“Breaking news! Felix Whitmore, once the math prodigy of Easthaven County First High School, only scored 391 on the first mock exam!”

“The student who used to be hailed as the most gifted math genius in the history of Easthaven County First High School scored a total of 391, with just 103 in math!”

“The former prodigy has completely fallen—can’t even reach the undergraduate cutoff! Is this the fragility of students, or the failure of the education system?”

“So‑called math genius? What a joke.”

“…”

Inside a cramped rental room near the gate of Easthaven County First High School.

A pale‑faced boy stared at the computer screen, scrolling through post after post. Every line of vicious mockery hit him like a slap. A thin blue vein twitched on his forehead, barely visible but full of suppressed tension.

This boy was the very person being torn apart online—Felix Whitmore, once the school’s pride, now treated like a public spectacle for people to pick apart.

No one could stay calm seeing themselves insulted by thousands of strangers. Felix was not even eighteen; the fury burning in his chest at that moment was something words couldn’t capture.

These people had no idea what he had been going through. Yet they felt entitled to spit venom at him. Why? Who gave them that right?

And when he saw posts dragging his family into the mud, the anger pressing against his chest almost snapped free. Everyone has a bottom line. For Felix, that bottom line was his mother.

His father had died in a car accident when he was very young. His mother had raised him alone, through every hardship. In his heart, she was everything. Anyone insulting her—he couldn’t tolerate it for even a second.

“Bang!”

Before Felix could lose control, a loud thud exploded behind him. A tall, broad‑shouldered guy—built like a walking tower—had slammed his fist into the wall. Luckily the rental was an old building with thick walls, or that punch might’ve blown a hole straight through. Even so, the entire room shuddered.

“These bastards—I'm gonna kill them!”

Gritting his teeth, his face twisted with rage, the guy turned and stormed toward the door.

That guy was Beckett Caldwell, Felix’s childhood friend—more like a brother than a friend. They’d known each other since first grade, and had never been separated—elementary school, middle school, and now Easthaven County First High.

Beckett had always hated seeing anyone pick on Felix. And now, faced with the flood of cruel comments online, he felt fire roaring in his chest. His temper was hot to begin with; now it was like someone had poured gasoline on it.

“Big guy. Stop.”

Felix grabbed his arm and pulled him back, voice low and tense. “You run out like this—who exactly are you planning to kill?”

“Obviously those idiots posting crap online!” Beckett barked, veins bulging on his neck. “They think they can talk trash about you? Let’s see if they still dare when I’m done with them! No one messes with my brother!”

Beckett Caldwell gritted his teeth, every word squeezed out like he was trying not to explode.

“I’m asking you—do you know who posted that crap?”

Felix Whitmore kept his voice steady, almost too calm. “Do you know who did it?”

“It’s gotta be someone from our school! Only they’d know about your score!” Beckett fired back. But right after he said it, his expression stiffened. He didn’t need Felix to point anything out—he’d already realized the problem. There were so many students at Easthaven County No.1 High… who on earth was the one behind the post?

And even if Beckett acted tough, even if he was willing to fight the whole world for Felix, he couldn’t possibly go around beating up everyone who knew Felix’s exam score.

“Big guy—ah—”

Felix saw that Beckett had finally caught on and was just about to say something else when his face suddenly went paper-white. He clutched his head like something inside was tearing him apart, a low, pained groan slipping out of his throat.

“Felix? Felix! What’s going on? Don’t scare me—hold on, I’ll call an ambulance right now!”

Beckett panicked instantly, shouting twice before fumbling for his phone, ready to dial 120.

“Don’t call!”

Felix lifted his head with great effort, stopping him. Then he quickly reached for a bottle of medicine nearby, shook out three pills, tossed them into his mouth, grabbed his water cup, and gulped it down in one go.

He stayed curled over for a while, gripping his head and breathing hard. Only after a moment did the pain slowly ease from his face.

“Felix… since when did your headaches get this bad?” Beckett asked, worry etched all over him. He knew Felix had migraines before, but they were never this intense. He hadn’t thought too much about it back then.

The past month or two, Beckett had been busy training for his physical exam, basically living on the sports field. He barely saw Felix. After finishing the test in the provincial capital last week, he rushed back to school, but there were tons of things waiting for him. He never had time to track Felix down.

Today was finally Sunday—a rare day off—so he came straight over. And instead of a chill reunion, he got a pile of messy rumors… and now Felix writhing in pain.

“Wait, didn’t you say you went to the hospital last week? What did the doctor say?” Beckett suddenly remembered the call he made to Felix.

