Whether Julian Sterling believed Ethan Caldwell's words or not, even he didn't know. His past made it hard to trust people, let alone someone like Ethan, who belonged to the category of people he deemed untrustworthy. The rich and powerful were never reliable.
But deep down, Julian truly craved to be loved, to have someone indulge his whims. Who doesn't yearn for someone to be by their side day and night, always understanding them?
Julian suffered from insomnia all night.
He sat there, thinking about many things, reflecting on both of his lives.
He couldn't be tied down like this.
In this vast future, he wanted to reach further.
---
The next morning, University X.
University X was a mid-tier university in St. Lawrence, specializing in economics. Julian's entrance exam scores weren't very high, so he had barely managed to get into the Business Administration department. In contrast, Aaron Sterling had entered the Business Administration department of St. Lawrence University - the top university in the city and one of the best in the nation.
Due to the suicide attempt, Julian hadn't been allowed to attend school. It was only recently, seeing that he was behaving better than before, and with a "suggestion" from Ethan, that his father, Richard Sterling, agreed to let him return to his studies.
The original owner's life at school hadn't been easy either. He had low self-esteem, lacked proper upbringing from a young age, and had significant gaps in his foundational knowledge. His performance at school was very average, just like hundreds of other students, with nothing standing out.
If anything, there was only the gossip from a few people around him because he had the family background but lacked the ability. In truth, this was quite normal; the world wasn't lacking in rich kids who only knew how to sit around and enjoy their inheritance. It was just a pity that the original owner was too insecure, always hiding away alone, which made him an easy target for ridicule.
On his first day of school in this world, Julian didn't intend to change too much.
Although the knowledge the lecturer was writing on the board was something he was all too familiar with - knowing what could be applied in real life and what was purely academic fluff - that didn't mean Julian was going to show off or let everyone see how much he had "improved" in his studies.
Being a bit of a poor student didn't matter; he wasn't interested.
It was just that Julian wasn't as sullen as the original owner anymore.
Since he had just cut his hair and was dressing more brightly than before, a few classmates came over to greet him today. He responded with a few words. Not too intimate, but not to the point of being weird or antisocial.
Julian sat in the innermost corner on the left side of the classroom. The class had been in session for nearly ten minutes, and the lecturer was droning on endlessly at the podium. Some students were studying attentively, while others couldn't care less, preoccupied with their own affairs.
Julian sat reading news on his phone.
He didn't have much information about this world. Even though he had inherited the original owner's memories, what the original owner knew was too meager. And the novel hadn't mentioned much about economic or social knowledge, so he could only investigate through information online.
Although he wanted to return to his passion - attending art school - Julian felt he couldn't distance himself from the environment of economics and investment just yet. He needed to find out if this world was similar to reality so he could calculate his next steps.
His own finances were the safest capital.
He didn't intend to stake his life on a single tree named Ethan Caldwell. Right now, Ethan might still have some interest in him, perhaps indulging him like keeping a little lover, but that didn't guarantee his future.
To survive, to be free, one could only stand on their own two feet.
Over the past few days, he had also found some information regarding the world. Basically, the socio-political structure here was similar to reality. Perhaps the only difference was that society here completely accepted the LGBT community, and same-sex marriage was recognized.
Julian felt that his knowledge and understanding from the real world could be fully applied to this one. Of course, there would be certain differences, but fundamentally, nothing had changed.
"Julian!"
A voice cut through his train of thought. Julian looked up, just in time to see a boy carrying a backpack, grinning broadly at him.
Julian thought for a moment before remembering this person - this was the only one in all the classes the original owner had taken who didn't dislike him. This boy was named Lucas Hill, an International Business student, also a freshman like the original owner.
"Where have you been these past few days? Why didn't you come to class?" Lucas Hill asked as he sat down, happily taking out his books. "Has the teacher taken attendance yet?"
"Not yet." Julian tidied his desk a bit.
"Oh, lucky I made it in time." Lucas Hill leisurely opened his laptop, put on a bit of a show of studying, then turned back to chat with him. "Why were you off?"
