'Money comes, money stays,
But with the rich who already own.
Money builds, money breaks,
The poor man bends, the rich one takes.'
'It works in secret ways and sets the test,
Only those who understand it will be served.
While for the reward afterward—
Are the women, to where gold and silver lie.
Shining their teeth, they choose those with fattened pockets and sell their love to them.'
It was the lingering golden hour, the dusk of the evening. With the late afternoon sun still lighting up the city and its light spilling over the horizon, people walked about, absorbed in their own journeys.
"What is my purpose?"
In the middle of the crowd, a heavy voice spoke aloud, which made countless eyes turn toward him. While some shook their heads at the person, others whispered quietly.
But Oliver did not seem to care as he continued walking through the crowd, his head facing down and hands in his pockets.
Unlike others walking in lively groups, he was walking all alone... no, not alone. At least his heavy backpack, dragging behind like a dead weight, kept him company.
'My purpose? My purpose! Funny for my mind to think about that,' a dark chuckle escaped from his lips.
He turned into a short lane leading to another street as he kept walking, with the number of people around him becoming fewer.
'After graduating as a first-class pilot, only ten years later to end up working as a laborer in a construction company. Is my purpose not obvious already? To remain poor at the very bottom.'
He sighed, the dull sound containing disappointment and anger.
'And back then, in my school days, I had this naive mindset of 'money doesn't buy happiness.' But now, look at where I am.'
'That stupid phrase fooled me and affected my mind so deep that I didn't push myself harder to get rich at that time.'
'Now I understand that money is the accurate measure of happiness. Imagine waking up on an exclusive island with a beauty at your side, a life of endless luxury at your beck and call, a life free from problems and filled with good health. That is true happiness!'
With these thoughts swirling like a bitter storm in his head, he stopped in front of a five-story building with a strange, hollow smile that concealed the true expression on his face.
"Back to this damn place," he uttered, clenching his fist.
He finally walked into the building and began the familiar climb up the stairs until he reached the door of his small apartment.
Only to be welcomed by a white envelope at the front of his door.
At that moment, Oliver's expression changed into a weird one.
"Another one today," he let out, his tone utterly devoid of surprise, as if he knew the contents before he even touched it.
Nevertheless, he still bent down and picked it up.
From your landlord.
Those were the first three words that greeted his twitching eyes.
'As expected.'
All interest in reading the rest of the notice vanished. He folded it, pushed it into his chest pocket and unlocked the door with a weary sigh.
A gentle gust of breeze grazed his skin from the open window, the curtain dancing to the rhythm of the wind.
The scent emitting from his apartment wasn't bad, a sign that he was trying his best.
His heavy backpack dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
The apartment was made up of a room that served as both a sitting room and a bedroom, a tiny kitchenette, and a bathroom.
Yawning, he allowed his exhausted body to fall freely onto the small worn-out couch at the side. His own tired reflection stared back at him from the nearby mirror on the wall.
Oliver ran his hand through his hair before he closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh.
Who was he?
The thirty-year-old Oliver was a casualty of life, a poor man ground down by a world that valued only wealth.
He was betrayed first by his greedy family, who saw him as a worthless piece of trash because he lacked the one thing that defined a real man to them—MONEY.
And then, three years ago, his wife followed the same path and abandoned him.
With the cold saying, "Don't your mates spoil their wives lavishly? I can't keep suffering with a man who can't even pay his bills, let alone take good care of me." Just like that, she left the marriage, which wasn't even a year old.
Rrr-umn!
The violent sound of hungry worms rumbling from his stomach shattered his silent peace.
"Thankfully, I still have some leftover food from yesterday's meal," his dark eyes opening as he stood up.
He went ahead and pulled a plate of white rice from the mini-fridge at the other end of the room, then microwaved it in the kitchen.
Lazily sitting on the kitchen cabinet, he began to devour the food into his empty stomach.
"Let me check if there is any luck today from those emails I sent my application forms to," he remembered his life situation.
While eating, he pulled out his phone and went down to his email.
"Seriously? Nothing?" he muttered, his face covered in disappointment. His inbox was completely empty. "What the hell's going on?" he yelled, almost knocking over his food.
"Well, there is nothing I can do but to search for more," he seriously let out, managing to calm himself down after a series of insults.
He went directly to the Internet and began his job hunt once again, the screen's harsh light illuminating his rough face.
Going through different websites, he came across a lot of them, but none of them seemed suitable for him.
Just as he was scrolling through one particular website, a job that caught his interest appeared on the screen—a chauffeur with good grade needed. It was a new job request posted a few minutes ago.
"This can't be real," he stated, speechless in disbelief, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen.
The part that had truly caught his eye was the fantastic pay of $7,500 per month.
He quickly clicked on it, eager for more details, only for another blank white page to take over the screen.
It was nothing more than one of those irritating, pointless pop-up ads for a spin-the-wheel game.
He cursed, "What kind of rubbish is this!" he exclaimed, trying to close the window, but his hand accidentally touched the game.
The wheel started to spin through different options.
He tried to remove the page, but he couldn't.
His phone seemed to be stuck on the page, frozen by a glitch.
Then, a message popped up.
「Congrats! You've won yourself a MILF Sim and an Infinite Harem Subscription, arriving at your location within the next two minutes!」
Oliver hissed at the screen. "A man needs money and this stupid pop-up is showing something useless."
He swiped the screen again, this time with furiousness and the page finally exited.
He quickly went back to the job posting, only to find out someone had taken it just a few seconds ago.
A roar of pure rage escaped him. "That goddamn pop-up! I lost the job because of that stupid fucking thing!" He slammed his hand down on the table.
Ding Dong!
The sudden sound of his doorbell startled him.