At Thirty, I’m Taking Back Everything That’s Mine

At twenty-nine, his startup had failed, he was buried in debt, and his girlfriend had left him at his lowest point. Zhou Ye returned with two suitcases to the old street where he had lived for more than a decade. Everyone thought his life was over. But no one knew that what he had always excelled at was never working dutifully for someone else. It was reading people, sizing up situations, and spotting opportunities. He helped turn around a little shop on the verge of closing and earned his first bit of money. He negotiated a deal no one else dared touch and rebuilt his network. From the old neighborhood to the business district, from small-time ventures to major projects, Zhou Ye slowly pulled himself out of the mud. But just as he was about to make a complete comeback, an old contract from years ago suddenly surfaced. Only then did he realize that his startup’s failure back then had not been an accident at all. Someone had used him as a pawn. Someone had climbed over him to get ahead. And someone had been waiting for him to give up completely. Too bad for them. They’d be waiting a long time. This time, Zhou Ye would not only pay off every last debt. He would also take back, one by one, everything he had lost back then.