If They Say I'm a Schemer, So Be It

Just before the wealthy Davenports came to the orphanage to find their lost son, my childhood friend Stella pressed a jade crest pendant into my hand.

The director said this was with you as a baby, she whispered.

Suddenly, glowing text appeared before me:

[Shes giving the male leads heirloom to the side character? So the side character gets adopted?]

[Yes. The real heir has a fresh back tattoohe needs time to heal.]

[What noble family wants a son with bleached hair, piercings, and a flashy tattoo?]

[Let the side character take the fall. Once the heirs tattoo heals, hell reveal the imposter and take his place.]

[Too bad the side character cant read this. Hes about to be called a scheming usurper.]

That was my past life.

I took the pendant, was welcomed into the Davenport family, and was showered with love.

But two years later, at my birthday gala, the real heir Rhys Davenport burst in, weeping. He said Id stolen his life. Stella stood beside him, calling me a cold, calculating fraud since childhood.

Overnight, I became a social-climbing snake, blacklisted in every industry. I died broke on the street.

Now, opening my eyes, I was back.

Stella offered the pendant again. A slight smile touched my lips.

I took it.

"Here, Nathan. For you."

Stella pressed the cool, smooth jade into my palm, her face a mask of gentle concern. "The director said this was the only thing you had with you when you were brought to the orphanage. I thought maybe it could help you find your family."

I looked down at the familiar crest, the transparent text once again floating in my vision.

[Here we go! The classic pendant hand-off! The imposter is officially online!]

[Stella is ruthless. She came up with this whole 'trading the prince for a pauper' scheme just so Rhys could have a few weeks for his ugly tattoo to heal.]

[Poor Nathan. Used as a shield for two years only to be discarded.]

My hand clenched around the pendant, my knuckles turning white. I looked up at the woman who had personally orchestrated my doom, her eyes glinting with a cunning she concealed so well.

"Really?" I sniffled, forcing my eyes to redden with unshed tears. "Stella, thank you! I I don't know what to say!"

I pressed the pendant to my chest, feigning the same overwhelmed gratitude as before.

A flicker of triumph flashed in Stellas eyes. She had taken the bait. "Silly," she murmured, her voice dripping with false affection. "You don't have to thank me. We're friends."

Just then, a black Rolls-Royce purred to a stop at the orphanage gates. A regal-looking couple stepped outHarrison Davenport, CEO of the Davenport Corporation, and his wife, Eleanor.

Just like in my previous life, Eleanor's gaze landed on the pendant I was clutching, and she froze. She rushed toward me, her voice trembling.

"Young man that pendant"

I took a deliberate step back, my expression a mixture of fear and confusion. "Ma'am? Do I know you?"

Harrison caught up, placing a steadying arm around his emotional wife. He looked at me, his eyes a storm of complex emotions that finally settled into a heavy, solemn promise.

"We're your parents, son," he said, his voice thick. "We've been looking for you for nineteen years."

Eleanor could no longer contain herself. She pulled me into a fierce embrace, her body wracked with sobs. "My boy my sweet boy Mother has finally found you"

Over her shoulder, I met Stellas gaze from across the yard. She offered me a small, encouraging smile.

I lowered my eyes, hiding the icy contempt that swirled within them.

The Davenport mansion was even more opulent than I remembered. Eleanor led me by the hand into a bedroom so vast it felt more like a suite.

"Nathan, you've suffered so much," she said, her voice choked with emotion as she pressed a black card into my hand. "This is for you. A little something to make up for lost time."

"There's no pin, no limit," she whispered. "Buy whatever you want. Don't you dare try to save money for my sake."

Harrison, who had followed us in, nodded gravely. "The card is yours. From now on, you are the one and only heir to the Davenport family."

[Here it comes, the unlimited black card! Last time, Nathan was too scared to spend a dime, terrified of being seen as a gold-digger.]

[And what did that get him? They still thought he was an unsophisticated nobody who couldn't handle himself.]

[In the end, Rhys got the card and blew tens of millions on luxury goods without batting an eye.]

[Spend it! Go on! If you don't, someone else will spend it for you!]

