Chapter 4

In his past life, Nathan had been a total simp. He had only had eyes for Cheryl in all of high school and all throughout university. He had no recollection of Lily at all. Of course, this was also due to Lily's personality, which was cool and intimidating. Even the male students who were in her class hadn't said more than a few words to her all throughout their years in high school, let alone Nathan, who was in another class. However, Nathan had heard of Lily. She was known as an academic prodigy who had taken advanced classes, and she was known as the campus belle. She was as out of reach as the moon and the dream girl of many boys. In Nathan's memories, Lily was probably the valedictorian of their year for Linkon First High School. She was ranked eighth in the entire state and got advanced admission to Clearwater University. However, she chose not to go and went abroad instead. "I… I wasn't pretending to be mute on purpose. I… I just don't like talking. Y-You're not angry, are you?" Lily continued to speak. There was a clear note of nervousness in her eyes. Nathan wasn't actually angry, but he decided to pretend to be. "You've lied to me for so long! How could I not be angry? Lily, you're going to lose me." He just wanted to tease her, but Lily's pretty face turned pale at once. She said nervously, "I'm sorry… I… I don't have much experience being friends with someone. I was afraid that I'd say something wrong and make you unhappy." "Uh, I was just teasing you. Why would I get angry about a small thing like that?" "Really?" "Really." Lily finally exhaled in relief. Nathan asked doubtfully, "Have you really never had a friend in your life?" Lily nodded. "My mom doesn't let me talk to guys. As for girls… I don't know why, but they don't seem to like me much." Nathan understood. Lily's beauty and poise impressed even Nathan, who had lived two lives. She also came from a wealthy family. Her presence in school was like a swan who had found itself in a nest of ugly ducklings. Naturally, she would be envied and ostracized. She was also cool by nature, which made it easy for people to mistake her as arrogant. With all these different factors, it would've been a miracle if she actually managed to make any friends. "It's alright. I'll be your friend from now on. I'll be a really good friend to you." "Really?" Happiness flooded Lily's clear, bright eyes. She was so happy to finally also have a friend. Besides, her new friend was so accomplished and could talk about so many things. … Early the next morning, Nathan went back to school as a 36-year-old in an 18-year-old's body. Based on the fragmented memories that he had, he found his classroom with some difficulty and was wondering where his seat was when he saw a square-jawed guy waving at him. Nathan instantly knew where his seat was. The young man's name was Oscar Knowe, and he was seatmates with Nathan in high school. Nathan had just walked over when Oscar asked impatiently, "Nate, I heard that on the first day of the holidays, you went to confess to Cheryl with a huge bouquet of roses. What was the result?" As soon as he said that, the other students pricked up their ears. Everyone loved gossip, after all. Some of them looked shifty as they obviously knew about the confession at the bar and what had happened. Cheryl was sitting in the distance, and she looked at Nathan as well. There was an aggrieved look in her eyes, although there was more of her innate arrogance than anything else. If it had been the Nathan of his past life, he would've definitely felt awkward and wished the ground would swallow him whole. After all, that was what foolish and naive youths were like. They always thought that their pride and self-esteem were more important than anything else. Luckily, the current Nathan was mature enough to face his awkward youth squarely in the face. "Ossie, do you really want to know? Oscar nodded enthusiastically. "Everything in this world can be summarized in two sentences…" Nathan looked at Oscar and dragged out his last word on purpose. "The first is, 'It's none of my damn business.' The other is, 'It's none of your damn business.'" Oscar was speechless. Although Nathan could be annoying at times, he was being extra obnoxious that day. Oscar had already heard the gossip in the class about the confession at the bar that night, and he had been ready to comfort Nathan. However, Nathan did not look like he needed any comfort at all. … Dogs would come back when they were hungry. Cheryl had been clinging to that thought for the entire holiday. She had been waiting anxiously for Nathan to apologize to her. When the apology didn't come on the first day, Cheryl dismissed it. She didn't believe that Nathan would be able to endure it. Then, the second day, the fourth day, and the sixth day passed successively. Nathan did not call or message her for the entire holiday. He didn't even leave any comments on her MySpace. Cheryl finally panicked slightly. Was Nathan really going to ignore her from now on? For all of high school, she had become used to Nathan hovering around her. Nathan had ignored her for all seven days, and Cheryl could not accept the drastic change. She remained distracted for the entire day, all the way from