Reborn, I Watched Her Fall

I watched, utterly detached, as my childhood friend, her eyes hazy with unnatural desire, was led into the storage room by my closest friend.

I turned away.

In my past life, I had rushed in to stop the horror.

But that act of heroism only served to frame me.

When the police arrived, all they found in that storage room was me and my drugged childhood friend.

“He’s no academic star; he’s a violent criminal!”

My reputation was shattered, and I was expelled.

To salvage her name, my childhood friend was forced to marry me.

But marriage was my real hell.

I sank into severe depression, my mind fractured, even losing my ability as a man.

Rumors spread that I was promiscuous, that I’d contracted a disease from my wild ways.

My parents, desperate to compensate her, poured all their efforts into propping her up.

Yet, the first thing she did after gaining control of our family company was to frame my father for financial fraud.

My father went to prison, dying there from a broken heart, consumed by rage.

My mother couldn’t bear the shock; she had a car accident while driving and died on the spot.

The news broke me. I was inconsolable.

But then, my childhood sweetheart of ten years appeared before me, wrapped around my best friend:

“You bastard, if you hadn’t interfered back then, we would have been together already. But I still have to thank you for raising our child all these years.”

I coughed up a mouthful of blood, my eyes wide with an unyielding fury as I died.

I opened my eyes again, back to the very day she was drugged.

After school, the hallways were mostly empty.

I gulped down the fresh air.

To be yanked back from the edge of death, from that cauldron of hatred and terror, left my emotions raw and volatile.

Mason was handing Chloe a bottle of water.

A bottle laced with a potent, illicit drug designed to cloud her mind and steal her will.

In my previous life, I had accidentally discovered Mason pouring unknown white powder into that water.

I exposed him on the spot.

But my childhood sweetheart didn’t believe me. She insisted on drinking the water.

She even asked if I was just jealous that Mason was more popular than her, always trying to undermine him.

This time, I wouldn’t interfere.

Chloe took the water, her gaze flickering to me.

“Are you really going to tell me what I can and can’t drink now?”

“Suit yourself.”

I waved a hand dismissively.

Mason, ever quick to twist things, immediately jumped in:

“Alex, you’re way too controlling with Chloe. Doesn’t she even have the freedom to make friends?”

At his words, the few classmates still lingering in the room shot me weird glances, full of suspicion.

Chloe’s face hardened further.

“Who does he think he is? Just an arrogant jerk.”

I tightened my grip on the pen in my hand, my eyes burning with hatred.

“Are you two ever going to stop? From beginning to end, have I said a single word?”

Chloe paused, her face stiff, then fell silent.

Mason continued to stir up trouble.

“You didn’t say anything, but your face is terrifying. The way you look at me and Chloe just talking, it’s like you’re about to hit someone.”

Chloe shot me an irritated glare.

As if to spite me, she chugged the entire bottle of water.

In my last life, I had knocked the bottle away, so she only took a single sip.

But even that one sip was enough to make her mind hazy.

I couldn’t even imagine what consuming the whole bottle would do to her.

A dark anticipation stirred within me.

Watching her finish the water, Mason couldn’t hide his triumphant glee.

He took Chloe’s hand. “Chloe, I’ll walk you home. You don’t look so good.”

Chloe didn’t resist. Still in a daze, she let him lead her out of the classroom.

Ten minutes later, Daniel, the class monitor, burst into the classroom, his face ghost-white and frantic.

At that moment, I was the only one left in the room.

Daniel stammered, clearly struggling to speak, as if it was something terribly embarrassing.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Chloe and Mason?” I asked, feigning concern.

Daniel grabbed my arm.

“Yes, it’s them they”

“What exactly happened?”

I met Daniel’s eyes, pretending to know nothing.

I used to trust Daniel deeply.

He wasn’t just the class monitor; he’d been my deskmate for all three years of high school.

I thought we were close enough to talk about anything.

But after the incident, he’d kick me when I was down.

He spread rumors that I had drugged Chloe out of love-turned-hate.

He even live-streamed, exposing my “true nature.”

“I was his deskmate for three years! I always knew he was emotionally volatile, and that he liked Chloe, but I never thought he’d actually do something like this.”

“Alex has a violent temper. He once hospitalized someone from outside school over a minor issue.”

“I tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. Even his elderly neighbor, who lives alone, said she always felt like he was stalking her, and she was terrified”

That live stream pushed the situation to a terrifying climax.

My life was utterly destroyed, and the school expelled me.

