Kate stared intently at my bag, as if trying to confirm whether it was real or fake. Her eyes flickered uncertainly for a few moments before she quickly regained her composure.

"So what? It's just a bag. I could buy a hundred of them. But for you, buying this bag must have been pretty difficult with your salary. Just don't end up drowning in debt over a handbag."

I wasn't about to back down. I scoffed, saying, "You're just talking big. Buy one and show me then. I bet you're just putting on a tough act."

"I'll go buy one right now. You just wait and see," she retorted.

Kate glared at me, then left the company and headed straight to the mall, where she bought several luxury handbags. As soon as she got them, she posted on social media and even sent me private messages to make sure I saw them.

I silently calculated in my mind. Those bags weren't cheap. Together, they had to cost at least 200 thousand dollars. The source of this money was obvious.

Over the next few days, Kate seemed determined to compete with me. Every time I bought a bag and posted it on social media, she would buy an even better one to one-up me. What she didn't know was that all these posts were set to be visible only to her, specifically for her to see.

As I had hoped, she took the bait so easily.

This weekend, during my day off, I went shopping at the mall. I needed to attend a gala soon and wanted to buy some jewelry to make a good impression.

After hearing my request, the sales associate brought out several jewelry sets and introduced each one to me. Just then, there was a commotion at the entrance.

"What's your most expensive diamond ring? Bring it out and show it to me."

At those arrogant words, everyone in the store looked to the speaker. To my surprise, it was Kate and Jarred.

What a small world.

A sales associate approached them, looked them up and down, and gently reminded them, "Miss, our most expensive diamond ring costs over ten million dollars. Are you sure you want to see it?"

Kate, having suddenly come into money, was shocked by the price. "Over ten million? Why is it so expensive? Isn't diamond just carbon?"

This comment amused everyone in the store, and I laughed too. At this point, they both noticed me and walked over.

"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for someone broke like you. You followed us here, didn't you?"

Jarred seemed certain, as if he thought I still had feelings for him.

I sneered. "Are you crazy? I was here first, okay? If anything, you're the ones following me."

The sales associate also spoke up for me. "Indeed, this lady arrived first."

Unable to argue with me, Kate immediately changed the subject and looked at the jewelry I was examining. "Can you even afford it? You're just wasting your time looking."

"Mind your own business. You talk as if you can afford it."

Kate, thinking I really couldn't afford it, immediately became smug. "Of course I can. How much are all these sets together? I'll take them all."

The sales associate smiled slightly. "Each set is 500 thousand dollars. All together, that's two million dollars."

Both of them fell silent for a few seconds, then started making excuses and acting like it was no big deal. "Actually, I think these sets are just average. Besides, I couldn't wear all of them by myself anyway."

I impatiently interrupted her. "Are you buying them or not? If not, I'll take them."

With that, I asked the sales associate to pack up all the sets for me.

Kate, seeing that she failed to show off her wealth in front of me, ground her teeth. She quickly grabbed the sales associate's hand and pointed to a ruby set. "I want this one!"

Jarred still had some concerns and tugged at her sleeve, lowering his voice. "500 thousand dollars? Isn't that a bit too expensive?"

Kate was practically fuming at this point and insisted on getting it no matter what. She told the sales associate to wrap it up for payment.

However, when they swiped several bank cards, all of them showed insufficient funds. In the end, the two of them nearly emptied their entire savings just to barely cover the payment.

…

Three days passed quickly. Kate had gathered enough money for the house. She went to Angela, completed the transfer, and got the keys to the property.

When I saw that it was about time, I also headed to that residential complex. At this moment, our colleagues had all arrived. Everyone wanted to see how Kate planned to get rich.

Soon Kate and Jarred arrived at the scene. She scanned the people present, and after confirming I was there, she nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, let's all go up together."

Along the way, colleagues looked around at the complex's environment and asked with some confusion, "Kate, this complex is pretty old. It shouldn't be worth much, right?"

"Yeah, there's no landscaping, and it's mostly just old folks living here."

"There aren't any schools nearby either. The only advantage is that it's close to the office, but you've already quit, so that doesn't matter anymore."

As she listened to these people chatter, Kate looked at them like they were idiots. "This house is indeed cheap and not worth much, but there are valuable things inside. Now that the house is mine, naturally, everything inside belongs to me too."

At that, some colleagues immediately thought of news they'd seen online about people discovering millions of dollars in cash in foreclosed properties.

The colleagues were all somewhat shocked, but there were still some rational people who asked, "You've never even been to that house. How can you be sure there are valuable things inside?"

No matter how foolish, Kate couldn't say she had been reborn, so she could only say, "Some secrets can't be revealed."

Her mysterious act actually convinced some colleagues, who immediately flattered her. "Kate, when you get rich, don't forget about us!"

At this moment, Kate's vanity reached its peak. She was grinning from ear to ear.

When we reached the door of that house, Kate took out the key and inserted it, but she couldn't open it no matter what. Her smile froze on her face as she repeatedly turned the key, but the door still wouldn't open.

The colleagues also noticed something was wrong and asked, "What's going on?"

Kate forced out a smile. "The key might be rusty and hard to turn."

As she spoke, she applied more force with her hands. Just then, the door opened from the inside.

"Who the hell is trying to break down my door? Do you have a death wish?" someone questioned.