“It’s nothing,” Felix said with a small smile. “Doctor said it’s just stress. That’s why the migraines hit harder. He gave me some meds. As long as I take them, I’ll be fine.”

“Felix, you’re hurting this bad… maybe we should tell your mom?”

Beckett Caldwell still sounded uneasy.

Before this, he’d seen Felix Whitmore get headaches, but never anything that looked this brutal. Since Felix had insisted he keep it from Mrs. Whitmore, he’d agreed.

But what he saw just now… that wasn’t normal at all.

“Don’t tell her. Seriously, I’m fine,” Felix said quickly. His face tightened for a split second, but he forced a calm expression. “You know how my mom is. The second she hears I’ve got a headache, she’ll panic herself into another dimension.”

He took a breath and added, “And she’s not a doctor. Knowing won’t help her fix anything—it’ll only make her worry. There’s no point.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Beckett hesitated. It did make sense, so he dropped the idea. Still, concern lingered in his voice. “Then at least take it easy, dude. You’re like this—should you take a day off? I can ask for leave for you during evening study. Want me to get you tomorrow off too?”

“No need. I’ll take the meds and sleep it off.”

Felix shook his head.

“Alright, then you get some rest. I won’t bug you anymore.”

Beckett backed away a little, torn between wanting to stay and knowing Felix clearly wasn’t up for chatting.

“Wait.”

Felix stopped him.

“Yeah? What else?”

Beckett turned around.

“Big Guy, remember what I said.” Felix looked straight at him, voice low but firm. “No matter what crap people are saying out there, ignore it. Three months till the college entrance exam. You’ve got a real shot at getting into Nantai. Your whole family is counting on you. Don’t throw everything away just because you’re pissed off. It’s not worth it.”

Felix paused, eyes steady.

“Whatever you want to do to whoever—do it after the exam.”

“I get it. Relax,” Beckett said, a warmth rising in his chest. “Yeah, I’m impulsive, but I’m not stupid. I know where the line is.”

He gave Felix a serious nod, then grinned. “Rest up. I’m heading back to school. Haven’t played basketball in forever—tonight I’m gonna go all out!”

Big Guy… thanks.

If there’s a next life, we’ll still be brothers.

Watching Beckett Caldwell walk away, the light in Felix Whitmore’s eyes dimmed bit by bit, like someone slowly turning down a switch.

He’d just told Beckett he was fine, that he’d be okay after taking his meds—but that was a lie. A clean, calm lie. His illness wasn’t something medicine could fix. And his time… wasn’t much.

Half a year ago—right when Felix was supposed to shine on the math competition stage, snag a spot on the provincial team, and charge toward the national training camp—his world cracked open with a sudden, sharp headache. Everything spiraled after that. His performance tanked so hard he didn’t even make provincial first prize, just scraped by with a second prize. That single result basically erased two years of his blood and sweat. It meant he had to give up the competition path and turn back to grinding for the college entrance exam.

It hurt—a lot—but Felix wasn’t someone who stayed down long. After wrestling with the frustration for a few days, he pulled himself together and threw himself back into studying. He believed in himself. He believed half a year was enough to catch up.

But the headaches never stopped. They kept stabbing at him whenever he tried to listen in class or memorize anything. His memory blurred, like someone kept erasing things from his brain with a damp cloth. His grades didn’t climb—instead, they dropped nonstop. By the time the mock exam rolled around, he’d crashed to a brutal 391. And that’s when the internet exploded with all the mockery.

Last month, the headaches started hitting him more often, each one worse than the last. After the hospital ran a full set of scans, they found the tumor.

Two days ago, the biopsy results came out: malignant. At most two years left.

Felix didn’t want Beckett to worry and screw up his own exam. Even more, he didn’t want his mom, Vivienne Whitmore, to find out. So he chose the gentlest lie he could tell.

But he wasn’t okay. Not even close.

The unfairness of it all pressed down on him like a mountain. His fists tightened until his knuckles turned pale. He was only eighteen. There was still so much he hadn’t done. He hadn’t had a chance to repay his mother’s years of hard work, hadn’t repaid Beckett for always standing by him like a real brother.

If he’d been some kind of villain, maybe he could swallow it and call it karma. But he wasn’t. He’d lived his whole life without betraying his conscience, even going out of his way to help people.

So why was the universe being this cruel?

Ding! Genome match detected. Mental strength: exceptional. Initiating fusion with Super Scholar System.

A crisp voice echoed in his mind just as Felix silently begged whatever power above to at least let him survive until the college exam.

What was that?

A hallucination?

He instinctively lifted his head, glanced around his tiny rental room. No one. No movement. Just the old furniture and thin walls. No way anyone had spoken to him.

So… what was that voice?