Chapter 1: Was She the One Who Voted?

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In Tianhai City, inside a Maybach, a stunning woman—barely dressed, her name unknown but her allure undeniable—was lightly tapping on the car window outside.

Yet at this moment, Lin Qianfan, inside the car, wore a heavy expression.

In the past, he wouldn't have minded rolling down the window to discuss the meaning of life for a night with such a woman, but now, he had no interest whatsoever.

The source of it all was that he had missed—had even bullied—someone who had once chosen him with unwavering resolve.

Thirteen years ago, in the heat of a blazing summer, he had just transferred to Senior High, year three. Raised in the countryside by his grandparents following his parents’ divorce, the boy carried a quiet inferiority in his bones, masked by a feigned cheerfulness.

The class committee was being restructured and elections were held. As an athlete, he naturally wanted to run for sports committee, but as the votes were cast, the other candidates were gaining support while beneath his name, there was nothing but a blank space.

By today’s standards, it was nothing. But for the newly transferred Lin Qianfan, he wished the platform beneath his feet would crack open so he could hide and escape.

At the final moment of the election, his name was called. In that instant, the elegant handwriting on the ballot was like a radiant sunbeam, illuminating his world.

Even though he now possessed assets worth over a billion, that single vote from years past was forever carved in his memory, impossible to forget.

So much so that when his ex-girlfriend Xu Qian told him she was the one who had cast that vote, he became her loyal knight from that day forward.

Even when Xu Qian cheated on him in college, he still saw her through rose-colored glasses whenever he recalled that moment.

But what he never expected was that the vote had not been cast by Xu Qian, but by Xia Ruo—the beautiful academic star who had haunted the dreams of every high school boy.

If not for a gathering with old friends today, where someone revealed the truth, he might have remained in the dark for a lifetime.

Back then, Xia Ruo was the school’s flower, reserved and soft-spoken, yet top of the city academically.

In their school days, such a girl was every boy’s dream and every girl’s rival.

His ex, Xu Qian, had even framed her, inciting him to ostracize and bully Xia Ruo. The thought made Lin Qianfan’s heart clench with pain.

The one person who had chosen him with conviction had been bullied by his own hand. Never truly chosen by anyone—was that his fate?

A tangle of emotions churned within him. As he reached for a cigarette to ease the turmoil, a sudden, blinding flash flooded the car.

Lin Qianfan jerked his head up. Ahead of him, a truck had lost control.

“Bang!”

...

“Why? Why do you, of all people, have to bully me, too?”

At dusk, outside Senior High on the asphalt road, Xia Ruo stood in her faded school uniform, her long hair tied back simply, her fragile appearance marred by red-rimmed eyes as she looked at Lin Qianfan, her voice trembling with grievance.

Her left hand clutched her right wrist tightly, where a silver bracelet glinted.

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“Qianfan, why bother talking? If she won’t hand it over, just take it. Who would’ve thought the top student, Xia Ruo, would turn out to be a thief?”

“Of all things, to steal Xu Qian’s silver bracelet, and to have the nerve to wear it openly.”

“She looks so innocent, but is always up to these shameful tricks.”

Voices around them egged him on without pause.

At that moment, Lin Qianfan stood frozen, memories flooding his mind.

He had been reborn—returned to the second semester of his senior year—and was now blocking Xia Ruo’s way, bullying her.

He could hardly believe it.

“Lin Qianfan, what are you doing?”

“Weren’t you the one who said you’d help Xu Qian get her bracelet back?”

“Why are you spacing out now?”

Someone prompted him.

With that reminder, the details of the day’s events came rushing back.

Xu Qian claimed her bracelet was missing, and that very day, Xia Ruo wore a brand new bracelet on her wrist, so everyone assumed she was the thief.

Believing Xu Qian had voted for him, Lin Qianfan was eager to play her knight and volunteered to retrieve the bracelet.

Thus, the road-blocking and bullying ensued.

In his previous life, when Xia Ruo refused to hand it over, he had forcibly snatched it, breaking the silver chain in the process. When he brought it back to Xu Qian, she told him it wasn’t hers.

Guilt-ridden, he wanted to buy Xia Ruo a new bracelet, but at the time, he didn’t have a penny. After the college entrance exams, he worked all summer and finally bought an identical bracelet.

But when he went to find her, he heard she had already passed away.

That was why, years later in the café, his friend Zhao Xiaojun’s mention of Xia Ruo had struck him so deeply.

Now, given a second chance, he would make sure none of this happened again—and above all, he would ensure Xia Ruo did not meet a tragic end.

With this resolve, Lin Qianfan looked at Xia Ruo, the fierceness in his eyes replaced by a gentle warmth.

“I won’t give it to you!”

Seeing Lin Qianfan’s gaze turn to her, Xia Ruo hid her hand behind her back, her eyes wary and filled with anger.

For a moment, Lin Qianfan’s heart ached—the one person who had chosen him was now forced into such alienation by his own actions.

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“I know this bracelet is yours.”

At that moment, Lin Qianfan spoke crisply and clearly.

Xia Ruo froze, staring at him in disbelief, then her eyes flared with anger.

Lin Qianfan immediately realized he’d said the wrong thing.

He knew the bracelet belonged to Xia Ruo, and yet he was here blocking her way—wasn’t that pure bullying?

His mouth had run ahead of his mind in a moment of emotion.

“Lin Qianfan, what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Why are you siding with Xia Ruo? She clearly stole Xu Qian’s bracelet. With her family’s situation, how could she afford something like that?”

“If you don’t get it back today, don’t blame me for telling Xu Qian what I saw!”

Li Yanzi, Xu Qian’s best friend and the class’s bottom dweller, was notorious for her jealousy.

Naturally, she envied and resented Xia Ruo, who had won nearly every honor in the school. With Xu Qian’s support, her true colors were easy to show.

Among the girls who bullied Xia Ruo, she was a ringleader.

Now, seeing Lin Qianfan speak up, she tried to use Xu Qian’s name to pressure him.

Having weathered storms in his previous life, Lin Qianfan paid her no mind. His blind devotion to Xu Qian stemmed from his parents’ divorce and the mistaken belief that she had chosen him with conviction.

Now that he knew the truth, what did Xu Qian matter?

“Xia Ruo, has this person bullied you too?”

Lin Qianfan asked.

Xia Ruo blinked in confusion, looking up at him.

“Let me teach you something—sometimes, meekness gets you nowhere. If you’re bullied, strike back—hard!”

With those words, Lin Qianfan suddenly raised his hand and struck out with a slap.