In North District of Huahai City, near schools and industrial parks, the area was bustling with students and office workers, making the street food delivery scene exceptionally vibrant. The crowded streets were lined with small shops, one after another.In one of these small eateries, Charles Matthews sat on a chair, staring at his phone's familiar yet strange interface. An ad took over the entire screen.
"Today's Special Offer: Everything for just one dollar!""Luxury Villa on Orchid Lane""100% Ownership of Eternity Plaza (Annual rental income of 300 million dollars)""Office Building A at Joy Square!""Pagani Huayra Dragon, Global Limited Edition" Charles was completely stunned. "What the heck?" he muttered. "One dollar? Are you kidding me?"This all started about an hour ago. Asa delivery rider, he had accepted an order and stopped at a red light. Suddenly, his customer messaged him, asking for a soda. He noticed a small convenience store across the street and decided to cross over.But just a few steps into the street, a white BMW suddenly shot out from an alley beside the store. With a loud thud, it knocked him and his bike to the ground, leaving him dazed and confused.Luckily, the BMW wasn't going too fast or he would have been more than just scratched. Even more coincidentally,the driver was his college classmate, Olivia. They used to be on good terms, but drifted apart over time due to certain events.Back in the day, he was quite the campus celebrity and during one event he organized, Olivia, who was the class president, had helped him out a lot. That's how they got to know each other. Later, he sensed that Olivia might have had feelings for him, which made things awkward, so he gradually distanced himself.He never expected that after a year, they'd meet again under suchcircumstances.Seeing him knocked to the ground, the driver was clearly startled and quickly got out of the car to check on Charles."Are you okay... Charles?"A long-haired woman, pale-faced, apologized and then gasped in surprise.It took Charles a moment to gather himself, hearing someone call his name, he looked up and was met with a familiar face."Class president?" he tried calling out."It really is you?" Olivia sighed in relief and helped Charles to his feet."Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She looked at Charles and the scattered takeout on the ground, her expression complicated."No worries, no worries!" Charles waved his hand, stretching his limbs to make sure everything was fine.Just as the woman was about to say something, a voice came from the car—a middle-aged man."Are you okay, sweetheart?"A well-dressed, affluent-looking middle-aged man stepped out from the passenger seat.Hearing this, the woman stiffened slightly, but quickly put on a smile and said, "Yeah, I'm fine!"Charles watched their intimate interaction and quickly realized their relationship was more than ordinary.No wonder his college classmate, who had just graduated a year ago, was driving a BMW. It wasn't that he looked down on her, but he knew her family background—just an average family.But what did any of this have to do with him?"And who is this?" Charles asked, looking at Olivia."Sweetheart? Do you know him?" The middle-aged man was taken aback by Charles's words.He scrutinized Charles and even though he was a man, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at Charles' handsome face.But then he noticed Charles's delivery uniform and relaxed, wrapping his arm around Olivia's waist."This is my college classmate, Charles Mathews," Olivia said, sensing Fred's intentions and introducing them with a hint of embarrassment. "Charles, this is... my boyfriend, Fred.""Oh, so you're her classmate! That makes you my classmate too, nice to meet you!" Fred said warmly.Once he confirmed that Charles posed no threat, his hostility vanished."Hello!" Charles replied calmly.Olivia quickly interjected, "Alright, Charles, you should really go see a doctor!"Fred chimed in, following Olivia's lead, "Yeah, Classmate Matthews, you should head to the hospital.""No need! It's nothing serious," Charles refused."How can that be? You're Olivia's classmate, after all. Tell you what, I'll cover all the medical expenses," Fred said generously, pulling out a stack of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet, he had a natural sense of superiority over Charles.Charles glanced at the money, shook his head and mentioned he had work to do, he waved goodbye to Olivia and left.Olivia watched Charles's retreating figure in silence for a long time."Alright, let's go. But I'm telling you, if you dare to contact him on your own, don't blame me..." Fred didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning in his eyes was clear.Olivia was silent for a few seconds, then smiled, "Don't worry! Ever since I got with you, I haven't been in touch with any of my old classmates.""That's good!" Fred replied, clearly satisfied.Just then, Charles's phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Seeing the caller ID labeled "Mom!", he answered immediately."Hey! Mom?""Son! Have you had lunch yet?" A warm, caring voice came through the phone."I have! How are you and Dad doing?" Charles held back his tears and quickly asked."Don't worry about us at home! Your dad and I will manage, just make sure you take care of yourself out there!"Hearing this, Charles felt a pang in his heart.Charles grew up in a wealthy family, his dad was quite a figure back home. But the year Charles graduated from college, his dad's company went bankrupt and everything they owned was seized to pay off debts. Thankfully, they still had the ancestral home or they would have been homeless.However, they were left with millions in debt. That's why Charles took up delivering food—to earn money!This past year, he hadn't taken a single day off, he worked late into the night and woke up before dawn, just to make a few extra deliveries."Yeah, I know, Mom! This month, the company gave me a bonus for my good performance. I'll transfer it to you in a bit!"After chatting a bit more, Charles hung up the phone and looked at the passing cars outside.He shook his head, opened his phone's payment app and looked at the four-digit balance, letting out a bitter smile.He kept a thousand for himself and transferred the rest of his paycheck to his mom."Ding!" The screen showed the transfer was successful.
Staring blankly at the message on the screen, Charles felt overwhelmed by the thought of his millions in debt. He couldn't imagine when he'd finally pay it all off. Life was truly a roller-coaster. Just a year ago, he was a rich kid everyone envied and now... well, better not to dwell on it. Charles shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.Just then, his phone's shopping app suddenly launched itself.Charles was taken aback...On the familiar yet strange phone screen, an advertisement took over the entire display.
"Today's Special Offer: Everything for One Dollar!""Pagani Huayra Dragon, Global Limited Edition, One Unit Available."