I Returned to the Day He Brought His First Love Home-Chapter 130: Reporting to School

Grace’s heart was pounding with uncertainty.

Even if the price was low, she wasn’t particularly keen on buying the house.

After all, the renovations would cost a considerable amount of money.

It just wasn’t worth it.

"Is anyone home?" Grace called out politely after crossing the front yard to the back of the house.

The sound of coughing echoed from inside. A moment later, the door opened, and a woman in a patched, padded jacket emerged.

Her face was clean, and though her clothes were old and shabby, she seemed to be in decent spirits.

She frowned, sizing up Grace and her two companions before asking uncertainly, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you’re planning to sell this house," Grace said, getting straight to the point. "I’d like to take a look and see if the price is right. If it is, I’m interested in buying it."

Macy Sawyer looked at Grace, surprised. "You want to buy our house?"

"Miss, do you know what you’re asking? Even in its current condition, this house won’t be cheap."

Grace nodded. "I’d like to look around first. If the price is right, I’ll buy it. If not, I’ll just look elsewhere."

Macy Sawyer fell silent for a moment as the coughing from inside the house grew more violent.

She glanced back toward the house, her brow deeply furrowed with worry.

Grace noticed this as well. "Excuse me, is someone in your family ill?"

Macy Sawyer, however, seemed to misunderstand Grace’s intention. She took a deep breath before speaking. "The absolute lowest price for this house is five thousand. Take it if you think that’s fair. I’m not selling for anything less."

"I’m sorry, but my husband is ill, and I need to take care of him. I can’t entertain you any further."

With a nod to Grace, she turned and went back inside.

A moment later, the sound of voices drifted from inside.

The sick man inside sounded very angry; it seemed he was cursing at someone.

Grace and Gregory Winslow exchanged a look of dismay.

After a moment of thought, Gregory Winslow said, "Five thousand for this house isn’t outrageous, but I still think we should see what else is out there."

"The damage is pretty severe. There’s no telling how long it would take to restore it to its former state."

Grace nodded in agreement.

She wouldn’t have hesitated at three thousand, but five thousand gave her pause.

She took one last look around before leaving with Gregory Winslow and Irene Lynch.

They looked at a few more houses after that, but the situation was much the same. Each asking price was more outrageous than the last; it was clear none of them were truly serious about selling.

On the way back, they saw Macy Sawyer again. Her eyes were red and she was carrying a basket, looking like she was heading out to buy groceries. There was a clear, red handprint on her face.

Grace frowned at the sight.

That evening, they ate at the state-run restaurant again.

The next day, Grace and Gregory Winslow split up.

Gregory Winslow and Irene Lynch went to ask around about houses for sale, while Grace planned to head to the university to register so she wouldn’t miss the start of the semester.

Crestwood University was one of the top universities in Celestia. It was the beginning of the academic year, and the campus was bustling with people, creating a lively atmosphere.

It wasn’t Grace’s first time on campus, but she had enrolled in the Foreign Languages Department and wasn’t familiar with its location, so she had to ask for directions.

She was beautiful, dressed in a dress she had designed herself with a khaki cashmere coat layered on top. She looked chic and elegant, and immediately drew the attention of many people.

When they heard her asking for the Foreign Languages Department, two students from that very department grew visibly excited and eagerly offered to show her the way.

"Thank you," Grace said politely.

After she finished her registration and came out, she found that the two students who had led her there still hadn’t left.

Seeing her emerge, one of them said enthusiastically, "Hey, you must be heading to the dorms now, right? We can take you."

"Yeah, our campus is huge. It’s easy to get lost if you don’t know your way around," the other one added, just as excited. "We’ll take you, and we can help you get your bearings."

"Ned Irving, I can take her. There’s no need for both of us. Didn’t you say you had family business and were in a hurry to get home? You should go."

"That’s nonsense! You’re the one with urgent business at home, you should be the one to leave! Mason Chase, don’t you try to compete with me. You already have a fiancée, what are you trying to pull?"

The two of them nearly came to blows.

Seeing this, Grace quickly interjected, "Um, thank you both, but I don’t need to check into my dorm just yet, so I won’t need you to show me the way."

"If you have things to attend to, please go ahead. I’m heading home for now."

"Hey, I have a car. Let me give you a ride home," Ned Irving blurted out, shoving Mason Chase aside to get in front.

Grace politely declined.

She was here to study, not to get into a relationship.

’Anything that could break her concentration and affect her studies was to be avoided.’

She firmly rejected their offers to take her home and walked off, leaving the two of them behind.

Ned Irving shot Mason Chase a venomous glare. "This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have ignored me."

"Oh, give me a break. It’s not like she was interested in you anyway," Mason Chase said, rolling his eyes in disdain. "Your Irving family hasn’t even sorted out its own pile of crap. Don’t drag some innocent girl into your mess."

The two nearly came to blows right then and there.

Grace, however, paid them no mind.

She had only been here once before.

That was when she had brought Timothy Dunn here for his first day of school.

Returning now, she felt as if a lifetime had passed.

In her past life, she had studied day and night to tutor Timothy Dunn for his college entrance exams, finally succeeding in getting him into these hallowed halls that countless students dreamed of entering.

Later, she was the one who tutored him for his master’s and doctoral entrance exams.

Grace had even personally written his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses for him.

’What a pity. After decades of painstaking effort, she had raised nothing but an ungrateful wretch.’

’In this life, without her help and with everything that had happened to his family, Timothy Dunn could forget about ever getting into Crestwood University.’

’Instead, she was here attending Crestwood in his place.’

Taking a deep breath of the crisp air, Grace thought that this feeling of freedom was truly wonderful.

"It really is you?" Just then, a shrill voice shattered her good mood.

Grace opened her eyes and saw Yvonne Hale, the girl she had briefly encountered on the train.

She immediately rolled her eyes. Not wanting to engage, she started to walk past her.

But Yvonne Hale was relentless. She stepped forward and grabbed Grace’s arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Don’t tell me you’re here to hunt for a rich man."

"You’re so shameless. It was bad enough that you were stealing on the train, but now you’ve come to a university?"

Grace yanked her arm free and stared at Yvonne Hale coldly. "Say that again. Who was stealing on the train? Should I go report this to the police right now? We can have the officers come and sort this out."

The moment Yvonne Hale heard Grace mention the police, her bravado faltered.