"Busy preparing to get married."
"Oh, so..." Lucas Hill mumbled a sentence, then his eyes went wide. "What did you just say? Getting married?"
"Mhm, arranged by the family." Julian lowered his eyes, continuing to read the newspaper on his phone.
Hearing this, Lucas Hill gaped, then suddenly remembered his friend's family background. Right, he heard that rich families were all about commercial marriages. But he couldn't help his curiosity and asked: "Which family's daughter are you marrying?"
Julian looked up, stared at Lucas Hill for a moment, and then replied: "I'm the one being married off. Do you know Ethan Caldwell? That's my fiancé."
Lucas Hill's jaw dropped, staring at Julian unblinkingly.
Julian asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"Is commercial marriage that good nowadays?" Lucas Hill scratched his hair and continued, "I heard Ethan Caldwell is really decent. Rich, powerful, doesn't party or mess around. Never heard of him having a girlfriend or keeping a lover."
Julian raised an eyebrow.
He had looked up information about Ethan online. Most of it was inflated praise about his career - young and talented, a top-tier young director... The small remainder was a few internal squabbles of the Caldwell family, but there were almost no scandals regarding his personal life.
Initially, he thought the Caldwell family had just scrubbed it clean. Hearing Lucas Hill say this now, he was a bit surprised.
Lucas Hill's family wasn't exactly within the circle of nobility in St. Lawrence. His father was a famous musician, his mother a high school teacher. Lucas Hill exuded a somewhat reckless but very comfortable vibe; his personality was good, and one could tell at a glance that his family was harmonious. Although not in the center of power, Lucas Hill's uncle worked in the Political Bureau, so he often knew many trivial matters about the young masters and ladies of this city.
No matter how clean a family looked online, Lucas Hill could dig up some dirt. Even the jokes about the Sterling family hadn't escaped him.
That was why Lucas Hill treated the original owner well - it stemmed from pity. In his eyes, the original owner was a genuine young master who, although not outstanding, worked hard on his own, wasn't arrogant, and didn't harm anyone. He liked the original owner much more than Aaron.
"Is Ethan that 'clean'?" Julian tilted his head and asked. "So, does that mean my future is better?"
"Rest assured, he's very clean. It's just that I don't know if he has any unspeakable illness or not." Lucas Hill looked at him, chuckling in a very cheeky way. "So on the wedding night, you have to check a bit. If he can't do it, find another guy."
Julian shot Lucas Hill a sharp glance, but Lucas Hill wasn't afraid and laughed even louder.
Eventually, they were reprimanded by the lecturer.
Lucas Hill pouted, whispering to Julian: "Why is your family suddenly being so kind? Is it really Ethan Caldwell, or are you tricking me?"
"If you don't believe me, just come this weekend and you'll know."
Lucas Hill made an 'OK' sign at him, then lowered his head to play with his phone. Julian accidentally glanced over and saw an interface full of data.
He raised an eyebrow again.
Others looking at it might think Lucas Hill was playing some game during this boring general education class. However, someone who had once run an entire major corporation like Julian knew he was studying market data.
It was similar to investment data analysis, but with a slight difference. Lucas Hill was trying to input hypothetical figures to come up with the most accurate economic hypothesis. The numbers jumping on the screen looked a bit chaotic, and the software was the simplest kind. Yet, the direction of Lucas Hill's data adjustments was very good; he was almost spot-on with every tweak.
Julian narrowed his eyes.
In the original owner's memory, Lucas Hill had made these data tables quite a few times.
But in the original owner's impression, his academic ability and Lucas Hill's were about the same - both average and not particularly outstanding.
But now, it seemed that wasn't quite the case.
Julian observed Lucas Hill for a moment, then curled his lips into a smile.
At first, he didn't even know how to develop himself in this world. He wanted to build a business of his own, but he couldn't develop it alone. Firstly, he didn't have enough capital. Secondly, he alone didn't have the ability to manage everything.
But now, he had found the suitable person to cooperate with.