As soon as Fred spoke, Theo and the others all turned their eyes to Charles in the middle, at that moment, Charles remembered the owner of that voice—Fred.
Their eyes met and they stared at each other for several seconds.
"Charles? Is that you..." Fred's face changed dramatically, filled with shock.
Charles nodded, marveling at how small the world was.
"Mr. Carter? You two know each other?" Theo asked, noticing Fred's expression.
Fred's face was a mix of emotions, unsure of how to respond, while Olivia quickly caught on and nodded. "Charles, are you the new owner of Joy Square Office Building?"
Unlike Fred, Olivia found it easier to accept, she had known back in college that Charles came from a wealthy family, but she hadn't realized just how wealthy.
"Yes," Charles confirmed with a nod.
Hearing Charles' admission, Fred and Olivia fell silent. Fred, in particular, felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him, recalling his prideful attitude from the day before. He wished he could disappear into a hole.
No wonder Charles had seemed so calm yesterday.
"You're here to renew the lease?" Charles asked, recalling Fred's earlier words.
"Yes, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Carter was one of the tenants," Theo quickly explained, seeing that neither Fred nor Olivia was speaking.
"Alright then! Since the class president is renewing, let's do it at ten percent below market price!" Charles thought for a moment, then smiled at Olivia.
He didn't know that Fred had rented privately at a higher rate.
Theo smiled silently at this decision, casting a surprised glance at Fred, he hadn't expected Fred to be so lucky to know the new boss.
Fred was initially incredulous, then his expression turned complex. He understood that Charles wasn't doing this for him, but for Olivia.
Olivia felt a tremor in her heart at Charles's words. She knew he was doing a favor and considering their old classmate bond. At the same time, any lingering feelings she had for Charles disappeared.
"Manager Martin, can I entrust these matters to you?" Charles turned to Theo.
"Of course, absolutely. Our plaza management team is happy to help with these small tasks."
Theo was delighted to hear this, Charles' words showed he trusted them.
"Alright then, class president, I have some things to attend to, so I'll be off. If you want to renew the lease, you can discuss it with Manager Martin!" Charles nodded to Olivia.
"Sure, sure, thank you, Mr. Matthews, Olivia and I won't keep you any longer. I wonder if Mr. Matthews is free tonight? Olivia and I would like to treat you to dinner, what do you think?"
Olivia stayed silent, while Fred quickly put on a smile and spoke eagerly.
As a millionaire company owner, Fred had a thick skin, he hadn't gotten to where he was by being foolish, he knew when to back down.
No matter what had happened before, Charles was not someone he could afford to offend now. Luckily, he hadn't tried to show off in front of Charles before.
He was also secretly pleased about Olivia and Charles' classmate connection. It was a bridge to bring them closer.
Even Theo, who no one dared to offend, was humble in front of Charles.
"No need, I have plans tonight," Charles said, understanding what Fred was implying but still declining.
"No problem, no problem. Since Mr. Matthews is busy, Olivia and I won't disturb you," Fred replied with a smile, showing no sign of displeasure at being turned down. Olivia stood quietly beside him, saying nothing.
"Alright, I'll be off then!" Charles nodded at Olivia and walked away with Theo and his group.
Fred kept his polite smile until they were out of sight. He was baffled that someone of such high status would still deliver food, the ways of the wealthy were indeed puzzling!
"Olivia, who exactly is your classmate? You didn't mention anything about this yesterday," Fred asked Olivia, now too shocked to even think of threatening her.
"I'm not sure, I just know his family is very rich," Olivia replied calmly, shaking her head.
"Very rich?" Fred didn't doubt her words. However, owning a building like this and having someone like Theo treat him with such respect was beyond just being rich.
"Let's go, sweetheart, I owe this to you!" Fred said, wrapping his arm around Olivia and happily heading outside.
"No worries!" Olivia said nothing more.
Meanwhile, in the manager's office at Joy Square.
"Congratulations, Mr. Matthews. The office building A at Joy Square is now officially yours," Theo said as Charles signed the final document, making it legally binding.
"Thank you, Manager Martin. From now on, I'll leave the management of that building to you, I'll just focus on collecting the money," Charles replied with a broad smile, clearly in a great mood.
"Haha, no problem! Rest assured, Mr. Matthews!" Theo was pleased to see Charles being so agreeable and readily accepted his requests, as they were simple enough to fulfill.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Theo was even more convinced of Charles's extraordinary status, seeing how calm and composed he was.
As Charles left the management office, he felt as if he were walking on air.
The month's rent had already been deposited into his account and seeing that six-figure sum made everything feel surreal.
Over five hundred and eight thousand!
A whopping five hundred and eight thousand!
And Theo had mentioned that this was just a small portion, as many tenants paid their rent annually.
When he heard that, he couldn't help but feel a few excited flutters in his heart.
From this moment on, his life's path would diverge from its original course, all thanks to that mutated shopping app. With this thought, his heart stirred and he pulled out his phone to open the app.
The familiar interface loaded and Charles smiled knowingly. The content had changed, yesterday's one-dollar flash sale had ended and today's special was a $1.50 group buy.
"Today's Special Offer: Everything for $1.50!"
"A luxury penthouse at the top of the city!"
"A $5,000,000 global shopping card!"
"A bottle of Emperor Maotai (worth $3 million!)"
"A Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost!"
Indeed, it was a new batch of items, after last night's events, Charles felt no surprise. Without hesitation, he clicked on the button.
Suddenly, his phone froze for a few seconds.
Then, "Ding!"
His phone vibrated, and Charles looked at the screen.
"Congratulations! You have selected a luxury penthouse at the top of the city!"
"Congratulations! You have selected a $5,000,000 global shopping card!"