Later, I ran into him once.

He held a high-ranking position then.

“Thank you, you know. If it weren’t for your downfall, I wouldn’t have gotten your Ivy League scholarship and made it into a top-tier university.”

Memories flooded back. I glared at Daniel.

In my previous life, it was he and I who discovered Chloe being half-carried, half-dragged by Mason into an abandoned storage room in the old building.

I rushed to stop them, while Daniel, claiming he’d go get help, instead hid and watched, recording the whole thing.

Seeing my lack of urgency, Daniel stammered, completely incoherent.

“Mason took Chloe into the abandoned storage room in the old building! Chloe was crying and pushing him away Mason, Mason looks like he’s going to do something terrible to her!”

“But aren’t they dating? How do you know Chloe isn’t going along with it?”

At my words, Daniel froze.

Everyone knew Mason was after Chloe, and she seemed to reciprocate his feelings.

Daniel grabbed my wrist frantically.

“But Chloe doesn’t look conscious at all! This isn’t right!”

“Come on, let’s go check! We can’t just ignore this!”

The calculation in Daniel’s eyes was almost palpable.

He just wanted to ruin me, to get his hands on that Ivy League scholarship.

I didn’t say anything more, just followed him downstairs.

On the way, I discreetly sent a pre-drafted emergency text to Principal Bennett and a few senior faculty members, and reached out to a few influencers who happened to be live-streaming nearby.

Chloe was the principal’s daughter.

In my last life, when she expelled me, Principal Bennett utterly humiliated me, calling me a criminal in the making, rotten to the core.

This time, I was going to let her see this “spectacle” unfold for herself.

As we neared the old storage room, we heard sounds of struggle and muffled whimpers, along with the crude jeers of several men.

“This chick’s a looker, alright”

“What’s with this guy? He egged us on then ran off himself?”

“Who cares? No sense in letting a good opportunity go to waste”

Daniel’s eyes darted around.

“Alex, you’re strong. You go in first and stop them. I’ll go get help!”

“No, there seem to be more than one person inside. We should wait here and call the teachers.”

I hunched my shoulders, trying to look terrified.

Daniel shot me an angry glare.

He reined in his temper, lowering his voice.

“If you don’t go in now, Chloe will really be in trouble! Can you bear to see her get hurt?”

The storage room door wasn’t fully closed.

Through the crack, I saw Chloe, her clothes disheveled, being held down by two rough-looking men in work clothes.

Her eyes were unfocused, and she struggled and cried weakly.

Mason was huddled in a corner, his face pale and bruised, as if he’d tried to run but was cornered.

I pressed my lips together, feigning reluctance.

“Alright, you’re right. I’ll go in and see.”

Just as I was about to push the door open, I turned back to Daniel. “Go find a teacher quickly. I I don’t think I can hold them off for long.”

Daniel readily agreed.

He turned and ran, then made a quick turn, coming back around.

A look of excitement on his face, he pulled out his phone, started recording, and carefully wedged it into the door crack.

The chaotic sounds from inside spilled out, completely unfiltered.

Having done all this, Daniel finally ran off, seemingly satisfied, to find teachers and school security.

By the time a group of people rushed down to the old building, the sounds of struggle and crying were still coming from inside.

Daniel, his voice thick with tears, covered his face and stopped Principal Bennett.

“I I don’t know how this could have happened”

Principal Bennett’s face was grim. She had no idea her daughter, Chloe, was inside.

Daniel hadn’t specified who was involved.

Daniel wasn’t just out to destroy me; he wanted to ruin Chloe’s reputation too.

After all, in his eyes, we were both his competitors for that Ivy League scholarship.

And it just so happened that several district officials were here for an inspection today.

Now, a group of local government officials were following Principal Bennett to “handle an emergency,” and the situation was incredibly awkward.

Principal Bennett was trembling with fury. With government officials watching, her career path was likely over.

She probably wished she could just make everyone involved disappear at that moment.

Principal Bennett tried to move forward.

Daniel blocked her again, crying and wailing.

“Principal, inside is is”

He feigned reluctance.

Principal Bennett gripped his shoulders. “Who is it?!”

Daniel, looking terrified, sniffled and stammered.

“It’s Alex I, I saw him creeping around”

Principal Bennett recognized me, of course. My grades were the best in the school, and I was the most likely to be admitted to a top-tier university.

Her eyes blazed with fury.

The angry curse died on her lips.

The Education Department officials were still watching; Principal Bennett couldn’t afford to say anything too harsh right now.

