The young man leaned against the wall as he looked at his phone. His facial features were handsome. His gaze was slightly downcast, but his wispy eyelashes were visible. There was an aura of cold elegance about him. He was simply handsome beyond belief.
It wasn't like my ten years of admiration towards him could just disappear. As if I had been put under a spell, my heart wouldn't stop pounding.
He heard something and looked toward me. His lips parted when our eyes met. His expression seemed to brighten.
Though I wasn't going to chase after him anymore, it wasn't like we were cutting ties. So, I greeted him awkwardly.
"What a coincidence! You're going to the toilet too?" Right as I said that, I began to regret my stupid question. Thankfully, Ethan didn't mind. He stood up straight and beckoned me over with his finger. "Come here."
"Huh? Something the matter, Grayson?" I asked.
Ethan glanced at me coldly. He was visibly getting impatient.
"I said, come here," he repeated.
I was silent as I reluctantly stepped forward, still keeping my distance from him. Upon seeing this, Ethan's expression darkened. He furrowed his brows as if preparing to say something, but decided not to.
A while passed before he tossed me the bag he was holding. He looked upset. I was caught off guard and nearly dropped it. It was so heavy!
"What is this?"
Ethan didn't answer but turned around suddenly. His tall figure was overwhelming. The familiar earthy fragrance on him made my breath hitch. My mind went blank.
"Evelyn Wiley. You'd better study hard, you hear?" he said, gritting his teeth.
I didn't say anything. I was so confused. By the time I had gotten my bearings again, Ethan had already walked away.
Then, I returned to the karaoke room. Lyla rushed up to me and asked, "What's that? Did someone give you a birthday present?"
I didn't even know where to begin. Lyla quickly opened up the bag. She was delighted.
"Goodness! Who's bright idea was it to gift you a bag full of practice papers? Someone must be eager to see you get into St. Nicholas University."
I just chuckled. Even after going back in time seven years, I still couldn't figure out what was on Ethan's mind.
Regardless, he definitely wouldn't want me to keep pestering him after getting into St. Nicholas University.
The weekend went by quickly. Fullbright High put up the results for the top 50 scorers of the trial exam on the bulletin board once we returned on Monday to motivate other students. Before class on Monday, a bunch of students crowded around the bulletin board. Lyla dragged me along too.
"Evelyn! What are you doing here? The list is for the top 50 scorers, not the top 500."
Just my luck. I ran into Leah and her friends again. Nevertheless, I rolled my eyes and ignored them.
Another girl gloated, "Hey, I heard you pleaded with Ethan to come to your birthday party. Too bad he doesn't care about you! He left without even saying anything!"
I chuckled sarcastically. "Oh? Did I make you jealous? Don't tell me you have a crush on Ethan too?"
Instantly, her expression froze. She glanced at Leah frantically and said, "Nonsense! I'm saying this on behalf of Leah!"
"Oh, I get it. The star of the show hasn't even spoken yet, but her lackeys are raring to go."
"You!" Her face quickly turned red.
Leah finally spoke up. She said gently, "Evelyn, we're all classmates here. There's no need to say something mean like that."
I had been in this scenario umpteen times in my last life. Whenever Ethan and I interacted, a bunch of people would come to make fun of me.
Back then, I didn't want to provoke Ethan, so I just bottled it all up. That was the punishment Leah gave me. But this time, I retorted.
"I don't think you'd get my point if I spoke nicely."
Leah was shocked. She didn't expect me to retort. She fell silent before laughing aloud.
"Why, I haven't even said happy birthday to you! I was going to go with Ethan that day, but something cropped up. I had him go over by himself."
How intimate her tone was. She was fully acting like she was Ethan's girlfriend. The others around her could tell what she meant, so they mocked me with their gazes.
My heart sank, but I pretended that it didn't bother me. I thought back to my previous life.
I thought about the messages Leah sent to Ethan, the things people said about me, the excessive comparisons the Graysons made about me, and the way Ethan left without a word on our wedding anniversary.
All those painful moments came rushing back. Despite being reborn, all the walls within my heart came crumbling down.
"Evelyn?"
Lyla held my hand. I could see my pale complexion reflected in her dark pupils.
Her friends jumped at the opportunity to make fun of me. "You'd better get lost, Evelyn. You might not be able to take it when you see the results posted."
"St. Nicholas University? You probably can't even make it into the top 50 here! Don't bite off more than you can chew."
Lyla was furious. "Oh, shut up, you busybodies!"
I clenched my lips. I saw Leah smile faintly as she thought she had won. I came to my senses.
I held Lyla back from arguing any further. Lifting my chin, I pointed at the Head of Academics who was bringing the result list over.
"Don't waste your breath. Let the results speak for themselves."
The group of girls burst out laughing. "What an act, Evelyn!"
"Excuse me," the Head of Academics said while unfurling the result list and sticking it onto the bulletin board.
The girl I snapped at earlier scanned the list of results from head to toe. She couldn't wait to make fun of me.
"Where's your name, Evelyn?"
The crowd joined in too.
"Let the results speak for themselves? What a joke!"
Lyla, however, couldn't hide the smile on her lips. "Are you all blind?"
She glared at everyone before I could even speak. Then, Lyla pointed to the middle of the result list and said, "Open your damn eyes and read! Evelyn Wiley! 28th place!"
I was ranked a bit below the middle. Of course, it wasn't noticeable right away.
Leah laughed boisterously. She purposely said loudly, "Evelyn! How did you get full marks in both Mathematics and English?"
I couldn't help but smile either. It was almost laughable. In my past life, I worked my ass off only to barely get into St. Nicholas University.
I thought my suffering was over. Who knew that after becoming Ethan's wife, the only thing I could be proud of was my degree from St. Nicholas University? The only thing I could do to please my in-laws was to help tutor their kids. After being married for three years, I had put in a lot of work. I could practically open my own tuition center at that point.
Though I was a bit rusty with languages. I lost quite some marks there. Leah looked at the results repeatedly. She was dumbfounded. She couldn't even keep on the gentle expression she always had. Her friends were even more dumbfounded. I just smiled and enjoyed the looks on their faces. Lifting my chin, I said, "What did I tell you? The results speak for themselves."
The people who made fun of me turned red with embarrassment. A weight was lifted off my chest. Looking at Leah's expression, I smiled. I made sure to sound as nasty as I could
"Leah, I'm telling you this one more time. I seriously despise you and all your friends. Please just leave me alone from now on."
I was done with these people. I had no reason to pull my punches.
Leah was in shock. She didn't expect me to tear into her in front of everyone like that. Her expression turned horrified. Everyone was silent.
Lyla tugged on me and said softly, "Evelyn..."
I noticed something was off and turned my head. Ethan had been standing there since god knows when.