Early morning. Scarlet gradually woke from her exhaustion.
Though she called it exhaustion, it was more like the refreshing feeling of having slept soundly after an intense workout.
She habitually tried to roll over in bed but found herself rolling onto a warm, firm body.
The intoxicating male scent instantly jolted Scarlet awake, and she opened her eyes.
Oh...
She remembered—she'd slept with her boyfriend last night.
Hehe.
Looking at Arden's face so close to hers, Scarlet's expression overflowed with affection.
She was overwhelmed with emotion.
Just a week ago, Scarlet had been stressing about whether she could land a full-time position after graduation, what job she should pursue if she got laid off, and whether she should go for a master's degree or not...
In short, they were all survival questions.
Pennbrook University was indeed a top-tier school, but the employment situation for liberal arts marketing majors was honestly bleak—especially with the current economic climate over the past couple years. Positions matching liberal arts degrees were basically undergoing massive layoffs, let alone hiring new grads.
Yet only a week later, she was lying in a hotel bed that cost nearly three hundred bucks a night.
Beside her, sleeping soundly, was the man who'd spent over a hundred and fifty grand on her just days after they met.
Even before graduating, Scarlet already owned a limited edition handbag worth over twenty grand, high-end Chanel outfits, and a sleek Mercedes C-Class...
Oh my God, am I dreaming?
Scarlet suddenly felt inexplicably nervous and reached out to pinch Arden's face.
"Mmph..."
"Babe, does your face hurt?"
"Nah, I'm good. What's wrong?"
"I suddenly feel so happy—I'm scared this is all a dream."
Arden, still groggy from just waking up, took a few seconds to process before bursting into laughter.
"What are you laughing at? Is it that funny?"
"Babe, you're so fucking cute, haha..."
Scarlet was mortified and hid under the covers, only for Arden to yank them back and tease her.
As they playfully wrestled, it naturally transitioned into their morning session.
In the past, Scarlet had heard some female friends complain about demanding their husbands "deliver the goods" after marriage, and some women even cheated due to sexual frustration.
Back then, Scarlet found it incredible. Was that kind of thing really so addictive?
It wasn't until now—when Scarlet herself experienced the pleasure—that she finally understood.
Intimacy with someone you genuinely loved was truly addictive.
After a long while, Arden patted Scarlet's round ass as she rested on him and teased, "Babe, this nightgown is seriously incredible, but I gotta ask—when you wear this in your dorm, don't you feel embarrassed when your roommates see it?"
You had to understand, Scarlet was pure at heart.
It was genuinely hard to imagine such a shy girl wearing something practically out of an adult film in her dorm room.
Hearing this, Scarlet smiled sweetly. "Of course not! Hehe, I'll tell you a secret—I actually secretly bought it yesterday while we were shopping, when you weren't paying attention."
"Wait, what?" Arden looked dumbfounded. "How did I miss that?"
"You went to grab ice cream, and I was still in the Chanel store. The lingerie shop was right next door."
"Damn." Arden clicked his tongue in amazement. "What a sneaky little schemer you are."
Thinking about it more carefully, this setup made perfect sense.
A lingerie boutique located near a luxury goods store.
A rich guy buys luxury items for a girl, then conveniently picks up something... consumable for the evening.
Nothing wrong with that business model!
"As long as you like it."
Scarlet nuzzled her face against Arden's, looking utterly smitten.
As they cuddled, both their stomachs began rumbling almost simultaneously.
Time to order food!
They hadn't eaten much for dinner last night—trying to stay light.
After several rounds of activity, they'd fallen asleep directly from exhaustion without eating any late-night snacks.
Arden thought for a moment and simply ordered room service from the restaurant downstairs—a combination of various breakfast items.
Breakfast and brunch solved at once.
Both he and Scarlet needed serious replenishment.
Although the system eliminated the negative effects of indulgence, on a psychological level, he always felt a sense of depletion.
Plus, choosing nutritious food would always benefit the body.
In the afternoon, Scarlet was the first to leave the hotel.
Arden had to head back for a class meeting, so he naturally needed to prepare—at least shower and wash off her scent, right?
After all, he was going to see Imogen.
So Scarlet very obediently gave Arden some alone time.
As soon as she arrived at the underground parking garage and got into the Mercedes C-Class, Scarlet's phone rang. It was a call from her roommate, Chloe.
"Hey, Scarlet, where are you right now?"
"I'm still out, but I should be back at campus soon. What's up?"
Scarlet heard a hint of urgency in Chloe's voice.
She was worried there might be an emergency.
"Scarlet, do you still remember Jason Caldwell from the finance department? The one who kept bothering you in student government?"
"I remember him. What about him?"
"Last night, he somehow found out you didn't come back to the dorm, and then he went crazy, saying he had to see you. I'm texting him on Instagram right now, trying to keep him calm. He originally wanted to come downstairs to our dorm building, but I told him to meet somewhere else..."
"Yeah, we should definitely change locations—meeting downstairs at the dorm would look terrible." Scarlet took a deep breath, showing almost no panic, and arranged things efficiently. "Chloe, thanks so much for helping me out—this is huge. Tell him to come to the south campus parking lot. I'll meet him there and make things crystal clear."
"Okay, I'll head over right away too."
After hanging up, Scarlet shook her head helplessly.
Jason Caldwell from the finance department was someone she'd worked with in student government, so they were colleagues, technically.
His family had some money, and he was pretty pretentious. The first time he saw Scarlet, his lecherous gaze revealed his vulgar inner thoughts.
He kept pressuring Scarlet to be his girlfriend.
He tried to brainwash her, saying girls should "monetize their beauty while they're young," implying that he, Jason Caldwell, was an excellent monetization target.
However, Scarlet felt nothing for him and had firmly rejected him multiple times, but Jason still wouldn't give up.
This time, he'd probably asked around with girls in the adjacent dorm rooms.
Knowing she was in a relationship and hadn't returned to the dorm, he was probably furious.
Indeed, just as Scarlet had guessed.
When she pulled into the south campus parking lot, she saw Jason standing by the roadside, looking furiously helpless, saying something to Chloe beside him.
Chloe's expression was equally unfriendly—she wasn't one to be messed with.
"How many times have I told you both—Scarlet Hayes won't find anyone better than me, and I asked you to keep tabs on her, and now look! She's been... snagged by some trashy punk who came out of nowhere! Ugh! What a fucking waste!"
Jason rubbed his head, fuming.
Chloe was both amused and annoyed. "Dude, are you brain-damaged? What do you mean she won't find anyone better than you? You're seriously underestimating our girl Scarlet."
"Isn't that the truth? She's from some rural town out of state, she's not even studying a lucrative major, she even failed a class and almost couldn't graduate. In this economy, a regular top-tier university grad is nothing in Bayside City."
Jason made no attempt to hide his disdain. "Someone with my background is already top-tier among guys willing to seriously date her, you know? Sure, maybe some super rich dudes wouldn't mind a short fling with her, but that's a completely different situation. I'm genuinely willing to be with her!"