morning until evening study. She kept stealing glances at Nathan. She saw that he was either focusing on doing practice questions or fooling around with Oscar. What she could be sure of was that Nathan hadn't taken a single glance at her for the entire day, as if she didn't exist. Cheryl felt empty inside. She felt a short-lived impulse to go and talk to Nathan first, but she suppressed the urge to do so. Her innate arrogance made it impossible for her to do that. Nathan could not read minds, so he had no idea what was going through Cheryl's mind. If he had known, he would have said to her, "Don't hang your head, prideful little princess. Your crown will fall off. Don't cry, because I'll laugh." … After the evening study ended, Nathan went home with Oscar. After they walked for a while, Oscar finally could not stand it any longer. "Nate, are you really going to ignore Cheryl? You didn't say a thing to her all day." "Ossie, I've finally gotten rid of that accursed relationship. Shouldn't you be happy for me?" "If you really can let things go, I'd definitely be happy." Oscar sighed. "I'm just afraid that you're just putting up a front. I don't want you to force yourself to look okay if you're actually devastated. I don't want you to cry under your blankets when you're at home." "I'm a tough guy! Why would I cry about a small thing like that?" Nathan snorted with laughter. However, his smile faded after a while. In his past life, he really had been that kind of person. After the confession at the bar, he put his foot down and ignored Cheryl for a few days, but he spent quite a few of them crying under his blankets. As soon as Cheryl showed a bit of initiative, he immediately went back to her and continued being a simp. Not long after they left the school gates, Oscar suddenly tapped Nathan and pointed at a spot in the distance. Cheryl and her best friend, Wendy Landerson, were standing side by side at the bus station ahead of them. There was a clear contrast between the two of them. Wendy was a pretty girl, but she paled in comparison when she stood beside Cheryl. The dim glow of the streetlights that spilled over Cheryl seemed to cast a natural filter over her exquisite features. She was both delicate and attractive. Nathan had never denied Cheryl's beauty. She was not as beautiful as Lily was, but she was the type that Nathan liked. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been completely bewitched by her in his past life. Cheryl had spotted Nathan too. She huffed to herself and raised her delicate chin. There was a defiant, aggrieved look on her face, as if she were waiting for something. Oscar said, "Nate, look at Cheryl. She looks so piteous and wronged. She's obviously waiting for you to speak to her. Go on, hurry!" Nathan ignored him and looked straight ahead as he strolled right past Cheryl. He wasn't putting up a tough act, and he wasn't trying to prove anything either. She might be ignoring him today, but in the future, he would be completely out of her league. Anyway, Nathan wasn't a loser who would care about stuff like that. There was surprise in Cheryl's beautiful eyes, and she looked aggrieved. How could he do that? How dare he do that? He hadn't even said hi to her. It was as if she were invisible. "Nathan, I'm never going to talk to you again!" she called out to Nathan in a burst of defiance. She stamped her foot, turned around, and got on the bus. Oscar said in resignation, "Oh no, Nate. You've got no hope now…" Nathan shrugged. "Fine by me. Maybe the next one will be better." "As if!" Oscar rolled his eyes. "In our high school, the only one prettier than Cheryl is the legendary—" As Oscar rambled on, a Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped in front of them. The car window rolled down, and a breathtakingly beautiful face appeared. Oscar was flabbergasted. Wasn't this the legendary one he had been talking about? The academic prodigy, the campus belle of Linkon First High School—it was the gorgeous Lily! Lily said in a clear voice, "Nathan, get in the car! I'll give you a ride!" "Ossie, I told you that the next one would be better. Do you believe me now?" Nathan couldn't help showing off to Oscar. He said to Lily, "It's okay, my house is nearby." "Oh." Lily pouted. After a moment's silence, she asked, "Can we go to the cafeteria together tomorrow afternoon?" She thought that good friends always ate together. "Okay." "Then… see you tomorrow." Lily was obviously delighted that Nathan had agreed. She waved goodbye to him. The car window closed, and the Rolls-Royce drove off slowly. "Lily's family seems to be very wealthy." Nathan knew what it meant to have a Rolls-Royce Phantom in 2009. A family like that wasn't the type of family that fit in a small place like Linkon City. Oscar finally recovered slightly. "Nate, was that Lily who just spoke to you?" "Yeah…" "She wanted to give you a ride home and even invited you to have lunch with her tomorrow?" "It… seems so." "Am… Am I dreaming?" "I'll pinch you and you can find out." "Ouch! It hurts!" "I regret to inform you that you're not dreaming, Ossie." "Nate, shouldn't you explain—" "Listen to yourself! You clearly have no self-awareness at all. Why should I have to explain what I do to you?"