“Ding-ling-ling! Students, please line up in an orderly manner for dismissal…”

The air carried the faint, lingering fragrance of gardenias—a scent that perfectly matched the season.

Xu Musen’s ears buzzed with the chaotic chatter of youthful voices, filled with teasing and excitement.

The pain coursing through his body hadn’t faded yet. His head throbbed like a broken, battered clock, buzzing incessantly. Slowly, a sliver of light forced its way into his vision.

In his hazy state, a delicate and graceful silhouette emerged before him—a girl, seemingly around seventeen or eighteen years old.

She wore a blue-and-white school uniform with pink canvas sneakers. Despite the slightly oversized uniform, it failed to hide her naturally elegant figure. Her sleeves were neatly rolled up, revealing fair, jade-like wrists, while her high ponytail only enhanced her youthful charm.

A perfectly shaped oval face, soft pink lips, a delicate, well-defined nose, and—most striking of all—a pair of captivating phoenix eyes that exuded an undeniable sense of nobility.

Xu Musen froze.

Why did this girl look exactly like Yao Mingyue?

Could it be that even in death—even in hell—he still couldn’t escape her grasp?

“Xu Musen, I told you before—I don’t want to date right now. To be honest, I’ve always seen you as an older brother.”

A familiar yet slightly more youthful voice rang in his ears.

His vision grew clearer, and he could even catch the faint, delicate fragrance lingering around her.

Yao Mingyue?

For a moment, Xu Musen felt utterly disoriented.

And the uniform she was wearing…

It looked just like their high school uniform.

Sure, she sometimes liked to wear different outfits for fun, but this—this Yao Mingyue looked far too young.

“Yao Mingyue… Didn’t you get hit by a car?”

Still dazed, Xu Musen blurted out the first thought that came to mind.

At once, the girl’s phoenix eyes widened in shock before a hint of embarrassment and anger flickered across her face.

The crowd around them erupted into laughter.

“Holy shit! That’s the first time I’ve seen someone get rejected and immediately curse the girl to get run over!”

“Hahaha… Dude must’ve lost it! Xu Musen, you’re savage!”

The chorus of jeers jolted Xu Musen completely awake.

He wasn’t in a hospital staring at a cold white ceiling—he was standing in front of his school building, surrounded by teenagers in school uniforms, their faces still carrying the naivety of youth.

“Fight for a hundred days, push through the last three months, and enjoy a bright future for thirty years!”

“Every extra point puts you ahead of a thousand competitors!”

“If studying doesn’t kill you, push harder!”

The motivational banners strung across the campus left him stunned.

Had he… been reborn?

Or was this just some last delusion before death?

“Xu Musen, you’re being way too much!”

A short-haired girl standing beside Yao Mingyue spoke up angrily.

“Mingyue only rejected your confession! Did you really have to go and curse her like that?”

Xu Musen looked at them—Yao Mingyue and her best friend, both in their high school days.

A confession?

He glanced down and saw the bouquet of roses in his hands.

And then, all at once, memories came rushing back.

His past self—Xu Musen as a high schooler—had been utterly infatuated with Yao Mingyue.

And this wasn’t even the first time he had confessed.

In fact, for the past couple of months, he had been making grand confessions every week, only to be rejected by her in front of everyone.

But in private?

She had told him they could “gradually get to know each other.”

She had insisted that she didn’t want her family to know about an early relationship, that studies should come first.

She had drawn him a beautiful picture of a future where they could be together in college.

It wasn’t until much later that Xu Musen realized—Yao Mingyue was a master manipulator.

She never truly wanted to reject him. She just wanted him to keep confessing, over and over again, in front of everyone.

That way, other girls wouldn’t dare approach him.

And the guys? They’d grow jealous and distance themselves from him.

This whole “brother and sister” nonsense—sure, they had been childhood friends, but that was just her way of slowing things down, of making sure he never got comfortable enough to stop chasing her.

Because what’s more alluring than something just out of reach?

She had known from a young age—the best way to control a man’s heart was to give him just enough hope to keep him hooked, to keep him desperate, to make him think that just a little more effort would finally win her over.

Slowly but surely, her game had worked.

As time passed, fewer and fewer people remained around him.

Until, in the end, there was only her.

She was playing the long game.

And for a seventeen-year-old boy drowning in romantic fantasies, her strategy was practically a cheat code.

Hell, if she wrote a book on this, she could probably leave half the male population wrapped around her little finger.

“Xu Musen, I’ll say it one more time. I don’t want to date before college. Let’s wait until we get into the same university, okay? For now, we can still be like brother and sister…”

Yao Mingyue spoke gently, her expression serious.

But deep inside, she was smug.

Once again, she had skillfully given him just enough hope to keep him tethered.

“No need.”

Before she could finish, Xu Musen cut her off for the first time ever.

“W-What do you mean?” Yao Mingyue’s eyes widened.

“I mean, I agree with you. From now on, I won’t bother chasing after you anymore. And this whole ‘brother and sister’ thing? Let’s just drop that too.”

Xu Musen closed his eyes briefly. The pain in his body was fading, but the humiliation of his previous life still burned in his mind.

Now that he had been reborn, there was no way he was going to repeat that miserable fate.

This was the perfect moment to cut ties once and for all.

Yet the instant his words left his mouth, the entire crowd fell silent.

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

What kind of insane plot twist was this?

Even Yao Mingyue, usually composed and in control, showed a flicker of panic.

But she quickly bit down on her lip, trying to mask it with anger.

“Xu Musen, stop messing around! What are you trying to say? What do you mean you won’t—”

Xu Musen found her voice irritating.

Sure, his past mistakes were his own, but that didn’t mean he had to relive them.

Looking at Yao Mingyue’s stunning face, he straightened up slightly and cleared his throat.

“Hey, everyone, listen up!”

Every week, he had stood here making grand declarations of love.

But this time, there was a different kind of smile on his face.

“Thanks for coming to my weekly show. For the past few months, I’ve been called a toad lusting after a swan.”

“And you know what? You guys were right. Compared to Yao Mingyue, I really was just an ignorant toad.”

A small chuckle escaped his lips. It was a laugh filled with bitter memories from his past life.

Yao Mingyue and her friend just stood there, stunned.

Everyone could tell—something had changed in Xu Musen.

“So, I’ve decided to be a smart toad. As of today, I, Xu Musen, officially announce—I’m done chasing Yao Mingyue!”

His words were a bombshell.

For the first time, Yao Mingyue’s phoenix eyes flickered with disbelief.

She bit her lip so hard it turned white.

But Xu Musen?

He simply turned his back on the crowd, took a deep breath, and walked away.

Screw romance. Screw chasing after rich girls.

Last time, he was miserable because of one thing—money.

This life?

He was going to chase wealth, not women.