The Day My Name Bankrupted a City

044

"This car is awesome! It has it all: the roaring engine, the buttery-smooth controls, and the swagger! How can I not want it?" I said excitedly, as the car zoomed through the test track at a hundred kilometers per hour.

Naomi was sitting in the passenger seat, unfazed. Instead, she kept her gaze fixed on me. "Of course, it's equipped with a 5.5-liter V8 twin-turbo engine, clocking in at 544 horsepower." She smiled as she heard me exclaim in joy. "It will accelerate to 60 miles per hour in just 5.4 seconds. The Maybach G63 is the ideal combination of power and comfort. This off-road vehicle is unquestionably amazing."

"Even though I see it every day at work, I still can't help but pause for a moment and appreciate it. I'm especially fond of the customized black matte paint. It's breathtaking!" Her voice was passionate as she went on about the car, and sighed with suppressed emotions as she mulled, "It's a pity that the price is too high. When all is said and done, it will cost more than $300,000."

When she was talking about the price, she shot me a glance secretly, watching for my reaction. She seemed to be looking for an odd reaction, that of guilt or hesitancy, to the price. Her expectations, however, were not met. My demeanor was calm from beginning to end, unaffected in the least by the mention of the f*e.

In fact, I was completely immersed in the sensation of driving this car. It turned out driving was actually quite fun. Although the price of this car was below the top-class Rolls-Royce Violet prepared for me, the car provided a free-flowing, smooth feeling that was not present in the Rolls-Royce. How could I not want it? It was such an awesome car.

"Damn, this car is good. There's literally nothing wrong with this car." The satisfaction from this car made me think that I, sure enough, did not make the wrong decision in coming to find Naomi.

Naomi raised her eyebrows, a little surprised. In a low voice, she mumbled to herself, "Didn't you hear the price? Elena's probably right that I'm stupid. I knew he had no chance of affording it. I was naive, expecting some kind of miracle to happen."

"What did you say?" I glanced at her suspiciously.

"Nothing." Naomi shined a carefree smile. "After graduating high school, we haven't seen each other in like three years, right? Whatcha been doing recently?"

In an instant, I switched from being treated as her client to being treated as her classmate.

"Recently? Well, I'm about to graduate. I don't need to attend any of my classes anymore. Right now, I'm planning on developing myself outside of school." As I spoke, I turned on the radio, testing out the sound quality in the car.

"You're also doing work outside of school? Internship, right? Seems like great minds think alike. There's no need to waste your senior year in college. One should accumulate work experience and network as soon as possible."

Work? Internship? Well, kind of. Being the CEO of a company was indeed work. A slightly strange expression on my face, I smiled and then nodded.

Naomi met my gaze. "Our high school has a lot of people, and amongst those you managed to leave a deep impression on me. It's not just because of your financial situation. It was more for your unyielding personality and your persistence. You never gave up."

"Oh yeah, you were quite impulsive. I remember back in high school you knocked out several guys' teeth because they insulted you." Naomi continued, her voice sincere, "Life is complicated. It's not as simple as it was back in school. As long as you ground yourself, I believe you can definitely, step by step, earn money to buy a car and a house. You can raise a family and live a stable, comfortable life."

Her words caught me a bit off guard. I smiled. "Makes sense." I drove the car for a few minutes before pulling back into the lobby.

After exiting the car, I saw Elena and her two other colleagues waiting at the entrance. They looked as if they were welcoming my return, but, in reality, they just wanted to see how things would turn out. They wanted to see how I would "pay" for the car.

Not really caring about this, Naomi took the car keys from me and smiled. "Let's have dinner tonight. I have a short lunch break. If you have nothing else to do, I'll give you a call once I get off work at six. Sounds good?"

"Sure, I'm free, but... I like this car. Can't I buy it now?" I looked at her quizzically. My question stunned her. "What's wrong? This car is for sale, right?"

"Uh, of course it's for sale, but it's just, you know, this car is over three hundred thousand..." Naomi answered subconsciously. Suddenly, her eyes widened, her expression turned into that of shock. "Wait, Gael, y-you actually want to buy this car?!"

