A commotion erupted downstairs at the girls' dormitory.

  Seeing Grace emerge, the students who had been watching made way for her, their various gazes all falling on her.

  At Aethelburg University of Science and Technology, Eric was quite famous due to his family background, but Grace was no less so.

  She was beautiful and intelligent. Her photo was posted on the campus forum during freshman registration, causing quite a stir online. She was hailed as the new "pure and alluring goddess" by the male students of AUST.

  Many male students from various departments tried every means to approach her, launching a fierce pursuit. Eric was one of them.

  Grace still vividly remembered the scene from that day. Eric had been waiting downstairs at the girls' dormitory with a bouquet of roses, just like today, and almost the same group of onlookers had gathered.

  Seeing Grace appear, Eric greeted her with a face full of joy.

  "Grace, I'm sorry. I apologize on behalf of my mother for what she did today. Please don't be angry."

  Grace expressionlessly raised her hand, and a bulging black garbage bag loomed large in front of Eric before smashing it directly into his face.

  The weight of the bag on top of the huge bouquet of roses caught Eric off guard, and both the flowers and the garbage bag fell to the ground.

  The crowd stared wide-eyed, their previously varied gazes now unified in shock.

  A mixture of shock and confusion mingled with the crowd.

  "What is Grace doing?"

  "Did they have a fight? Grace's expression is off!"

  "Are they breaking up? They've only been dating for less than six months, right?"

  Whispers rose, and everyone began to speculate about what had happened between the two.

  Grace's action had shown Eric absolutely no respect. Being watched by so many people, Eric was understandably embarrassed.

  But he held back. Seeing Grace about to leave without a word, he didn't bother picking up his things from the ground. He took a step forward, grabbed Grace's hand, and whispered pleadingly, "You're not really disappointed in me because of what happened last time, are you?"

  "I was really too nervous that time. Please give me another chance, okay? I'll definitely do better next time!"

  Grace pushed him away, then looked at Eric and let out a disdainful sneer.

  Her eyes, expression, even that sneer, were full of mockery and contempt.

  She hadn't said a word, yet it seemed as if she had said everything.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Eric frowned angrily and impatiently, his mind filled with confusion.

  What did she mean?

  However, Grace was doing it on purpose. She wanted to make Eric internally conflicted, to keep him guessing, to torment him.

  Just like how he treated her back then, stealing her paper, publishing it under his name, without a single explanation, her three-year relationship ended with a cold red exclamation mark, making her never feel love again for the rest of her life.

  She no longer believed in love.

  Grace walked into the dormitory building without looking back. Those watching didn't understand what had happened, but they sensed that the two seemed to have ended things.

  Eric clenched his fists, turned back, and squatted down to pick up the fallen roses and the trash bag. His face gradually darkened in the shadows, his eyes flickering, unfathomable.

  "Grace, you really don't know what's good for you. Eric, such an outstanding guy, is willing to be with you, and you don't appreciate it at all."

  As soon as she returned to the dormitory, Candy leaned against the balcony door with her arms crossed, mocking Grace.

  Her tone betrayed a barely concealed glee. Her jealousy of Grace had been brewing for a long time. Having always considered herself quite attractive, she had inexplicably disliked Grace from the moment she first saw her face on her freshman year of college.

  Relying on her relatively well-off family background, she would occasionally do small favors for her two roommates, thus rallying them to isolate Grace.

  “What does my business with him have to do with you?” Grace looked at her coldly. “Do you taste the latrine every time it passes by your house?”

  As she spoke, Grace could not help but sneer, walking closer to Candy. “You don’t think that just because I broke up with him, you have a chance, do you?”

  “Let me tell you, there’s no such possibility. Like you said, with Eric’s looks, even if I didn’t want him, plenty of girls would like him. You wouldn’t even get a chance!”

  With just a few words, she shattered Candy’s fragile heart.

  Her eyes widened in fury, and she screamed, "Grace, you bitch, I'm going to tear you apart today..."

  *Slap!*

  A crisp slap rang out. Candy covered her throbbing face in disbelief: "You...you dare hit me?"

  Grace looked at her coldly: "I've wanted to hit you for a while now. You should know how much your mouth begs for a slap, right?"

  Anne and Sofia were also dumbfounded. They stood there speechless, completely stunned by Grace's aura, forgetting to react.

  The next second, Grace suddenly leaned forward, his handsome yet cold face looming large before Candy, causing her to instinctively stumble back two steps, almost crying out.

  "From now on, remember to keep your mouth shut in front of me."

  Candy trembled, because she felt that Grace in front of her was a completely different person.

  Grace didn't say anything more, but casually pulled out a suitcase from the corner, opened it, and packed all her useful belongings inside.

  Leaving behind a cold, aloof figure, she turned and left dormitory 309 without looking back.

  At the most luxurious five-star hotel around the university, Grace showed her ID at the front desk: "One executive king room, please."

  The night shift receptionist was a handsome young man. Seeing Grace's pretty appearance, he kindly suggested, "Beautiful lady, you can book online now; it'll be cheaper."

  Grace glanced at the list price on the wall behind her: 0.1888 Dollar for an executive king room.

  Less than two cents.

  "No need, just open it for me." Grace was too lazy to bother; she just wanted to get back to her room and rest quickly.

  The young man at the front desk smiled awkwardly, but still considerately upgraded Grace's room.

  No matter the situation, being pretty always has some advantages, and you'll always get some extra treatment.

  The executive king room had been transformed into an executive suite. Grace entered the room, locked the door, and placed a water glass on the doorknob—a habit she carried from her past life.

  She didn't know when it had started, but she had begun to feel extremely insecure, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.

  The bright, clean floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Aethelburg's luxurious nightscape. She took out her phone and opened the "Time Bank" app again, her eyes glued to the balance.

  After a long while, she finally smiled.

  Whatever the reason for this situation, she was extremely satisfied.

  Those wrong choices she made in her past life, the regrets that haunted her for life, and the unspoken words—she finally had a chance to start over.