Indeed, I’m glad I broke up with Lisa Clark. She’s almost thirty now, and I’ve grown tired of her. Isn’t it normal for me to find a young, pretty girl after our breakup? The world is full of beautiful women!
At the barbecue stand by the wooden table, Oscar Williams held a bottle of liquor, joking with his buddy, James Garcia.
James raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to break up with her for a while—it was inevitable. You don’t understand. For our relationship, my parents had to borrow money, sell our family home, and rent an apartment. Even with the money I saved over five years, it was just enough for the $200,000 down payment her mother demanded, plus a $60,000 car and a $40,000 betrothal gift. After getting married, we’d be in debt for who knows how long. What’s the point of living like that? Why should I even consider marriage? For what reason?!”
Oscar continued, “Now she’s run off with someone else. Let that sucker spend his money on a house and car. I don’t have to waste mine, and I still have over $200,000 left to enjoy myself. Isn’t that much better and happier? Hahaha!”
James looked at the five empty bottles in front of Oscar, then at the untouched barbecue skewers and rice. He sighed silently. “If you’re okay with it, then it’s fine. Let’s not talk about her anymore. I’m here to drink and snack with you tonight.”
“I’m not hungry. Just listen to me for a bit longer.”
Oscar interrupted, laughing. “Do you know how I found out Lisa was cheating on me?”
“I have no idea.”
James fell silent.
Oscar, his face red from the alcohol and his eyes equally bloodshot, chuckled bitterly. “Tonight, when I went to pick her up, the guy was just dropping her off. Right before the elevator doors closed, they didn’t forget to steal a couple of kisses. There were dozens of people at the entrance watching him kiss my girlfriend. Haha! Can you believe it? It was hilarious.”
James didn’t laugh.
Oscar added, “Those two didn’t even feel embarrassed when they saw me. They actually greeted me. I was stunned—I didn’t even pay attention to Lisa. I just kept looking at the guy. Believe it or not, he was quite handsome. Turns out he’s Felix Johnson, heir to the Johnson Company. The guy was wearing a suit worth at least six figures, probably had a watch worth hundreds of thousands, and a Ferrari parked right outside. That car alone is worth a hundred times what I’m worth. I’ve worked hard for five years in New York City, saved up $60,000, and realized I couldn’t even afford one of his tires.”
“Hell, if I were a girl, I’d want him too.”
“When Felix saw me, he was super polite. He even said, ‘So you’re Mr. Williams.’ I really wanted to reply with, ‘I’m your dad,’ but I couldn’t. I was too stunned, just staring at Lisa in a daze.”
“He told me, ‘Thank you for looking after Lisa,’ and then Lisa chimed in, saying, ‘Since you’ve seen everything, don’t even think about marriage.’”
“We broke up. Just like that.”
“We were together for six years, but it only took four words to end it.”
Oscar sniffed, took a deep breath, and said, “What a joke. I at least deserve a ‘thank you’ from her.”
The ever-silent James gently patted Oscar on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s drink. We’ll get her to say ‘thank you’ someday.”
Oscar scoffed. “No need. I never want to see that woman again.”
James nodded in agreement, silently pouring another round. “Okay then.”
Oscar took the glass.
One drink down.
And then another.
After a few more rounds...
The cool demeanor Oscar had been putting on finally shattered, his face now completely flushed. “James, why am I broke? Why, after buying a house and a car, do I only have $200,000 left? And why does that $200,000 have to go toward a bride price?”
“Heh, why couldn’t that $200,000 be $2 million or $2 billion instead?”
“Do you think Lisa left because I’m too poor?”
Listening to Oscar’s muttered complaints and rhetorical questions, James patted him on the shoulder again. “It’s not your fault. She’s just greedy.”
Hearing James’s comforting words, something inside Oscar snapped. His heart, already in pieces, finally broke completely, and he couldn’t hold back his tears anymore. “James, it’s been six years. Six long years. Whatever she wanted, I gave her. What the hell did I do wrong?”
“I bought her skincare products that cost hundreds of dollars, an iPhone 13 worth a couple of thousand, handbags worth tens of thousands. I even let her drive the new car I bought for myself. I treated her so well. Why is she treating me like this?”
“Six years, and I never even touched her. But she just went to a hotel with that Felix guy right in front of me!”
“The person I loved with all my heart crushed me, bit by bit. I can’t stand wearing this green hat…”
...
