Chapter 4

After hanging up, I went straight to the bank.

I locked all my savings into a long-term CD and canceled all my credit cards. Then I changed my phone password to stop Jake from taking out more loans.

Only then did I go to inspect Jake's chosen location.

I stared at the three-story building. My unpaid workplace for six months. And I laughed.

It was sandwiched between a McDonald's and a KFC. A Burger King stood directly across the street.

And Jake wanted to open his "herbal burger" joint here, under siege by fast-food giants.

The very idea turned my stomach. Who would ever eat that?

But the biggest fool was my past self who funded it.

Not this time.

I put on a troubled face and fidgeted. "Jake, my parents locked my savings in a long term CD," I said. "And I maxed out all my credit cards last month. I cannot get any money right now."

Seeing Jake frown and ready to explode, I cut in quickly. "Jake, you said you saved $28,000 for our wedding. Why not use that? When we marry, I won't ask for a single dollar. Consider it my investment in your startup."

His frown deepened, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. I smirked inside. That wedding fund was a fantasy, an empty promise he never meant to keep.

I didn't press him, instead shifting gears with a tone of innocent concern. "But... your herbal burgers don't sound very appetizing. Will people actually eat them?"

The moment I questioned him, Jake's annoyance flared. "This is a project Sam and I researched personally! It perfectly merges health consciousness with modern food trends!"

"What the hell do you know? Just keep quiet if you don't understand!"

Sam chimed in from the side, "Ugh, women just have such a narrow view, no vision at all."

"Our herbal burger joint is entering a completely blank market right now. There's so much money to be made!"

I wanted to burst out laughing.

Seriously, Sam? Have you ever stopped to think why the market is blank? It's because this garbage won't make any money!

But Sam was still lost in her self-proclaimed brilliant vision. She slapped Jake on the butt, winking and grinning. "Jake, Daddy here has found us the ultimate path to riches! We're going for it, even if we have to take out loans!"

"We'll take over this whole three-story building! Herbal burgers on the first floor, boba tea on the second, and a trendy rooftop patio for Instagram on the third! It's going to be an instant hit the moment we open!"

Last time, they did exactly the same thing. Before they even opened, they blew nearly $100,000 on renovations for all three floors.

But after opening, nobody bought the herbal burgers, and the generic tea shop on the second floor was completely ignored.

As for the trendy rooftop patio? Only mosquitoes and flies ever 'checked in' there.

In my previous life, I tried to convince them not to invest so much money all at once, to just try one floor first. But then I was called timid and lacking vision.

This time, I mentally gave Sam a huge thumbs-up! Go for it! Take out massive loans! You two deserve to experience what it's like to be hounded by debt collectors, driven to despair.

But on my face, I maintained a worried expression, deliberately questioning, "Can that really work? What if your judgment is wrong and you lose everything?!"

Sure enough, Jake, who couldn't handle even the slightest challenge, got even more hyped up. "What the hell do you know?! Sam and I picked this project! How could we lose money?"

"We're listening to Sam! We're taking all three floors and making it a huge, bustling success!"

They exchanged a sweet glance, lost in their delusional dreams of getting rich. Watching their public display of affection, in my previous life, I would have been consumed by jealousy and self-doubt. Now, I just felt utterly disgusted.