Benny glanced at Selena sleeping on the sofa.

The television continued playing highlights and commentary from the World Cup opening ceremony. Colored lights flashed across the screen while the commentators enthusiastically discussed the upcoming match.

Quietly, Benny sat down on the floor and leaned against the sofa.

The match soon began.

As players sprinted across the field, another thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Wait."

He blinked.

"What about the hundred-thousand-yuan debt?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The system immediately responded.

[ It remains as debt. ]

[ If Host wishes to recognize it as company profit, the appropriate legal procedures must be completed. ]

Benny shook his head.

Why would he ever want to do that? Company profit?

The very words made him uncomfortable.

Just then, the crowd erupted from the television.

"And it’s a goal! Arona scores!"

The commentator’s excited voice echoed through the living room.

"Hah. Tell me about it."

Benny muttered under his breath.

A moment later, he lowered his head and opened his phone.

His thumb hovered above a gambling application.

Fifty-six million yuan.

Even placing a small fraction of it on a match could become a fortune overnight.

Just as he was about to tap the screen, a voice came from behind him.

"I thought you promised mom and dad you’d never gamble."

Benny nearly dropped his phone as he turned around to see Selena was staring at him.

"...Uh."

His brain worked furiously.

"Well, gambling is only gambling when you don’t know the answer."

The words sounded ridiculous even to him, Selena looked at him for several seconds.

Then she simply took the phone from his hand.

At some point, she had already wrapped an arm around his neck.

"You should at least keep one promise to Mom and Dad."

Her fingers flicked the screen off.

"You already broke one when you dropped out of college."

Benny opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"...Alright."

There went his easy money.

Though, thinking about it...

What if he really did bet fifty-six million on the winning team?

What if all the money changed something?

What if some completely unknown team suddenly appeared out of nowhere and won because of a butterfly effect?

Benny stared at the television, then snorted.

Yeah right, something happening like that was kinda ridiculous.

But he still obediently closed the application completely and put the phone away.

The two continued watching football until well past midnight.

———

The next morning, Benny woke up before sunrise.

By the time Selena’s alarm rang, the living room had already been cleaned.

Breakfast was already being prepared and the bathroom water heater had been turned on.

The bedroom door opened and Selena stepped out while tying her hair.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Benny pointed toward the bathroom.

"Water’s warm."

Selena nodded and disappeared inside.

The sound of running water soon echoed through the apartment.

Meanwhile, Benny sat at the dining table and stared at his phone.

Fifty-six million yuan, the number still felt unreal.

"Do I even have to file taxes for this?"

After a moment, he locked the screen and set the phone down.

He could give Selena ten million, it would make life a whole lot easier.

Especially when she was always constantly overworking herself to make money.

But he needed to find a valid reason on where he got his money from and giving her the money was the easy part...

How was he going to convince to her to willingly spend the money he gave her. That was the hard part.

By the time he stopped thinking, breakfast had already been arranged neatly on the table.

The bathroom door opened and Selena emerged fully dressed, bag already slung over one shoulder.

She sat down and quickly began eating.

"Must be hard teaching a bunch of kids every day." Benny commented to lighten the mood.

Selena glanced at him and replied calmly, "Yeah, kids your age."

A few minutes later, she checked the time and immediately stood up.

"Alright, I’m going."

"You’re not even done—"

"Bye."

The apartment door opened and closed before he could finish.

Silence returned.

Benny looked at the untouched portion of breakfast on his plate.

"Damn, she’s always in a rush."

He finished eating alone before gathering the dishes.

Soon, only the sound of running water and clinking plates remained inside the apartment.

Benny had just finished drying the last plate when his phone rang.

The caller ID displayed a familiar name, Lucy.

He wiped his hands on a towel and answered.

"Morning."

"Good morning, Boss."

Lucy’s voice was as polite as ever.

"Are you available today?"

Benny blinked.

"Today?"

"Yes."

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"I wanted to confirm whether you’ll be coming to the company."

Benny thought about it for a moment.

"Of course, I’ll be there today."

"...Understood."

The call ended shortly afterward.

Lucy lowered her phone and stared at the dark screen.

Then she slowly exhaled.

So he was coming, does that meant that the company wasn’t shutting down?

Her gaze drifted toward the financial reports spread across her desk.

As the person who has been handling the company’s paperwork and financing, she had naturally seen the numbers.

Six hundred thousand yuan.

The company had burned through nearly all of it.

The office, the computers, the furniture and the café investment.

Looking at the records alone, she couldn’t see a single profitable project.

The company looked less like an investment firm and more like an expensive hobby.

Yet somehow, Benny still intended to continue.

Lucy leaned back in her chair.

At worst...

She would just have to find another job.

Again.

Compared to her previous experiences, that wasn’t even particularly frightening anymore.

With that thought, she put away her phone and prepared herself for whatever disaster her boss had planned next.

———

Meanwhile, Benny looked at the ended call and smiled.

Today was important, very important.

He had already decided on the next step for Autumn Investment.

Livestreaming.

It was the perfect business valued at 5 million.

The only issue was...

"...How do you even start a livestream company?"