Chapter 3

Ryder held the soaking-wet Lily in his arms, his glare slicing toward me like a blade, full of cold menace.

He'd tossed the little boy aside like a piece of trash.

I glanced at him, then picked up my backpack to head to school.

"Hold it!"

I kept walking.

Behind me, Lily's voice came out weak and delicate. "Don't blame my brother..."

I couldn't hear the rest, because Ryder had already bent down and was fiercely biting Lily's lips.

Lily closed her eyes and soaked in the kiss. She didn't say another word.

I felt nauseous beyond belief.

Thinking back to my last life, I'd scrubbed myself inside and out more times than I could count, and the disgust still made me want to vomit.

I remembered how, after hearing Lily accuse me of molesting her, they were overjoyed to discover my female body. They humiliated me, calling me a "freak," torturing me. I wanted to take a knife and slice them to pieces, one by one.

And I actually did exactly that.

Just when they all thought I was dead and started talking about dismembering my corpse, I snatched a knife from them and slashed Ryder's carotid artery.

Before the SATs, my biggest dream was to become a doctor — saving lives and healing the sick.

When Ryder's blood sprayed onto me, I saw the disbelief in his eyes. That was when I knew my dream would never come true.

"Quinn, Quinn! Do you understand or not?"

A clear, pleasant male voice broke through the desperation festering in my heart.

Our class president, Cameron, handsome as always, furrowed his brow and tapped my test paper lightly with his pen. His words were blunt.

"If you don't start actually studying, just take the easy admission route and leave already."

I snapped out of it and looked at him with total sincerity.

"I'm sorry. I'll study hard from now on."

His expression softened a little. He was about to say something else when the door was kicked open.

"Quinn Harper, get your ass out here!"

Ryder stood at the door, smirking coldly.

I started to walk out, but Cameron blocked my path.

Ryder looked Cameron up and down and let out a disgusted snort.

"What's with the pretty-boy face? You think you can stop me?"

Cameron didn't move. Annoyance flickered across his face.

Ryder walked over, grabbed Cameron by the collar of his school blazer, and was just about to threaten him when Cameron landed a brutal punch right in Ryder's face.

In an instant, our mild-mannered class president turned into a completely different person.

A fight exploded on the spot.

All the guys in our class jumped in. Ryder had two fists but couldn't fight off dozens. He got beaten black and blue.

Our vice class president figured Ryder had been pummeled enough and hurriedly called for a teacher.

The teacher was clearly biased toward Cameron — the student likely to become the state's top scorer. Meanwhile, Ryder, who wasn't even a student at our school and had a terrible reputation around here, got yelled at and kicked off campus. Cameron didn't get any punishment at all.

The teacher pulled me aside alone.

"Quinn, you need to go home. Your parents seem extremely angry..."

I gave a soft "mm-hmm." Under the teacher's surprised gaze, I smiled faintly.

"Teacher, can I finish my classes first before I go home?"

I tilted my head and glanced at Cameron. He was sitting in the sunlight reading a book, a bruise still visible at the corner of his mouth.

The classmates were stretching their heads out the door, watching. That unique vitality of being young and alive filled the air.

This summer, I don't want to lose. 【Paid content node】