Chapter 64: Desperation and Rejection

Over the weekend, Julian enjoyed a completely stress-free, luxurious existence inside Rose Manor.

Victoria was away on her business trip, but she called him multiple times a day—checking in on his meals, ensuring he was comfortable, and constantly reminding him to miss her. Julian handled her possessive check-ins smoothly, keeping his yandere girlfriend completely satisfied and delighted.

Without Victoria present to tease him or push his boundaries, he spent his time lounging by the heated indoor pool, playing high-end video games, and letting the manor’s staff attend to his every need. It was the ultimate definition of living like royalty.

Meanwhile, news of the upcoming placement exam continuation on Monday spread across the Capital University campus forums.

Tom had spent the entire weekend anxiously editing and organizing the shadowy photographs he had taken of Julian and Victoria in the grove, as well as the photos of Julian and Natasha standing close together near the classroom building.

He stared at his computer screen, a twisted, vengeful smile playing on his lips.

Julian Vance... you think you can hide your double life? You’re playing with fire, flirting with the campus belle while leeching off a wealthy woman!

Tom carefully crafted an anonymous draft post detailing Julian’s alleged "immoral behavior" and "sugar baby lifestyle." However, remembering Victoria’s terrifying, icy warning in the grove, a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He hesitated to hit the publish button.

No... that woman threatened to destroy my family if I leaked anything on the school forum, Tom thought, his hands trembling slightly over the keyboard. I can’t post it publicly yet. I have to wait for the perfect moment...

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After finishing his exams on Friday, Eathan walked out of the school grounds with a grim, gloomy expression on his face.

He knew he must have done extremely poorly on these placement exams.

It’s fine, though, he reassured himself internally. In all those urban novels, those academically challenged students who get reborn are still able to earn a huge sum of money. I refuse to believe that I, a top student who once graduated from one of the best universities in capital city, could possibly be inferior to those academic underachievers!

In his view, the theoretical knowledge learned in school was mostly abstract and often not directly applicable to real-world business anyway. He possessed a wealth of practical, real-world corporate experience from his previous life.

He had already made detailed plans to meet with Chole.

He still clearly remembered the exact investment proposal he had created in his previous life, and this time, he had drafted an identical copy down to the smallest detail. In his past life, Chole had greatly appreciated his genius investment plan and had given him tens of millions in startup funding without a moment’s hesitation.

This time, it would definitely be the exact same story!

With the massive investment funds provided by Chole, he would build his company from scratch and expand it at lightning speed.

Eathan still hadn’t fully recovered from the brutal beating he had received previously. Covered in unsightly cuts and dark bruises across his swollen face, he arrived at the luxury hotel where Chole was staying.

Inside the opulent private suite, Chole was reclining comfortably on a couch, holding a handsome young man with one arm.

"Miss Chole, come on, have a little more to drink~" the young man cooed attentively, serving Chole a glass of fine liquor.

Chole pushed the young man away with very little interest, her eyes showing clear boredom.

"Alright, that’s enough," Chole said flatly. "You don’t need to serve me here anymore. All of you can leave now."

"Yes, Miss Chole."

The two young, handsome men bowed respectfully and stepped backward out of the suite.

Chole picked up her glass of wine and took a sip, her expression darkening.

"Damn it... Julian Vance is absolute toxicity!" she cursed under her breath.

Although Julian had originally approached her best friend with ulterior motives, she couldn’t deny that he was astonishingly handsome—far more handsome than any man she had ever laid eyes on before. If only Julian Vance weren’t Victoria Sterling’s man... she would have loved to keep him as her own spoiled pet project!

But who on earth would dare to steal a man from Victoria Sterling?

Chole tilted her head back and drank the entire glass of wine in one long gulp. All she could do now was wait until Victoria eventually grew tired of Julian before making her own move on him.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door of the private room.

"Come in," Chole called out casually.

Eathan pushed the door open and walked in.

Chole was taken aback by his bruised and beaten appearance, her dark eyebrows instantly furrowing in deep disgust and confusion.

"Who are you?" Chole asked coldly.

"Miss Chole, I am Eathan," Eathan said, stepping forward and extending his hand toward her with a confident grin. "I am also your future strategic business partner."

Chole:"..."

So he is Eathan. A few days ago, someone had sent her an email confidently assuring her that he possessed extraordinary business talent and that his investment plan would completely satisfy her demands. Since she urgently needed to achieve a major business success to prove her capabilities to her father, she had agreed to this meeting.

Now seeing him in person, this man looked entirely unreliable...

"How old are you?" Chole asked suspiciously.

Eathan replied proudly, "Miss Chole, I am twenty-one years old and currently a finance major at Capital University."

