In my past life, I snatched up the guaranteed early admission to Harvard that a high-society heiress had thrown away. After graduation, I married into a dynasty of wealth, transforming from a small-town girl into the wife of the city’s most powerful man. By twenty-eight, I had flawlessly navigated every single crossroad that could alter my destiny. But then I woke up, and I was eighteen again. And floating before my eyes were lines of text, like comments in a live stream. [Chat: The MC is so damn lucky. She just swooped in and stole the supporting character's entire life.] [Chat: In the last life, it was like the heiress was cursed or something. Threw away her Harvard acceptance to run off with some punk to a third-rate college, and even pushed away the rich guy who’d adored her since childhood. She had a royal flush and played it like a losing hand!] [Chat: She was nerfed by the plot to make way for the main character, duh! Thank god she’s been reborn. This time it’s gotta be the ultimate revenge story!] [Chat: I can’t wait to see how Luna becomes the main character now that she can’t ride the heiress’s coattails!] That girl, Luna? That’s me. But… Who says I can’t be the main character? The one who only wants something back after they've lost it… they've already lost the game from the start. 01 My eyes fluttered open, the world swimming back into focus. The first thing I saw was the ecstatic, almost manic glee in my deskmate Scarlett’s eyes. She bolted out the back of the classroom, sprinting to the room next door and shouting for Shaffer—the man who, in another lifetime, became my husband. She threw herself onto him, sobbing her heart out. “Shaffer, I won’t be a fool again! I swear it!” Shaffer froze for a long moment before a look of pure joy washed over his face. He fumbled to comfort her, his hands hovering awkwardly. The spectral comments appeared again. [Chat: Now THIS is how it’s supposed to be. The Manhattan heiress belongs with the tycoon’s son. What right does some country bumpkin like Luna have to a power-fantasy plot?!] [Chat: Luna is nothing but a thief, a bottom-feeder! We don’t acknowledge a main character like her!] [Chat: Good, the heiress finally woke up. This time, Luna can get sent packing back to whatever hick town she came from!] I stared blankly at the calculus workbook on my desk. The intricate equations were a stark declaration that I had truly returned to my senior year of high school. There was one month left of classes before final exams. Someone slid into the seat beside me. Scarlett’s eyes were red-rimmed but shone with a brilliant, triumphant light. She shot me a smug smirk, her face a mask of absolute certainty. “I’m going to take back everything that’s mine, Luna. Just you watch.” I just smiled, saying nothing. I was looking forward to it, too. To see what path I would forge for myself, now that I had a second chance. 02 The school bell shrieked, and our homeroom teacher walked in, beaming. A look of unadulterated joy exploded across Scarlett’s face. The comments streamed by in a frenzy. [Chat: Here it is, here it is! The heiress’s early admission letter!] [Chat: This is the first turning point for Luna’s destiny. If she hadn’t taken the spot that belonged to the heiress, how could she have ever gotten into Harvard?] [Chat: People like her who steal the fruits of others’ labor without putting in the work are just rats in the gutter. And then she even stole the heiress’s fiancé and became the envied wife of a tycoon. Shameless!] A moment later, our teacher spoke. “Scarlett Vance, congratulations! You’ve officially received an early acceptance offer from Harvard!” As a wave of applause filled the room, he looked at me with a touch of sympathy. “Though you and Scarlett both won awards in the National Math Olympiad, there was only one spot for early admission based on that achievement.” In my past life, Scarlett had beaten my score by a mere half a point. When the rankings came out, I was the one cut. But then, to everyone’s astonishment, she had refused it. “Sir, getting in through early admission is the easy way out. Give the spot to someone who needs it more.” That one sentence made the entire class see her in a new light. Our teacher had even joked with her. “Well then, I’ll be waiting for you to make valedictorian and bring glory to our school!” The reality, however, was that she had been completely brainwashed by her bad-boy boyfriend, vowing to attend the same college as him to live out some grand, dramatic romance. She was sick of their current life of sneaking around, of having to steal moments just to hold hands. Back then, Scarlett was drowned in praise. But I, the one who received the cast-off offer, became the butt of everyone’s jokes. “Charity case.” “Bottom-feeder.” “Shameless.” I didn’t care. My grades hovered right on the edge of the Ivy League cutoff. I cherished that opportunity. Scarlett had the wealth and connections to absorb the blow of a less-than-perfect transcript, but for a girl from a small town like me, there was no safety net. A stable future was far more important than a few thoughtless insults. But this time, things were different. Scarlett’s voice rang out, firm and clear. “I accept the early admission to Harvard!” 03 Amidst a chorus of envious sighs, she turned to me. “You must be crushed, Luna, aren’t you?” [Chat: Oh, you know she is. Luna’s probably grinding her teeth to dust right now!] [Chat: This is the best part! Just thinking about the heiress dumping that delinquent loser and going to the same university as the male lead is so satisfying!] Scarlett took a deep, shaky breath, her body trembling slightly as if the reality of her rebirth was finally sinking in. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. “This acceptance letter is mine.” I offered a faint smile. “Congratulations.” Ten years. In my previous life, from eighteen to twenty-eight, I’d powered through my bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, all while fighting my way up the ladder at the Astor Corporation. Meanwhile, Scarlett and her delinquent boyfriend were playing games of cat and mouse, having tearful fights, secret abortions, and dramatic episodes of running away from home. What I had over her wasn't just a decade of knowledge, but also sharp judgment and the unshakeable confidence that comes from weathering storms. A single set of final exams. This time around, I could trust myself completely. No slip-ups, no second-guessing. But Scarlett saw my composure as a fragile front. She shot me a disdainful look. