In the end, Lila called their dorm and begged Chloe to borrow as much cash as she could and come help her immediately.
She dug out every bit of her leftover living allowance for the new semester: 570.
Chloe rushed over with 900, and together with Lila's old, last‑generation phone, the shop owner finally let her leave—on the condition that she paid the rest within a month, or he would keep her phone for good.
Lila's jaw tightened with frustration.
That phone had cost her 4500 brand new. Even secondhand, it was worth close to 2000.
The two girls were left with barely more than 10 between them.
And the semester had only just started.
Dejected, they headed back to campus.
Havenshire University stood at the very center of Veyra City's university district.
Planned and built starting in 1995, the area had grown to include seven or eight universities over the past decade—art schools, flight attendant academies, nursing colleges. To put it simply: beautiful girls were everywhere.
Every evening, the streets near campus were packed with cars, so many that parking was impossible. That kind of scene was only possible here, in 2005.
Back in Kael's dorm, the guys were talking excitedly about girls.
For someone who'd lived a second life, Kael barely cared about this stuff. In his past life, he'd given up everything for Lila.
Then there was Jasper—the sixth roommate, a chubby, pimply guy with a sleazy streak.
He leaned in, "How about we hit the internet café? I can hack into the school system and check out all the hottest girls on campus."
The others had no idea what he was talking about.
But Kael understood perfectly.
"You can actually do that?"
Jasper smirked arrogantly. "Please. These school systems are child's play. I can even generate free game cards for the biggest online games."
The guys' eyes lit up.
They didn't get hacking, but free game cards? That was basically cheating.
The third roommate kept pestering Jasper to go make him some cards.
His name was Mason—local, arrogant, with a big‑city attitude. Before Kael had shown up with his phone, Mason had been showing his off nonstop.
Pressured by Mason and already itching to game, Jasper caved quickly.
The group dragged each other off to the internet café.
Online gaming had never interested Kael at all.
He took two packs of premium cigarettes from his cabinet and handed them to Jasper.
"I'll pass. The smokes are on me. Find me Aurora Hale from the Traditional Performing Arts Department—pull up her info for me. Thanks."
"Sure, but I don't smoke. You can take these back."
Before Kael could respond, Mason snatched the cigarettes right out of Jasper's hand.
"College guys learn to smoke! These are top‑quality—thanks, man!"
Kael waved it off.
Out of the six roommates, five had run off to the café.
Aurora Hale.
Kael wasn't looking into her just for fun.
She was stunning—easily the most beautiful girl on campus—and yet she stayed completely unknown. Any post nominating her for campus queen would vanish without a trace.
To everyone else, she was just a quiet, pretty face.
To Kael, she was Jax Cole's biggest secret backer.
In his past life, Kael had tried digging into her family. He found nothing… until a high‑ranking uncle warned him:
"Stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. You'll get your whole family in trouble."
Aurora wasn't just beauty. She was power.
And now that Kael was reborn, he was going to take her from Jax Cole.
Once the dorm was empty, Kael closed his eyes and accessed the fragments of the future in his mind.
Another vision appeared.
Time: 8 PM, the night after tomorrow.
Location: The riverbank.
Lila was dead drunk, stumbling along like a lost ghost.
Suddenly, several thugs stepped out from the shadows.
They saw how pretty she was, how defenseless she was, and they moved in.
One of them reached for her clothes under the cover of night.
Kael watched coldly—until a figure stepped into the light.
The man he hated more than anyone: Jax Cole.
Jax fought off the thugs easily with his fighting skills.
Drunk and dazed, Lila stared up at him and collapsed into his arms.
The vision cut off.
This was far more useful than the last one.
If Jax hadn't appeared, Kael would have happily let Lila suffer.
But with Jax involved? His plan changed completely.
Lila and Chloe returned to their dorm, both miserable.
Each had their own mess.
They sat quietly until their roommates exchanged looks.
Finally, one spoke up.
"Lila… we're all kind of short on money right now."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Another girl explained, "Chloe asked us to lend you cash earlier. I lent 100. If you can, please pay us back soon."
"Me too, 100."
"50 from me."
"Same, 50."
Lila buried her face in her blanket and snapped, "I get it! My family lives in a luxury neighborhood—you think I'd skip out on this little money?!"
The roommates exchanged uncomfortable glances.
They'd helped her, and now they were being looked down on.
Chloe was just as stressed.
All she could think about was the 19 kisses she owed Kael. It was humiliating.
That night, Kael took a taxi back to campus.
His car was in the shop. The actual repair cost was only 1200, but with depreciation, it came to 20000.
He asked the shop to write a formal statement.
With a little quiet influence, he left with a document showing a total of 40000 for repairs and depreciation.
The owner saw him off with a cigarette in his mouth and 1000 tucked in his pocket.
Back at school, Kael called the girls' dorm.
The landline rang.
Chloe jumped like she'd been shocked.
Her roommates ignored the phone.
Only Lila, in a terrible mood, stood up and answered sharply.
"Who is this?! What do you want?!"
"Kael. I want Chloe."
Lila's eyes widened.
"What do you want with her?!"
"None of your business."
Furious, Lila almost hung up—until her roommates perked up.
"Is that Chloe's boyfriend? A late‑night date?"
Chloe panicked and waved her hands.
Lila shouted into the phone, "Kael! Did you threaten her?!"
Kael's voice was cold.
"Tell her I'm waiting for her at the campus lake."
He hung up.
Lila rushed to Chloe's bed.
"Don't go! We can just ignore him!"
Chloe hugged her knees, eyes red.
"What… what did he say?"
"He's waiting for you at the lake. Don't be stupid—we're not going!"
Chloe stared at the floor.
After a moment, she stood up.
Lila stared in disbelief.
"Where are you going? You're not really going to him, are you?!"
Chloe whispered quietly, "I… I'll be right back."