Part 2Reborn to Uncover the Truth

"Why not? Don't you want me to go to the same school as you?" Megan asked.

"Of course I do!" Daniel replied.

Megan gently slipped her arm through his and softened her voice. "Then do as I say."

Daniel remained silent. After a long pause, I heard him say, "Fine."

Megan smiled in satisfaction.

I stood a few steps away, my blood turning to ice.

Could the person who had changed my college preferences in my previous life have been him?

…

Daniel and I had grown up together. We told each other everything.

He knew all my habits and every password I commonly used.

In my previous life, I'd never suspected him. I'd always thought I'd accidentally revealed my password somehow, which had allowed someone to alter my college preferences.

It wasn't until today that I realized the person behind it all had been right beside me the entire time.

I made my way home in a daze.

The moment I opened the door, my parents happily came to greet me.

"Naomi, how did your college applications go?" my father, Richard Fox, asked with a delighted smile.

My mother, Lynette Hann, playfully smacked his arm. "What do you think? Our daughter ranked first in the whole school. Lintdon is practically guaranteed!"

The image of them lying in a pool of blood in my previous life remained vivid in my mind.

I'd been given a second chance at life. Now that I saw them safe and sound again, my nose stung, and tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

They panicked and crowded around me to ask what was wrong.

I shook my head and smiled. "It's nothing. I'm just really happy."

Now that I knew who was behind everything, I wouldn't let my parents worry about me again in this life.

…

At midnight, I lay in bed with my eyes wide open.

Daniel and Megan's conversation kept replaying in my mind.

If he had really done it, then he should have changed my college preferences by now.

I sat up, turned on my computer, and quickly entered my admission number and password.

I pressed Enter.

The moment the page loaded, my vision went black.

[Last modified at 11:39 p.m.]

It was half an hour ago.

My gaze traveled down the page and landed on my first-choice school.

I could never forget its name. It was the same vocational college I'd been admitted to in my previous life.

My heart felt as though someone had clenched it in a fist. My entire body began to tremble.

Daniel had really changed my college preferences for Megan.

A suffocating sense of terror engulfed me.

I didn't dare imagine what would have happened if I hadn't overheard their conversation. I might have repeated the same tragedy all over again.

I took a deep breath and clicked Change Password with trembling fingers.

I created a long, completely random string of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Even I would need half a day to memorize it.

The system displayed a message: [Password changed successfully.]

As soon as dawn broke, I called Daniel.

"Naomi? Why are you calling so early..."

"Come downstairs. Meet me at the convenience store below your apartment."

I hung up.

…

Twenty minutes later, Daniel pushed open the door and walked in. He looked so natural that anyone would have thought nothing had happened.

"What is it? Why the rush?"

I stared straight into his eyes and said with certainty, "You changed my college preferences."

Daniel's smile froze.

Once he realized what I'd said, he quickly looked away and forced a smile. "What are you talking about? How could I possibly do something like that..."

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. "I heard everything you and Megan said in that alley by the school gate."

Daniel's face went deathly pale. He stared at the table.

After a long silence, his shoulders finally slumped, as if all his strength had deserted him. "Yes… I changed your college preferences."

The moment he admitted it, I could no longer contain my anger.

I shot to my feet and shouted at him, "How could you be so cruel? You changed my first choice to a vocational college just for her!

"Don't you know you ruined my life? You ruined everything I worked so hard for!"

"I didn't!" Daniel suddenly raised his head and nearly shouted, "I admit I changed your first choice, but I changed it to Caldwell University!"

…

Caldwell was also a top-tier school, just slightly below Lintdon. Compared with a vocational college, the difference was like night and day.