I rolled around on the bed, trying to come up with ideas to earn money.

It’s going to be difficult to find a way without Luke knowing. If I work part-time somewhere, I’ll most definitely be caught. It’s going to be hard to secretly sneak out too.

{Marie, u there?}

I sent a text over to my new friend. She might have some ideas that are suitable for college students.

{Lilia!! What’s up?}

She replied almost immediately.

{I need to earn some money. Any ideas?}

{You need cash? I can lend you some if the amount isn’t too big!}

?? I'm grateful, but shouldn't she be more careful??

{No, no, it’s fine. I want to try earning some income on my own…}

{Hmm…

What about working part-time on campus?}

{I thought of that too, but I’d like something more flexible if possible…}

{Oh! What about being like, an influencer? You’re so pretty, I’m sure you’ll be famous in no time!}

{….what?}

{You know, like those people who post pretty pictures and advertise things? Or they post some video of them eating or doing something fun, and people watch it cos they’re pretty!!}

{Um, yeah, no.}

I grimaced at the thought. Posting pictures and videos of myself?

I’m currently considering wearing a mask to college just to stop people from staring…

If I were to become an “influencer”…

There would be zero chance of me having a peaceful college life!!

There’s no way I would shoot myself in the foot like that!?

I sighed, bidding Marie good night.

I appreciated her help, but her ideas were...not suitable...for me.

I decided to go to bed for now, and think about it tomorrow.

--

A few days passed, with me adapting to college and classes. I spent most of my time with Marie, and I got along well with some of my new classmates.

Marie and I had similar classes, but we didn’t have completely matching timetables. 

“I’ll see you later then, Lilia!” Marie gave me a quick hug and ran off.

I waved at her, watching her rush to her next class.

We just finished a class together, but Marie had another class right after. I didn't take that class so I’ll have to wait an hour before we could have lunch together.

I decided to wait for Marie at the dessert café we frequent. 

“Lilia, the usual?”

A bright smile greeted me at the counter as the boy took a cup and scribbled my order on it before I even replied.

I gave him a small nod, “Thanks Kyle.”

“No problem! I’ll add more toppings for you,” Kyle beamed at me as he swirled a large amount of whipped cream onto my drink.

Kyle was the boy who worked part-time at the dessert shop. I’m not entirely sure if he’s interested in Marie, but they get along really well. Well, Kyle gets along well with almost everyone, with his cheerful manner and rather handsome face. I’m not keen of his over-friendly manner though, so I tend to keep my distance whenever possible. It’s hard to look through his true intentions when he’s always beaming so brightly…

Marie is somewhat (?) interested in him, so we often stop by the dessert shop. I haven’t sensed any ill intentions from him, so even though I’ve been keeping my distance, I didn’t mind frequenting the shop so that Marie could chat with Kyle.

That being said, he’s a second-year student, but I always see him working at the dessert shop. When does he actually go to class?

Grabbing my drink from the counter, I sit in a dark corner of the shop. I’m still mulling over the best way to earn some side income.

After I gain a small amount, I’ll use it as capital and invest in stocks. With my knowledge from my previous life, I’m pretty certain that I’ll make a profit in the long-term. I’m not an active trader though, so simply relying on stocks to earn some quick cash isn’t going to work – I’ll probably be broke in no time.

I took out my laptop and scrolled through some social media sites, trying to get some ideas.

Hmmm…

Marie’s suggestion in being influencer was actually pretty good. The market is large and the demand is still growing. If not for my personal distaste for fame, it would be a good choice.

I frowned as I scrolled through the influencers list.

With the market growing so rapidly, there’s a ton of low-quality goods out there – whether it’s the influencer themselves or the advertisements they post. Even those with apparent bad reputation are able to get some ads.

One of the main divisions in my company (in my previous life) was luxury goods, so I knew much about advertising. The low-quality marketing I’ve seen so far…

I shook my head. If this came out from my company, it would be as if I stabbed myself in the back.

Huh. Maybe there’s something I can do about this. I tilted my head, an idea forming.

It’s been a long while, but when I first started at my family’s company, I dabbled in all sorts of things to understand every part of the supply chain.

Including producing ads. Things like designing posters, making videos… I think I’m pretty good at it – especially since my sense are honed now, after looking through tons and tons of professional designs throughout my life as a CEO.

After thinking it through for a moment or two, I decided that it was worth a shot.

I’ll be a freelancer! I’ll start with designing ads and videos.

I quickly registered an account on a freelancing website. The main issue now is that as Lilia, I haven’t done any work related to this, so I’ll have to come up with a few ideas to make a portfolio.

Now that I’ve decided on an income stream, I’ll have to work hard to make sure I can attract orders!

--

A/N: procrastinating, so i'm writing... ;-;