Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 36: Guess you really have forgotten about me...

"Want to go for a walk?"

Ethan, still groggy, glanced at the small alarm clock in his hand. It was only 8 AM—the sun had just risen. He thought about stepping outside, getting some fresh air, and soaking in the morning sunlight.

Once the idea popped into his head, he acted on it immediately.

Get up, wash up! Shampoo, blow-dry!

Ten minutes later, Ethan picked up his phone—something he hadn’t touched in what felt like forever.

And that’s when he noticed, to his shock, that he had hundreds of missed calls and unread messages.

—

"Hey, Ethan, what’s up? I heard you and Sophie broke up. You okay?"

"Why aren’t you answering? Are you just sitting at home feeling down? Want to go for a walk? I’ll keep you company!"

"Why won’t you pick up? You’re not even replying to my texts..."

"You’re not thinking of doing something stupid, are you?!"

"Ethan, pick up the phone! You’re scaring me!"

—

Ethan stared at the screen, stunned. The name flashing on all those missed calls and messages? Isabella.

Immediately, an image popped into his mind—a tall, striking woman, nearly 5’7", with flawless fair skin and a perfectly proportioned short haircut.

Isabella Carter. A senior at Harvard University. And, without a doubt, one of the most stunning women on campus.

There was even an unofficial ranking of Harvard’s most beautiful students floating around. Not only was Isabella on the list, but she was consistently in the top three—a strong contender for the number one spot.

His ex-girlfriend, Sophie Morgan, was also on that list. But she only ranked sixth.

To be completely honest? Isabella was way more attractive than Sophie.

—

Oh, and by the way—this version of Ethan? He was also a student at Harvard University.

Harvard was one of the most prestigious universities in the world, easily ranking in the top three—if not outright number one. Getting in was no small feat.

But Ethan? He hadn’t gotten in through sheer academic prowess.

He was a transfer student—a "connections kid."

Over six months ago, Emily had demonstrated an insane level of gaming talent, catching Harvard’s attention. They offered her a special admission spot. But she had one condition—Harvard had to accept Ethan too.

Harvard agreed.

But once Ethan actually got in? Things went downhill. Fast.

Harvard was a gathering place for the best of the best—geniuses from all over the country.

And these geniuses? They were proud.

So when Ethan, a transfer student who got in through connections, showed up? Yeah. They hated him.

They didn’t just look down on him—they despised him.

And then, to make things worse? Ethan somehow ended up dating Sophie Morgan—one of the campus beauties.

That was the final straw.

Overnight, he became public enemy number one.

Everywhere he went, it was like he was a rat scurrying through the streets—people wanted to crush him.

But Isabella? She was one of the very few classmates who didn’t treat him like trash.

Still, based on Ethan’s memories of the past six months, they’d barely interacted.

They were just... classmates. Nothing more.

So why—

Why was she suddenly acting so weird?

All these calls, all these messages—this was not normal.

Something was definitely up.

"Did the idiot who used to own this body actually have dumb luck? Not only did he date a campus beauty, but now another one secretly likes him too?"

Ethan stroked his chin, feeling a little smug. Then he chuckled, shook his head, and picked up his phone to call back.

Ring—

The call was answered instantly.

A voice—excited, relieved, but also carrying a hint of anger—burst through the speaker at lightning speed.

"Ethan?! Where are you? Why are you only picking up now? You didn’t answer my calls, didn’t reply to my texts! Do you even know—do you even realize that I—"

"That you what?" Ethan asked.

On the other end, Isabella’s face flushed red. She huffed and quickly changed the subject.

"Nothing! Don’t try to distract me! Where the hell have you been these past few days? No calls, no texts—I thought something happened to you!"

"I’m just a regular guy. What could possibly happen to me?" Ethan chuckled. "Alright, alright, my bad. I’ve been busy playing games, barely touched my phone, so I didn’t see your messages."

"Games?" Isabella paused for a second, then muttered in an annoyed tone, "Don’t tell me you’re trying to prove yourself in the gaming world just because Sophie dumped you?"

"Hey, Isabella... do you like me or something?"

"W-What?! No way! Ethan, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? I was just—just concerned as a classmate!"

"Then why do you sound like my girlfriend, trying to control everything I do? Given the current global situation, gaming is actually a legit career path! Besides, I’m just a transfer student. Classes are optional for me anyway. If I go, I get ignored and isolated. So what else am I supposed to do besides play games?"

"Girlfriend?! Stop talking nonsense! Listen up, Ethan—I’m a Teaching Assistant for our class now, so it’s my job to keep you in check! And you better show up for class this afternoon. No excuses!"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The call ended.

Clearly, Isabella had hung up on him.

Ethan stared at his phone for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"This guy really had main character energy, huh..."

Of course, he wasn’t talking about himself.

He meant the original Ethan—the one who had lived in this body before him.

Having a campus beauty as an ex-girlfriend was already impressive enough.

But now, an even more beautiful girl secretly liked him?

Not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined something like this.

Did Cupid get drunk and start shooting arrows at random?

Shaking his head, Ethan strolled leisurely around the small garden in his apartment complex, enjoying the fresh air.

Whatever was going on, he’d figure it out once he got to school in the afternoon.

—

A few hours later, at 3 PM, Ethan was slouched over a desk in the back row of a large lecture hall on the top floor of one of Harvard University’s buildings.

There wasn’t a single person sitting near him.

But from a distance, plenty of students were whispering, pointing, and glaring at him with open disdain.

"Look at that—he’s back already. Didn’t even disappear for long. So annoying!"

"If it weren’t for his sister Emily pulling strings, he wouldn’t even have the right to sit here."

