Grace Thompson looked at these fair hands, feeling the vibrant energy and vitality within this body.

　　Twenty-two years old.

　　Healthy, young.

　　Full of infinite possibilities.

　　What a stroke of luck.

　　After a moment, Grace Thompson, having calmed his breath, looked up and gazed at this sky—so familiar, yet so strange.

　　“Traveled to another world, but not the orphanage setup—single parent, with an older sister and a younger sister…”

　　For half a month, his mother had tried every way to show concern, his sister Lily Thompson gave her all to support him, and his younger sister Emily Thompson racked her brains to find excuses to invite him out for a walk and keep him company…

　　“Healthy, young, and actually pretty handsome…”

　　Such a life, yet he didn’t know how to cherish it.

　　He stood up and brushed the grass clippings off his pants.

　　“From today on, I am Grace Thompson. I believe I’ll do better than you did.”

　　……

　　“Director, over here!”

　　A shout came from the path through the woods.

　　Next, two young men who had been hiding behind the trees quickly approached a man in a suit and a portly middle-aged man.

　　“Director, he’s the one who harassed junior Charlotte Foster and ruined the reputation of our Hanyang University—Grace Thompson.”

　　One of the young men pointed at Grace Thompson and said to the portly middle-aged man, “Just being in the same school as someone like him makes me feel like Hanyang University’s standards have dropped! Is the school going to expel him?”

　　“They probably can’t expel him. Otherwise, if he tries to kill himself again and dies on campus, the school would be held responsible.”

　　The other young man replied.

　　“I just can’t believe it—he actually thought of threatening the school by jumping into the lake. Why didn’t he just drown for real?”

　　“Since ancient times, good people die young, while troublemakers live forever. This Grace Thompson is a cancer at school, and he’ll definitely be a menace to society once he’s out there.”

　　The two of them spoke one after another, showing no mercy at all.

　　“All right, there’s nothing more to say. Can words alone kill someone? For people like him, just make sure he can’t stay at Hanyang University any longer. Out of sight, out of mind.”

　　At this moment, the man in the suit spoke up.

　　Grace Thompson turned his gaze to the group.

　　The man in the suit was named Samuel Reed.

　　Vice president of the student council.

　　Admirer of Charlotte Foster.

　　The portly middle-aged man was the director of academic affairs, Henry Clark.

　　“You’re spreading rumors everywhere without even witnessing what happened? Especially you—the forum post was your doing, wasn’t it, Samuel Reed? Aren’t you afraid you’ll embarrass yourself if the truth comes out?”

　　Grace Thompson looked at him calmly.

　　“Who told you the school’s investigation isn’t finished? The administration was originally going to expel you, but considering your poor mental state, they decided to be lenient and put you on probation!”

　　Samuel Reed sneered.

　　“So the result is out?”

　　Still just probation?

　　Maybe it was the resentment before death, but Grace Thompson remembered this part very clearly.

　　He and Charlotte Foster were classmates.

　　At the time, Charlotte Foster was being pestered by a rich kid and wanted to use him as a shield by pretending to be her boyfriend. Not wanting trouble, he refused without hesitation.

　　He didn’t know what happened afterward.

　　But the next day, rumors that he had “harassed Charlotte Foster” spread throughout the school. Everyone turned against him, and in the end, unable to withstand the pressure, he jumped into the lake and died.

　　The school gave him probation as punishment—did that mean they had confirmed his guilt in harassing Charlotte Foster?

　　“Is this the school’s final investigation result?”

　　Grace Thompson looked at the portly middle-aged man.

　　“Grace Thompson, have you considered how much negative impact this whole situation, caused by you, has brought to the school?”

　　Henry Clark said unhurriedly.

　　“The rumors were started by people stirring up trouble behind the scenes. You should be dealing with them.”

　　“What matters most now is solving the problem.”

　　“So, your way of solving the problem is to deal with me?”

　　“Leaving the facts aside, can you guarantee you’re completely blameless in this? If you had apologized to Charlotte Foster back then, would things have gotten this far?”

　　“Apologize?”

　　Grace Thompson wanted to say he’d done nothing wrong—why should he apologize?

　　But since they were already ignoring the facts, what was the point in arguing?

　　“Grace Thompson, you should be glad you jumped into the lake. Otherwise, probation would be the least of your worries.”

　　Samuel Reed sneered, “But it doesn’t matter. Once this blows over, don’t think you’ll be able to stay at Hanyang University for even one more day.”

　　“Because of your school board member grandfather?”

　　Grace Thompson said.

　　Samuel Reed curled his lips, clearly proud of his status: “Heh, young man, this is what it means to learn about the realities of society ahead of time.”

　　Grace Thompson didn’t argue with him anymore, instead turning his gaze to Henry Clark.

　　“Remember to prepare a 3,000-word self-criticism and get ready for a public reprimand.”

　　Henry Clark said sternly.

　　The higher-ups wanted the incident of Grace Thompson harassing Charlotte Foster to be settled as soon as possible.

　　Choosing the lesser of two evils.

　　Compared to the surely brilliant future of Charlotte Foster, dealing with the unremarkable Grace Thompson was the best way to calm the storm.

　　“A self-criticism?”

　　Grace Thompson let out a cold laugh. “Are you out of your mind? You’re all openly targeting me and still expect me to grovel and write a self-criticism?”

　　“You… what kind of attitude is that!?”