A small smile played on my lips as I read the comments. They were right.

In my past life, I had treated this card like a hot potato, pathetically trying to win their affection with obedience and humility. How naive I was.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Mother." I accepted the card with a calm poise, showing neither hesitation nor excessive excitement.

My composure seemed to startle them. They had probably expected a boy from an orphanage to be stammering with joy.

I didn't give them long to study me. Taking the card, I retreated to my new room and opened the brand-new laptop they had provided.

I needed money. A lot of it. And this black card was my first lever.

Drawing on the memories of my past life, I quickly identified several projects that were initially overlooked but were destined to become colossal successes.

NovaCore Tech's "Oracle" chip project.

Luminary Pictures' high-concept series, Midnight Sun.

And a small biotech firm on the verge of bankruptcy, soon to be acquired and restructured.

Without a moment's hesitation, I began funneling vast sums of money through a complex network of channels.

[Whoa! He's actually spending it! Nine figures right off the bat?]

[Is he insane? NovaCore is a notorious money pit! The Davenports will break his legs if they find out!]

[Wait a minute isn't Midnight Sun that show that became a global phenomenon? The return on investment was something like 30,000%!]

[To the guy above, I just checked. That biotech firm is being acquired by the Chen Corporation next month. They're about to announce a breakthrough cancer drug. The stock is going to the moon!]

I worked fast. In less than half an hour, a staggering amount of money had flowed out of the black card's account.

As expected, a sharp knock came at my door.

Harrison Davenport strode in, his face a thundercloud. In his hand was a fax from the bank, detailing my recent transactions.

"Nathan." He slammed the list onto my desk, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's. "I just had your spending records pulled. The Davenports are not short on cash, but that doesn't give you the right to squander it."

He had clearly done his research on the companies I'd invested in. That's why he was so furious.

I didn't even glance at the list. I simply looked up, my expression calm as I met his fiery gaze. "Father, this isn't squandering. It's investing."

"Investing?" Harrison laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "What does a boy straight out of an orphanage know about investing?"

"Do you know how much money NovaCore has burned through? And Luminary Pictures is a third-rate production house. Are you playing games with me?"

"By the end of this month, NovaCore will announce a major breakthrough in their 2nm chip technology, securing a massive investment from the military."

"And while the production team for Midnight Sun may be underfunded, their director is Li An, a genius who just returned from winning an award at Cannes. I believe it will be the biggest hit of the year."

The anger on Harrison's face slowly froze, replaced by a look of sharp scrutiny and disbelief.

"As for the pharmaceutical company, within a month, the heiress of the Chen Corporation, Victoria Chen, will personally lead the acquisition."

"Father, you've been in the business world for decades. You know what that implies."

The room fell into a dead silence.

Harrison stared at me, searching my face for any sign of panic or deceit, but he found none. My expression was as placid as a still lake.

After a long moment, he turned and left my room without another word.

Within the gilded cage of a dynasty, affection was a fleeting rumor. Value was the only true currency.

Just as I predicted, within a month, all three of my major investments exploded with spectacular news.

NovaCore officially announced its breakthrough in 2nm chip technology. A military-backed fund made a high-profile investment, and the company's valuation multiplied tenfold overnight.

Luminary Pictures' underdog series, Midnight Sun, with its masterful production and mind-bending plot, became a viral sensation, breaking viewership records and becoming a massive cultural export.

And the bankrupt biotech firm was acquired by the Chen Corporation for a breathtaking sum, all because it had developed a revolutionary new cancer-targeting drug.

For the second time, I was summoned to Harrison's study.

"These are your investment dividends," he said, pushing a set of documents across the desk toward me. "Nathan, tell me. How did you know?"

I simply smiled. "Father, would you believe me if I said it was just luck?"

He fell silent. A true businessman doesn't believe in luck; he believes in strength and information. The more mysterious I appeared, the more valuable I became in his eyes.

From that day on, Harrison began taking me to exclusive business galas and private banquets. Eleanor, too, was eager to introduce me to the city's most eligible heiresses, her matchmaking intentions crystal clear.

In my past life, I had felt like a product on a shelf, awkward and tongue-tied before the scrutinizing gazes of the city's elite.