Elena and the people next to her were astonished. They seemed to want to say something but went silent as they saw me pulling out my card.

"I really like this car. It suits my taste. Why shouldn't I buy it?" I chuckled and handed my card to Naomi. "I'll also be helping you out, giving you business. Here's my card."

Naomi took my card, still in a daze. She was completely dumbfounded. Behind us, Elena and the others gasped. They inched a bit closer to Naomi, as if they wanted to see if this card could really pay for the car.

Half an hour later, 360,000 dollars left my account. The payment was successful and Elena went numb from shock.

"Girl, am I dreaming? Naomi's broke high school classmate actually just bought this Maybach G63?!"

"With only a message in a group chat, she managed to sell a car worth over 360,000 dollars?"

"A hidden rich kid that can spend 360,000 dollars in a blink of an eye actually appeared out of her subpar high school classmates. Does that mean there's a hidden rich kid... among my high school classmates too?" murmured Elena. She took out her phone and found some of her high school peers.

[Long time no see! I'm Elena Tuffin. I work at a Mercedes-Benz dealership selling cars. Please remember to contact me if you are interested in purchasing a vehicle. I guarantee I'll offer you a great deal.]

...

After the purchase went through, Naomi guided me through some paperwork. Meanwhile, some messages from my high school classmates group chat popped up.

[Why is this group chat active all of a sudden? What's all the fuss?]

[Oh, I see. Naomi sent a message. A pity that I didn't see it in time. I was traveling to the Maldives for vacation and I just got off the plane. So, Naomi is selling cars?]

[Damn, I just changed to a Porsche Macan. It's still brand new. I don't want to change cars just yet. When I need to buy another car, I'll definitely go and buy from Naomi.]

The lurking class president, Frank, had decided to show himself. Before, he did not dare to speak, since he really could not afford to buy a car from Naomi.

He took the initiative to mention how he just changed cars, resolving the matter.

Plus, it was true. He had just obtained a new car, a Porsche Macan GTS. However, he had begged his parents for over a year before they finally agreed to buy it for him.

Taking his opportunity to show off, Frank posted a picture of his new car. Obviously, his main objective was to get Naomi, his goddess, to notice him. The once quiet group chat suddenly exploded with messages.

[Shit, it's actually a Porsche. Frank, you're so cool!]

[I remember that you had a BMW 3-Series last year. You upgraded to a Porsche Macan? I see, you're hella rich. Please, Frank guide me and the other losers on the path to getting rich!]

[That Porsche Macan is so beautiful. It's at least 30k, right?]

[Are you blind? That's not an ordinary Macan. It's a Macan GTS. Those are worth at least 90 grand!]

[Fuck, he's so rich!]

[I'm jealous of Frank. He's able to drive luxury cars at such a young age. He's basically winning at life. If anyone can help Naomi, it'll be our Frank.]

[I agree. Frank is awesome!]

The group chat began sucking up to Frank. Filled to the brim with pride, Frank scrolled through the continuously pouring texts. He chuckled and began typing in the group chat.

[You're too kind. My family's business isn't that big. It only makes like four million dollars a year. Are you guys jealous of me? Well, I'm jealous of those rich guys that have over fifteen million dollars in assets.]

[Is Naomi offline? When I return from my trip, Naomi and I should meet up. It just so happened that two of my friends mentioned something about wanting to get a new car. Maybe they'd be able to purchase a car off Naomi.]

Frank's messages caused all the people in the group chat to grimace. These words appeared modest on the surface but were clearly intended to show off. Family's business is not that big? Only four million dollars a year?

However... Frank definitely caught the attention of Naomi. Everyone in the group chat thought so. Then, Naomi sent a photo into the group chat.

In the photo, Gael was signing the paperwork for the car, his head lowered. Naomi had taken a photo of him secretly and sent it to the group chat.

[Oh, Frank, you're online? Great, I'm busy now, but make sure to contact me if you want to do business in the future. Gael just arrived and bought a car. I'll help Gael finish the purchase and then I'll chat with you.]

The group chat went silent.