What Scarlet said might've sounded a bit materialistic, but it was the truth.
In this society, money was your confidence.
When Jason left, why did his expression show fear?
Obviously, it was because the financial power displayed by Scarlet's boyfriend made him scared shitless.
Actually, Scarlet didn't even know Arden's full family background.
But it was definitely enough to crush guys like Jason.
Ever since she'd received Chloe's call, Scarlet had already planned how to handle today's situation.
This time, Jason had to be completely terrified to prevent him from causing trouble again in the future.
Otherwise, Scarlet herself would be annoyed, and Arden would be annoyed too. If Arden became unhappy because of crap like this, it would correspondingly lower his opinion of her.
This evaluation mainly concerned her social skills and emotional intelligence.
Scarlet wanted to lock herself down with Arden for life—to stay by his side and enjoy wealth and luxury forever.
You might ask: if she couldn't even independently resolve harassment from a Jason Caldwell, then what right did she have to enjoy Arden's favor long-term?
Although Scarlet's face and figure were top-tier, the problem was that pure "trophy girlfriends" weren't exactly a scarce resource in this world.
What was truly scarce was someone like Arden.
Young, rich, handsome, and even his... physical assets were...
Fortunately, this situation was quickly and properly resolved.
Scarlet couldn't help but feel a bit proud. Indeed, regularly participating in various internships during school to train her social skills had been incredibly useful. She knew how to deal with people and how to handle scumbags like Jason.
Oh, and there was Chloe, who'd helped her deal with it in time.
Glancing at Chloe beside her, Scarlet said, "Thanks, Chloe. You did great today."
"Hehe, actually, I didn't do much—it was all you... But, Scarlet, since you humiliated Jason like that, will he badmouth you behind your back or even spread nasty rumors?"
Chloe suddenly thought of this and couldn't help but worry.
"It doesn't matter. He wouldn't dare be too brazen. At most, he'll secretly spread baseless gossip," Scarlet said easily. "I don't care about that level. My reputation hasn't exactly been pristine since high school, so I stopped caring about others' opinions a long time ago."
"Actually, I even hope Jason hurries up and helps spread the word—letting everyone know I'm being kept by a rich guy."
In this regard, Scarlet was genuinely different from ordinary girls.
She worshipped money, and she did so unapologetically.
The thought of everyone using nasty words to describe how she was with a wealthy man—their hateful yet utterly jealous and helpless expressions—made Scarlet's face flush, and she couldn't help but hum softly.
This was a peculiar thrill for her. She genuinely enjoyed the feeling of being kept by a powerful man.
As for becoming Arden's possession? That was excellent. It gave Scarlet a strong sense of security.
At her core, she was such a delicate woman: fierce and strong outwardly, yet soft and dependent inwardly.
Compared to those Instagram influencers who acted all independent while spending men's money, Scarlet's personality was different.
"Scarlet, you have such a strong sense of self. I really admire you," Chloe praised from the bottom of her heart.
"Oh, stop—you're making me blush with all this praise... Hurry up and open DoorDash to figure out what to eat."
Meanwhile, Arden drove back to campus.
He bought some snacks on the way, planning to munch on them in his dorm room tonight.
Tonight, he was going to game with his idiot roommate, Ryan, so he planned to crash in the dorm.
Although Scarlet was great, he couldn't always be glued together like conjoined twins. Life needed to be rich and diverse.
He got delayed for a bit, so he missed the "Scarlet vs. Jason" drama in the Pennbrook south campus parking lot.
The class meeting was in a certain academic building. Emma had reserved a classroom, and students just needed to arrive at the scheduled time.
Only one class period was reserved in total.
Emma had stated in the class group chat that she'd arrange everything from now until fall break, and the next class meeting would be in October.
Arden appreciated this decisive, efficient style.
In the classroom, Emma moved a stool and sat behind the podium, holding an older-model iPad displaying a research paper, looking pretty impressive.
"Emma, you're so hardworking. You don't forget your research even during a class meeting. It looks like this year's graduate scholarship for our department will definitely be yours."
As soon as Tyler entered, he saw Emma reviewing a paper and immediately started brown-nosing with a fawning smile.
Emma frowned slightly and said impatiently, "Our department has relatively ample funding. Generally, grad students can receive scholarships without being exceptionally outstanding."
"...Oh, haha, seems I wasn't aware of that." Tyler laughed awkwardly, then said, "Then I wish you continued success—maybe getting evaluated for something like a young scholar award..."
"Young scholar awards are evaluated for faculty with tenure-track positions. It has nothing to do with me."
Emma was genuinely speechless and said with a wry smile, "Stop rambling. Hurry up and sit down."
"Okay."
After two consecutive failed attempts at flattery, Tyler felt pretty awkward, but since his advisor had already spoken, he could only smile sheepishly and head to the back row.
Meanwhile, the shrewd Ryan had already started his second mobile game and cleared three dungeons—truly admirable.
Yesterday, a new banner dropped in one of his gacha games, and Ryan had messaged Arden about it. Arden immediately dropped tens of thousands more on it.
He genuinely didn't treat money like money.
He's too awesome. Being West's account booster is definitely the right choice. Isn't this way more satisfying than playing on my own account?
Evan was wearing expensive international brand earbuds, listening to some classical music, looking totally absorbed and ethereal.
Tyler glanced at his two roommates and couldn't help but shake his head.
They're all so immature, completely clueless about social etiquette.
The advisor wasn't familiar with the class yet. He should seize this opportunity to make a solid impression on Emma and try to get recommended by her to work for the student activities committee next semester.
This was Tyler's plan.
As a mature local, you had to plan your college life early.
Not just student government work—student union, clubs, various networking associations...
Life had to be enriched. At least, Instagram posts needed to appear very fulfilling to project a high-status vibe.
Tyler himself admitted he liked showing off and wanted to become a campus celebrity so he'd have opportunities to meet higher-caliber girls.
Chloe wasn't bad, but Tyler wanted even better!
Just as Tyler was fantasizing about his dominant four years ahead, Arden walked in through the front door of the classroom.
Immediately, the few female students in the class all stared at him.
They vaguely sensed the changes in Arden.