******
'Supreme Spending System?'
'Face-smacking?'
'Rewards for splurging?'
Shen Tian sat utterly dumbfounded, his entire body frozen like a statue as those strange phrases replayed themselves relentlessly in his head, echoing with a surreal resonance.
What… what in the world had just transpired?
He struggled to wrap his mind around the sudden voice and deluge of information.
'Was that… a delusion? A figment of my overstressed soul?' he thought, his brows furrowing deeper with each passing second.
'No... this never happened before. If I remember correctly, back then, after Li Xu barked the order at me, which scared the hell out of me, I sprinted off to complete his errand like some pathetic dog. But I failed, didn't I? I couldn't scrape together enough money to buy the snack he wanted, and he beat me up for it. No voice sounded in my mind.'
The memory made his stomach twist. But just as he tried to shake the thought, a calm, robotic voice suddenly spoke in his mind—
[ The host did not have this experience in your previous life because you hadn't received a system then. The reason you've acquired it now is simple—it was your second dying wish. ]
Shen Tian, "_"
'Second dying wish…?' His daze only deepened. But then suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and—his pupils contracted slightly.
'That… that voice I heard before losing consciousness earlier—that voice that asked me what wish I have left in my dying body… it was real?
A strong chill ran down Shen Tian's spine, and then he hesitantly looked down at his arms.
They were fresher, containing little to no bruises.
These weren't the arms of the twenty-six-year-old who had died in bitterness and despair. These belonged to him from five years ago, when his mother was still alive to shield and protect him.
And yet, according to the rumor he had learned about death, he wasn't meant to return—not physically, at least. He was only supposed to witness his memories fade as his spirit dissolved.
But now…
A strong tremor coursed through Shen Tian's lean frame, and he swallowed hard.
"I… I really returned to the past… didn't I?" he whispered under his breath before he could stop himself. And with this, his chest heaved with an avalanche of emotions—anxiety, fear, disbelief, and something more… hope.
A heartbeat passed. Then another, until finally…
[ Correct, Host. That was your first wish, to go back in time. ]
The mechanical voice responded again, and when it did, Shen Tian felt as though a lightning bolt had surged through his veins.
His breath hitched. His thoughts stalled.
There were no words to properly describe the storm inside him.
"Shocked" didn't even come close, and "Overwhelmed" was still too mild.
He had guessed it. But hearing it confirmed outright—knowing without a doubt that he'd been given a second chance—a second chance to see his mother again—a second chance to try his best to save her—
Shen Tian's body locked in place.
His soul screamed.
His mind reeled, and he seemed to freeze both in time and space.
Meanwhile…
"Is this freak finally lost his mind?" A sudden sharp, mocking voice pierced the air.
The classroom was buzzing, every pair of eyes currently locked on him.
"What the hell did he just say? Something about returning to the past?"
A few students sneered, exchanging scornful glances.
"Heh. Honestly, it would be a blessing if he did lose his damn mind. Maybe we could finally get rid of the trash cluttering our class," one of the boys muttered with a vicious grin.
That single sentence instantly lit a fire.
"Damn right. The other departments have always mocked our class, calling us the 'charity squad' and constantly assuming most of us are from poor backgrounds on scholarship here because we've got a penniless scholarship worm dragging us down. If he goes nuts, would the school still have any excuse left? No! They'd have to kick him out."
"Finally, we can scrub that stain off our reputation."
Excitement burst through the room like wildfire. Faces lit up with malicious glee, like hyenas circling wounded prey.
Their disgust was naked. Their hatred was palpable. They didn't care if Shen Tian heard them. In fact, most of them wanted him to hear them like always, because to them, he wasn't their classmate.
No!
He was just a parasite they barely tolerated.
The only person who didn't seem pleased, however, was Li Xu.
He crossed his arms, watching the rising wave of mockery around him with a cold gaze. Then, he scoffed. His voice was low, but it cut through the noise like a blade.
"You idiots really think having him lose his mind is good for us?"
Everyone paused, and all heads turned.
"Brother Xu, isn't that kinda too harsh and insulting?" a fashionable girl with heavily glossed lips pouted, her eyes narrowing with unhappiness.
"I mean, sure he's a freeloader, but calling us idiots?"
The others quickly echoed her sentiment.
Li Xu frowned in irritation at this. He wanted to lash out, but he restrained himself.
Unlike Shen Tian, these people had real power behind them—wealthy families and influential connections. He couldn't afford to piss them off too much.
So, he forced down his frustration and smirked.
"You all think you're so clever by wishing him to be expelled. But have any of you really thought this through?"
"Huh…"
Confusion rippled across the room.
"What do you mean, Brother Xu?" one of his hangers-on asked.
Li Xu slowly turned, his eyes sweeping across the crowd with subtle disdain.
"Tell me something, Leng Wuhen—since our first year, who's been doing your assignments and copying your notes for you like a free servant?"
Leng Wuhen, a broad-shouldered twenty-three-year-old, blinked, unsure where this was going.
"The pest, obviously," he said, jerking his thumb toward Shen Tian without hesitation.
Li Xu nodded his head, then turned again.
"And who's been blackening the blackboard every time it began to turn whitish—even though all the other classes do it on rotation?"
Silence…
Then—unanimous finger-pointing. Shen Tian.
"Who's swept the floor? Cleaned the windows? Rearranged the chairs after class?"
Once again: Shen Tian.
"And who's been the class's personal errand boy, punching bag, and clown, always giving everyone a good laugh at his expense?"
Everyone hesitated. But eventually—more fingers. More shame.
One by one, they realized where Li Xu was going with this.
From day one, Shen Tian had been their free labor, their errand boy, and their emotional dumpster.
He had been beaten, humiliated, and coerced into doing every degrading task imaginable.
Why? Because he never fought back. He always obeyed.
And now they wanted him to be expelled? Who would replace him?
"Honestly, I'd rather let the eyesore stay," a girl with blood-red nails murmured, staring at her manicured hands in horror. "Imagine having to touch that filthy blackboard die myself and clean the clean. Ew."
The others nodded their heads reluctantly.
No one said it outright, but the unspoken agreement was clear: better to keep the slave than do the dirty work themselves.
Seeing this, Li Xu grinned.
Of course, he'd do everything he could to keep Shen Tian around. As long as Shen Tian was there, the spotlight would stay off him—the second-worst in class with no background or rich parents to fall back on.
Well, not that anyone knows that... and he intends to keep it that way.
Slowly, Li Yu turned back to Shen Tian, who had been silent throughout, still trapped in his daze.
A cruel smirk played on Li Xu's lips.
Bang!
His hand slammed down on Shen Tian's desk with bone-rattling force, the sharp sound instantly jolting Shen Tian like a thunderclap, snapping him back to the present.
His eyes fluttered once. Twice.
Then they locked onto Li Xu.
"You brain-dead insect," Li Xu sneered. "You think pretending to go nuts will get you out of running my errands for me?"
A flicker of irritation sparked in Shen Tian's eyes. But instead of shrinking back, he did something that shocked everyone—
He smiled.
Not a forced, awkward smile. Not the empty grin of a bullied coward.
A cold, calculated smirk.
'While I still don't fully understand how this golden finger works… but this is a second life. A second chance. If I still let them trample over me again… if I let the same regrets pile up… wouldn't that be more pathetic than dying off like a dog?'
His smile deepened, and he raised his head.
Then, in a voice that carried a calmness and confidence nobody had ever heard from him before—
"Delusion suits you, Xu."
The room fell dead silent.
....
[ Author's Note: Please vote with power stones if you are enjoying the book, add to your library, and comment.
Thanks for reading. ]