Chapter 15

While waiting for the demolition payout, Kane doesn't intend to sit idle.

He'll withdraw another 270,000 to start a small business.

Buying demolition houses is a form of opportunism, but starting a real business is an entirely different story. He wants to quickly get into the mindset of an entrepreneur, and to do that, he needs to familiarize himself with business processes and strategies.

So, he'll use that 270,000 as seed money to try out something small in Jade Isle—a test run before officially diving into entrepreneurship.

Lost in thought, the music next to him suddenly stopped.

Ride time was over.

But Nancy Foster was still perched on the Hello Kitty ride, reluctant to get off, her eyes sparkling with unfulfilled joy.

Kane chuckled helplessly, reached into his pocket, and placed a coin into her palm.

"Come play with me," Nancy said, pointing to another ride nearby.

"Me? A grown man, Mr. Macho, an alpha male? Are you kidding me...?"

Three minutes later, a duet of 'What's Your Grandpa's Name' echoed at the entrance of the small store.

Kane sat awkwardly in the cramped cabin, rocking along with the Hello Kitty ride, an expression of surprise on his face.

This thing...

is ridiculously fun!

After wobbling for a good while, the two manic Hello Kitty rides finally came to a stop. The shop owner stepped out, his brows furrowed, eyes filled with murderous intent.

How much does a kid weigh?

And how much do you, a fully grown dude, weigh?

Don't you have even a shred of self-awareness, damn it!

But Kane didn't notice the shop owner's expression. Instead, he reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out an old Nokia phone, a hand-me-down from his dad.

While on the ride, he'd felt it vibrating. Opening it, he discovered a QQ message notification—on none other than the 2008 version of QQ Mobile. Talk about retro.

"Kane, guess where the class reunion is this time!"

"Okay, okay, no suspense—it's at City Within the City. How's that for a coincidence?"

"Alexander Quinn booked the reunion at the Dragon Prestige Hotel. I'm on my way there now. Tonight, we've got to roast that idiot until he cries!"

"Oh, and aren't you near City Within the City too? I'll come find you after dinner so we can head home together!"

The sender, Hansel Grant, had a profile picture of a long-haired guy in sunglasses, filtered with an outdated aesthetic that screamed emo throwback. Kane couldn't understand it—Hansel was short, chubby, and dark-skinned, yet he insisted on using an avatar of some scrawny, chicken-like dude. What was even the point?

Ugh... fuck, this damn nine-key keyboard is such a pain in the ass!

Kane hit the end call button and returned to the home screen, having zero patience to reply.

"Lil' Rich Queen, where do you wanna go next?"

"Let's eat junk food!"

Nancy Foster stretched out her hand, her fair, delicate fingers pointing toward a snack shop ahead, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

While Kane Brook was out strolling and snacking with Nancy Foster, over at the Dragon Prestige Hotel in the Scholar's Hall, located in the heart of the city, the scene was quite different.

Class 2 of Grade 3 had started to gather, students arriving one after another, taking their seats.

This gathering had been organized by Alexander Quinn, who had reserved the best private room and ordered the finest banquet.

Nowadays, teenagers with undeveloped worldviews tend to mimic their parents in how they act and behave. Alexander's father was a real estate developer, so even at his young age, Alexander exuded the air of a "high-quality man"—slicked-back hair, a tailored suit, and a golden wristwatch gleaming on his wrist.

"Everyone," Alexander began, raising his glass, "three years of high school—not too short, not too long. But to have had the chance to be in the same class with all of you, I consider it an honor."

"Starting today, we're officially adults. So I propose a toast. No one's allowed to drink soda—we must drink alcohol, because what we're gulping down today isn't just alcohol—it's the taste of adulthood."

"I once wrote this in my QQ space: Drink to my half-life of turbulence, drink to my lifetime of loneliness. I'll drink this one first, in honor of all of you."

With that, Alexander downed his beer in one gulp, then flipped the glass upside down with a flourish, imitating the businesslike gestures he'd seen from his father at dinner meetings—showing off that not a single drop remained.

The room erupted in applause.

"Alex, you don't seem like a student at all. You're so mature in everything you do."

"Yeah, compared to you, we're just a bunch of kids."

"A guy like Alexander will definitely be a top-tier elite once he steps into society. He's so cool."

'Drink to my half-life of turbulence, drink to my lifetime of loneliness—that's the most badass QQ status I've ever seen!"

Alexander waved them off modestly, claiming it was just something he felt in the moment, though his eyes kept sneaking glances across the table at Sophie Chase.

Just like a peacock flaunting its feathers to attract mates, high school boys pretending to be mature are no different. High school boys pretending to be mature? Same deal.

2008 was the peak of the 'emo subculture' era, and Alexander genuinely believed he radiated an aura of dominance. That's why the corners of his mouth were perpetually curled into a confident smirk.

But Sophie Chase's expression remained indifferent, her interest clearly elsewhere.

She was staring at her phone. Kane Brook hadn't shown up, and his QQ avatar was still grayed out. This unsettled her—did Kane even know about the party?

Just then, the door swung open, pushed by a chubby hand. Hansel Grant hurried in, slightly out of breath, muttering apologies.

"Sorry, I went to the wrong place. Took me forever to find the right room."

"Hey, Hansel, why'd you come alone? Didn't Kane come with you?"

"Oh, he's busy with business. Been swamped lately, so he's not coming."

Hansel had originally planned to spill the beans about Kane being out with a girl, but for some reason, the words twisted themselves mid-sentence.

Hearing this, Sophie's lips pressed into a thin line, her fists tightening under the table.

Ever since she'd run into Kane on Center Street, she'd been waiting—waiting for him to regret, to reach out, to apologize, to beg for another chance.

But a week had flown by, and not only had Kane shown no sign of remorse, he hadn't even sent her a single QQ message.

Sophie felt like he had truly changed. He'd become… patient. The old Kane couldn't go half a day without chatting with her, but now? He'd gone an entire week without flinching.

The thought gnawed at her.

How could the Kane Brook who used to be so attentive, so eager to please, turn into this?

She had done everything for his sake, always thinking of him, encouraging him…