Shallow Love, Lingering Affection

That woman looked to be at most in her mid-twenties.

My body was already in excruciating pain.

Laughing only aggravated my injuries.

I felt the urge to laugh, but it hurt so much.

This feeling was really unpleasant.

I looked again at the nerve medication Riley bought.

The total price was only fifty bucks.

He asked the seller to lower it by thirty.

No wonder the salesperson was getting angry.

I knew that Riley genuinely couldn't spare much money.

Otherwise, with his prideful nature, he wouldn't have resorted to such humiliating behavior.

I paid for Riley.

"Do you need anything else?"

Riley blushed and stayed silent.

He just glanced at the other two medications.

I bought two more boxes for Riley.

I knew Riley had a grandmother who often suffered from headaches.

His father was a rich kid, and his mother ran off with another man.

He worked hard to take care of his grandmother.

Riley held the medicine in his trembling hands and said, "Norah, I owe you this money.

"I'll pay you back as soon as I get my scholarship."

It was only a little over a hundred bucks.

But for Riley, that was already a significant amount.

I said, "You can tutor me to make up for the medicine."

In my past life, Riley was destined to be a scientist.

His grades were excellent.

Since he hadn't "made it" yet, I decided to build a good relationship with him in advance.

For me, that was a win-win situation.

Riley hesitated.

He still had an innate resistance towards me, the "rich girl."

"If you don't see me as a brother, that's fine.

"I won't consider you a friend anymore."

Riley finally nodded.

"Okay, Norah, we'll be good friends from now on."

I bought the medical supplies.

With the help of the staff and Riley, I finished the bandaging.

"Norah, did your brother bully you again?"

I replied, "To wear the crown, one must bear its weight!"

Riley's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Good friend, I remember now!

"I won't let Jason get away with it."

...

In this life, Rose went to the poor Mr. Martin's house to become a "stepdaughter" to win over Jason.

She thought that since I thrived in the Martin household in my past life, she could do the same.

But she overlooked one thing.

My success was the result of my hard work.

Although the Martin family was poor, poverty didn't equate to goodness.

It certainly didn't mean they were good people.

Mr. Martin was sexist and a gambling addict.

His second wife was lazy and cold-hearted by nature.

I can only say that Rose truly went down the wrong path by going to the Martins.

Not a single one of them was a decent person.

In my past life, Mr. Martin had always hoped for a son.

They could only adopt me because they couldn't find a willing "male heir."

In the Martin family, I did all the hard, dirty work.

I studied tirelessly to prove my worth.

Only then did Jason value me like a treasure, to the point where he wouldn't marry anyone but me later on.