Chole’s brows knitted together tightly. Sure enough, she shouldn’t have held any high expectations. What kind of groundbreaking business solutions could a college student who hadn’t even graduated yet possibly produce?

Eathan continued confidently, "Miss Chole, please don’t underestimate me just because of my age. I am extraordinarily experienced, and I can guarantee with absolute certainty that my investment plan will thoroughly satisfy you."

He was overflowing with self-assurance. In his previous life, every single project his company invested in had yielded astronomical profits. Furthermore, possessing the memories of a second life, he knew precisely which upcoming trends and projects were guaranteed to generate massive wealth.

"Furthermore, Miss Chole," Eathan added, leaning in slightly, "I can guarantee that beyond the investment targets listed in this document, I know of countless other projects that will generate immense profits in the future. As long as you are willing to invest in me, I guarantee you will make an absolute fortune!"

Chole rubbed her throbbing temples in frustration. Making such grandiose, arrogant claims right off the bat made him look utterly delusional and untrustworthy.

"Alright," Chole said coldly. "Let me see your investment plan."

"Of course." Eathan handed the thick document to Chole with a confident flourish.

Chole took the file and began flipping through the pages. As her eyes scanned the proposals, her brow furrowed more and more.

Eathan chimed in eagerly, "Miss Chole, these are all high-potential companies where a small initial investment will yield massive returns in the near future. I guarantee that you will definitely make a killing."

Smack!

Chole slammed the document onto the marble table with heavy impatience.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she snapped, her voice dripping with irritation. "I thought you actually had real talent because you talked so big in your email, but I never expected you to be so thoroughly useless!"

"It seems your reputation as a top finance student at Capital University is completely meaningless!"

She felt like an absolute fool for agreeing to meet someone like him. She knew for a fact that several of the projects listed in his plan relied on obsolete, dying technology and were guaranteed money-losers. He actually thought he could make a fortune from those failed ventures? What a laughable pipedream!

Eathan was completely stunned. What... what just happened?!

In his previous life, the moment Chole read this exact investment plan, she had gasped in awe and praised him as an absolute business genius! Without asking a single question, she had immediately handed him tens of millions in funding. Why was she reacting with such intense disgust and contempt this time?!

"Miss Chole, wouldn’t you like to take another look?" Eathan said hurriedly, panic creeping into his voice. "Please, take a closer look!"

"There’s no need to look at it anymore," Chole said coldly. "Get out of here right now. I don’t want to see your face for another second."

Dealing with a delusional amateur like him was a complete waste of her valuable time.

Eathan refused to give up.

He was currently buried under nearly a million dollars in gambling and personal debts. He desperately needed Chole’s investment funds—otherwise, how could he possibly pay back those ruthless collectors?!

"Miss Chole, are you really not going to look at it again?" Eathan asked anxiously, his voice trembling with desperation. "If you refuse to look, you’ll be missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime business genius like me!"

Chole let out a harsh, contemptuous sneer. A genius? I wouldn’t take his services if he paid me!

Since this luxury hotel was owned directly by her family’s conglomerate, Chole casually picked up the internal landline phone and dialed the front desk. "Send two security guards up to my private suite immediately."

Within seconds, two heavy-set security guards arrived at the door.

"Miss Chole, how can we be of service?" the guards asked respectfully, bowing their heads.

Chole waved her hand in annoyance. "Drag this lunatic out of my sight."

"Yes, Ma’am!"

Before Eathan could say another word, the two burly guards stepped forward, grabbed him firmly by both arms, and dragged him out of the room. They marched him down the corridor and tossed him unceremoniously out onto the street outside the hotel.

Eathan sat on the cold pavement, his head buzzing in total disorientation.

Why? Why does Chole look down on me so much in this life? What went wrong?!

Dazed and defeated, he gripped his crumpled investment proposal tightly in his bruised fists.

Fine... in this life, Chole’s complete lack of foresight is her own loss! There are plenty of other major corporations that will recognize my true value!

Driven by sheer refusal to accept defeat, Eathan spent the remainder of the weekend taking his investment proposal to various other corporate headquarters across the city.

However, without exception, he suffered the exact same humiliation everywhere he went.

Either the security guards at the front gates blocked him from entering entirely, or on the rare occasions he managed to secure a brief meeting with senior executives, he was mocked relentlessly for proposing dead-end investments and thrown out onto the street!

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Here’s some Q&A for readers

Why was Ethan’s investment plan rejected?

Option 1: Chloe is a complete idiot.

Option 2: Did someone secretly help him in his previous life?

Let me know your answer 👇👇