After a few lessons, Leo was surprised to find that he could actually listen to this quiet tutor who looked not much older than himself. Those once boring formulas and problems no longer seemed so repulsive.

His grades began to rise steadily. Although he didn't say it aloud, he stopped making excuses to sneak out during the times Andrea came for lessons.

Leo's parents learned of their son's changes through the housekeeper and Mr. Chen. They were pleasantly surprised and paid her far above the market rate. Because they admired Andrea's character and ability, they treated her with great care and trust, even suggesting that she could stay at their home during holidays to make tutoring more convenient and save her the trouble of commuting between school and the house.

This stable income became the most important cornerstone of Andrea's plan for independence.

She lived frugally, quietly saving money and planning for the day she would leave everything behind to start a new life.

She accepted the kindness of Leo's parents; having a quiet, tidy guest room at their house meant she no longer had to worry about accommodation and could focus more on her studies and work.

Time slipped away until today—the day the family officially declared bankruptcy and Macy took the family's last bit of money to board a flight abroad.

Just like in her previous life, her parents focused all their attention on Macy, who was about to travel far away. No one remembered, and no one cared, what would happen to Andrea, who had also lost her "home."

She calmly packed her simple luggage and, just as she had in her previous life, left the house that no longer belonged to her alone.

She had contacted Mr. Chen in advance, asking him to pick her up at this remote bus station to take her to tonight's tutoring session for Leo.

"Ms. Andrea," Mr. Chen’s gentle voice came from the driver’s seat, tinged with concern. "The rain is too heavy and the road conditions are poor. Do you really have to go to Leo's lesson tonight? How about I tell the Master and Madam and we reschedule? Leo should be able to understand."

Andrea opened her eyes. "I have to go, Uncle Chen. It's okay, just drive slowly. I promised him this lesson, and I really do need the money."

Chapter 19

Julian did not give up.

After the initial bewilderment, a more obsessive thought took hold: he had to win Andrea back!

Since heaven had given them a chance to start over, he could not lose her again!

He utilized all his connections and resources, frantically searching for news of Andrea.

Finally, he learned that she was working as a tutor for a high school student named Leo and was living at the house.

This was completely different from his previous life!

The seeds of unease grew wildly in his heart.

He became even more certain that Andrea had also been reborn.

He could no longer wait passively as he had before; he had to take the initiative, tell her that everything could be changed, and tell her that his heart was now different!

One evening, Julian waited early on the only path leading from the university town to that high-end residential area.

He knew Andrea had a class today and would return to the house afterward.

When that familiar yet somewhat strange figure appeared, Julian's heart skipped a beat.

She was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, carrying a backpack—completely different from the Andrea of his previous life, who was always filled with faint sorrow and exhaustion.

"Andrea!" He stepped forward quickly, blocking her path.

Andrea stopped and looked up. Seeing it was him, there was no surprise on her face.

"Julian, is there something?" Her voice was very flat.

"We need to talk." Julian took a deep breath, looking at her with burning eyes. He lowered his voice, his tone carrying an irrepressible urgency and probing intent. "Andrea, you've come back too, haven't you? You remember, don't you?"

Andrea looked at him calmly, neither admitting nor denying it.

But to Julian, this silence was a tacit admission.

A complex surge of emotion rose in his heart.

"Andrea, since we've both come back, it means everything can start over." He took a step forward, his tone excited. "I know I was wrong in the last life, miserably wrong. I shouldn't have written those things, I shouldn't have ignored you, and I shouldn't have treated you that way at the end. But Andrea, it won't be like that in this life, I swear. I will never have any ambiguity with Macy again. My heart, from beginning to end, actually..."

"Julian." Andrea interrupted his urgent words. "The events of the last life are in the past. Whether remembered or not, they have no meaning to me anymore."

Julian was stunned. "No meaning? How can they have no meaning? Andrea, I know you liked me—I've known since we were kids! I was a scoundrel in the last life, I was blind! But it's different now, I also..."

"Julian," Andrea interrupted him again, "I don't like you anymore."

Julian felt as if struck by lightning, freezing in place.

"That affection from the last life was worn away to nothing through day after day of neglect, deception, and pain." Andrea's voice was very light. "In this life, I don't want to live for anyone else anymore. I don't want to fall into any unnecessary entanglements. I only want to live for myself once—quietly, steadily, and peacefully."

"Live for yourself?" Julian murmured, as if unable to understand. "Andrea, we can be together..."

"It's impossible for us." Andrea took a step back, widening the distance. "My fresh start requires a complete severance from the past, including you."

With that, she stopped looking at him, bypassed him, and walked straight ahead.

"Andrea!" Julian snapped back to his senses, wanting to chase after her and grab her.

But Andrea didn't look back and quickened her pace.

Watching her resolute back, a massive wave of panic and powerlessness submerged him.

No, it couldn't end like this! He couldn't lose this chance!

From that day on, Julian became even more frenzied.

He found out her detailed class schedule; as long as she appeared at school, he would always "happen" to run into her.

He brought her the snacks she used to like, warm milk tea, and exquisite small gifts.

He stubbornly followed her, recounting over and over his remorse and pain after she left in the previous life—the loneliness of facing an empty home alone, and the despair that led him to choose to follow her at the end.

"Andrea, you don't know how much I regret it. Looking at your urn, every day felt like living in purgatory."

"Andrea, give me another chance, just one. I will spend my whole life making it up to you."

"Andrea, we could have had such a wonderful future. We were once so..."

But there was no emotion in Andrea's eyes, only a deepening impatience and weariness.

Finally, one day when Julian blocked her path on her way back to the house after class, incessantly recounting how he punished himself after her "death" and how he completely broke off with Macy, Andrea stopped.

She took out her phone and directly dialed the school security office. "Hello, this is the path on the east side of Teaching Building No. 3. There is an outsider persistently harassing me, affecting the teaching order and my personal safety. Please send someone to handle this immediately."

Julian was stunned, looking at her in disbelief. "Andrea? You're calling security?"

Andrea hung up and looked at him with icy eyes. "Julian, your remorse and pain are the bitter fruits of your own actions in the last life. They have nothing to do with me, and they certainly shouldn't be your reason for harassing me now. Please stop appearing before me; it troubles me greatly, and I find it loathsome."

Soon, school security arrived and politely but firmly "escorted" the ashen-faced, soul-shattered Julian off campus.

However, Julian did not stop there.

A day later, he appeared again in places where Andrea might be, though he didn't dare to approach her directly as before. He only watched from a distance, his gaze painful and persistent.

Andrea felt an unprecedented sense of irritation and pressure.

She knew there was a paranoid side to Julian's personality; if this continued, it would be endless.

Coincidentally, a short holiday was approaching at school.

Leo's parents had previously invited her to stay at their home during the holiday for concentrated tutoring and to save her the trouble of commuting.

Andrea hardly hesitated. She immediately packed her simple luggage and, on the first day of the holiday, moved completely into the quiet and spacious villa of the household.

When Julian returned to the vicinity of the school, he could no longer find that figure.

Chapter 20

The cicadas of midsummer chirped incessantly. As the bell for the final exam rang, Leo's college entrance examination, along with Andrea's tutoring work that had lasted nearly a year, came to an end.