Second Chance: I Can See the Future

Chapter 7

Anthony's freshly acquired 100 thousand dollars was gone in the blink of an eye.

Rent was 2,500, a phone charger cost 150, tickets for the signing event were 97,000, and he just topped up his phone with another 150. Now, he was left with only 200 dollars.

Anthony suppressed the urge to visit Emily, feeling a wave of guilt and pain as he thought about her.

During Ashley's pregnancy, Anthony's startup failed and fell into a spiral of despair, giving up on himself. Emily had grown up so well thanks to Ashley's efforts; if it had been left to Anthony, she would either have starved or been harmed long ago.

'She is so young... How could I have brought myself to hurt her? Anthony, you're such a jerk! You are worse than a devil!' In the dim light, Anthony lay in bed, reflecting on everything that had happened over the past few years. His bloodshot eyes gradually closed, and he didn't even realize when he fell asleep.

Anthony woke up again to the sound of a ringing phone. He glanced at the time; it was almost 11 p.m.

"Mr. Anderson, why are you calling me at this hour? You must be inviting me to dinner!" Anthony answered the call with a laugh.

"You're my hero!" Kevin sounded extremely excited. "Dinner is nothing; I'm up for anything!"

"Hah, Mr. Anderson, what made you change overnight?" Anthony had a good idea of what was coming.

"Stop calling me Mr. Anderson! Didn't I tell you? Call me Kevin!" Kevin said, trying to sound serious.

Then, filled with regret and frustration, Kevin said, "Anthony, I was wrong! Did you see the news? The internet is buzzing with news about Soren and SuaveEdge. If I had known this would happen, I should have listened to your advice yesterday. I've made a terrible mistake!"

Anthony chuckled. He checked online, and sure enough, his predictions about the future were spot on.

The social media was full of hashtags like #SorenClarifies#, #True Identity of the Girl#, #SuaveEdgeReportstothe Police#, and #SuaveEdgeHasNoOutsourcingFactories#. Just like yesterday, eight out of ten trending topics were about Soren and SuaveEdge, but today, all the news was positive.

Soren had clarified that the girl sleeping in his arms was his younger sister. He hadn't wanted to reveal his family's identity to avoid causing them trouble, but now he had no choice.

It was reported that Soren was filming an advertisement when his parents brought his sister to visit him. She fell asleep in the hotel after a long journey.

The end of the statement included several photos showing Soren's affection for his sister, making it impossible for anyone to harbor any sordid thoughts.

SuaveEdge had also clarified that all their products were made in their own factories, with strict quality controls. They did not have any outsourcing factories; the reports circulating online were about a fake factory.

The SuaveEdge group had contacted the police, and the fraudulent factory had already been shut down. The official SuaveEdge account thanked the internet users for pointing out the issue and rewarded the person who posted the video with 100 thousand dollars for helping shut down counterfeit factories.

Overnight, all negative news about Soren and the SuaveEdge Group vanished, and their images had improved.

"Soren's PR team is really impressive," Anthony remarked, then looked at the trending topic that concerned him the most.

Under the trending topic #SorenFirstSigningEventWillProceedAsScheduled#, there was a chorus of complaints. Most were saying things like "I should have paid the deposit yesterday," and some were apologizing to Soren.

At this point, there was no need to check other news.

Anthony chuckled, "Looks like the pre-sale access for Soren's signing event are going to sell like crazy!"

Kevin sensed the sarcasm in Anthony's tone, but he had nothing but a bitter smile and regret. "I sent you a photo; take a look," he said in a bitter tone.

Anthony checked his phone to find a photo from Kevin showing the stadium packed with people, far more crowded than the line from yesterday.

"Has the deposit been reinstated?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, but the SuaveEdge official didn't take the opportunity to profit; they just restored the original price," Kevin said, wishing he could slap himself. No wonder Anthony had said, "What a pity".

Kevin had prepared two million dollars in funds yesterday. If he had invested it all at the deposit price back then, he could have made at least ten times that profit! But he just didn't have the guts! Now there was no turning back.

Anthony knew that Kevin hadn't believed him at the time, but there was no need to bring that up again. "There's no need to regret it. Those five thousand purchasing access will still earn you a nice profit," Anthony reassured him.

"Anthony, I just don't understand. If you knew it would turn out like this, why didn't you buy more yesterday? I could have lent you the money," Kevin asked.

"Borrowing money means owing you a favor, right?" Anthony replied with a laugh.

"Favor? How much is a favor?" Kevin said, feeling confused.

Anthony shook his head. The more a person learned, the more they knew about one thing—debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay.

"Get a few people to meet with us at 7 p.m. We're going to the stadium to make some money," Anthony said. After confirming the plan with Kevin, they hung up.

In the afternoon, Anthony made a plan for the upcoming events.

At six o'clock, he left his place and took a taxi to the stadium, where Kevin was already waiting with seven others. Seeing Anthony, they rushed over.

"Anthony, how much should we charge per access?" Kevin asked quietly.

Seeing his anxious look, Anthony laughed, "We're not committing a crime; why are you being so cautious?"

"I'm just excited... And it feels a bit inappropriate to sell tickets  in front of the official cashier," Kevin replied sheepishly.

"Let's go with 2,000 dollars. Any less isn't worth it, and any more would be inappropriate and could get us in trouble," Anthony suggested.

"2,000 dollars?" Kevin's eyes widened.

"What? Is that too little?" Anthony asked.

"No, no! That's perfect!" Kevin's eyes sparkled. Buying for 100      each and selling for 2,000 meant a direct 20-fold profit.

With 5,000 access in hand, selling them all would amount to ten million dollars! While Kevin was excited, he also marveled at the money-making power of these stars.

Just then, a commotion erupted at the cash register—all remaining purchasing access had sold out.

"Let's get started." Anthony signaled to Kevin, then shouted under the curious gazes of the crowd, "Tickets for Soren's signing event! First come, first served!"