Midas_goldturner

Lying in a pool of his own blood, Lu Chen watches helplessly as his wife clings to another man. His vision blurs, but the betrayal is crystal clear. Rage burns in his veins, but his body is too weak to move. Powerless, he can only watch as his life slips away. The final words he hears before darkness claims him are cold and mocking:
"You will always be nothing but second place."

A bullet rips through his chest, sealing his fate.

As the light fades, waves of regret wash over Lu Chen. The faces of those he neglected—those who once loved and trusted him—haunt his dying thoughts. If only he had cherished them. If only he had a second chance.

But fate isn't done with him yet.

Inexplicably, Lu Chen awakens to find himself in his 18-year-old body. The same face. The same youth. But with memories of betrayal and death still fresh in his mind. It seems the heavens have granted him the chance he so desperately wished for.

No longer the naive man who lost everything, Lu Chen is determined to rewrite his future. With the wisdom of his past and a heart hardened by pain, he vows to protect those who truly matter—and destroy those who once tore him apart.

But can he defy fate, or will the ghosts of his mistakes catch up with him once again?

3-chapters a day

From Shadows to Silver

Lu Chen paused at the school gates, taking in the sprawling campus of First High. As one of China's top secondary schools, its state-of-the-art facilities and stellar college acceptance rates came with an exclusive price tag - this was a playground for the wealthy elite.

He belonged to that privileged group, though the thought carried different weight now. Stepping into his classroom, Lu Chen scanned the familiar faces with fresh eyes. Some he remembered clearly, others were half-forgotten ghosts from another life.

Every head seemed to turn his way, accompanied by hushed whispers. A wry smile tugged at his lips. *What did my past self do this time?* The possibilities were endless - from mundane love-struck gestures to grand romantic spectacles that now made his stomach churn with secondhand embarrassment.

There were the packed lunches left at Liu Fei Fei's desk. The movie tickets slipped into her textbooks. Then the extremes - the time he'd arranged 520 roses in a heart shape on the soccer field, or presented her with a million-yuan necklace during morning assembly.

*Please let it be something small,* he prayed silently.

An arm slung over his shoulders interrupted his thoughts. "Yo! Brother Lu!"

Lu Chen turned to face Zhang Jian's grinning mug. At 1.8 meters tall with roguish good looks, his best friend radiated chaotic energy. "Morning," Lu Chen greeted.

Zhang Jian's smile faltered. "Don't 'morning' me. How are you holding up?" Before Lu Chen could respond, he barreled on, "Who am I kidding? Nobody's fine after public execution like that!" He clapped Lu Chen's back. "Don't worry - we'll drink away your sorrows tonight!"

"Public execution?" Lu Chen blinked. "I'm honestly fine."

Zhang Jian studied him, then whistled. "Damn, Brother Chen! You're taking this better than I expected!"

"You... you really don't remember?" Zhang Jian's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. When Lu Chen shook his head, his friend groaned. "The lunchbox incident? Liu Fei Fei dumping her food on your head in front of everyone yesterday?"

A memory clicked into place - the cold shock of rice and sauce dripping down his face, the echoing laughter, Liu Fei Fei's icy glare.

Zhang Jian misread his silence. "See? Mental trauma-induced amnesia! I knew it!"

Lu Chen sighed. He'd forgotten this aspect of Zhang Jian - the unfiltered, dramatic personality that had somehow tolerated his worst behavior. Their friendship had survived Lu Chen's arrogance, only to be discarded when Liu Fei Fei demanded it.

Now, seeing Zhang Jian's genuine concern beneath the theatrics, Lu Chen felt another pang of regret. Some wounds ran deeper than spilled lunch.

School Part 1