Chapter 3

It was because of this that, in my previous life, I blew up out of jealousy when Susan had me stuck in the MRI machine.

This time, looking at the photo Susan sent me, I didn't go off on her like I used to.

Instead, I gave her some genuine advice: [You're holding your phone at the wrong angle. Andrew looks way better from the side. Next time, lift your phone a bit higher.

[And see all that empty space? Try leaving less of it, so you and Andrew look closer together.]

As soon as I hit send, Susan replied: [Did you get hacked or something?]

I sent her a smiley sticker: [Nope, I wanted to let you know Andrew's all yours now.]

With that, I blocked Susan on WhatsApp.

This whole three-way property arrangement was working out pretty well for me.

I wanted to be Mrs. Shepherd, so Andrew would take care of me.

If Susan wanted Andrew, his body and all, she could have him, no problem. I was not the old me, who was foolish enough to only care about Andrew's love.

After I was done with Susan, I lay down in bed and closed my eyes with a sense of calm.

However, that night, even when I knew what would happen, I still had trouble sleeping.

Just like back when I had cancer in my previous life, I kept dreaming about my memories with Andrew.

When we were kids, Andrew was always quiet and kept to himself, and because of that, his mom, a highly respected teacher, would often hit him.

Many nights, by midnight, I'd already been asleep for a while, but he'd still be up, wearing those thick glasses, doing practice papers.

His mom would stand over him with a stick, and every time he made a mistake, she'd bring the stick down hard on his back.

Back then, living right across from him, I always felt sorry for him whenever I saw his mom beating him in the middle of the night.

So, whenever I got some candy, I'd secretly slip it into Andrew's backpack on our way to school, then grin at him and say, "Andrew, if your back hurts, pop one in."

The first time I gave Andrew candy, his face flushed bright red. It wasn't until I'd run far off that he finally managed to say, in a low voice, "I... I don't eat candy."

I smiled and waved my hand. "Andrew, you should talk more. You really have a nice voice."

After that, it became our little ritual. Andrew, who used to be a loner, started waiting for me every morning. He came to expect the candy I'd sneak into his backpack.

So, in that narrow alley outside our neighborhood, Andrew and I spent countless springs, summers, and winters walking side by side.

When we turned eighteen, Andrew was the top student in our town and got into a good university.

He nervously pushed up his glasses and handed me a slip of paper with the name of a college on it. "I checked out this university. It's a ten-minute walk from mine. You could get into this one."

Seeing how awkward he was, I didn't tell him that my parents had stayed up all night after seeing my application results and decided on a low-ranked college they could afford.

Later, I secretly changed my college application behind my parents' backs. Though I ended up getting chewed out by both of them, I never regretted it.

After that, Andrew and I ended up going to college in the same city.

Once he was free from his mom's control, it was like he'd been given a whole new life.

He ditched those thick glasses for contacts, grew his hair out into soft curls, and started dressing differently. There were no more plaid shirts, but crisp white ones.

Those black sneakers he'd worn forever were changed into rocking white mesh shoes instead.

I never understood why Andrew changed so much. But one day, I was screaming with excitement about my favorite celebrity coming to our city for a concert.

Andrew, eyes red and voice trembling, suddenly pulled me aside. "I changed myself into everything you wanted. Is it still not enough for you to like me?"

Hearing him say the word "like" felt like a sledgehammer to my chest.

Even though we went to different schools, I'd heard all about Andrew's legend. He was a medical prodigy. By his first year, he'd already become the protégé of a nationally renowned neurosurgeon.

By his sophomore year, thanks to his mentor's recommendation, he was already interning at a hospital.

And because of his sudden transformation, there was a whole group of girls who started a thread to document Andrew's glow-up.

I always believed there was a vast ocean between us, that we'd never cross the line from friends to something more. But then Andrew confessed his feelings for me.

I, always the bold one, didn't think twice. I rose up on my tiptoes and leaned in to kiss Andrew.