Chapter 1

Hearing my retort, Yvie Smith's smile turned stiff as she stared at me blankly for three seconds like she couldn't recognize me.

Then, she laughed a shrill laugh that hurt the ears while reaching out to painfully poke me in the chest.

"Did you lose your mind, Carl?" she snapped at me as she gave me a once-over. "How dare you talk to me like that! Remember how you gave me your competition spot or that graduate school recommendation just because I pouted? What, does some lousy offer suddenly mean so much to you?

"Why don't you look in the mirror first? Dead parents, unable to afford anything… Even if you land a job at Ascendant Group, do you think you can afford a Birkin bag even with a year's salary?"

Beside her, Kevin Zims snickered as he pulled out a sheet of paper and slapped it down in front of me.

It was an Ascendant Group offer letter, and the recipient's name, Kevin Zims, was clearly written on it.

"See here?" He reclined against his chair, crossing his legs. "That interview project you worked three months for? Yvie had given it straight to me a long time ago. It should have been mine anyway, since my father paid their HR director five hundred thousand dollars."

Then, eyeing my faded T-shirt, he smirked. "Oh, and by the way, Yvie is my girlfriend now. Honestly, is a bum like you trying to compete with me?"

I stared at the offer letter in silence, because I was waiting for the voice inside my head.

It was the Forbearance System that had stayed with me for ten years.

Every time I resisted, I'd permanently lose twenty strands of hair, and just remembering that prompted me to touch the bare scalp on the back of my head.

But this time, I kept feeling around, yet not a single strand came loose.

And before I could even guess what happened, the System notification came.

Ding!

[Ten-year forbearance period completed! Wealth System activated!]

[Host: Carl Lloyd]

[New Status: The nation's richest individual]

[Disposable assets: #12.7 billion]

[70% controlling stake in Ascendant Group]

[Real Estate: 230 units nationwide]

The notification had barely finished when Yvie walked up and shoved me. "Hey! Kevin's talking to you! What, are you too stunned to respond? Apologize to him right now, and he might play nice and give you a job as a janitor."

Beside her, Kevin spun his Bentley key on his finger while smirking at me. "Did you hear that? Yvie's trying to get you a nice job. Go on, start groveling!"

I simply smiled as they gloated and slowly leaned slowly back in my chair.

Ten years.

Aside from the System, there was also the attachment I had to Yvie as we had grown up together.

Yvie's parents were terribly conservative and refused to pay for her education, so I gave her the money I earned from part-time jobs for her tuition.

She lost at an online competition and came to me in tears, so I revised her code and worked for 72 hours without sleep, helping her win first prize at the national level.

As for the graduate school recommendation, she said women who had low academic credits would suffer discrimination, so I didn't hesitate to let her take mine while applying through Ascendant Group's campus recruitment program.