Just as my hand touched the door handle, his lazy voice came from behind me.

"Oh, and a word of advice."

"Don't keep thinking about running."

"Once some people are marked, there is no escape."

I paused for only half a second before heading downstairs without looking back.

The stairwell was empty, my footsteps echoing floor by floor.

I walked very fast, almost as if I were running away.

Only when I saw Lucas waiting below did the heart that had been in my throat finally drop back down.

Lucas hurried toward me. "What did he say to you?"

I opened my mouth, but my throat was incredibly hoarse.

After a moment, I whispered:

"He said we need to move faster."

Lucas frowned deeply. "What does that mean?"

I looked up at the setting sun, the sense of unease in my heart becoming clearer.

Sloane’s coercion was out in the open.

But Caspian was like a snake hiding in the grass, slowly beginning to coil around us.

If we still intended to follow the rules and plan slowly, we would be far too passive.

I said softly:

"Lucas, we can't just wait for the exams."

"We have to prepare an exit strategy in advance."

9

After that day, a silent consensus seemed to form between Lucas and me.

No more clinging to luck, no more thinking that if we just grit our teeth and endure for a while, we could return to our old lives peacefully.

Because we both understood now—

Sloane and Caspian had no intention of giving us a chance to "go back."

After evening self-study ended, Lucas and I didn't head straight back to our rented rooms as usual. Instead, we went to a small noodle shop near the school that was about to close.

Only two other tables were occupied. The owner was checking the register while watching a TV show, and the last pot of noodle soup was bubbling away, the air filled with thick white steam.

We sat in the furthest corner.

I spread a piece of paper on the table and lowered my voice: "There are roughly three paths we can take right now."

Lucas looked down at me.

"First, the financial aid project."

"This is the most official and safest route, but since Sloane is targeting it, it won't be smooth sailing."

"Second, competitions and early admissions."

"If our results are brilliant enough to earn a higher-level recommendation than the financial aid project, it won't be so easy for her to interfere."

"Third—"

I paused and looked up at him. "Move out as soon as possible. Completely sever their ability to know where we live."

Lucas’s brow furrowed slightly. "Moving requires money."

"I know," I nodded. "So the third path can only be taken alongside the first two."

When it came down to it, every problem landed on the same thing—

Money, opportunity, and time.

And those were the exact three things we lacked most.

Lucas was silent for a while, then asked me, "Is it too late for the competitions you mentioned?"

"Preparing for one individually is hard, but there’s still the provincial comprehensive evaluation in a month," I said softly. "In the past... I heard a teacher mention that those who score exceptionally well on that evaluation get special attention."

I forced myself to swallow the word "past life" and replaced it with something vague.

Lucas didn't press for details, simply following my train of thought. "You want me to aim for that spot?"

"Not just you," I looked at him. "Both of us."

He was slightly stunned.

"Lucas, I don't need you to stand at the front alone," I said softly, without a hint of a joke. "This time, we go together."

I had almost slipped up again.

Fortunately, Lucas just watched me quietly, as if absorbing the determination in my words.

A moment later, he gave a low "Okay."

The owner brought over two bowls of noodles. The steam hit me, and I realized my stomach had been empty and aching for a long time.

Lucas used his chopsticks to move the poached egg from his bowl to mine.

"Eat."

I instinctively tried to push it back, but he held my chopsticks down.

"Don't argue with me over this."

His tone wasn't heavy, but his action was firm.

I looked at the simple boiled egg and suddenly felt like crying.

For many years in my past life, I had seen so many exquisite and expensive meals—beautifully plated and meticulously flavored. When Caspian was in a good mood, he would casually feed me, asking which dish I liked as if he truly pampered me.

But those things always felt cold in my mouth.

Only now, in this small noodle shop filled with the scent of cooking oil, did the egg Lucas gave me make me feel alive.

I took a bite with my head down, murmuring, "You need to eat more, too."

"Mhm," Lucas replied.

Halfway through the meal, he suddenly asked, "Are you still keeping something from me?"

My hand froze.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you know too much," Lucas looked at me. "Not just about the financial aid project, but about what Sloane will do and how Caspian will pressure people. It’s as if... you've seen their moves before."

My eyelashes fluttered.

I knew this question would come sooner or later.

Lucas wasn't a fool; on the contrary, he was incredibly sharp. He had just been waiting for me to speak first.

I gripped my chopsticks, my mind feeling like a tangled mess.

Could I say it?

If I told him I had been reborn, that in my past life he fell into Sloane’s abyss for my sake, and I was imprisoned by Caspian for many years, would he believe it?

Even if he did, would such an absurd truth only place a heavier burden on him?

I remained silent for a long time before finally saying softly, "I can't tell you everything right now."

"But Lucas, I will never hurt you."

"Everything I do is to get us as far away from them as possible."

After hearing this, he didn't press me further.

He only said in a low voice, "I know."

"So tell me when you're ready."

My heart eased slightly, yet it was also filled with an unnamable ache.

Lucas was always like this.

Even though he was the one most entitled to ask, he always left the choice to me.

After leaving the noodle shop, it was already very late.

On the way back to our apartment complex, we deliberately took a long detour.

Lucas said we should first check if anyone was following us.

In the past, we never would have had such vigilance, but now, the moment I thought of Caspian standing on the rooftop saying "Once some people are marked, there is no escape," I couldn't let myself relax for even a second.

When we reached the third street, Lucas suddenly stopped.

"Don't look back," he said in a very low voice. "There's someone behind us."

My breathing hitched, and my fingertips went cold instantly.

"How many?"

"One," he said. "They've been following us since we left the noodle shop."

My heart sank heavily.

It couldn't be a coincidence.

One of Sloane’s people? Or Caspian’s?

I forced myself to calm down and asked in a low voice, "What do we do?"

Lucas glanced ahead and suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Follow me."

He led me into a narrower alley, through a row of old residential buildings, and out through a small side door. The night was heavy, and the sound of footsteps behind us seemed to chase us intermittently until we crossed a back alley of a vegetable market and slipped into a crowded night market filled with food stalls. Only then did we completely lose them.

My chest was heaving, and sweat stood out on my forehead.

Lucas didn't say a word, simply keeping himself between me and the crowd.

After a long time, I said hoarsely, "They've already started following us."

"Mhm."

"Then we need to move even faster."

Lucas glanced at me. "Do you have something in mind?"

I bit my lip.

"I know a place. The rent is cheap, it's not too far from the school, and the residents are a mixed group. People come and go all the time, so it won't be easy to be targeted."

This was an old urban village I had accidentally heard a domestic worker mention before I was locked up in my past life. She said the place was a bit messy, but it was cheap, and many day laborers lived there, so a stranger moving in or out wouldn't stand out.

At the time, I had only half-listened, never imagining that in this life, it would become a lifeline I could grasp.

Lucas didn't ask how I knew of such a place, only saying, "I'll go take a look tomorrow."

"No," I immediately disagreed. "It'll be too obvious if you go alone."