved a little closer to Sean.

"I've always thought of Sean as a little brother. Of course I'd look out for him," she said.

The servers didn't come over to attend to me, but I didn't care. I simply found a seat and sat down.

Seeing Janine act that way, I got to my feet and clapped a few times.

"Nice! A 'little brother,' you say? Sean, you really threw quite the graduation party. I wish you all the best in your future too."

The sound drew everyone's attention back to me.

I put on a thoughtful expression and said, "Sean grew up with the Lancasters watching over him. He finally graduated, and I'm happy for him too."

"I got carried away earlier. My apologies, everyone," I added. "How about this? I'll buy everyone here a car. Everyone should have something to celebrate their graduation.

"Pick any car under 80,000 dollars, and I'll pay for it. Let's make it a graduation gift."

Then, I immediately looked troubled and turned to Sean. "Could the payment be charged to your card first? I left in such a hurry today that I didn't bring mine.

"I heard you made quite a bit from the project you worked on with Janine too. You should be able to cover it for me first, right?"

Chapter 3

Sean knew I was intentionally putting him on the spot.

Since it was my card anyway, he only thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Of course, it's no trouble at all," he said.

There were more than 50 classmates at the graduation party, and the total cost came to over 4 million dollars.

Everyone knew that amount was nothing to me, but no one expected Sean to have earned that amount in such a short time.

Some people could work their whole lives and still never make a million dollars.

So even though I was the one who offered to buy everyone cars, the rest of the party became all about Sean.

One classmate after another came over to toast him, showering him with praise and questions.

"Sean, how much did you actually make working at Janine's company?"

"My goodness, you're dropping 4 million dollars just like that? You've really moved up in the world, haven't you?"

"You've gotten this far right after the SATs? You won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life!"

Sean basked in their praise, then turned to Candice beside him.

He said politely, "Don't worry, Ms. Turner. Even though Jensen forgot about you, I'll get you a luxury car too. Thank you for believing in me."

Candice immediately became emotional and stood up to pat him on the shoulder.

"Sean, after all these years of teaching, you're the student I'm most proud of!" she said.

"Please don't say that, Ms. Turner," Sean replied.

With everyone praising him, Sean became more and more carried away. He turned and called over a server.

"Excuse me, please bring us two more bottles of premium liquor," he said. "And add a few more lobsters and king crabs too.

"It's not often that we all get together. Everyone should dig in and enjoy yourselves tonight!"

His words were met with another round of cheers.

I was the one giving them cars, yet they showed me no gratitude and completely ignored me.

Janine didn't spare me a second glance either. Instead, she went out of her way to take care of Sean.

When the king crab was served, Janine placed a piece of crab leg on Sean's plate.

He smiled and shook his head, acting almost dependent on her.

"The shell's too hard," he said. "Janine, can you crack it for me?"

Janine smiled fondly and started helping him with the crab leg.

The scene didn't go unnoticed. A few people secretly looked my way, eager to see how things would play out.

"See? They keep saying they're not dating, but it's so obvious."

"Don't piss off our big spender. He's the one getting us cars, remember?"

"Big spender? I'm guessing he spends millions like it's nothing. He's treating us like we're here to take handouts."

"True. Jensen's family has been wealthy for generations. That amount probably doesn't mean much to him."

What a bunch of ingrates.

I took a sip of tea, my expression cold.

Seeing the situation, Sean quickly spoke up. "Everyone, don't misunderstand. Janine is just a dear friend of mine. There's really nothing between us."

I paid no attention to his performance and simply focused on my meal instead.

After all, the real show was still coming. I couldn't watch it on an empty stomach.

Chapter 4

The graduation party was coming to an end, and our classmates gathered in small groups.

Some were already looking up car prices on their phones, while others were calling their families with the good news.

The whole ballroom felt like Christmas had come early.

Smiling, Sean was surrounded by classmates as he walked to the front desk to pay the bill.

"Don't rush off, everyone," Sean said. "The night's not over yet. Let's go do some karaoke."

Janine even took his coat for him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The two of them walked side by side at the front, and anyone would have thought they were a perfect match.

I had eaten enough, so I stood up and followed.

Just then, Janine stopped and turned around. Her gaze passed through the crowd before settling on me in the corner.

"Jensen, are you done eating too?"

Janine was smiling. Her voice was soft, but loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

The crowd stopped and turned around.

A sense of unease came over me. Janine clearly wasn't about to say anything nice.

My hunch was right.

Her expression darkened the next second, and she said, "How can you still sit there and eat after everything? Didn't you always use your wealth to humiliate Sean?

"Even after all that, he still put it behind him and invited you to his graduation party. That shows how gracious he is!

"What about you? All you did was eat. What, have you never had a meal before?"

After those words, the way the others looked at me was different.

I found it ridiculous. Her sudden accusations made no sense at all.

When had I ever used my wealth to humiliate Sean?

Janine didn't even give me the chance to respond. She looked at me with mockery in her eyes.

"Jensen, you've always acted like you were above everyone else," she said. "Now that you're seeing Sean succeed on his own, I bet that doesn't sit well with you."

I was practically speechless from anger, but I didn't hold back this time.

"Janine, you keep saying I humiliated Sean. Do you even have any proof?" I asked. "And don't forget, my family paid for his schooling all these years. Who are you to accuse me like this?

"I even helped him because I felt sorry for him. So what, helping him was my mistake? Is his pride really that fragile?"

When I said that, I couldn't help but scoff.

"You act like he's some inspiring success story, but he's nothing but an ungrateful person. And you? You're a complete idiot for believing him."

"What did you say?" Janine moved to slap me, but Sean quickly grabbed her.

"Janine, don't do this!" He lowered his head, looking hurt and like he was trying to hold back his emotions. "Don't say that about Jensen. He never treated me that way."

His words only made our classmates more upset.

"Sean, we're all here for you. Don't be scared!"

"Exactly. We'll all stand up for you. It's just a lousy car. So what if we don't take it?"

"Jensen, you're seriously out of line. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Apologize to Sean now!"

Unable to believe what I was hearing, I pointed at myself. "Wait, I have to apologize to him?"

Sean quickly stepped in to stop our classmates, patiently trying to calm them down.

"Alright, everyone! I know you're doing this for my sake, but it's getting late now," he said. "There's still karaoke after I pay. No need to fight here."

Our classmates finally calmed down, but they still looked at me with hostility.

Sean shot me a smug glance before pulling out his card to pay.

I waited calmly, completely unbothered.

The card reader gave a sharp beep.

The hotel manager, Terence Blake, gave an embarrassed look and said, "Mr. White, this card doesn't seem to be working. The payment won't go through."