...
Click.
The silent, dark room was suddenly lit by a sliver of light slipping through the doorway as Oscar entered. After parting ways with James, Oscar returned to his rented room alone. The moment he switched on the light and saw the scene before him, he went silent.
In the living room, decorations of roses and balloons were scattered everywhere, and in the center sat a diamond ring.
Oscar had planned to propose today, after meeting Lisa’s parents. He was supposed to hand over the betrothal gifts to her mother tomorrow morning at six o’clock, and they’d set a wedding date. The proposal ceremony wasn’t necessary, but Oscar knew it was something Lisa had always dreamed of. He wanted to give her a big surprise.
Turns out, Lisa gave Oscar an even bigger surprise first.
After a moment of silence, Oscar threw everything away. But instead of feeling better, he only felt more miserable.
“I need to get the car keys and house keys back tomorrow,” Oscar muttered to himself, gritting his teeth.
He had recently bought a new car and house but stayed in a rented place closer to work. Since he didn’t need to drive, both sets of keys were still with Lisa. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now that she had betrayed him, he couldn’t stand the idea of her living in his house and driving his car.
Still tipsy, Oscar collapsed onto his bed. Several notifications popped up on his phone.
Ding—
“You have one day left before repayment. An automatic deduction of $1,699.37 will be initiated at midnight. Please ensure the repayment card balance is sufficient by tomorrow.”
“On June 9th, your savings account will automatically repay $2,498.36. You can log in to...”
“Your June 2nd bill has not been fully paid. $29.87 has been repaid, with $1,992.66 remaining. Please repay on time.”
As he stared at the overdue notices and thought about the money his parents borrowed after selling their house, Oscar took a deep breath, his head throbbing slightly. “I should use the betrothal gift money to repay the debts first. Then, I’ll transfer the rest to my parents.”
In that moment, he felt a wave of relief.
Thank God they hadn’t transferred the betrothal money to Lisa’s mother yet. Otherwise, he’d be completely broke by now.
But then, a pang of guilt hit his heart. He had promised his parents, with all sincerity, that he would stay with Lisa for the rest of his life. That’s why they sold their home. How was he supposed to explain all this to them now?
“Forget it. I won’t talk about it for now…”
Oscar sighed, turned off the lights, and fell into a drowsy sleep, swallowed by the pitch-black night.
During his sleep, Oscar was plagued by a throbbing headache. His dreams were filled with endless loops of Lisa and Felix kissing in front of the office, each image feeding his anger and frustration.
But as his mind swirled in anger, Oscar was completely oblivious to the subtle changes happening around him.
Until the next morning.
Still deep in sleep, Oscar didn’t notice his phone lighting up with multiple, never-before-seen notifications:
"Shocking! Yesterday, a new property launch in Qing City set an outrageous price of $65,000 per square meter! Yet it still sparked a buying frenzy. Have property prices hit their peak? How many wealthy people are hiding in New York City?"
"Breaking News: Billionaire celebrity list updated. Forbes has named mega-millionaire Henry Alexander as the world’s richest man with a net worth of $12,000. However, Henry claims there’s another man richer than him, whose identity even he doesn’t know..."
"Who is this mysterious, unseen tycoon? The editors are eager to find out. Leave your comments below..."
Amid the constant pings of his phone, Oscar was finally jolted awake.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window as he squirmed to sit up. Picking up his phone, he muttered, “What time is it?”
Seeing it was only seven in the morning, Oscar sighed in relief. At least he wasn’t late for work, which would’ve cost him his attendance bonus.
Such is the life of a salaried worker. Even after enduring the pain of betrayal by a girlfriend of six years, the next day, they still have to worry about making it to work on time…
But as Oscar scrolled through the notifications on his phone, a deep confusion settled over him. Was he still drunk?
“A property price of $65,000 per square meter? And the richest man is only worth $12,000? What kind of joke is this? It should be $120 billion!”
“What’s going on with this news? Is this the most absurd thing I’ve ever read?”
“Property prices are usually around $15,000. How did they shoot up to that much? And the world’s richest man only has $12,000? If they meant $12 trillion, I get it, but ten thousand dollars?!”
Oscar couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he kept reading.
“The standards of news outlets are getting worse and worse.”
“A guy worth ten grand is the richest man?”
“If I’ve got $200,000 in the bank, does that make me a financial god?”
