The dim glow of the streetlights flickered as Khalix walked through the cold, narrow alleyways of the city. His clothes were worn, his shoes barely holding together, but none of it mattered today. Today was his salary day.
After months of backbreaking labor, long shifts, and sleepless nights, he finally had enough money saved. Not for himself-but for her.
Anna. The girl he loved. The only person who made his harsh life feel worth something.
With a tired but determined smile, Khalix clutched his hard-earned money and entered a small jewelry store. He carefully picked out a silver bracelet-simple but elegant. It cost everything he had, but he didn't care.
"She'll love this."
His heart pounded with excitement as he left the shop. But before meeting Anna, he had one more stop to make.
He needed better clothes.
His old, tattered outfit wasn't good enough for a date. So, he made his way to his best friend's house-Luo Gong.
Luo had always been wealthier, more carefree. He was someone Khalix trusted. Without knocking, Khalix stepped into his friend's house and headed straight to the bedroom, as he had done countless times before.
But today, something felt... off.
Soft whispers. Heavy breathing. The sound of a bed creaking.
Khalix frowned. He pushed the door open.
And then, his world shattered.
There she was-Anna-his love, his everything -entwined with Luo Gong. Their bodies tangled together in passion, oblivious to his presence.
For a moment, Khalix couldn't breathe. His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out the world.
Then-rage.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Khalix's voice cracked with fury.
The two lovers jolted in shock, scrambling to cover themselves. Anna's eyes widened in panic, while Luo Gong smirked, unbothered.
"Khalix, I... I can explain-" Anna stammered.
"Explain?" Khalix laughed bitterly. "I spent every damn penny on you! And this is what I get?!"
His hands trembled. The bracelet he had bought for her slipped from his grip, landing on the cold floor with a soft clink.
He turned to leave, disgust twisting in his stomach.
But before he could take a step-pain exploded in his skull.
Luo Gong had swung an iron bat at the back of his head. Khalix collapsed, his vision blurring, blood trickling down his forehead.
As the world faded to darkness, a single thought echoed in his mind.
"Was my life always this worthless?"
But then-he woke up.
His eyes snapped open, breath heavy, heart racing.
Sunlight streamed through a window.
He looked around. This was... his old room.
His tiny, rundown apartment from years ago.
Khalix bolted upright. His hands were smaller. His body lighter. He rushed to a mirror.
The reflection staring back at him wasn't the man who had just been betrayed and killed.
It was his younger self.
He was back.
He was back in school days
Khalix's head spun. He stumbled to his feet, disoriented, and looked around.
This wasn't his apartment anymore. This wasn't the world he knew.
He was sitting in a classroom-his high school classroom, to be exact. The same place where he had struggled and failed in life. The same place where his worth had been questioned, and his failures laughed at.
He blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening. Was this a dream? A second chance?
Before he could gather his thoughts, his old teacher, Mr. Tan, called out from the front.
"Khalix, come up and solve this problem on the board."
"Khalix, come up and solve this problem on the board."
The class fell silent, their eyes all turning toward him. Khalix froze for a moment, his mind racing. This was his moment. But what was he supposed to do?
The room seemed to close in on him. He could hear the soft whispers of students, mocking and giggling. He could see the same Anna from his past life, sitting at her desk, pretending not to notice. But in her eyes, he could see something different-a mix of pity and annoyance.
Khalix hesitated, looking at the blackboard. A math problem. A problem he knew he had struggled with so many times in the past. He could still feel the weight of his past failures, but something inside him shifted.
He wasn't the old Khalix anymore.
With a deep breath, he walked to the board, erasing the previous equation. His hand moved quickly, almost instinctively, as he began solving the problem.
The class grew quiet. The snickers died down.
Khalix's mind raced through the numbers and formulas. He was no longer the dumb kid who couldn't get the right answer. He knew this.
He could feel the knowledge flowing through him.
And then, the moment of realization hit him like a wave. He was smart now. He could solve these problems with ease.
The class stared in shock as Khalix wrote down the last solution, his hand steady, his face focused.
When he turned around, he saw the stunned expressions of his classmates. They were speechless.
Even Anna-his former girlfriend, the one who had betrayed him in his past life-looked at him, her smile faltering. She tried to act happy, to cover her shock, but Khalix saw it.
She was angry.
But it didn't matter.
He had proven something to himself.
Without another word, Khalix walked out of the classroom, ignoring the murmurs behind him. His heart raced, not with fear, but with determination.
He needed to leave. To get out of this place, this moment in time.
He hurried to the door, his mind spinning as he made his way through the school's hallways, past the laughing students and the teachers who never believed in him.
This was a chance to make things right.
And he was going to take it.