Emily Smith nodded vigorously after hearing this. “Yes, you absolutely must not give him another chance!”

“When will he regret it?”

“Do you really want to see him regret it?” Emily Smith couldn’t help but ask.

Sophie Clark thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. She felt that William Carter was just too awful—he toyed with her feelings and self-esteem. Only if he regretted it and came back to her, and she could ruthlessly reject him, would she finally feel vindicated.

Emily Smith couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, not knowing how to respond.

She thought it would be best if William Carter never looked back, and that he should just walk away now while he still could, otherwise who knew how messy things might get in the end.

But she could never have imagined that William Carter had already seen the ending, had personally witnessed youthful joy being discarded like trash, and that was exactly why he felt absolutely nothing for Sophie Clark.

That’s just how love is—there’s no rhyme or reason to it.

You can love someone for years, be endlessly accommodating and attentive, yet never even hold her hand. Then one day, someone else suddenly appears, and with just a few sweet words, wins all her affection.

You want to reason with love?

Love will just slap you right in the face.

Meanwhile, William Carter returned to the neighborhood, parked his car, and walked to the community garden, then sat down on a stone bench and began to ponder.

His thoughts had nothing whatsoever to do with Sophie Clark, because he simply didn’t care about her at all. What he was thinking about now was still how to earn his first pot of gold.

Summer vacation isn’t that long, but it’s not that short either. In theory, everything could be done slowly, no need to rush.

But when it comes to starting a business, the sooner the better, so the issue of the first pot of gold was urgent—he had to explore every possibility.

After thinking it over, he felt it might be easier to just ask his parents, so he got up and went upstairs, finding Yvonne Cooper who was happily enjoying her weekend.

“Mom, how much savings do we have? Can you lend me some? Even a few thousand would help, ten or twenty thousand would be even better.”

Yvonne Cooper reached under the table, rummaged around, and handed him two mahjong tiles—an eight wan and a nine wan. “Spend it sparingly.”

William Carter’s mouth twitched. “Mom, you can’t even bear to give me two nine wan tiles?”

“Oh, get out of here! What savings do we have? Ten or twenty thousand? Even if we sold you, you wouldn’t be worth that much.”

At this moment, John Carter looked up at William Carter, as if he wanted to say something, and his breathing grew a little heavier. Seeing this, William Carter’s eyes instantly lit up.

Of course! They say the older the ginger, the spicier. Look at his dad’s expression—he must have some private stash and is hesitating about whether to lend it to him.

“Dad, is there something you want to say to me?”

“Forget it, it’s nothing. Go play.”

“It’s okay, Dad, don’t pretend. Just lay it all out—I’m ready.”

“Well… son, could you pour me a cup of tea?”

“?????”

Three minutes later, after pouring the tea, William Carter returned to his room, feeling utterly defeated.

He thought he must have been out of his mind to have any hope in his dad.

Mr. John Carter was famous for being henpecked—if he had more than five yuan of private money, he’d be so nervous he couldn’t sleep. How could he possibly lend him thousands?

Still, if he couldn’t do big business, he’d have to do small business. After all, a little money is still money—small amounts add up, and starting a business is always hardest at the beginning. Relying on others was just unrealistic.

Borrow money?

Everyone around him was a high school student—having five yuan in their pocket was already a big deal. There was no way he could borrow much.

A loan?

It was an option, but the procedures were too complicated, and in his previous life, he’d been suffocated by a mortgage, so he had a natural aversion to loans.

William Carter took off his clothes and got into bed, planning to get a good night’s sleep first, then look for business opportunities elsewhere tomorrow. At the very least, he had to double the seven hundred yuan he had on hand.

Reborn and starting a business—it sounded easy, but it was nothing like he’d imagined.

Chapter 7: The True White Moonlight

The next morning, dawn spread across the sky.

William Carter slipped out of the house, rode his bike around the city, and then entered the Jizhou City Zoo.

Because it was both Sunday and summer vacation, the entrance to the zoo was packed with people—more crowded than a temple fair.

An hour later, William Carter squeezed his way out of the zoo, nearly losing his shoes in the process.

Once outside, he squatted by the entrance and gulped down a big mouthful of water, then pulled out his Nokia and called David Harris, asking him to come over.

David Harris lived nearby, and as soon as he got the call from William Carter, he hopped on his bike and rushed over, pedaling hard. He was drenched in sweat, but in a great mood.

These days, he looked forward to being summoned by Brother Carter every day, always feeling like he’d have another chance to make money at any moment. But when he finally found William Carter, he couldn’t help but freeze on the spot.

He saw William Carter squatting on the ground, holding a plucked chicken in each hand.

“Brother Carter, what are you doing?”

William Carter shook the chickens in his hands. “Bought two chickens for ten yuan. I’ll give you one—take it home and have your mom stew it for you.”