"Starting tomorrow, don’t bother coming in anymore."
Finn Durand’s voice came through the phone, cold and emotionless.
Liam Carter’s hand clenched around his phone, trembling slightly. His mind went blank.
He’d poured years of work into this company, finally worked his way up to team lead — and now, just like that, everything was gone because of a stupid dinner.
Thinking back to last night made his stomach turn.
Finn had told him to bring the new hire, Dimity Durand, out for dinner with some execs. She was fresh out of college — barely three months on the job — and clearly became their target that night.
Throughout the dinner, Finn and the associate director kept raising their glasses to her, eyes filled with disgusting intentions.
Liam knew the smart move was to stay out of it and not rock the boat.
But looking at Dimity’s young, nervous face, he just couldn’t bring himself to ignore what was happening.
All night, he kept stepping in to take her drinks, coming up with excuses to ease the pressure.
He said everything he could think of to diffuse the situation, but it was obvious the two higher-ups weren’t pleased.
“You disgusting hypocrite!”
The rage he’d been swallowing burst out, and Liam shouted into the phone. He knew yelling wouldn’t change anything, but it made him feel slightly less powerless.
Finn gave a mocking laugh. “Wanna hear the cherry on top? Once you’re gone, your deputy’s taking over your spot. And Dimity? She’s getting promoted to deputy. Make sense now?”
The words hit like a sucker punch.
Getting fired hurt. But this—this betrayal—that was worse.
The innocent act Dimity wore every day? All fake. Carefully planned.
She hadn’t been clueless — she’d been waiting. Waiting for the perfect moment to step on his shoulders and climb higher.
That realization shattered whatever scraps of trust Liam had left in people.
He collapsed onto the tiny couch in his cramped apartment and stared up at the stained ceiling, a mess of confusion and self-doubt.
He’d stuck to his morals, done what he thought was right — and what did it get him?
Twenty years of trial and error in the stock market and still bleeding money.
Forty years old, and still couldn’t afford a real place to live in Lanchuan. Just this dingy room barely big enough to stretch out in.
At class reunions, people were talking about their kids going to school, even becoming grandparents. And him? Not even a girlfriend.
Then came the image of his aging parents, the unspoken expectation in their eyes — hoping for grandkids. Guilt threatened to drown him.
He remembered his high school exam results — that day everyone was smiling so brightly, proud of him.
Back then, he’d thought with hard work, he could build something in this city. Carve out a life worth living.
But that fire? It was barely a flicker now.Looking back now, Liam Carter couldn’t help but feel the gap between dreams and reality was just... massive.
He was nearly forty, yet didn’t even have a place he could truly call home. Every time that thought crossed his mind, it hit him like a cruel joke.
Vision spinning, his head felt heavy. He collapsed onto the bed, the weight of life dragging him down.
Time passed. He had no idea how long he lay there before his phone rang, interrupting the silence.
“I’ve walked where you’ve walked, breathed in the wind you breathed... so does that count as an embrace...?”
Half-awake, Liam fumbled for his phone. “Hello?”
A gentle female voice came through, “Hi, this is Grace Hayden from Jinsheng Tech’s HR department. Congrats, you passed our interview. Please report to work tomorrow, Monday, from 9 AM to 6 PM.”
That snapped him out of his daze instantly.
Wait... Didn’t he just get fired?
And Jinsheng? Wasn’t that the company where he interned back in college?
He shot upright, only to be met with the all-too-familiar sight of his college dorm room.
Liam stared, unsure if he was dreaming. He pinched his arm hard—ouch. It hurt. No dream.
“Hello? Liam Carter?”
Grace’s voice brought him back to the present.
“Oh—yes! I’ll be there tomorrow, no problem.”
“Great. See you then.”
As he hung up, Liam’s hands trembled with excitement.
Could this really be happening? Another shot at life?
He had actually gone back in time—to college.
Memories surged like a tidal wave. Familiar faces and scenes flashed before his eyes with startling clarity.
Suddenly, his expression darkened. Fingernails digging into his palms, he clenched his fists.
The humiliation and regrets of his last life—this time, he wouldn’t let history repeat itself.
When he finally calmed down, Liam looked around.
The empty dorm brought back a flood of memories. Every corner felt familiar and strangely comforting.
It was summer break. His three other roommates had all gone home, leaving him here alone.
Coming from a humble village in Ludong province, he knew better than anyone the burden on his family. Every vacation, he’d stay behind in Lanchuan City to work and send money back home.
Just yesterday, he’d gone to Jinsheng Tech for a job as a programming assistant.
It was a small company, but 5,000 yuan a month? That was decent money for a college student.
As a student from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Lanchuan Transportation University, Liam had chosen to build his future in this top-tier city.
Compared to what he’d earn back home, this place held way more opportunities.
He had joined that company right after graduation—and watched it grow, year after year.Thanks to his solid work performance, Liam Carter got promoted to department manager within just a year.
Unfortunately, accidents never come with warning signs—Eleanor Reed, the company’s boss, died in a sudden car crash. For the whole company, it was like a thunderbolt on a clear day.
Without its backbone, the company quickly went downhill and eventually fell apart.
Thinking of Eleanor, Liam couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow.
She was the kind of strong woman you rarely met—sharp, decisive, yet deeply caring toward her employees, like family. It was hard not to respect her.
Then a thought struck him, and Liam instinctively sat up in bed, fumbling to open his laptop and log onto EastFinance.
In his past life, he had dabbled in stocks too, dreaming of hitting financial freedom. Too bad that dream came crashing down.
At first, he caught the tail end of a bull market and made a little bit. But when the bear market hit, he got wiped out.
To him, the stock market was just another casino. Retail investors were nothing but fresh meat for the big players.
Even though he spent tons of time studying technical analysis and trading strategies, in the end, he lost it all.
He quickly typed “Tengyun Technology” into the search bar.
When the stock price popped up—2.31 yuan, total market cap: 800 million—he breathed in sharply.
This was the stock that turned into an absolute monster. It was still in its early stage now, but he remembered very clearly what was coming next.
Back on Tuesday, July 19, at 10:30 a.m., Tengyun Tech was about to make its IPO debut.
With support from major funds and hot money flooding in, the stock went up by ten times in just one month, hitting a peak of 24.2 yuan.
But the party didn’t last long. What followed was brutal.
On the morning of August 19, the stock opened high and hit the limit-up, but half an hour later, it got crushed—an epic “ceiling-to-floor” move.
It closed limit-down that day, and after that, it was a nightmare. Days of consecutive drops left retail investors bleeding. By the time some managed to exit, their accounts were already in shambles.
“Incredible…” Liam muttered to himself, “Nearly twenty years ago, and I still remember every detail. Is this some kind of perk from being reborn?”
He chuckled, but the smile didn’t last.
He glanced down at his mobile banking—2,000 yuan left.
Even if he got lucky and multiplied it by ten, that’d only be 20,000. Not enough to turn things around.
Worse still, throwing it all in meant he wouldn’t even have money for food.
“Money…” Liam frowned, brows furrowed. “Where the hell am I supposed to get the starting capital?”