"Ugh, disgusting. A total nepotism case. Completely out of his league!"

"I heard Sophie dumped him. Ha! Called it. Serves him right! She’s a goddess on the campus beauty rankings—why would she ever take someone like him seriously? He was just a plaything."

"Alright, alright, keep it down. If Emily finds out we’re talking crap about her brother behind his back, we’re screwed."

"Tch! He’s only lucky because he has a genius sister. That’s all he’s got going for him..."

—

Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a warm glow over Ethan as he lounged lazily in his seat, soaking it in.

He listened to the whispers—full of malice, jealousy, and hostility—but didn’t feel the slightest bit angry.

First of all, he was a traveler from another world. He’d seen far bigger things than this.

If he couldn’t even handle a few petty insults, he’d be an embarrassment to all transmigrators.

And that? That was unacceptable.

Second, after everything he’d been through recently—after all the changes—his mindset had completely transformed.

A dragon doesn’t concern itself with the opinions of ants.

They weren’t even worth acknowledging.

—

Just then, a sweet fragrance drifted through the air.

At the same time, a bright, excited voice rang out.

"Ethan! You actually came?!"

Ethan turned his head—and froze.

For a moment, it was like he was looking at a goddess.

—

Shoulder-length short hair, exuding a confident, almost heroic beauty.

Crystal-clear sandals, revealing delicate, fair toes—perfectly proportioned, golden ratio.

A stylish three-quarter skirt, hugging her long, shapely legs, making her look effortlessly youthful and radiant.

Absolutely eye-catching. Impossible to look away.

And then—her figure.

Her proportions were insane.

And that bust... enough to make anyone’s throat go dry.

If beauty were rated on a scale of ten, she was easily a 9.5—if not a perfect ten.

And with that stunning face, flawless makeup, and an aura that felt almost otherworldly—

She looked like a literal angel.

For a second, Ethan just stared, completely mesmerized.

"Isabella..."

The girl standing before him was none other than Harvard University’s top-tier campus beauty—

Isabella Carter.

"Hey, Ethan! Snap out of it, stop staring..." Isabella waved her hand in front of Ethan’s face.

She pouted, pretending to be "unhappy," but the glimmer of satisfaction in her beautiful eyes gave her away.

She was thrilled—excited, even.

Thank goodness! All that effort she put in this afternoon hadn’t gone to waste.

And this blockhead... he actually seemed to be catching on.

The old Ethan would never have dared to stare at her so openly. But now? He was definitely bolder than before!

Just as Isabella was lost in her thoughts, Ethan finally snapped out of it. He looked at her, shaking his head in exaggerated admiration.

"No wonder you’re ranked in the top three of the campus beauty list. Absolute perfection!"

The moment he said that, Isabella’s face flushed red. She immediately put on a stern expression.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Man, it’s tough being honest these days. No one believes the truth anymore?"

Ethan sighed dramatically, shaking his head before turning back to her. "Miss Teaching Assistant, don’t you think you owe me some kind of compensation?"

"Compensation? For what?" Isabella blinked, confused. "Why would I owe you anything? If anything, you should be compensating me! Just look at how many calls I made, how many messages I sent you!"

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She planted her hands on her hips, glaring at Ethan with an expression that clearly said, You better give me a good explanation, or you’re not getting away with this!

But Ethan remained completely calm. He simply said, "Take a look around."

"Huh? Look at what?" Isabella glanced around suspiciously.

"You don’t see it? The way everyone’s looking at me like they want to kill me a thousand times over? Just agreeing to come to class with you today was a life-threatening decision. So tell me, don’t you think I deserve some kind of reward for that?" Ethan said casually.

"It’s not that serious..." Isabella’s face turned even redder, her voice growing softer and less confident.

Of course, she was well aware of her own charm. Now that she and Ethan were suddenly so close, it was bound to make a lot of people jealous. And that jealousy could definitely cause trouble for him.

Maybe not actual life-threatening danger, but... yeah, it was a lot of pressure.

And the thing was, Ethan could’ve avoided all of this.

He didn’t have to come to class.

But he still did.

Just because she asked him to.

"I’m sorry..." Isabella murmured, lowering her voice. "Maybe we should just skip the afternoon classes?"

"And do what instead?" Ethan chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I don’t know! Just go somewhere, anywhere!" Isabella’s eyes darted around, her flawless face tinged with a soft pink.

Ethan suddenly sat up straight, locking eyes with her, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

"What... what are you doing?" Isabella stammered, instinctively leaning back.

"You still wanna say you don’t like me? It’s practically written all over your face..." Ethan flopped back down lazily. "Logically speaking, we’re not even that close, right? So what is this? Love at first sight? A secret crush? I mean, I don’t think I’m that charming..."

"You’re talking nonsense! Why would I ever like you?" Isabella huffed, her ears turning bright red as she stubbornly denied it.

But then, after a brief pause, she let out a soft sigh and murmured, almost to herself—

"Guess you really have forgotten about me..."

Ethan froze for a moment, staring at Isabella in confusion.

"The kidnapping at Fairmont Copley Plaza... four years ago," Isabella said softly, her gaze locked onto him. "You saved me. Do you remember now?"

"The Fairmont Copley Plaza kidnapping?"

Ethan instinctively straightened up, his eyes widening in shock as he looked at Isabella. His gaze flickered intensely, memories stirring deep within him.

-----

PS: Well, that escalated quickly. But hey, what’s a college story without a little chaos, right? If you enjoyed this Chapter, drop a comment! Love it? Tell me. Let’s hear it. Have a hot take about Isabella? Spill the tea. Your feedback keeps this story alive .

Hit that comment section—I’m watching. 👀🔥