After settling his parents down, Jason went to attend his high school class reunion.
He still hadn't told them about the villa being built. There was no rush—once the construction was complete, he could simply ask them to move in. There was no need to burden them with unnecessary worry now.
The reunion itself was casual, nothing extravagant. The location chosen was a small karaoke lounge near School, a familiar place that carried countless memories. Everyone knew the area; it was easy to gather, easy to relax.
When Jason pushed open the door to the private room, several people were already there.
Ethan, Rick, the former top female student Natasha, and a few others were chatting loudly.
Ethan had already seen Jason at the alumni meetup near University last time, but for the rest, the moment their eyes landed on him—
They froze.
Rick was the first to react.
"Holy shit, Jason," he blurted out. "Did you get plastic surgery? No—wait, that can't be right. Surgery wouldn't look this natural."
He laughed. "You were already good-looking in high school, but this? This is ridiculous."
"They say girls glow up after graduation," shaking his head, "but nobody warned me guys could change this much."
He slapped Jason on the shoulder. "No exaggeration—if you walked into Hollywood right now, you'd fit right in."
Across the room, Natasha had been quiet.
When she saw Jason clearly, her heart skipped—just once, then again.
She had always told herself she was mature now. Looks weren't important. A man's capability mattered more.
But emotions didn't listen to logic.
She had once confessed to Jason back in high school, and even then she had liked his appearance. Now, compared to his teenage self, Jason looked sharper, calmer, and impossibly more attractive. For a brief moment, something stirred.
Then she crushed it.
He's about to go bankrupt, she reminded herself coldly.
The flutter vanished instantly.
She even felt a sense of relief. If Jason were truly powerful and wealthy, she might have regretted things deeply. Sorting out those feelings would have been troublesome. But since he was just putting on a show, everything felt simple again.
What's the use of being handsome? she thought. You can't eat it.
Her eyes swept over Jason's clothes. Natasha had a decent eye for quality. Even without visible branding, she could tell the fabric and tailoring weren't cheap.
She frowned slightly and spoke up.
"Jason, if you're tight on money, there's no need to dress like this," Natasha said. "Trying to keep up appearances only makes things harder for yourself."
Jason inwardly sighed.
Same personality as ever.
Even if her words were meant kindly, they still felt unpleasant.
Outwardly, he remained calm. "I'm not saving face. I just wear what's comfortable."
Natasha assumed he was still pretending and frowned deeper.
At that moment, a tall, skinny boy with thick glasses spoke up.
"I think Natasha's right," he said earnestly. "A person's appearance isn't what matters. As long as you're clean and tidy, that's enough. Especially for men—spending too much effort on looks seems… unprofessional."
His name was Caleb.
Another former top student. Quiet, reserved—and if one looked closely, obviously interested in Natasha.
Jason didn't bother responding.
He simply turned away and started chatting with the other guys.
Compared to the alumni gathering, where everyone had been strangers, this reunion felt different. Familiar faces, familiar jokes. Jason relaxed without realizing it, nostalgia quietly surfacing.
Meanwhile, Caleb felt secretly pleased.
Seeing Jason ignored gave him confidence.
He shifted closer to Natasha, lowering his voice, clearly hoping for a private conversation as the noise of laughter filled the room.
Jason noticed none of it.
For the first time that evening, he felt like he had stepped back into his old life—not because anything had stayed the same,but because he had finally moved far beyond it.
Natasha appeared distant as ever.
Caleb tried to keep the conversation going, but every topic seemed to die halfway through. The atmosphere between them grew increasingly awkward. From time to time, Natasha's gaze drifted past him—toward Jason.
It wasn't affection.
It was something colder. Almost… resentful.
Even so, the sight made Caleb deeply uncomfortable. He clenched his fingers unconsciously, forcing a smile as he kept talking, pretending not to notice where her attention truly lay.
Just then—
The private room door swung open.
Everyone turned.
A ripple went through the room as Tanya Covell walked in, followed closely by Ellie. Tanya was dressed elegantly, her long hair flowing naturally, her presence instantly commanding attention.
Behind her was Lucas, clearly trying to say something to her, his expression eager.
But Tanya didn't even slow down.
She sidestepped him cleanly, quickened her pace, and headed straight for Jason. Before anyone could react, she dropped down beside him, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.
"Jason, you came so early!"
Caleb froze.
Lewis froze.
Rick, who had been preparing himself mentally to greet Tanya the moment she arrived, froze completely.
Ethan who had already witnessed similar scenes at the alumni meetup, remained calm, completely unsurprised.
But the rest of the room?
Stunned.
This was Tanya Covell—the girl everyone used to chase in high school.
And she was acting… intimate.
As if that wasn't enough, Tanya seemed dissatisfied with the distance between them and subtly shifted closer, pressing herself against Jason's side.
In contrast, Jason—unlike the majority of men in the room—did not look pleased.
Instead, he casually leaned away, increasing the distance by just enough to be noticeable.
At the University City gathering, Jason had already labeled Tanya clearly in his mind:a pampered princess type, emotionally shallow, unable to provide emotional value—a low-tier gold digger.
There was no reason to maintain close contact.
Especially after the false rumors about his impending bankruptcy spread and Tanya's favorability toward him had instantly dropped by sixty points.
At that moment, Jason had felt nothing.
Complete indifference.
Recently, her favorability had risen back above eighty on its own. That was fine—but it also meant her remaining value had been exhausted. There was no need to invest further.
Facing a tool that had already served its purpose, Jason smiled politely.
"Yeah," he said calmly. "I didn't have anything else going on."
Tanya's emotional intelligence wasn't high, but she clearly noticed his subtle withdrawal. A trace of irritation flashed through her eyes before she quickly covered it up.
She hurriedly explained, "About the time in University City… when I asked you out and you ignored me, I got a little mad. That's why I didn't take you to see the house."
She paused, then added quickly, "I'm not mad anymore. You're not blaming me, right?"
This explanation had kept her awake all night.
In her mind, Jason didn't know about the fake news. He didn't know about her wavering attitude. As far as she was concerned, this excuse was flawless.
What she didn't know—
Was that Jason could see her favorability values clearly.
He had already seen through her completely.
Still, he didn't expose her.
"There's nothing to blame," Jason said evenly. "You had your own things to do. We're not in any special relationship. You weren't obligated to take me."
Tanya pouted. "You're still mad."
She leaned even closer, her tone turning soft and coquettish. "We're so close. I should have taken you."
As she spoke, her body pressed against his arm, her chest brushing against him—whether intentional or not was impossible to tell.
Across the room—
Lucas's eyes turned bloodshot.
Lewis and the other boys stared in stunned silence, envy and disbelief mixing together.
Rick finally couldn't hold back. He leaned toward Ethan and whispered, "Wait—what's going on? Why do you look so calm?"
Ivan laughed. "We're used to it."
He nodded. "Nothing surprising anymore."
Lewis's eyes widened. "What the hell have you two been doing behind my back since college?"
Meanwhile, Natasha stared at Tanya and Jason, shock and confusion written all over her face.
In her understanding, Tanya was extremely realistic—someone who valued money and status far more than appearances.
So why—
Was she acting like this?
Don't tell me, Natasha thought, this idiot still doesn't know Jason Carter is about to go bankrupt?
The thought made her expression darken.
And in that moment, the undercurrents in the small karaoke room grew thicker than ever.
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