Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Do You Want to Kill Her a Second Time?
Ashley Shaw’s gaze swept past that luxury sedan and walked straight toward the bus stop outside the neighborhood.
She wasn’t acting on impulse, it was just that the bus stop directly led to the school gates.
Not riding with Warren Prescott meant she could conserve some energy.
She wanted to dedicate all her efforts to studying and stop revolving around Warren like a fool.
Inside the car, Warren Prescott watched the girl’s departing figure, his eyes half-squinted.
The driver observed Warren’s expression in the rearview mirror inside the car.
Is the young master unhappy that Miss Ashley is not riding with him?
But hasn’t the young master always disliked going to school with Miss Ashley?
Hesitating for a moment, the driver spoke up: "Young master, did Miss Ashley not see us? Should I catch up and call her?"
"She’s not blind!"
"But the old man instructed to make sure to take Miss Ashley to school together."
"She chose not to ride, it’s not your fault! Drive!"
"Yes, sir..."
The driver pressed the accelerator, and as the car was about to pass Ashley Shaw, Warren Prescott suddenly spoke: "Slow down! Driving fast in the neighborhood, if you hit someone, it’s your responsibility."
The driver was just about to brake when Ashley Shaw happened to turn the corner.
Startled, the driver quickly slammed the brakes.
"Screech—"
The sharp braking sound gave Ashley Shaw a fright.
Five centimeters.
She was just five centimeters away from getting hit.
Ashley Shaw’s face turned pale, her heart racing; she once again felt the fear from the moment of death in her past life.
Who the hell drives so carelessly in the neighborhood!
Filled with fear and anger, Ashley turned to confront the driver.
But when she looked up, through the car window, she saw Warren Prescott’s cold face.
Warren again...
Wasn’t it enough to have her die once? Does he intend for her to die at his hands a second time?
The driver quickly got out and ran up to her.
"Miss Ashley, are you okay?"
Ashley opened her mouth, seeing the driver’s tense and frightened face, her anger dissipated quickly.
Forget it, they were all just working people, and there’s no need for working people to make things harder for each other.
The driver was merely acting under Warren’s orders.
When she married Warren, she was nothing but his long-term nanny. Luckily, she wasn’t hit, and there was no need to make things difficult for him.
She just didn’t understand what she did to offend Warren today to deserve this.
The resolve to leave the Prescott Family grew even stronger.
Ashley shook her head: "I’m fine, just drive slower next time."
With that, she walked back in the direction she came from.
The driver, however, chased after her.
"Miss Ashley, where are you going? Aren’t you taking the family car?"
"No, I’m not." She paused and added, "And I won’t in the future either."
As the last note fell, she bypassed the driver who was blocking her and headed straight for the bus stop at the side gate of the neighborhood.
The driver had no choice but to return to the car and relay Ashley Shaw’s words truthfully.
After he spoke, he cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror.
Only to see Warren Prescott’s expression was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip icy water.
He couldn’t help but shiver.
"Young master?"
"Drive!"
"Yes, sir..."
The luxury sedan sped out of the neighborhood’s main gate, but the driver keenly noticed that Warren was looking at the outside rearview mirror.
What is the young master looking at?
This time, however, the driver dared not drive distracted, quickly collected his mind, and gripped the steering wheel tightly.
...
Inside the classroom office.
The homeroom teacher confirmed again and again.
"Ashley Shaw, you really want to switch from humanities to science? There are only 34 days left until the college entrance exam. Including weekends, there’s less than a month of school time left. At this time, switching to science subjects, not only catching up is difficult, but adapting to new teachers and environments also takes time."
Ashley Shaw was very determined.
"Teacher, I’ve thought it through. I’m not suited for humanities; I want to be a doctor in the future. Changing from humanities to science is a decision I’ve carefully considered."
The homeroom teacher was a bit displeased.
"So you’re informing me, not discussing it with me?"
Ashley lowered her head: "I’m sorry, teacher, but I’ve made up my mind."
The homeroom teacher pursed her lips: "Even so, it’ll require a parent’s signature. After all, this is no small matter; have a parent come after school."
"Teacher, I don’t have a mom." As she spoke, Ashley’s eyes reddened, and her voice became a bit shaky.
The homeroom teacher paused, remembering that the child’s mother had passed away a month ago.
It seems she had even donated her organs.
Her anger mostly dissipated, and her tone softened.
"Then having your dad come would be the same."
"I don’t have a dad. I’ve never had a dad since birth."
"Then any other family members..."
"I’m an orphan."
All the homeroom teacher’s words were stuck in her throat.
Several seconds later, the homeroom teacher sighed: "Given that, I have nothing more to say. But as a teacher, I’ll give you one last piece of advice. You’ve repeated a year, you’re already eighteen, and you’re an adult who has to take responsibility for all your choices. I hope you think about it tonight and give me a definite answer tomorrow."
"Thank you, teacher."
"Alright, go back to your morning reading."
Ashley bowed to the homeroom teacher before exiting the office.
She had considered the switch from humanities to science for a long time last night.
This wasn’t just to avoid Warren Prescott but also because she has forgotten nearly all her humanities knowledge since rebirth.
With only a month before the college entrance exam, she didn’t believe herself to be a genius. In her past life, earning just above the cutoff score to get into Briarcliff University required relentless effort.
Now, she didn’t have much time and couldn’t possibly catch up on three years of humanities knowledge right away.
In comparison, switching to science, which she was originally good at, was a shortcut.
Back in sophomore year, choosing humanities, where she was less proficient, was also for Warren.
With only a month until the college entrance exam, she knew she wasn’t a genius. Even if she put in a hundredfold effort into things she wasn’t good at, it would be useless.
Last year’s exam score had already proven this.
Now that she’s finally awake, it’s impossible to change her natural proficiency in a mere 34 days; there’s no way she could raise her humanities knowledge to a satisfactory level.
Just because the romance had ended didn’t mean she could suddenly excel in humanities; her intelligence was set from birth.
In comparison, switching to science, which she was originally good at, was a shortcut.
Having let go of this relationship, there was no need to gamble her future for him.
More importantly, when her mother was declared dead after the surgery failure, she heard the nurse regretfully say, "If there had been a better expert, maybe your mother’s surgery would have succeeded."
Perhaps countless patients think the same, wishing for a better doctor.
So, she wanted to be an excellent doctor, to save those in despair, as a gesture for her mother who couldn’t survive.
Plus, in the future, the Prescott Group would flourish more than ever, building its commercial empire under Warren Prescott’s leadership.
The only industry the Prescott Group hadn’t entered was medical.
She didn’t want to be related to Warren in any way; studying medicine would mean their paths would remain parallel forever.
Even if Grandpa Prescott couldn’t bear to let her go, there was nothing that could be done.
With a hint of bitterness in her eyes, Ashley hoped her choice this time wouldn’t be wrong.
Switching to science meant letting go, for both her and Warren.
Living under the same roof with someone she didn’t like or hated must be hard for him too, right?
"Creak—"
Ashley pushed the classroom door open, and the reading sounds quieted for a moment before resuming.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Warren Prescott sleeping on the desk in the back row of the classroom.
Someone who slept all day but could still hold the first place in the grade; there was an ocean between them.
If it weren’t for her own selfishness and stubbornness, they might not have crossed paths much at all.