At dinner time, Jason made his way to the college dining hall with his three roommates trailing behind him. The familiar cacophony of clinking trays and student chatter filled the air, but Jason felt oddly at peace among it all.
He didn't look down on cafeteria food just because he now had money burning holes in his pockets.
Jason had always believed there were two types of wealthy people in this world—the first looked down on everyone beneath them with barely concealed contempt, while the second blended seamlessly into any crowd without a trace of arrogance.
He despised the first type with every fiber of his being.
So even if he earned astronomical amounts of money in the future, he had sworn to himself that he would always be the second kind—the type of rich man who never forgot where he came from.
At school, he deliberately avoided wearing expensive watches or anything that screamed luxury. Flaunting wealth and creating artificial distance between himself and his classmates simply wasn't his style. The Patek Philippe stayed safely locked in his dorm room drawer.
While they stood in the seemingly endless dinner line, Mike was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly looked up with confusion written across his face.
"Yo, Jason," Mike said, waving his phone in the air. "Emma's been desperately looking for you in like three different group chats. But instead of replying, you actually left the groups? Dude, after chasing Emma for three solid years, and now she's finally coming around—why are you suddenly playing this hard-to-get game?"
Ryan and Chris both turned their heads in perfect synchronization, giving Jason the kind of suspicious looks usually reserved for people who claimed they didn't cheat on exams.
Jason replied with the calm of someone discussing the weather, "I've told you guys already. I'm completely done with her."
Ryan raised an eyebrow so high it nearly disappeared into his hairline. "You've said that before, sure, but I thought it was just because she rejected you and you had no choice but to move on. But this time is different... Emma's the one showing actual interest. And you're still just gonna ignore her like she's invisible?"
Jason shook his head with finality. "Even if she started chasing me down the hallway tomorrow, I wouldn't take her back."
"Yeah, right," Mike scoffed, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Three years of chasing, and you're seriously telling us you can just walk away like that? No way in hell. Emma's gorgeous, man. It's literally impossible for any red-blooded guy to just say no to that face."
Jason didn't bother explaining further. Instead, he discreetly opened his system panel while pretending to check his meal card balance.
His basic attributes hadn't changed much, but his focus was laser-focused on the favorability statistics that could make or break his mission.
Megan: 38(+20 )
Quinn: 31(+31)
Holly: 26(+51)
Emma: 57(+30 )
Megan's score had jumped significantly. Quinn's had risen steadily from their initial meeting. Holly's had skyrocketed after their afternoon on the water.
But what surprised him most was Emma's sudden spike. Her favorability had shot up by 30 points—even though he'd been completely ignoring her desperate attempts at contact.
He smirked internally. Lily had messaged him earlier that Emma had finally broken up with Josh and was apparently trying to transfer back to their shared classes. That probably explained her sudden change of heart about his worth.
"Heh. Karma's a beautiful thing," Jason thought with satisfaction.
In total, today's favorability gains added up to 102 points. Once he managed to spend the last million sitting in his account, Task Two would finally be complete.
But he'd noticed something peculiar about the system's mechanics. Yesterday he had gained 51 favorability points—exactly 1 over the mission requirement of 50—yet that extra point hadn't rolled over to count toward Task Two.
"In other words," Jason muttered under his breath, "any favorability gained past the daily mission cap doesn't accumulate. Which means I'm being slightly inefficient. Good to know for future planning."
Meanwhile, across campus, Emma was practically dragging Lily, Samantha, and Hailey toward the dining hall with the determination of someone on a life-or-death mission.
Lily, somehow more anxious than Emma herself, was practically bouncing on her toes. "Emma, hurry up! I heard from someone in my chemistry class that Jason's definitely in the cafeteria right now. He's probably just playing hard to get because his pride got hurt, not because he's actually over you. Come on—a guy doesn't just forget about a gorgeous girl like you. If you show up right in front of him looking amazing, I guarantee he won't be able to resist apologizing and begging you to take him back."
Emma nodded with the confidence of someone who'd never truly been rejected before. "Exactly. He's wanted me as his girlfriend for three entire years. Now I'm finally ready to say yes. There's absolutely no way he can turn me down. Not after all that time he spent chasing me."
Samantha and Hailey exchanged subtle eye-rolls behind Emma's back but kept their mouths diplomatically shut. They were only coming along for dinner anyway—if some premium drama came with their meal, well, that was just entertainment.
When they finally arrived at the bustling cafeteria, it didn't take long to spot Jason's distinctive silhouette. At six feet tall with his new confident posture, dressed in a perfectly fitted casual outfit that somehow made him look effortlessly expensive, he stood out like a beacon even in the crowded dinner line.
Lily, Samantha, and Hailey all froze mid-step, their conversations dying instantly.
Even though Jason's actual facial features hadn't changed, his entire aura had undergone a complete transformation. The clothes, the fresh professional haircut, the way he carried himself with quiet confidence—he looked like a completely different person than the awkward, desperate Jason from just a few days ago.
Emma took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she assumed would be an easy reconciliation, and was just about to stride over confidently when—
A stunning girl from the design department approached Jason's table with a lunch tray balanced elegantly in her hands. Emma recognized her immediately: Megan, one of the most sought-after girls on campus.
Megan stopped right beside Jason and greeted him with a smile so radiant it could have powered the entire dining hall.
