Asia's prediction was correct, and in fact, Cayden’s bullying started even earlier than in the previous life.
At school, my head was pushed into a sink, and around me, a group of boys were laughing mockingly.
Just as I was about to suffocate, my neck was lifted, and Cayden looked at me with a smirk.
"If you want my family’s money, you can have it."
"Drink all the water from the toilet. I’ll give you one thousands dollars for each sip. What do you say?"
His followers cheered excitedly.
I looked at Cayden.
This man, who had spoken tenderly of his love for me in the previous life, was now recklessly venting his malice on me.
But Cayden wasn’t looking at me.
His gaze passed over me and landed behind me.
I knew that Asia was bent over, mopping the floor behind me.
"Isn’t that Asia?"
"Why is she mopping the floor?"
One of his followers informed Cayden, "Asia’s mom works as a cleaner here. She goes to school during the day and helps her mom at night."
A look of surprise crossed Cayden’s face, followed by a hint of concern.
He shouted to Asia, "Hey, it’s so cold. Stop mopping. Nobody’s checking anyway."
Asia straightened up, her dark hair falling over her shoulders, a stubborn look on her delicate face.
She shook her head. "I can’t."
"If someone checks and finds the floor isn’t clean, my mom will lose one hundred dollars from her salary."
"I know that means nothing to you, but for my family, it’s my weekly food allowance."
With that, Asia bent down and continued mopping.
Actually, Asia’s intentions were clear. She deliberately chose to mop the floor in front of Cayden.
She let her hair down and positioned herself to look her best.
Unfortunately, Cayden fell for it.
Sure enough, Cayden walked up to Asia, lifted her up, took the cloth from her hand, and tossed it to his followers:
"You guys, help her finish mopping the floor."
He glanced at Asia’s red, cold hands, thought for a moment, and draped his jacket over her:
"It’s late, how are you going home?"
"Bike."
"In this cold weather, you ride a bike?" Cayden was shocked, then said decisively, "Wait downstairs. I’ll have my driver take you home."
Asia left with Cayden’s protection.
Before leaving, she couldn’t resist turning back and giving me a mocking smile.
A moment later, everyone had left, and I was alone by the sink.
Struggling to stand up, I wiped the dripping water from my hair with my sleeve.
"Use this."
A cool, calm voice sounded behind me.
I turned around to see Claire Hines, our class president.
She was a quiet and reserved girl who studied hard and always wore long sleeves, no matter the season.
In the previous life, she had also tried to help Asia when she was bullied.
She offered Asia a towel and urged her to expose Cayden’s bullying.
But Asia slapped her hand away:
"What do you know? He’s my brother!"
At that time, Asia still harbored dreams of winning Cayden’s affection.
So, Claire stopped interfering and continued to keep to herself, silent and solitary.
Later, close to graduation, Claire committed suicide.
We then learned that her family was extremely poor, with her grandmother bedridden for years, and her father a gambler who not only abused her but also intended to sell her to pay off debts.
Now, she stood beside me, holding a clean towel.
I hesitated for a moment before taking it.
She didn’t say much, and turned to leave.
Perhaps she felt there was nothing to say to a Daugherty Family lady like me.
Watching her silhouette about to disappear, I suddenly called out:
"President!"
Her steps halted.
Scratching my head, I said, "Um, I just transferred here, and I’m not familiar with the way around."
"Where’s the cafeteria? Can you show me the way?"
