chapter 1 Start with one billion

On May 18, 2003, in Rosewood Garden at the Stellaris University of Sorceria City…
Quintin Fang held a transfer voucher for one billion dollars, feeling a little excited. He nervously peeked at the person holding a book and sitting on a stone bench across the retro bridge. She had a good figure and was wearing plain clothes.
That was his wife, Skylar Qin.
Specifically, she was his wife and had been with him for ten years in his previous life.
Oh, right! He was not from here.
He was from the future.
He vividly remembered April 16, 2022, a day etched in memory when the collapse of the Micanterra economy triggered a global stock market avalanche, sparing no mercy even for the Apollo Shares.
Driven by greed and influenced by so-called experts, he tapped into his savings of one hundred thousand and borrowed three hundred thousand more to invest in a tech stock. To his dismay, the stock hit the limit down for five consecutive trading days.
His initial investment dwindled by over half, deeply trapped with no apparent way out. That night, after a decade of never having a heated argument, his wife, who had stood by him through thick and thin, had a heated quarrel with him.
To be precise, it started when he couldn't accept the harsh reality. When his wife asked for his opinion about spending over two hundred dollars on clothes for their child, it escalated into a fight.
Unable to bear the self-reproach afterward, he used the excuse of needing fresh air and stormed out, sleeping on a bench in a nearby park.
When he woke up, it was November 1, 2002.
He couldn't believe that all this was real. It felt like a dream. He lay in bed daily, hoping to be in his home for twenty years when he woke up.
He wanted to apologize to his wife in person.
However, he slept for eight days. His roommate, unable to bear the sight, dragged him out of the dorm and strolled to Rosewood Garden. He saw his hardworking wife, Skylar Qin, sitting by the secluded pond, immersed in her studies.
Only then did he realize it wasn't a dream.
From that day on, he vowed to change his life, to fulfill the countless promises he had made to his wife in the previous life. He wanted to give her a blissful and happy home.
What was happiness? It was having money to spend when one needed it. Was it financial freedom where one didn't have to worry about money when one was in need?
He borrowed money from classmates, going undercover as a top university student, borrowing from the moneylenders in his village. He gathered a hundred thousand, picked up his old skill, and entered the stock market.
Although he was a sheep in the future when trading stocks and futures, being sheared repeatedly from 2002 to 2003, no one understood the stock and futures market trends better than him.
He used the borrowed hundred thousand to enter at the lowest point of Equinox Tech, multiplying it by eighty or ninety times, reaching over eight million, and then turning to futures, buying and selling with short-term leverage.
After four precise operations, his capital multiplied instantly. Later, he operated several times on falling rubber prices. After deducting all the fees and repaying the loans, his money was ten billion.
Ten billion!
Even in the future, it was still an unimaginable amount of wealth, not to mention now, in the year 2003, where the average salary was still in the thousand dollars range, it was an astronomical figure.
Today, when the funds arrived, the first person he wanted to share his joy with was Skylar Qin.
Even though she didn't'' know him yet, he was still a stranger to her.
After a while, Quintin Fang took a deep breath, calmed down, and walked toward Skylar Qin on the opposite side.
Just as he took a few steps, Quintin Fang suddenly saw a girl with heavy makeup and a tall figure, wearing low-rise jeans, exuding a seductive aura, standing by the small stone bridge on the other side as if waiting for someone. He was momentarily stunned.
Coincidentally, the girl glanced over.
The two locked eyes briefly, and the girl immediately walked over angrily.
"Quintin Fang, how many times have I told you that we have already broken up! Don't bother me anymore!"
Quintin Fang frowned.
He knew someone, none other than Hazel Wang, the ex-girlfriend who was also his first love whom he had hated for many years in his previous life.
In the last life, the reason why he hated Hazel Wang was not because she abandoned the relationship with him for four years and three months, but because after the breakup, every time Hazel Wang met Quintin Fang at school, she would humiliate Quintin Fang in public to satisfy her sense of superiority.
The most important thing is that Hazel Wang's family and his family were neighbors.
To get rid of the blame, Hazel Wang called her family first, pretended to be the victim, and blamed Quintin Fang for the breakup.
So much so that Hazel Wang's typical rural mother stood in a daze in Quintin Fang's vegetable garden, pointing at Quintin Fang's parents and scolding them for three days.
For a time, Quintin Fang's family became a laughing stock, and they were disgraced.
Especially later, relying on her conditions, Hazel Wang had three abortions and even married the silver-spoon lad from a prominent family. Wealthy and powerful, she earned enough respect in her hometown.
On the contrary, Quintin Fang's family had not improved. Quintin Fang did not have a college diploma. After he graduated, his life was embarrassing.
As a result, after many years, this laughing stock is often picked up and whipped to death.
Later, Quintin Fang met Skylar Qin, whom he had never met in a different department in the same university. After being introduced by someone, they got married and had a child. In Quintin Fang's hometown, Sylar Qin was famous for respecting the in-laws, managing the family well, and being beautiful. She earned the respect of Quintin Fang's family.
