Novel Catalog
Chapter 1
I used to be the infamous bootlicker of the entire school, but now… I’ve been reborn.
In my past life, I neglected my studies in the pursuit of Sarah Gates’ affection, only to watch my college dreams slip away. I even sacrificed my health, starving myself just to fit her narrow standards: “I don’t like people who are overweight.”
As I gazed into my father’s disappointed eyes and saw the tears in my mother’s face, resentment filled my heart. I carried that bitterness with me until the day I died. A wise person doesn’t dive headfirst into love.
Now, I’ve been given a second chance. This time, I’ll live for myself.
I never expected that the moment I stepped back into this life, the school belle would panic at the loss of a loyal bootlicker like me.
“Carlisle, read this love letter aloud to the class! Passionately!”
Lucy Turner, the homeroom teacher of Class 3A, shouted angrily as she threw a crumpled letter at my face.
“My dearest… What is this?!” She slammed her fist on the podium. Her frustration echoed through the room.
The class erupted into laughter, and all eyes turned to me.
Class 3A? It hit me like a wave. Had I time-traveled back to 2004?
I scanned the room, taking in the sight around me. The quote on the blackboard caught my attention:
“There are no secrets to success. Success comes from the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
I remembered it well. This was our class slogan before the SATs.
The steady hum of an old fan on the wall mixed with the murmur of my classmates, who were all wearing their uniform with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Some of them exchanged mocking glances. I could practically feel their judgment.
Then my eyes landed on the letter. It was the one I had written to Sarah just a month before the SATs—before everything fell apart. Little did I know, she’d handed it to the teacher, turning me into the class clown.
In my past life, I couldn’t understand what had driven me to become so obsessed with Sarah. I’d been her bootlicker from high school all the way to college, and even after her graduation. Only when she married into a wealthy family did I finally give up.
I looked up at Sarah, sitting in the first row. She smiled at me—a smile that was half smug, half disdainful.
I opened the love letter and read my own naive, heartfelt words:
“My dearest Sarah, may I know which college you’ve applied to? I want to apply to the same one so we can study together and be with each other forever…”
“Stop reading it!” Sean Woodsen, my deskmate, hissed at me, poking my thigh with his pen.
He was clearly embarrassed by my sentimental nonsense, but I couldn’t help myself. Part of me had to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
“You still have the nerve to laugh? Go stand outside in the corridor!” Lucy pointed a shaking finger at me.
“Alright, alright,” I muttered, trying to stifle my chuckle. I walked out of the classroom, feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes on me.
Lucy sighed, watching me leave. She’d given up on me, and I knew it. The college entrance exam was looming, yet all I could focus on was some silly romance. Could someone like me have a future? My lack of focus was dragging down the whole class’s college admission rate.
I stood in the corridor, hands shoved deep into my pockets, letting the cool air clear my head. I thought back to my past life.
My family wasn’t rich. Both my parents worked hard, scrimping and saving to send me to a prestigious high school. They even paid for extra tuition. Yet, in my second year, I dropped out of those lessons, using the money for gifts for Sarah instead.
But despite my efforts, she never noticed. I failed the college entrance exams, and my parents could barely hold their heads up. They had to beg my grandparents to find me a job, but with only a high school diploma, I had few options. I ended up in a company with a toxic work culture, working grueling hours, and spending almost my entire salary on more gifts for Sarah.
To top it off, I even started dieting when I hit 200 pounds, trying to change myself for her. Yet she never came to visit me. Not once.
I didn’t hate Sarah. She was just a girl I had once liked, nothing more. But after I died and came back, that obsession faded away.
My only regret was not getting into college. The thought of my father’s disappointment and my mother’s tears… I couldn’t bear it.
I stretched lazily and smiled, feeling a sense of relief. No more wasting my life for Sarah. Now, I would live for myself.
The school bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students filed out, and a few of them threw mockery my way as they passed by.
“Carl, you can write love letters?”
“Haha, too bad the school belle didn’t fancy you.”