Eric Bennett recalled a report he had seen online back in 2006: “Olivia Harris is the director of the new project division at Morningstar International. This well-known, beautiful investment broker, who stands out among her male peers, is seen by everyone as the most fashionable and independent woman, the focus of countless halos in everyone’s eyes. Anyone who sees Olivia Harris for the first time would think it’s a pity she isn’t a celebrity... This outstanding beauty, who has managed hundreds of millions in the securities market, ultimately failed to manage her own love life. The relationship that began in her student days couldn’t withstand the test of time or the temptations of the world. In the end, Olivia Harris fell for a diamond-level client she developed feelings for during work, and with the constant arguments with her boyfriend over trivial matters, she eventually transferred her affections. This led to her boyfriend being unable to accept the reality, resulting in a crime of passion... No matter what, the beauty of the past ultimately faded away. No matter how beautiful, strong, and independent a person is, if they can’t carefully nurture their own love, it will only end in tragedy. Does this serve as a warning to our increasingly fickle and fast-paced society?”

The class monitor Olivia Harris before him would also become an outstanding woman in the future, yet she would ultimately fall victim to a crime of passion. Throughout the whole process, Olivia Harris’s boyfriend couldn’t bear the reality of their breakup and his shattered self-esteem. Calm and well-prepared, he brought a knife and asked Olivia Harris, who was already living in a wealthy businessman’s villa, to meet one last time. Olivia Harris, feeling a moment of softness, agreed. In the end, she refused his request to get back together, never expecting that her enraged boyfriend would stab her in the heart, killing her on the spot.

Overlaying this with the beautiful and gentle Olivia Harris before him, Eric Bennett hadn’t expected that this peaceful, sunlit scene could move him so deeply.

Perhaps this is life—seemingly calm on the surface, but in reality, full of hidden waves—because no one can predict or measure what the future holds from this very moment.

In the end, Eric Bennett, holding the photocopied exercises in his hand, stared absentmindedly at the departing figures of Olivia Harris, William Clark, and the twin pair Linda Clark.

Of course, Ethan Foster followed after Olivia Harris, accompanying her for a while, which was good.

But today, Olivia Harris actually paid for Eric Bennett out of her own pocket. Even more infuriating, this kid actually stared at Olivia Harris so openly at the end, as if he was stunned by her beauty—how utterly shameless!

Originally, Ethan Foster wanted to teach Eric Bennett a lesson, but on second thought, he let it go. After all, graduation was just around the corner. He and Olivia Harris were both aiming for the city’s No. 1 High School, a provincial key school, while a kid like Eric Bennett would spend his whole life stuck in a second-rate school like No. 3 High School. Given his grades, he was destined to end up at the bottom of society.

He might as well just grab a seat and enjoy watching Eric Bennett’s tragic life as he gets ruthlessly eliminated by the high school entrance exam!

...

Eric Bennett walked home along the familiar route to his residential complex, feeling a bit lost. Everything he saw along the way was the scenery of the old city back then. At that time, Xiahai hadn’t yet been granted national tourist city status, nor had it undergone rapid changes with billions in investment. Even a city center square would take three or four years to build, and the city was developing at a snail’s pace. The economy wasn’t great, industry was underdeveloped, and Eric Bennett’s home was in the southern part of the city, surrounded by buildings and environments typical of the 1980s.

His family had moved into their new home in 1997. It was the first and only move he remembered in his life. Even in 2009, his parents were still living in that same house.

Now, having returned to 1998, his family had only been in the new home for less than a year. It was a house built by his parents’ work unit through collective funding, a groundbreaking “commercial” property at the time, though it was only available to internal staff and not for external sale.

This apartment had drained almost all the savings his parents had accumulated over decades as ordinary employees. Eric Bennett remembered that in 1998, he failed the high school entrance exam by more than ten points, missing out on No. 3 High School’s senior division. As for No. 1 High School, the provincial key, he was at least eighty points short—no amount of money could bridge that gap.

Because the family had already spent all their money on the new house, Eric Bennett’s failure in the entrance exam was a heavy blow. The 5,000 yuan “donation” fee for admission doesn’t seem like much now—Eric Bennett could scrape it together in two months by tightening his belt—but back then, it was a crushing burden for a family with no savings.

Eric Bennett vividly remembered that at the time, his relatives also urgently needed money, and his mother secretly wiped away tears over the expense, while his usually resolute father’s brow furrowed deeply. For a long time afterward, Eric Bennett deliberately tried to forget this sad memory.

Thinking back now, he truly understood that money, at any time, is the source of a person’s, even a happy family’s, livelihood. Especially in the prosperous society of the future, money to some extent represents status and the values of success.