I nailed the interview and landed an offer at the Fortune 500 company.

For someone with my background, that was already the peak of my achievements.

The office was far from my parents' place, so after talking it over with them, I decided to buy an apartment near the company.

At the sales center, the agent had just shown me a few units when a loud, gratingly familiar voice came from the entrance.

"Hey! Show me your best apartments. Right now!"

I turned my head.

There was Patrick, swaggering in with Emily clinging to his arm.

The moment they spotted me, they strutted over, sneers plastered on their faces.

"Oliver, why the hell are you still pretending? You think you can afford a place here? I've already checked. You'd have to sell both of your run-down old apartments just to scrape together a down payment."

At his words, the sales agent, who had just been all smiles with me, suddenly cooled.

I shot back, saying, "And you think you can afford it?"

Patrick tilted his chin proudly. "Of course. I won 50 million dollars. I could buy several units in cash."

The sales agent's demeanor flipped instantly, practically rushing to his side.

"Sir, how can I help you?"

Patrick pointed lazily at one of the displays.

"That one looks nice."

The agent's eyes lit up, immediately launching into her pitch.

"Excellent choice, sir. That's the best apartment in the whole complex: prime location, best view. For you, it's practically nothing. It's only 20 million."

"Twenty...million!?"

Both Patrick and Emily froze, jaws dropping.

They clearly had not expected a 100-square-meter place in the city center to be that outrageously expensive.

The agent quickly said, "Of course, if the price feels a little high, you can always finance it with a mortgage."

Patrick stiffened, his pride pricked. "A mortgage? I just won 50 million! Why would I need a mortgage? I'll pay cash."

The agent beamed at that, her tone warming again.

"In that case, sir, you can put down a one-million deposit first. Even if your lottery winnings haven't cleared yet, you can arrange a bank loan in the meantime."

Patrick and Emily exchanged a nervous glance, suddenly wavering.

That was when I frowned and snapped impatiently, saying, "I'm starting to wonder if you really did win 50 million. Or are you just here wasting everyone's time? If you can't afford it, get out."

Emily's eyes blazed red with fury. "Don't you dare spout nonsense! Patrick definitely won the lottery. He just hasn't received the payout yet."

I waved her off. "Then step aside. I'm buying this unit."

My words made the two of them panic.

Grinding his teeth, Patrick barked, "No! I'll take this one. I'll get the bank loan and pay the deposit right now!"

Over the next few days, Patrick and Emily spammed everyone's feeds with photos from their so-called world tour.

Luxury brands filled every frame.

Judging from how fast they were burning cash, it was obvious the two of them had not just taken a mortgage. They were living on loans, too.

Wanted to ruin someone? First, one should let them lose control.

They even sent the photos to me directly. I did not bother responding and blocked them both.

Meanwhile, I buried myself in studying.

A Fortune 500 job was not child's play. I had not even officially started yet, but my future team lead had already sent me stacks of materials to read up on.

Then came the graduation party.

As class representative, Patrick dropped a message in the group chat.

[Everyone, please be at the designated restaurant by 11:30 a.m. sharp for the graduation party.]

Right after, he made sure to tag me. [Oliver, you must come.]

I replied instantly. [Sure.]

Some classmates asked why the restaurant was so far from campus.

Only I knew the answer.

The place just happened to be right next to the convenience store.

At 11:30 a.m., everyone, lecturers and students alike, was already seated.

That was when Patrick and Emily strolled in, deliberately late, hand in hand.

Every head turned toward them.

The two of them had completely reinvented themselves, dripping luxury from head to toe.

Patrick strutted forward and handed out branded bags to every classmate.

"Order whatever you like tonight. Everything's on me!"

The room fell silent.

People stared at them like they were clowns. A few even whispered whether the purses were knockoffs.

Patrick smirked and pulled the lottery ticket from his bag, waving it proudly in front of everyone.

"I won 50 million."

The room erupted.

"Fifty million dollars?"

"No way! Patrick's that lucky?"

"Damn, I couldn't make that in a lifetime."

As if that was not enough, he had even hung a giant banner in the restaurant.

[Congratulations to Patrick on Winning the 50-Million Jackpot!]

