Riches in Disguise novel Chapter 3

I couldn't help but smirk at the teacher's words.

He didn't even bother to ask why I had hit someone and went straight to handing out punishment. With bias like that, what was the point in saying anything?

As much as I wanted to storm out of the classroom, I needed the credits, so I forced myself to stay.

Thankfully, I had already taught myself most of this material back in senior year, so I didn't even bother listening. Instead, I pulled out my phone and started scrolling.

While checking my social media, I came across a post from Joshua.

What caught my attention was the car in Joshua's post, which was the same model as mine. That particular car wasn't common, so it surprised me that he had one, too.

But then, something else made me pause. One of the photos in his post looked oddly familiar.

Wasn't that a picture of my family's orchard?

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I immediately sent the photo to Alan, my family lawyer.

Alan replied quickly, "Yes, this is indeed from our orchard. We took these photos in August for promotional purposes, but they haven't been released to the public yet."

How did Joshua get his hands on an unreleased photo of our property? I was stunned.

I quickly messaged Alan again. "Could you do a background check on Joshua, my roommate? I have a feeling that something's not right."

I couldn't shake the suspicion that he might have hired a hacker to breach the computer system of my family's orchard just to mess with me.

After class, I headed toward the library. On my way, I passed a bulletin board and noticed a large poster pinned up.

"The First Starus Creative Entrepreneurship Competition!"

I had been involved in small business ventures since high school, earning some pocket money along the way, so this event piqued my interest.

I stopped to read the details carefully. It started with signing up and then submitting a project proposal, and the grand prize was five hundred thousand dollars.

As I was absorbed in reading, a group suddenly shoved me, nearly knocking me off balance.

I turned to see Joshua with his arm around Lina, flanked by a few classmates, all sneering at me.

My eyes instinctively went to Lina. The clothes, shoes, and bag she was wearing were all gifts from me.

I didn't know if she had forgotten or simply didn't care. She sure had some nerve if it was the latter, strutting around in her ex-boyfriend's things.

But surprisingly, I didn't feel that same sting of jealousy anymore. Instead, I felt like she had played her part well. She'd fooled me into believing she loved me.

"William, are you seriously thinking about entering this competition?" Joshua eyed me up and down like he didn't even know me.

"Don't tell me you've lost your mind over that five hundred thousand dollar prize! Do you even have the capital to start a business? Look closely, this contest is all about creativity and profit. Without money, what business are you going to start off with? If you don't invest anything, what kind of returns can you expect?"

One of his lackeys chimed in, "William can always sell those knockoff products. Five dollars a piece, and he might actually make a profit."

Lina couldn't help but laugh at that.

I ignored them, pulled out my phone, and snapped a picture of the poster before leaving.

But before I could walk away, Joshua quickly stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

My temper flared instantly.

"Move!" I snapped.

"Hold on, William. If you want to act though, I'll give you the chance. Why don't we both sign up for this entrepreneurship competition and see who ranks higher?" Joshua offered.

Compete with Joshua? Please. He wasn't worth my time.