This was also one of the fundamental reasons why Quintin Fang loved and was grateful to Skylar Qin.
"Phew…"
Thinking of the experience in his previous life, Quintin Fang still couldn't'' let go of it. Seeing Hazel Wang show the same temperament as in his earlier life again, he felt even more upset, wishing to slap Hazel Wang in the face with the sole of his shoe.
But this thought lasted only a second in Quintin Fang's mind before he gave up.
The present him, no longer burdened by his past self, possessed memories of over a decade into the future. He wasn't lost or drowned in self-pity anymore; he knew clearly what he wanted.
What he desired was to catch up with Skylar Qin. It was to rekindle their previous connection and embark on an entrepreneurial journey to fulfill the dreams within his heart.
He no longer wanted to be entangled in moral quandaries with a memory from the past.
At this time, Hazel Wang walked up to Quintin Fang and roared, "Hey, you! I demand that you immediately, right now, leave my sight. Do you hear me?"
The students visiting Rosewood Garden immediately looked over and pointed at Quintin Fang.
Quintin Fang frowned slightly and subconsciously glanced at Skylar Qin, who was reading a book across the bank. He didn't want to leave a wrong impression on Skylar Qin, who didn't know him yet, so he didn't argue with Hazel Wang.
Ignoring Hazel Wang, he walked around Hazel Wang's side and toward the small stone bridge on the other side.
His behavior stunned Hazel Wang.
In her memory, Quintin Fang was a pushover, weak and timid, lacking any semblance of a man, and in situations like today, being pointed at and only knowing how to seek forgiveness meekly.
But now, he ignored her!
He blatantly did.
It was as if she had become an invisible presence!
…
Thinking of being ignored by Quintin Fang, who was usually in front of him and didn't dare to retaliate, Hazel Wang's face suddenly turned ugly. He chased Quintin Fang in two steps, blocked his way, and snarled, "Quintin Fang, how arrogant you are! How dare you ignore me!"
Quintin Fang frowned, and from the corner of his eyes, he noticed Skylar Qin's displeasure at being interrupted from reading. He couldn't help restraining his temper and said lightly, "Ignore? No, I don't want to quarrel with you and affect other students."
"You… Do you dare to say that I am making trouble for no reason?" Hazel Wang was furious and turned up the volume.
The surrounding students frowned, discussed in low voices, and pointed at Hazel Wang.
Quintin Fang spread his hands as if she knew everything and it wasn't'' his problem.
"You… Hey!" Hazel Wang was so angry that she pointed at the tip of Quintin Fang's nose and was speechless for a long time.
"Hazel, what's the matter? Is he pestering you again?"
At this moment, a tall and handsome young student with an air of superiority came out of the crowd to look for Hazel Wang. Then, he glanced at Quintin Fang unkindly.
Quintin Fang knew the person. It was Hazel Wang's current boyfriend, Roy Zhang.
It was also her boyfriend after she dumped him.
Seeing Roy Zhang, Quintin Fang couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy. Roy Zhang, a junior in college, was a sweet talker in matters of the heart, equipped with many tactics to woo girls. Sadly, he seemed to be aiming at the wrong girl.
He had only been with Hazel Wang for about five months, and she had already cuckolded him.
Considering the timing, it was probably within these next few days that Roy Zhang would discover a bed full of surprises.
With this in mind, Quintin Fang firmly grabbed Roy Zhang's hand and shook it vigorously, driven by some strange impulse. "Buddy, there's a misunderstanding. Though I got dumped by Hazel Wang, I am a man capable of taking it in stride and letting go. I would never shamelessly cling to her."
"On the contrary, I genuinely wish you both well."
As he spoke, his facial expressions exuded sincerity.
"Good, well said!"
"Buddy, that's what a true man does!"
"Buddy, I support you."
In an instant, the surrounding onlookers, fellow students, were left stunned and then erupted into applause and cheers.
After all, not everyone could be so generous. Not only not harboring resentment toward their ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend but also sincerely offering their blessings.
Misunderstanding?
Roy Zhang was also taken aback, thinking carefully. Really! Quintin Fang seemed to pester Hazel Wang just a few days after he broke up with her, but he never bothered her afterward.
The unkindness in his eyes could not help but ease a lot. He nodded at Quintin Fang, turned around and comforted Hazel Wang.
Hazel Wang listened to the applause around her, saw the sincere blessings on Quintin Fang's face, and suddenly felt that he had become strange. Inadvertently, a sense of loss in her heart stemmed from nowhere.
Unexpectedly, she shook off Roy Zhang's hand, turned and left.
"Hazel! Hazel..." Roy Zhang was stunned for a moment and hurriedly chased after her.
Looking at the backs of the two, Quintin Fang shrugged, smiled at the students around him, and turned his gaze to Skylar Qin, who was on the opposite bank. His face turned dark all of a sudden.
..