One lecturer frowned and asked, "But the ticket's still in your hand. The prize hasn't even been paid out yet. Where did all this money come from?"

Patrick brushed it off with a laugh. "The money's basically mine already. I'm just enjoying it a little earlier."

Then, someone in the crowd blurted, "Wait, isn't Emily dating Oliver? Why is she with Patrick?"

All eyes turned toward her.

Emily did not even flinch. She clutched Patrick's hand tightly, face calm and voice sharp, as she said, "People move up in life. Don't you get that? Oliver's destined to be a wage slave after graduation. But Patrick? He's different. And besides, Patrick has been my true love all along."

The room buzzed, stunned.

Finally, a classmate spoke up in my defense, "But Oliver landed a Fortune 500 offer. That's the best placement in our entire class."

Patrick burst into laughter so hard that tears welled in his eyes.

"And what's that worth? Even if he got the best offer, will he ever make 50 million in his lifetime? These days, having a so-called good job just proves you're a high-class workhorse. Truth is, you're no better than a dog."

Then he sneered at me. "Oliver, you're not even fit to polish my shoes. But if you grovel nicely, maybe I'll take pity on you and throw you a free meal."

The rest of the room flushed red at Patrick's words, but no one dared to argue.

A few quick-witted classmates were already cozying up to him.

"Patrick, I always knew you'd make it big. I just didn't expect you to hit 50 million dollars."

"Don't forget your old classmates in the future."

"Yeah, yeah, remember to pull us up with you!"

They all knew it deep down: Patrick's words were harsh, but he was not entirely wrong.

Even if everyone landed decent jobs and worked their whole lives, they would never earn 50 million dollars.

Some even joined in to belittle me.

"He's right. So what if Oliver got a Fortune 500 offer? In the end, he's still just a corporate mule, working himself to death for someone else. How could he ever compare to Patrick?"

I only curled my lips.

The truth was, this company's benefits and treatment were excellent.

In my previous life, Patrick crashed and burned because he tried to climb the ladder through unscrupulous means: by playing the boy toy to his superior.

Everyone in the company found out, and from then on, people made his life miserable.

Finally, dinner wrapped up, and the main event of the day began.

Patrick wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, smoothed out his designer outfit, and strutted onto the stage.

At the same time, more than a dozen influencers suddenly poured in with cameras.

Patrick gave them a nod. Clearly, this was planned.

He pulled out the lottery ticket from his bag and turned to the cameras with a smug smile.

"Viewers, I've just graduated from college and immediately won 50 million dollars from the lottery. From now on, I'm financially free! I can just take it easy and travel the world.

"As for you workhorses, all you've got is grinding away for scraps at some company. Low wages, constant humiliation, and no dignity. That's your whole life."

As he said that, he glanced meaningfully in my direction.

The livestream exploded with curses, but Patrick did not care.

Instead, he jabbed a finger at me, his tone dripping with superiority as he said, "Oliver, the convenience store's right next door. Go and get the owner to come here so that I can redeem my prize."

I did not move.

Emily stepped forward, face full of disdain, and snapped at me, saying, "Oliver, are you deaf? Why are you standing there like an idiot? Patrick's being generous by letting you run this errand. With your lowly status, you're not even worthy to polish his shoes.

"If he asks you to do something, you must be grateful. Serve him well, and maybe he'll throw you a bone or two."

A few classmates whispered angrily in the back.

"Patrick doesn't deserve this windfall. He'll never hold onto it."

"First, he stole Oliver's girlfriend. Now, he's ordering him around? Who gave him the gall to act like this?"

Seeing me still unmoved, Patrick's expression darkened.

"Oliver, you'd better wake up. With the gap between us now, one word from me could strip you bare."

I only glanced at the time and said, "Just wait five more minutes."

Patrick did not know what game I was playing.

He sneered. "Fine. We'll wait. But I'll tell you this now. Be it five minutes, fifty minutes, or five hours, none of it changes the fact that I've just won fifty million dollars."

I laughed coldly. That was not so certain.

The words had barely left his mouth when a woman burst into the restaurant.

She jabbed a finger at Patrick and shrieked, "Are you insane? That lottery ticket is mine!"