This time, I was the one doing the judging.

"Mr. Davenport, what are your thoughts on NFTs?" a man in gold-rimmed glasses asked, trying to sound profound.

I swirled the wine in my glass. "A bubble over-inflated by capital," I said coolly. "When the fad dies, so will the fools who bought into it."

The man's face stiffened.

"I hear you've just returned to the Davenports, Mr. Davenport. Where were you employed before?" another trust-fund kid asked, his tone dripping with condescending curiosity about my origins.

I looked him straight in the eye. "Where I was before is irrelevant. What matters is that my name is Davenport now." I paused, letting my gaze sweep over him. "And from what I hear, Mr. Ashton, your family's quarterly reports aren't looking too good, are they?"

Their stunned and humiliated expressions bored me.

It wasn't until a business gala hosted by the Chen Corporation that I met Victoria Chen.

As the host, she was conversing with several industry titans. Dressed in a flawlessly tailored suit, she exuded an aura of cool confidence and innate control.

[It's her! The male lead's future partner!]

[In the last life, Nathan never had the status to attend events like this, so he never met Victoria.]

[Wait, isn't Stella the male lead's partner? Why are the comments saying it's Victoria?]

[Oh, right, I remember now. Stella was just the early-game partner. Rhys eventually dumps her and tries to climb his way up to Victoria, but she never gives him the time of day.]

As I was reading the comments, a grating voice sounded behind me.

"Well, well, if it isn't the country boy the Davenports just dragged in. Learning how to hunt for a sugar mama already?"

I turned. It was Blake Ashton, the heir to the Ashton Group, a thorn in my side in my previous life. I couldn't be bothered with him and turned to leave.

But he blocked my path, raising his voice to draw attention. "What? Did I hit a nerve? I guess for someone with your background, all you have is a pretty face and the Davenport name, right?"

He had succeeded in attracting a small crowd, including, I noticed, Victoria Chen.

I stopped and looked at him, a slow smile spreading across my face. "You're right, Blake, one can't choose their background. But one can choose to use their brain."

"Instead of wasting your time obsessing over my past, you should be more concerned with the Ashton Group's precarious stock price. I hear your line of credit is about to be cut, isn't it?"

The color drained from Blake's face. "You What nonsense are you spouting!"

"You and I both know it's not nonsense," I said, my smile vanishing, my eyes turning cold. "If you want to leave with any dignity, I suggest you do it now."

Just then, Victoria Chen approached, a wine glass in her hand. She ignored the shell-shocked Blake, her gaze landing directly on me.

"Mr. Davenport, a pleasure," she said, raising her glass. "Your analysis of the Ashton Group's situation was quite astute."

"You flatter me, Ms. Chen."

"What I'm more curious about," she said, her sharp, intelligent eyes glinting, "is how you managed to buy up the majority of that biotech firm's scattered shares right before my acquisition. Your intel was better than mine."

So, she had already investigated me.

"Perhaps," I replied with the same well-worn excuse, "I'm just very lucky."

Victoria laughed, a sound of genuine appreciation, the kind one gives an equal. "Harrison has kept you hidden for too long. We should have dinner sometime, Mr. Davenport. I believe we'll have a great deal to talk about."

After that night, Victoria and I began to meet frequently. We didn't talk about trivialities; we discussed corporate mergers, future technologies, and global economic trends. Many of my insights surprised, and even impressed, her.

A month later, Harrison summoned me to his study again. He wore a complex expression I had never seen before.

"Nathan," he began, his voice sounding almost surreal, "Victoria Chen just called me."

I watched him calmly, waiting.

"She wants to merge our families," he said, the words hanging in the air. "She wants to marry you."

The news was a bombshell, cementing my unshakable position. The massive returns from my investments had also started to roll in, doubling the Davenport family's assets.

Soon, my twentieth birthday arrived.

The Davenport and Chen families decided to co-host a lavish gala in my honor, which would also serve as my and Victoria's official engagement party.

Standing before the mirror, dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, I knew that the night that had plunged me into despair in my past life was about to play out again, but this time, on my terms.