Chapter 2
1297 Words
Anna Nolan swore that if life were given to her again, she would make Jason Lincoln regret it for the rest of his life.
Jason Lincoln, however, didn’t care at all. His youthful eyes were full of confidence as he spoke arrogantly.
“I’m ranked first in the entire grade in Riverdale City. As long as I exist, any school will want me—even some random university. Anna Nolan, just watch. I’m not like you. Back then, I became the richest man entirely because of my own ability!”
Anna’s anger surged, her heart pounding violently.
She never told Jason that in their previous life, every opportunity he had seized, every project he had won, and every obstacle he had overcome had actually been handled behind the scenes by her.
Everything she did was only to support him.
“Hah! Entirely because of your own ability?”
“Jason Lincoln… we’ll see about that!”
Anna didn’t want to look at him anymore.
How could a human being be so cruel?
Suddenly, a female voice cut through the tense atmosphere.
“Are you two arguing?”
Suppressing the sharp pain stabbing through her chest, Anna turned and walked away.
She had already decided.
She would go her own way.
She would separate from Jason Lincoln.
But before she could completely leave, another student appeared at the classroom door—
Jessica Cole.
The moment Jason saw Jessica, he rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
That obvious happiness pierced Anna’s heart.
It hurt.
It reminded her of all the years she had spent beside him.
Jessica had only come over to watch the “drama.” She never expected Jason Lincoln to suddenly hug her in such an intimate way.
She had once thought that with her pretty face and good grades, she could at least become one of Jason’s close followers.
But now, it seemed like a new chapter of her life had just begun.
“Class president, let go of me! What are you doing? There are still other people here!”
Jessica’s voice sounded sweet, but firm.
Anna only watched with disgust.
She was certain that in this life, Jessica Cole would be very proud of herself.
Jason didn’t release her as she asked.
Instead, he held her even tighter and said in a low voice filled with determination,
“Jessica… forgive me. In this life, I will never disappoint you again. I will treat you well, Jessica.”
Jason swore that not only would he never allow Anna Nolan to interfere in his life again—
he would also give Jessica Cole all the love that Anna had never received.
Jessica froze.
Had Jason Lincoln completely lost his mind?
Treat her well?
Please. She had never even agreed to anything—wait, had he ever confessed to her at all?
Still…
The corner of Jessica’s lips lifted slightly.
This sudden attention from the class president was strange.
But it wasn’t exactly a bad thing, was it?
“Jason Lincoln, did you study so much your brain short-circuited? You actually want to be with this white lotus Jessica Cole and even plan to go to a vocational school that doesn’t care about grades?”
Tina Carter, standing beside Anna, couldn’t help but speak up. In her eyes, Jason had clearly gone insane.
“Shut up! I won’t allow you to insult her!”
The anger in Jason’s eyes seemed ready to burn Tina to ashes.
Then he turned back to Anna, whose right cheek was still streaked with blood.
“I know exactly what I’m doing. More clearly than ever.”
“Anna Nolan, I don’t need to teach you what you should do next.”
He grabbed Jessica’s wrist and pulled her away.
Before leaving, he coldly warned Anna that if she dared to tell his mother about what happened today, she would pay a heavy price.
“Jason Lincoln, you’re really insane! Anna…”
Tina Carter still looked uneasy.
But Anna bit her lip and said quietly,
“Tina, we’re adults now. Everyone has to take responsibility for their own words and actions.”
She would not interfere.
She had no right to.
And even less reason to.
After getting her wound bandaged in the administrative office, Anna returned home.
The narrow alley she lived in was one of the most run-down areas in Riverdale City.
Yet the place was surprisingly well known—
because the top student in the entire grade lived there.
Jason Lincoln.
Jason’s mother ran a small breakfast stall in the alley, serving the local residents.
She usually closed the stall around five in the afternoon.
After school, if Anna had no other plans, she often came by to help—washing dishes, cleaning the tables, or doing other chores.
Besides Anna, the other person who frequently helped without pay was her father.
Anna had lost her mother when she was very young.
Seeing her father raising her alone, the neighbors kindly introduced him to Jason’s mother, who had also lost her husband early.
But the two never married.
They didn’t even live together.
For years, Anna believed Jason’s mother simply didn’t want to give Jason a stepfather, which was why she never continued the relationship with her father.
Only later did Anna realize the truth.
It wasn’t concern for Jason’s feelings at all—
Jason’s mother had simply looked down on her father from the very beginning.
In her previous life, Anna Nolan had truly been blind.
Her father was hardworking and honest, yet she herself had never considered the reality of “two families.”
First, she had failed to notice that the way Jason Lincoln’s mother treated her father was exactly the same way Jason treated her—
a free laborer.
A free servant.
Second, she never realized that although her father understood everything, he still hoped that Anna would marry Jason Lincoln.
Only then, he believed, would Jason’s mother treat Anna a little better.
It was the small compensation of a father who could not give his daughter a complete family.
When Anna saw her father getting off his motorcycle, carrying nearly fifty kilograms of breakfast ingredients for Jason’s mother’s stall, her eyes immediately turned red.
Like mother, like son.
“Dad!”
“From now on, whatever Aunt Wendy’s stall needs, you don’t have to carry it anymore—and you definitely don’t have to spend your own money on it!”
Anna shouted from outside the shop.
Wendy Lincoln.
Aunt Wendy.
Jason Lincoln’s mother.
In her previous life, Anna had called her that as well.
Because he was busy carrying the heavy supplies, her father didn’t hear her clearly. After bringing the goods inside and coming back out, he asked,
“Anna, what did you just say to Dad?”
Then his eyes widened.
“Anna! What happened to your forehead? Why is your cheek bleeding too?!”
Although Anna had never received a mother’s love, her father had never once failed to care for her.
Her father worked odd jobs.
Whenever there was construction work that needed someone to carry bricks, he would go.
If there wasn’t any work, he stayed at home—or helped at Wendy Lincoln’s breakfast stall.
Hearing Anna’s father shouting about the wound on her forehead, Jason’s mother quickly put down what she was doing and ran outside.
Jason Lincoln’s mother was a beautiful woman.
Even in her forties, her charm remained strong.
People in the alley even called her the “Breakfast Goddess.”
Jason Lincoln’s handsome looks were entirely inherited from her.
“Anna, how did you get hurt?”
“Oh dear, come here—let Auntie take a look. The college entrance exam is coming soon. Don’t let this affect your studies.”
- Writer
