The entire private room fell into dead silence.
So quiet that even the faint hum of the air conditioner sounded deafening.
The sheer shock made everyone's scalp tingle.
Rick swallowed hard and finally asked, his voice dry,"So… Jason, you really invested two billion dollars?"
Jason smiled faintly and nodded.
Rick's eyes went wide.
"Oh my god… it's actually true."
"I was mentally prepared for future reunions where classmates would show off luxury cars worth a few million," he said weakly. "But two billion dollars? That's just absurd."
"Let me process this—what exactly is the concept of two billion?"
At that moment, Katherine spoke up at just the right time.
"Last year," he said calmly, "City's total annual fiscal revenue was only a little over one billion dollars."
The comparison landed like a hammer.
The room went silent again.
Every classmate stared blankly, unable to speak.
Jason looked at Rick and said calmly, "Rick, you've been developing the City for several years now—renovations, construction, plumbing, all kinds of work. I trust your character."
"The projects I'm investing in will need a site supervisor."
"Are you interested?"
Rick froze.
Then—
His eyes widened violently.
He had thought that getting to know those big bosses earlier was already the peak of his life.
He never imagined that the real shock hadn't even arrived yet.
A two-billion-dollar project.
What did it mean to be a supervisor on something like that?
Everyone in the room understood instantly.
One by one, the classmates revealed expressions of intense envy.
But envy was all they could do.
Although Rick usually looked carefree, everyone knew he was extremely loyal.
Back in high school, when Jason got into a fight, Rick had rushed in without hesitation, both of them got beaten.
Jason had been to his house. Rick had been to Jason's.
Their relationship wasn't something others could compare to.
And over the past three years, Rick had genuinely worked hard, learning the ropes the hard way.
Rick opened his mouth, but he was so excited that no sound came out.
Jason smiled and continued,"Of course, I'm worried you don't have enough experience yet, so you won't be the only supervisor."
"But you'll report directly to me."
"That way, I can focus on school without worry, and you can use this opportunity to properly train and grow."
Rick swallowed hard to wet his throat, then suddenly clasped his hands dramatically.
"Godfather," he said solemnly, "please accept your godson's bow."
The room burst into laughter.
Jason then turned to Ellie.
"Senior," he said, "yesterday you took me to look at houses. I think you're capable, patient, and easy to work with. You also have a good personality and a genuine smile."
"When the commercial district is completed, there will be many storefronts available for sale."
"Are you interested in being the sales manager?"
Ellie's eyes lit up instantly.
She smiled like a blooming flower.
"If Junior thinks I'm worthy," she said cheerfully, "then I'll gladly work for you."
At that moment, the envy in the room intensified.
If Rick's situation was something they could only look up to—
Then Ellie's opportunity felt painfully close.
After all, Rick and Jason had deep roots.
But Ellie?
She was from the previous year.
She originally had no connection to Jason at all.
The only reason she stood here today was because she had patiently accompanied Jason to look at houses when he needed help.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
If they had known things would turn out like this—
They would have volunteered too.
Even if they weren't real estate agents, they could have researched, prepared, done anything.
Unfortunately—
Opportunities never waited for people who hesitated.
Of course, saying these things now was nothing more than hindsight.
Who could have imagined that Jason Carter was this rich?
Among everyone present, the most regretful person was undoubtedly Tanya Covell.
Her mother was a real estate agent.
Back then, she had been the first to bring it up. If Tanya had agreed at the time and let her mother take Jason to look at properties, she could have earned fifty thousand dollars in a single day.
And becoming the sales manager for the new development project would have been a completely natural progression.
It had to be understood—
Jason's investment project this time was enormous.
There would be countless storefronts to lease, all of them brand-new shops in the most prosperous district. To salespeople, this was a gold mine.
Being the designated sales manager for that area meant commissions so large they were hard to imagine.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that one project could earn a lifetime's worth of money.
More importantly, it would have allowed her to get closer to Jason.
And once she got close enough…there was always a chance.
If she married Jason—married into that level of wealth—it would be a complete transformation of fate.
But such a perfect opportunity—
She had thrown it away herself.
Not only did she fail to compare with Ava Summers, she couldn't even compare to Ava's best friend, Ellie.
Jason would rather give that opportunity to Ellie than even consider her.
Tanya felt both regret and panic rising in her chest.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something—to ask Jason not to give the position to Ellie but to her mother instead.
But when she saw that Jason didn't even spare her a glance, the words stuck in her throat.
She didn't even have the courage to speak.
Around them, whispers spread quietly.
"They really hit the jackpot… Rick and Ellie both hit it big."
"Too bad I'm still in school, otherwise I'd want to ask Jason if he could arrange something for me too."
"That would be too presumptuous. Jason might be willing to help classmates, but the premise is that you actually have ability. Rick and Ellie genuinely deserve their positions."
"Exactly. Wait until you graduate. If you really prove yourself, then ask. Jason seems very loyal—following him and getting even a small piece of the pie could make you rich."
"How much do you think those two positions pay?"
"Talking about salary is short-sighted. This is a two-billion-dollar project. The scale is unimaginable. Salary isn't the point—commission is."
"If they do well, they could earn a lifetime's worth of money."
Natasha still hadn't fully recovered from the shock of Jason's two-billion-dollar investment—
And now she was hit again.
She didn't understand high-level business deeply, but she knew very well what a project supervisor and sales manager meant on a development of that scale.
What her classmates said wasn't exaggerated at all.
Even if Rick and Ellie's abilities were slightly lacking, the rewards would still far exceed the six-figure salary she could expect after graduation.
In other words—
Rick and Ellie, who hadn't even gone to college, had instantly surpassed her, simply because Jason recognized them.
And that wasn't even comparing her to Jason himself.
Just a tiny bit leaking from Jason's fingertips was enough to completely crush everything she had worked for.
This sense of disparity was even more devastating than learning about the two-billion-dollar investment.
After all, two billion was too large—so large that it felt like an abstract number.
But watching people around her gain life-changing opportunities from Jason's casual words—
That was real.
That was tangible.
Natasha couldn't accept it.
This was the boy she had once rejected.
The boy she had clearly left behind.
She had once firmly believed that money was hundreds, even thousands of times more important than looks—
So why?
Why did he suddenly become a super-rich heir?
Why did her years of self-assured superiority suddenly turn into a complete joke?
Natasha's mentality collapsed entirely.
What hurt even more was that her old feelings for Jason—
Those feelings she thought she had buried—
Reignited at this very moment.
Fueled by Jason's terrifying wealth, they erupted into a raging fire far stronger than before.
But she knew.
She knew she had no chance.
Jason had already rejected her once.
Now he was a super-wealthy man, surrounded by beauties.
How could he possibly look at her again?
Worse still—
After realizing how important money was, she had shown Jason open disdain.
Those expressions were like spilled water.
Nothing could ever be taken back.
And yet—
No matter how much she tried to suppress it, she couldn't control her emotions.
Natasha stared at Jason, her gaze filled with bitterness, regret, longing, and despair—
A mess of emotions so complex that even she couldn't untangle them.
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