The Scholar and the Mafia Princess

At the celebration, the pampered heiress in Crownridge, Aveline Sage, confessed her love for me in front of the entire school. I turned her down flat.

I was one of the Sage family's candidates—handpicked top students from every state—to improve their next generation's genes.

In a few days, when the exam results came out, whoever earned the highest national score would become her fiance.

For three years straight, I had been ranked first in the country.

In my previous life, I achieved that top score. I got engaged to Aveline and became the envy of everyone—the son-in-law of Crownridge's most powerful family.

But on the day of our engagement, her first love, Caspian Lorne, jumped off the top of the Sage Group building. His body was shattered beyond recognition.

Aveline hired the best mortician to restore his face and placed him in a crystal coffin, where she slept beside him every night.

During our honeymoon, she brought Caspian's body along, then kissed and clung to him right in front of me.

When I confronted her, she looked at me with disgust.

"The Sage family sponsored your education for twelve years. You knew Caspian and I were in love. Couldn't you let him win just once? You've been in first place for twelve years. What would it have cost you to lose? You ruined his future, ruined our love. You deserve to die."

She drugged me, turned me into a fool with the mind of a three-year-old.

I couldn't recognize my parents. I lost control of my own body. And I died in agony.

…

Then, I opened my eyes again, back on the morning of the exam.

Last time, I beat Caspian by a single point. This time, I left an answer blank. Let him be the top scorer. Let him marry her.

I hoped they grew old together, with plenty of children to match their love.

The Day the Exam Broke Me

The day exam scores came out, the entire school was buzzing.

"Caspian's the national top scorer!"

The students around me groaned in frustration. Everyone here had IQs over 140, true prodigies. But like me, we all came from poor families. From first grade, we'd been handpicked for sponsorship.

They started with a hundred students, then the first round of selection cut down the numbers after the middle school exams. The state top scorers, along with regional champions, totaled forty. All of us were sent to Crownridge to spend three years at Crownridge High School, sponsored by the Sage family.

"Even if I had no chance, shouldn't Miles have taken first?" someone muttered. "Did Caspian cheat?"

"Maybe Aveline helped him behind the scenes! They've been dating secretly since freshman year. Otherwise, how could he score three points higher than Miles?"

I glanced at my own score and felt a flicker of doubt. Something didn't add up.

Last life, I had scored one point higher than Caspian. This time, I'd only missed one true-or-false question, so I should be