Chapter 7

I held back my tears and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the medicine bills. You just focus on getting better." I spent the entire morning talking with Jane and learning about her situation. She had no friends or family in Welsington City, and no one visited her while she was in the hospital. So, I promised to visit her every other day. Three times a week seemed just right—not too much to disrupt my schedule, and enough to not interfere with her rest and treatment. As I was getting ready to leave, Jane suddenly started crying. "Thank you, William. I've already spent so much of your time, and now, with this illness, I'll owe you even more. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay you back." "What are you talking about? Who said anything about paying me back?" I laughed, gently pinching her cheek. To ease her mind, I decided to tell a little lie. "Besides, it's not all from me. I crowdfunded it, and lots of kind people chipped in, so you don’t need to feel any pressure.” "Really?" Jane clearly felt more at ease. I was about to nod when Joshua's voice suddenly came from the doorway. "I wore those shoes yesterday and knew they were real. I was wondering where you got the money to buy something that expensive. William, it turns out you're embezzling donations!" I took a deep breath. How was it possible to run into Joshua even at the hospital? He really was like a bad penny. "Jane, you rest up. I'll be going now." I didn't want her hearing any more nonsense, so I closed the door behind me and dragged Joshua outside. "Joshua, listen to me. This is the last time I'm going to warn you. Stop bothering me, and we'll call it even. But if you keep this up, I'll make sure you get exactly what you deserve!" I realized I wasn't very good at threatening people. Even I felt unsatisfied after saying that. Maybe I should practice more. Sure enough, Joshua wasn't fazed at all. In fact, he seemed more cocky than ever. "Why are you so angry? Is it because I caught you doing something shameful? Don't think that you can just walk away from this. I will tell everyone, including teachers and students. You name it!" Just then, a nurse called out from somewhere nearby, "Are there Sophia's family members here? The patient is about to undergo surgery, and we need you to come over now!" Joshua shot me a hateful glare before sprinting toward the nurse. I was confused. The documents that Alan gave me didn't mention that Joshua had any family members in this city. After thinking about it, I followed Joshua's direction. Outside the ward, I asked a passing nurse, "Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of surgery is happening here?" The nurse glanced at her chart and replied, "It's an ectopic pregnancy. She's having an abortion." Pregnancy? Abortion? Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, I was still a virgin! My mind raced. So, Joshua had another girlfriend besides Lina? And they'd even had a child together? It was impressive. How had the foundation approved so much funding for someone like him? Back at school, I expected to be hit with another wave of drama, especially after Joshua had threatened to ruin my reputation at the hospital. But for the next few days, Joshua didn't return to the dorm, giving me some much-needed peace. It wasn't until the results of the entrepreneurship competition were announced that he finally showed up. Several companies attended the event, eager to recruit talent. My parents didn't attend to avoid drawing attention, but Dad's secretary, Carmen, came to support me. She didn't reveal her identity, sitting quietly in the audience as a family representative, cheering me on. According to the schedule, each participant had five minutes to present their project. Once they finished, the judges would announce the revenue they had reviewed. Joshua was one of the first to present. He confidently rambled on about this project, not wasting a single second of his five minutes. He had good speaking skills, but there was no focus in his pitch, making the whole thing come off poorly. When Joshua finished, one of the judges stood up and announced, "The ninth contestant's verified earnings are eight thousand and 63 dollars." Sparse clapping followed. Clearly, Joshua's project hadn't done well, and it looked like he would be at the lower ranking. Joshua returned to his seat next to Lina, who happened to be sitting right in front of me. I tried to ignore them, but their constant cuddling and whispering were hard to miss. Fortunately, the event wasn't too long since it was only open to freshmen, and there weren't many participants. After half an hour, it was my turn. I got up and walked to the stage. My project was a charity game called Evergreen. Instead of starting with a speech, I played a short demo of the game. The room filled with laughter as the audience watched the fun and engaging gameplay. Once the video finished, I smiled and began my presentation. "This game might already be familiar to many of you here. I want to thank you all, not for me, but on behalf of the kids who've been helped through it." "As you can see, this game has attracted over one hundred and 30 thousand players so far, generating over one hundred and 90 dollars in donations through advertisements and levels. This is a purely charitable game." I finished my presentation in just three minutes, although I have five minutes of presentation time. A judge stood up and announced, "The verified earnings for contestant number 21 are 320,650 dollars." Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. My revenue far surpassed everyone else's, making me the undeniable champion of the competition. As I stood on stage, holding my prize and posing for photos with the sponsors, I saw Carmen snapping pictures like crazy, gesturing for me to look at the camera. I figured she was taking them to show Dad. I smiled awkwardly and gave her a thumbs-up. Once I stepped off the stage, Carmen rushed over. "You were amazing, Mr. White! You totally deserve a round of applause!" I chuckled. "Thanks, but I have to give credit to Dad for lending me three top-notch experts. It wasn't all from me." Carmen smiled and handed me two gifts from her bag. "Mr. White Senior asked me to prepare these for you. One's a congratulatory gift, and the other's a celebration reward. They're all for you!" "Thanks." I gratefully accepted the presents. Although Dad had ordered the gifts, I knew Carmen had picked them out for me herself. "Well, I won't take up any more of your time. I need to get back and report to Mr. White Senior," she said with a playful wink before hugging me briefly and leaving. Excited to see what she had gotten me, I sat down and began unwrapping the gifts. But before I could finish, Joshua and a group of his friends surrounded me.