[Chapter 38: April Fools' Day]
"John, you won't believe it -- I actually hit the jackpot on that lottery ticket I bought yesterday! I just won 30 million dollars," Zach burst into the room hurriedly, waking John up from a groggy sleep.
"What? Lottery? Jackpot?" John stared in disbelief as his mind suddenly cleared.
There was no way to stay sleepy after hearing news like that. John had been a casual lottery player in his past life -- not obsessed, but he'd often buy a few tickets, dreaming of hitting it big.
"Yeah, haha..." Zach nodded emphatically at John and then burst out laughing.
"Who? Who won the lottery?" Bob walked in just then, hearing the commotion and asking anxiously.
"What're you waiting for? Let's go claim the prize. I've actually got an investment plan that needs a big chunk of cash," John replied with a grin.
After hearing John's response, Zach and Bob suddenly exploded into laughter -- one rolling on the couch, the other nearly collapsing to the floor.
"Damn, Zach, what's so funny?" John asked, finally snapping back to reality. Looks like they were messing with him.
"Wow, come on, let's go claim the prize! Haha..." Bob teased, mockingly.
"Fuck!" John shot back.
"Wow, John, happy April Fools' Day!" Zach finally stopped laughing and smiled at John.
Only then did John realize what was going on. It was April 1st -- April Fools' Day.
Zach and Bob had planned this prank early that morning, knowing young John was always focused on making money. They figured this joke would definitely get him -- and sure enough, it did.
...
Well, it had been a few days since the night of the boxing match. It was now April, and on April Fools' Day, John got pranked by Zach and Bob.
The morning after the fight, John used Allen's makeshift magic lab to refine the Clearstone he'd just acquired, finally extracting a milky-white crystal under 2 centimeters in diameter.
Officially, it was to help Allen and his team refine some strengthening potions. Allen had collected ingredients for two days, managing to synthesize three vials of basic magic elixir. John handed over two, keeping one for himself.
That same day, John found a jewelry store in Beverly Hills and had the Clearstone mounted into a platinum necklace, which he then wore around his neck.
As he continued his magical training, John fully realized the Clearstone's effectiveness -- his progress in a day tripled compared to before. No wonder it was highly sought after by major magical factions.
Although it lost its effect once a mage reached mastery, very few actually achieved that level. The Clearstone was perfect for nurturing the younger generation in a family -- truly a legacy piece to pass down.
John never let anyone else touch the necklace; it was always close to him.
...
John didn't take the prank from Zach and Bob too seriously. Honestly, his talk about needing funds for an investment wasn't a joke.
He'd been thinking about it for a while. According to history, Netscape went public back in '95 -- although he wasn't sure exactly when.
He'd mentioned this to Jerry Yang and David Filo when Yahoo was still young, asking them to keep an eye out. But no news had come, and it was already April. John wasn't going to wait any longer.
In his past life, he only knew Netscape went public in 1995, but not the exact date. If it went public suddenly without him ready to invest, he could miss an easy money-making opportunity.
He knew once Netscape went public, the stock price rose steadily until Microsoft launched its own browser. Netscape's browser dominated at first, so a speculative investment of a few million could become tens of millions in returns.
At this point, John found himself frustrated. His reincarnation perks included advanced magical abilities but no insight like a search engine in his head to keep track of timing.
---
Ring~ring~ring~
John's old brick phone rang while he was having breakfast.
"Hello, this is John Leighton. Who's calling?"
"Wow, Charlize, hi there."
"What? You're coming back today? Really?"
"Today's April Fools'. Don't try to fool me."
Hearing John warn not to prank him on the phone, Zach and Bob nearly spat out their soup laughing.
"Yes, it's April Fools', but I'm just a minor character here. I finished filming everything in one month and am flying home tonight."
"That's good. I was just--"
[A/N: Charlize Theron's first movie got pushed back a few months here. Readers, please don't take this detail too seriously.]
John shared the morning's prank story with Charlize, who laughed brightly on the other end. Just making her smile made John quite happy.
"Okay, before you board the plane, call me -- I'll pick you up at the airport."
"No, thanks. I'm coming with my agent, and it'll just be annoying. We'll talk tonight."
"Alright, how about I cook some food tonight? We can have dinner together."
"You'll make food? Really?"
"Sure."
"Okay, I'm looking forward to tasting your cooking. Alright, gotta go now. Bye!"
"Bye!"
---
"Wow! John, looks like you're dating now! Planning a date tonight? How come I didn't know?" Zach teased.
"Come on, Zach, don't make a big deal out of it. Wanting to date is normal, right?"
Zach shrugged, "Whatever you say."
Zach actually felt confident about John. He knew him well; it wouldn't be easy to take advantage of him.
"Who's the lucky girl?"
"Hey, Zach, don't be so nosy."
"Oh, but we hang out all the time, and I haven't seen you on any dates."
"Well, it's just the tenant next door. We're not in a relationship yet; we're just getting along and chatting more."
"Whoa, the young actress? John, are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"It seems she's older than you?"
"So what? Love doesn't care about age, right? Besides, I'm not interested in young girls -- they're way too immature."
Hearing John's reply, Zach thought that made sense. With John's maturity, it'd be hard to find a girl his age who could really connect.
Of course, John wouldn't mention he bonded quickly because of his memories of her from his past life. Every man secretly fantasizes about holding his own goddess close.
---
By the time John finished eating it was almost 10 AM. He thought it was time to get serious, picking up the phone to call Jerry Yang.
Since he was going to use his Yahoo! shares as collateral, he needed to inform Jerry and David.
Jerry was surprised by John's plan to take out a loan, but hearing John needed cash without selling his shares, he understood why John wanted to pledge the stock.
John reassured them the voting rights of his Yahoo! shares would still be controlled by Jerry and David. They agreed and said to let them know if John needed anything.
John thanked them warmly and hung up.
---
Then John considered his options and reached out to Michael Moritz. Moritz had come by before to try buying John's shares, and they had good rapport.
Moritz was enthusiastic on the call but surprised when John explained his intentions. Yahoo! shares were valuable, and taking such a large loan was a bold move.
However, once John promised that Sequoia Capital would have the right of first refusal on any share transfers, Moritz relaxed.
Hearing John's pledge about priority rights, Moritz finally warmed up.
Still, Moritz said he couldn't make decisions himself but would relay John's message to Sequoia's management and wait for their reply.
They ended the call with John's thanks.
*****
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