Ghost Billionaire

"Whoa… the results were just posted. Quick, let's check!"

Teddy's voice rang out across the cafeteria, buzzing with excitement as he bolted toward the corridor. He didn't even wait for Matthew's response.

Matthew sighed and slowly stood. He had been awake all night, over thinking about the blood moon and yet Teddy's worries were still his exams. What an enviable life, he thought. Teddy had been unusually eager for the results this time. Maybe it was because of the stipend he received a few weeks ago. Given his circumstances, every little bit counted.

Teddy wasn't from a well-off background. He had made it into this school through another scholarship and was juggling classes while working part-time as a tutor. That much, Matthew hadn't known in his past life.

Unlike Teddy, Matthew wasn't in a rush.

The exam had nearly crushed him last time. He barely scraped by. But this time… this time was different. He had prepared. He was confident he passed. Rankings? They didn't matter much to him now. Still, curiosity tugged at him. With a quiet breath, he slung his bag over his shoulder and followed the others out of the cafeteria.

The corridor was already crowded by the time he arrived. A tight circle of students had gathered in front of the bulletin board, shoulder to shoulder, murmuring and pointing as they searched for their names. Matthew slowed his pace, his eyes scanning the crowd. Somewhere ahead, Teddy was probably already celebrating or sulking.

"Hey, Matt! I'm here!" Teddy said as he elbowed through the crowd, eyes bright.

"Did you do well?" Matthew asked.

"Hehe… I'm first. First place." He lifted both hands, then laughed under his breath. "Had to see it twice to believe it. Man, I never thought that I would get that rank."

"Well, I wouldn't have chosen you to help me out if you aren't that smart, right?" Matthew joked. "You earned it."

"Check yours." Teddy gestured at the sheet. "Right, I was about to check yours, but the others pushed me."

Matthew eased forward. He scanned the list from the bottom—nothing. He worked upward, finger tracing each line, and stopped at row nineteen. In his past life, he was Rank 81 out of 85 students. Right now, he was expecting to at least be around 70 or even 50.

Then he saw it.

Lindberg, Matthew – 89.7 – Rank 19

His pulse skipped. In the previous timeline, he had barely cleared the pass mark. Now he sat inside the top twenty. What the heck?

"Wow… Matthew, you're actually in Rank 20!?"

A few heads turned, and someone snorted.

"Wait, wait—check again. That can't be right."

"Nope. It's real. Matthew Lindberg is Rank 19. He actually made it into the Top 20 this time," another student confirmed, tapping the list for emphasis.

A beat of stunned silence followed—then laughter.

"How is that even possible? He was around Rank 67 or something in the last exam, right?"

"Did the system glitch?"

"Maybe he copied off someone smarter this time."

Naturally, Matthew simply ignored them. He looked at the list again and smiled.

"Top 20?" Teddy's voice broke his stupor. "Wow. I didn't know you were that capable as long as you study well."

Matthew said nothing. This was indeed a surprise, but if one would think about it, he was a reborn person. If he couldn't even get a better result in this life, then… what's the purpose of being reborn?

Just as he was about to celebrate, a soft sob drifted from the bench beside the trophy case. Teddy and Matthew turned and saw Catherine with May.

Why is this woman crying again? Matthew couldn't help but wonder. After a few days, the Dean finally agreed to let Catherine, Lenox, and the rest back into the school. Everyone except Dean and Marc, of course. Now that Catherine's back, the first thing that she did was… cry.

Then May caught Matthew looking. "Mind your own business."

Matthew faced Teddy again. "What's wrong with them?" he asked.

"She's not in the top 10," Teddy said. "Her scores were pretty low. She's currently in Rank 17."

"Oh?" Matthew looked at the list again and spotted Catherine's name two rows above his. Rank 17. That was a drop. In his past life, she had always been in the top 10. But then again, she had his full support back then. She didn't have to worry about money for her mother's treatment or spend time doing part-time work. He had taken care of everything.

Now, things were different. He had cut ties. She was on her own.

Matthew shook his head. This was his new life. He would live it on his terms.

Teddy leaned closer. "Even Lenox slipped. He's in Rank 6. He used to be top 1."

Matthew didn't respond right away. He simply shrugged.

Lenox had his full backing in the previous timeline, too. Matthew had treated him like royalty—made sure he had everything he needed. All Lenox had to do was study, eat, and smile for the crowd.

That life was gone. The results were showing now.

"She's going to lose her scholarship," Teddy added. "Catherine, I mean. You need to be in the top 10 to keep it. That must be why she's crying."

Matthew snorted. "Probably."

Matthew looked away from Catherine. He had no interest in her matters anymore. He turned to Teddy. "Shouldn't we celebrate? You're currently the top of the class. What do you want to eat? I'll treat you to something good."

Before Teddy could answer, someone stepped in front of them. It was Lenox.

Matthew stopped. "What do you want?"

Lenox didn't move aside. "Catherine will probably lose her scholarship. She won't be able to pay anything."

Matthew raised a brow. "That's sad."

"You should help her."

Matthew snorted. "What are you talking about? Wasn't I clear enough before?"

"Don't misinterpret my words," Lenox said. "I'm only saying this because you're her friend. This is out of concern for her."

"I was," Matthew said. "For years. I chased after her like an idiot. Now I'm not. So what exactly are you asking from me?"

Lenox didn't answer right away. Then, "The least you could do is make sure she graduates high school in peace."