Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
When I turned eighteen again, I ended up sitting beside the bleached-hair delinquent all over again.
He still had zero interest in school.
He slept through class, skipped whenever he felt like it to go play ball, and the second he had free time, he disappeared into the gaming cafe.
This time, though, I didn’t trail after him like I had in my last life, nagging him over every little thing.
Not until one day, when I caught sight of the parent signature on his test paper.
Two bold, sweeping words—
Julian Sterling.
I froze.
So Julian’s son and I were already this grown up?
The moment I saw Julian Sterling’s name, my whole body went still.
The campus tough sitting next to me wasn’t Julian.
He was Julian’s son.
At last, I understood what the System had meant when it said I’d been sent back to “correct the story line.”
Back then, when I first entered this story world, I had personally dragged a bleached-hair delinquent onto the right path and all the way to the top of his life.
That delinquent had been Julian Sterling.
After I left, I’d heard he was doing very well for himself—successful young, accomplished young, everything a person was supposed to be.
I thought my mission had ended perfectly, so I returned to my own world without regret.
Who could have guessed that years later, his son would inherit the family tradition and become a bleached-hair delinquent too?
Worse, he’d outdone his father and grown into the king of punk delinquents.
I let out a quiet sigh.
So now I had to straighten this sapling out too.
Keep him from growing crooked.
Keep him from becoming somebody who’d make a mess of the world later.
When I left this world the first time, I died in childbirth.
The System had never told me the baby survived.
Time moved slowly in the real world. If I counted it up, I’d only been gone three years.
But here, the child had already grown this big.
I barely had time to sit with that before a streak of red came barreling through the classroom door.
The boy stood in the backlight, tall and straight-shouldered, his profile sharp, his skin pale. His hair was dyed a glaring red, and a black ear stud caught the light. He wore the kind of permanent scowl that looked less like an expression and more like a habit.
Still scowling, he strode straight toward me and said in a voice cold as ice, “Move.”
I looked up and met his dark, heavy gaze.
And for a second, I froze.
He looked far too much like Julian.
Taller than his father.
Colder than his father.
And even less willing to be controlled.
Quietly, I got to my feet and gave him his seat.
Evan Sterling dropped into the chair with one long step, lowered his head, and immediately went to sleep.
I watched his profile in silence.
This was the first time I’d seen him since coming back.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
For half a month, he hadn’t shown up at school once.
From what I’d heard, he was either wasting time at the gaming cafe or running around getting into trouble.
But Julian Sterling had too much money, and once enough of it was thrown at the school, his son somehow managed not to get expelled.
I let out a quiet sigh.
Stubborn father. Stubborn son.
This family was going to be a nightmare.
Evan Sterling slept through the entire math class.
When the bell rang, he suddenly pressed a hand to his stomach, his face going a little pale.
My maternal instincts flooded in so fast it almost startled me.
I leaned closer. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
The boy flicked his eyes toward me and gave me a one-word answer.
“Get lost.”
So rude.
How exactly had his father raised him?
My hand moved faster than my brain.
By the time I realized what I was doing, I’d already smacked him lightly on the head.
Smack.
The whole classroom went silent.
Every pair of eyes locked onto us.
My hand froze in midair. Pulling it back felt awkward. Leaving it there felt worse.
So I forced out the first lie I could think of. “Evan Sterling, your hair is too bright. It was distracting me from studying.”
His fingers clenched until the knuckles went white. His jaw tightened. There was enough fire in his eyes to set the room ablaze.
He looked like he was about to explode—then the class bell rang.
The homeroom teacher walked in and immediately caught sight of the way he had his hand half-raised. “Evan Sterling, are you trying to make me call in your father again?”
In the end, he didn’t dare act up.
He swallowed the whole thing down by force and dropped back over his desk, simmering with silent rage.
The student behind me tapped me on the shoulder, practically glowing behind his glasses. “Wow. You’ve got guts. Nobody makes Evan look bad.”
I tugged at the corner of my mouth.
As if Evan could really be the one at a disadvantage.
Before lowering his hand, he leaned in and threw out one vicious sentence under his breath.
“After school, just wait.”
Fine.
I’d wait.
Only when school actually let out, Evan ran.
He left in such a hurry he didn’t even take his jacket.
I waited and waited. The classroom emptied. Even campus security had started making rounds.
I was about to leave too.
I’d just slung my backpack over one shoulder when the jacket he’d left on the desk suddenly started vibrating.
He’d forgotten his phone too.
What on earth was this disaster of a kid in such a rush for?
I pulled the phone out.
The screen lit up, and two words hit me like a blow.
Julian Sterling.
I didn’t want to answer.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
But the call kept coming, over and over, relentless.
With only the last few seconds left before it went to voicemail, I finally picked up.
“Where are you?”
The man’s low voice came through the speaker, deep and authoritative.
“Si—”
I cleared my throat. I just couldn’t say it.
After a long pause, cheeks burning, I finally forced the words out. “Hello, sir. I’m Evan’s—”
He cut me off before I could finish.
“Mm. Please tell him to come home.”
Then he hung up.
I stood there holding the phone, stunned.
Julian Sterling.
Were you really that impatient?
Just as I was worrying about how to return the phone, a message popped up.
Ev, the cake’s ready. Come pay.
Ev, where are you?
There was an address attached below.
I tried entering the passcode.
His birthday.
Wrong.
His dad’s birthday.
Wrong.
The family dog’s birthday.
Wrong.
Then, for no reason I could explain, I keyed in my birthday.
The phone unlocked.
My nose stung.
That sharp, dense ache spread through my chest in an instant.
So in the eighteen years since I’d left this world… there had still been someone who remembered me.
I rubbed at my eyes and headed for the address.
By the time I got there, Evan and a group of his goons were being shoved toward the door by the shop owner.
The owner pushed at Evan’s shoulder, his face full of disgust. “You little scammer, get out!”
“Kids these days lie like it’s breathing.”
“If you don’t have money, then you don’t have money. Don’t tell me you forgot your phone!”
Seeing their leader getting manhandled, the boys with their ridiculous rainbow-colored hair grabbed sticks and looked ready to start a fight.
I rushed over and caught Evan by the arm. “Don’t.”
“I brought your phone.”
Evan looked at me.
His expression was complicated.
But he still took the phone, paid the bill, and settled it.
The owner’s attitude changed instantly. He started apologizing over and over while quickly boxing up the cake.
I stood to one side and waited.
That was when I heard the whispers outside.
“Is that his new girl?”
“Doesn’t look like it. Didn’t Evan bring a girlfriend out to eat a few days ago?”
“They probably already broke up. He’s never dated anyone longer than a week.”
I frowned.
Who had taught him to be that irresponsible?
Then I looked up.
Evan was sitting unusually straight, writing something on a card with intense concentration.
I assumed he was trying to sweet-talk another girl.
Then I walked closer.
The second I saw the words on the card, I froze.
Happy Birthday, Dad.
He wrote it, then scratched it out.
Wrote it again. Scratched it out again.
The tip of the pen had dampened the paper.
He didn’t know what to say.