After Rebirth, I Became A Millionaire

Joel was initially taken aback but quickly erupted with joy. Juliette, on the other hand, looked devastated.

I brushed past Joel and leaned into Juliette, whispering, "It's time for you to pay up on our bet. I'm eagerly waiting for you to call me 'Daddy.'"

Juliette's face darkened with anger.

As expected, Juliette tried to weasel out of it. She denied ever making the bet and refused to apologize publicly or call me "Daddy."

That was fine with me. I knew from my previous life that Juliette would try to avoid her promises. My goal was to make her uncomfortable. I had plenty of opportunities to deal with her later. Most importantly, her denial meant she couldn't complain to Joel about our bet, so I wouldn't need to waste time explaining things to him. After all, if Joel didn't experience the same pain I had before, it wouldn't be true revenge.

After the Fourth of July festivities, my reputation surged across campus. Almost no one remembered the old story of Erica Contreras, the student who got by on financial aid and collected recyclables for a year. Now, whenever my name came up, it was met with awe and praise.

But I didn't let it go to my head. I remembered my humble beginnings and the painful end of my previous life. Now, I was using my foresight to improve myself and raise my family's living standard. Every step I took, I made sure to be grounded and steady.

By evening, I declined Joel's invitation and hurried outside with some cat food, heading toward the southeastern part of the campus.

The area was still undeveloped and desolate. No one knew that six months ago, I spent nearly all my savings to buy up this wasteland. Even fewer knew I had been taking care of a few stray cats here.

When I arrived, I was surprised to see a guy squatting in front of the stray cats, placing food on the ground. Did someone else know about this place and come to feed the cats?

As I approached, I was surprised to find it was Duncan Mathis.

I was even more taken aback. Like I said, I had become one of the campus celebrities, and Duncan, a senior in the computer science program, was another. Rumor had it that he came from a wealthy background and spent most of his time working on apps outside of school. I never met him in my previous life and had only seen his photos on bulletin boards around campus.

"Erica, are these cats yours?" Duncan asked as the strays affectionately rubbed against me.

I was a bit surprised and put the cat food on the ground. "How do you know my name?"

Duncan's voice sounded oddly familiar. Could it be...

I shook my head. He couldn't be that person.

Duncan stood up. "You're one of the campus celebrities now. How could I not know about you?"

I felt my cheeks flush slightly.

To me, these stray cats were like my former self, driven away by poverty and wandering aimlessly. Now that I could help, I wanted them to be well cared for.

After feeding the cats, we packed up and walked slowly along the wasteland. Duncan pointed at the surrounding area and said, "Erica, I'm planning to buy this land with my startup money. If you have enough savings, I suggest you buy a small plot too. According to my dad's inside information, this area will soon be designated as a new economic zone and will face redevelopment."

I told Duncan, "You might need to rethink your plans."

Duncan looked puzzled. "Why?"

I replied, "Sorry, but I've already bought this land."

In my previous life, this plot of land was a barren area so desolate that even farmers avoided it, with vast stretches of it lying unused. However, after a major shake-up in the local government and the arrival of new officials eager to make their mark, the land was designated as a new economic zone. Coincidentally, this piece of land fell within the new zone's boundaries, and once it was included, property values skyrocketed.

This time, I had used the information gap to buy up as much of the land as I could six months ago, waiting for the redevelopment to make a profit. If everything went as planned, I would make a fortune, enough for me and my family to live comfortably for life.

As we reached the school gates, Duncan suddenly said, "Erica, don't get involved with Joel."

After hesitating, he added, "Joel isn't sincere. He's with you because of a bet with someone else."

"I know," I replied calmly.

"Then why are you still—" Duncan began, confused.

Before he could finish, Joel appeared, having come to the gate after not being able to reach me by phone. He ran into us as we were heading back.

Joel wrapped his arm around my shoulders possessively. "Erica, I've been waiting for you. Let's have dinner together tonight."

I pushed Joel's arm away and stepped closer to Duncan, deliberately saying, "I'm afraid not. Duncan and I have some academic matters to discuss. Maybe another time."

In my previous life, even though Joel had become my boyfriend due to the bet, he often used "discussions" as an excuse to leave me and go out with Juliette.

"You and he are in different fields—design and computer science—what could you possibly discuss?" Joel noticed something was off, just like in the past when I questioned him.

I mimicked Joel's previous behavior, feigning annoyance. "If you don't trust me, maybe we shouldn't be together."

Back then, Joel was the one cheating and getting defensive. This time, he was the one desperately trying to hold on.

Joel's face softened immediately. "Go ahead with your discussion. Call me when you're done, and I'll come pick you up."

Not wanting to push too hard, I nodded.

Joel reluctantly left. The scene was identical to my previous life, except the roles were reversed. It was oddly satisfying!

As soon as Joel was out of sight, Duncan leaned in and whispered with a chuckle, "Using me as a decoy, huh?"

I looked at Duncan and said apologetically, "Sorry about that. I won't do it again."

Duncan's eyes sparkled with a smile. "I'm not sure what you're up to, but if you need my help, I'm more than willing to assist."

Shortly after, another piece of gossip spread through the school.

Everyone was talking about how Erica Contreras had supposedly lost her mind and bought a plot of land in the middle of nowhere.