Emma's feet turned to concrete. Her heart plummeted straight through the floor.
"Wait... that's Megan? And she's smiling at Jason like... like that?"
The memory hit her like a freight train. Some time ago, when she'd gone shopping with Josh at the upscale mall downtown, she thought she'd only bumped into Jason by pure coincidence. Back then, Megan had even linked arms with Jason—at the time, Emma had assumed it was just Megan being friendly to make herself look good in public.
But now, seeing their interaction from this new perspective, a horrible realization began to dawn on her. Were Jason and Megan actually... close? Like, genuinely close?
Lily, Samantha, and Hailey were equally stunned. Megan was known throughout campus as a sweet, approachable girl who was friendly with most of her classmates.
But her smile toward Jason? That wasn't just friendliness—it was warm, intimate, and genuinely affectionate in a way that made Emma's stomach twist with jealousy.
Just as Emma tried to compose herself and force her feet to move forward, another absolutely stunning figure glided past their group.
Quinn had apparently just finished her lunch and was preparing to leave when she spotted Jason across the dining hall. She lifted her hand in an elegant wave, her smile bright enough to light up the entire room as she caught his attention.
Emma's blood turned to ice water.
"Hold on... isn't that Quinn? The 'Business Department Queen'? Why on earth does she know Jason—and why is she smiling at him like they're... intimate?"
Lily, Samantha, and Hailey were just as dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open in synchronized shock. When exactly had Jason become so inexplicably popular with the campus elite?
But the surprises weren't finished demolishing Emma's assumptions.
At a table in the far corner, a cool, leather-jacket-wearing girl with an aura of effortless rebellion lifted her hand in Jason's direction with casual familiarity.
Jason caught her gesture immediately, and his lips curved into an easy, comfortable smile—the kind reserved for people you genuinely enjoy being around. The rest of the girls at her table also waved in Jason's direction like they were all old friends sharing inside jokes.
Emma, Lily, Hailey, and Samantha stood frozen like statues, their collective jaws practically on the cafeteria floor.
"That's... that's Holly from the sports department," Hailey whispered in complete disbelief. "She doesn't even acknowledge most guys when they try to talk to her. How the hell does she know Jason well enough to wave like that?"
Samantha shook her head slowly, her voice hollow with shock. "That's not just casual recognition. Look at the way they're all smiling at him. No girl acts like that with just an 'acquaintance.' That's the kind of smile you give someone you actually care about."
Lily's voice was tight with barely controlled panic. "What the actual hell is happening here? Why is he suddenly surrounded by the three most desirable girls on campus?"
Emma felt her heart drop straight into her stomach as pure panic set in. She'd always operated under the assumption that Jason's eyes were fixed solely on her—that as long as she remained beautiful and eventually gave him a chance, he'd come running back like a loyal dog.
But now Jason clearly had Megan Chase, Quinn Blake, and Holly Larson in his social circle. Each one of them matched or even surpassed her in looks, intelligence, and natural charisma.
If Jason started seriously dating one of them... wouldn't she be completely and permanently out of the picture?
Seeing Emma's increasingly frantic expression, Hailey and Samantha exchanged knowing looks loaded with dark satisfaction. They couldn't help but smirk internally—serves her right for being so arrogant. She'd had her golden opportunity, and she'd thrown it away like garbage. Now it was too late for regrets.
Meanwhile, Jason's three roommates—Mike, Ryan, and Chris—sat beside him in various states of shell shock, completely paralyzed by what they were witnessing.
Megan, Quinn, and Holly—three of the undisputed campus goddesses—had just stopped by to greet their friend one after another, each smiling like Jason was the most fascinating person they'd encountered all day.
Mike's jaw was hanging so low it was practically scraping his dinner tray. "Okay, I need someone to pinch me because I'm obviously dreaming. Did three of the most beautiful girls on campus just... casually acknowledge our existence?"
Ryan corrected him instantly, his voice cracking slightly. "No, not our existence. His existence. Jason's. Dude, since when were you tight with the three campus queens? And when I say tight, I mean that tight?" He gestured frantically at the lingering smiles on the girls' faces.
Chris looked like he was about to faint directly into his mashed potatoes. "This is absolutely insane. The three girls that everyone else can't even get within ten feet of are suddenly waving at you like you're their favorite person in the world? I believe it now—you're definitely over Emma. With those three goddesses in your corner, who would even think about her anymore?"
Jason maintained his composure with the skill of a professional poker player, simply shrugging as if this was the most natural thing in the world. "It's just friendly greetings. What's the big deal?"
All three of his roommates nearly choked on their food simultaneously.
"Just greetings?" Mike hissed, his voice climbing to a dangerous octave. "Those are three literal goddesses smiling at you like you're their secret boyfriend, and you call it 'just greetings'? Bro, you're about to give me a heart attack."
All three stared at Jason with a mixture of pure envy and complete despair, like they were witnessing a miracle they could never hope to experience themselves.
They used to genuinely pity him when Emma trampled all over his feelings with her designer heels.
But now? Now they were jealous beyond the capacity for rational thought.
They used to joke about him being the unluckiest guy in their dorm when it came to romance.
But Jason wasn't unlucky anymore—he was living like an absolute king, and his kingdom was growing larger every single day.
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