The chaotic sounds from inside grew clearer.

Daniel clutched his chest, speaking to the officials with a pained expression.

“Alex, what have you done?! How could you do such a thing! I knew you were hot-headed and prone to drastic actions!”

At his words, the Education Department officials’ faces were grim.

They prided themselves on being dignified and couldn’t just barge in at this moment.

A group of them waited downstairs, exchanging uneasy glances, their expressions varied.

“Me? What about me?” I finally emerged from the shadows where I’d been hiding.

“What are you doing here?!” Daniel shrieked, his face instantly draining of color.

Principal Bennett eyed me suspiciously. “Not you? Then who’s in there?”

I shrugged, feigning ignorance. “I don’t know. Daniel called me over; I just got here and haven’t seen inside yet.”

Since Daniel was deliberately hiding the truth, there was no need for me to expose him.

Just then, several influencers, having gotten the news, pushed past the school security and burst in.

“Whoa, what’s happening at your school? Sounds like a big commotion!”

“Principal, has some serious incident occurred?”

“Principal, can you explain the situation to our live audience?”

Principal Bennett’s face was chalk-white, her jaw tight, but she said nothing.

Daniel glared at me, finally losing his composure.

He gripped my arm.

“Didn’t you go in? Then who was it that went in just now?!”

“I I got to the door, and the sounds from inside there were so many men’s voices, I got scared. I didn’t dare go in” I tried to look as panicked and helpless as possible.

Daniel was so furious he raised his hand, clearly intending to push me.

But just as his hand was about to make contact, he stopped himself just in time, giving me a vicious glare.

The influencers’ cameras turned to us.

The live chat exploded.

“There’s a girl crying! Are they bullying a female student?!”

“What are the school security guards doing?!”

“Streamer, call the police now!”

The streamer’s face turned serious. “Folks, this situation might be very serious. I’ve already called the police.”

Stepping out of the camera’s view, a faint, cold smirk touched my lips towards Daniel.

He gasped, his eyes widening in shock.

“You”

“Daniel, what’s going on?” I asked, my voice laced with ‘innocence’.

The Education Department officials’ faces were like thunder. One pointed towards the storage room.

“Principal Bennett, no matter who’s in there, you must stop it immediately! Student safety is paramount!”

This incident could no longer be kept under wraps.

Principal Bennett’s face twisted in fury. “Alright, alright, this is just fantastic!”

As Principal Bennett was about to rush towards the storage room, I moved to block her path.

“Principal, the situation inside is unclear, it might be dangerous! You should wait for the police and more security to arrive!”

Principal Bennett tried to push me away forcefully.

“Get out of the way! Now you’re talking about danger? What were you doing before?!”

The onlookers frowned, watching our exchange.

Daniel, by now, had recovered his wits.

He retreated behind the crowd, glaring at me.

Then, he seemed to have a sudden thought and jogged over, donning a mask of urgent concern.

“Alex, don’t block her! I know you and Chloe are close, but what if what if there really are criminals inside? Let the teachers handle it!”

He pretended to care about me and the school’s reputation, trying to pull me away.

Seeing me still resisting, Principal Bennett shoved me aside forcefully.

I, however, turned to the live cameras, feigning extreme anxiety and worry:

“But it sounds like there’s more than one person in there! If we just rush in, what if we provoke them and they hurt our classmate?”

In front of the cameras, I had to appear concerned and thoughtful.

This time, I had to be the one standing on the moral high ground.

At my words, Principal Bennett and the officials paused.

If they acted rashly in front of the cameras and made the situation worse, they would bear greater responsibility.

So, a group of people waited anxiously, hesitating about fifty yards from the old building’s storage room.

The screams and struggles from inside seemed to have weakened, but that only made the situation more unsettling.

An influencer tried to get closer to film, but was stopped by security and the stern gazes from the officials, whose faces were ashen.

And so, everyone waited in agonizing suspense.

After nearly half an hour, the violent commotion inside gradually subsided, replaced by some faint whimpers and men’s muffled curses.

The storage room door was abruptly pulled open from the inside.

But to everyone’s surprise, out walked several cursing, disheveled construction workers, two of whom had scratch marks on their faces.

“What are you looking at? Get lost!” growled a fierce-looking man at the front.

Seeing they were just rough-looking strangers, Principal Bennett’s face went ashen, and she knew instantly that something terrible had happened.

Then, someone shrieked

“Oh my God! Inside”