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face in two months when final grades are released!” She was gloating, utterly convinced she was about to witness my downfall. 04 Her victory lap lasted less than a single class period. The moment Zane appeared, the color drained from her face. Zane was a real troublemaker, and also Scarlett’s current boyfriend. As the sole heiress to the immense Vance family fortune, one of the city's most prominent families, Zane’s motives for pursuing her were painfully obvious. He stormed into the classroom, his face a thundercloud of fury, and kicked my desk with a loud bang. “You said we were going to the same college! What the hell is this now?” Scarlett glared at him, her eyes blazing. “Why should I listen to you? With your grades, you’ll be lucky to get into a no-name state school. Who do you think you are to tell me what to do!” The commotion drew a crowd of onlookers at the classroom door. Shaffer, in the class next door, heard Scarlett’s raised voice and rushed in, immediately placing himself in front of her as a shield. His voice was cold and hard. “If you want to cause a scene, get out. This isn’t the place for your theatrics.” Humiliated, Zane’s anger boiled over. He pointed a shaking finger at Scarlett, his words turning vile. “You’re still hung up on this prissy little bitch? You have no idea, do you? She’s dying for it, said she’d give me her first time right after graduation.” He let out a harsh, ugly laugh. “Never thought I’d see a high-society princess so desperate to get into my pants. Pathetic, isn’t she?” Scarlett trembled with rage, then suddenly whirled around and pointed at me. “It was you, wasn’t it? You’re mad you didn’t get my spot, so you brought him here to threaten me! To ruin my reputation! You’re shameless, Luna! You and him, you’re both just trying to steal what’s mine!” The chat exploded with indignation on Scarlett’s behalf, cursing me out. [Chat: I knew it! How else would Zane find out so fast? Luna must have been in on it with him from the start!] [Chat: The heiress was totally manipulated by Zane last time. She’s innocent and kind, raised like a princess by her family and Shaffer. How would she ever recognize a calculating predator like Zane? And with a schemer like Luna in the mix, it’s no wonder she fell into their trap.] [Chat: Last time, she suffered so much because of those two. Now that she’s awake, they’re going to get what’s coming to them!] I almost laughed out loud. “If you’re having delusions, go see a shrink! I haven’t moved from my desk this entire class, are you blind? Don’t you dare try to blame me for the mess you dragged in.” The surrounding students exchanged glances, nodding in agreement with my words. Scarlett’s face flushed a deep crimson, and she fell silent. Zane was kicked out, but he left chaos in his wake. My textbooks were scattered all over the floor. I quietly bent down to pick them up, my eyes meeting Shaffer’s as he did the same. 05 Our eyes locked, and for a heart-stopping second, it felt like yesterday. Just a moment ago, it seemed, he was whispering my name in bed, gently soothing me after we’d made love. We had been married for three years, and we were planning to have a child. Then I woke up, and I was eighteen again. The young man before me was no longer the man I knew. At eighteen, Shaffer Astor did not love Luna. Yet, at this moment, he was looking at me with a flicker of confusion. “Have we… met somewhere before?” I paused. For three years of high school, I had been buried in my books. We’d had zero interaction. Even after I became Scarlett’s deskmate this semester, she was too busy with Zane to ever give Shaffer the time of day, forbidding him from even coming to our classroom to see her. Why would he suddenly ask me that? Before I could answer, a panicked Scarlett cut in. She shoved me aside, planting herself in front of Shaffer. “Shaffer, don’t be ridiculous! She’s just some girl from the middle of nowhere. How could she possibly have ever crossed paths with us?” Shaffer’s gaze wavered, but he eventually nodded. “Sorry. I must have been mistaken.” He handed me the notebook I’d dropped. It was open to a page where I’d scribbled dense formulas, solving the most difficult problem from the national competition. Shaffer looked surprised. “You actually solved it? Can I see your methodology?” Shaffer was the top student in our entire year, but he had skipped the competition for Scarlett’s sake. Instantly, Scarlett tensed up and snatched the notebook from his hand. “Shaffer, why are you asking her? Her score wasn't even as high as mine. What kind of brilliant solution could she possibly have? Besides, if even you couldn’t solve it, how could she?” She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Having been reborn, she was terrified of making a single misstep, of repeating the mistakes of her past life and pushing the man who loved her most into someone else’s arms. “Shaffer, you’re not even asking if I was scared… Don’t you care about me anymore?” The chat was filled with reassurances. [Chat: Don’t you worry, heiress! Shaffer would abandon anyone before he’d abandon you.] [Chat: Even in the last life, after he married Luna, the second he heard Scarlett was in trouble, didn’t he drop everything and run to her? Miss Scarlett is the queen of his heart.] [Chat: I don’t know… I feel like seven years later, he genuinely loved Luna. They went through so much together, from college to the Astor Corporation. It’s natural they’d fall for each other. And Luna is brilliant in her own right. It was Scarlett who chose the wrong guy.] [Chat: Is the person above me brainwashed by the plot? It’s obvious the later events were plot-driven. The MC is just a country girl. How could she ever compare to the heiress! Besides, who knows if her intentions toward the male lead were pure in the first place?] Not good enough for Shaffer. This wasn't the first time I'd heard those words. In college, we began collaborating on research projects. Even our professors said we were intellectual equals, a perfect match. But no one ever said we were suited to be together, to get married. Because a single cufflink Shaffer wore was worth more than I could earn in a year. Meanwhile, I was still wearing a pair of canvas shoes that had been washed until they were faded and white. Class was an abyss that an ordinary person could strive their entire life to cross and still never reach.
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