Emily shut the dorm door behind her, then headed down the stairs.
She caught the look on Jasmine's face—total shock and confusion. Emily got it. Jasmine probably thought she was backing herself into a corner. No safety net. No plan B.
But honestly, what's the point of leaving an escape route? Emily smiled to herself. Sure, she wanted to find someone wealthy, but older guys? Not her thing. That narrows the field a lot.
Evan, though—he's her age, goes to the same college, and he's got this steady, calm vibe. Out of everyone, he's her best shot. She's not the type to keep looking while she's already in a relationship.
Emily shook off her wandering thoughts and glanced at her legs. She knew Evan had noticed them earlier in the garden. He'd looked more than once. The memory made her a little proud.
...
"I packed up my laptop. Ready to go?" Emily smiled at Evan as they stepped into the little garden.
"Yeah, let's go," Evan said. They left together.
"First canteen or second?" Emily asked.
The campus split students and teachers between two different cafeterias.
"Let's hit the first." Evan replied.
"Alright, let's go" Emily grinned.
They chatted on the way. Emily had a knack for conversation—by the time they walked in, they were laughing. The vibe just felt easy.
Evan grabbed his food and found a seat.
A bunch of guys in the cafeteria were watching Evan, all with these puzzled looks. Everyone knew Emily—only a month into freshman year and she was already famous for her looks and figure. But nobody had ever seen her with a guy before. Especially not eating together. So of course, Evan was the center of attention.
"I'm pretty sure eating with you is about to make me famous," Evan joked, glancing at Emily, ignoring the stares.
Confidence from the system made him feel unbothered.
"Do you like being famous?" Emily asked, her eyes playful.
"It's not bad." As he spoke, Evan's phone lit up. A message from Lena, the BMW saleswoman.
What time are we going to dinner tonight?
He suddenly remembered—he'd promised to have dinner with Lena. Not that the food mattered much. The real goal was getting Lena's first kiss.
Not exactly a simple task. Lena had already graduated, still hadn't had her first kiss—clearly, she hadn't dated anyone yet. With her looks and figure, plenty of people must have been interested, but she'd turned them all away.
Getting her first kiss wouldn't be easy.
Evan glanced at Emily across the table, comparing her to Lena in his mind.
Both had their own appeal. Emily's beauty stood out, and her long legs were impossible to ignore—especially for anyone who had a thing for legs. Lena, on the other hand, was all delicate features and elegance, with a sharp mind to match.
So how do you get a woman like Lena to finally let her guard down?
She agreed to dinner, even if it was mainly for the BMW, so there's a shot. Maybe today, buy some new clothes, get a haircut, clean up—look sharper, more put together?
The more Evan thought about it, the more motivated he felt.
Money's one thing, but image matters. Two rich guys walk into a room—one looks sloppy, the other looks sharp and confident. People notice the difference.
Yeah, he needed new clothes. A better haircut. Time for an upgrade.
Just as Evan was about to text Lena, the system chimed in his head.
"Ding! You've triggered a random mission: change your appearance—buy new clothes or get a new hairstyle."
A: Accept the mission, get $ 20,000 to use just for your appearance.
(Note: You can't use this money for anything else.)
(Note 2: After you change your look, the system scores you. The better you do, the bigger the hidden reward.)
B: Refuse the mission. No reward, no penalty.
The system wouldn't stop repeating itself.
Evan stared for a second.
Same old system, always giving him two choices.
Fine.
"I pick A. I'll take the mission."
Evan mulled it over.
Honestly, there's no real choice here. Even an idiot would know which option to pick.
Option A: Take the mission, get $20,000 to spend on changing your look. That's a lot of cash just to buy some fresh clothes, try a new haircut, whatever you want. And you don't even have to spend your own money.
Plus, there's a score at the end. If you do well, the system says you get a "mystery reward." Come on, with a name like that, it's gotta be good.
Option B? Nothing. No punishment, no reward. Total waste.
So, yeah, Evan didn't hesitate.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for choosing option A. The host has been granted $20,000 in exclusive funds to change his appearance."
The system's voice chimed in. Right after, my phone buzzed—a bank notification. Just like that, $20,000 sat in my account.
"What's up? Something happen?" Emily looked over from her seat. She must've noticed I hadn't touched my food or said a word.
"Oh, it's nothing." I set my phone down and shook my head.
She didn't press. Instead, she just ate, chatting away about some funny stories from high school.
I watched her, sort of zoning in on her clothes. White short-sleeved top, black pleated skirt—simple, but she made it look sharp. Effortless style.
Maybe I should ask her to help me pick out clothes. God knows I need it. I mean, the mysterious reward depends on the system's rating after I buy the new stuff. Better clothes, better score, better shot at that reward.
Problem is, I have no clue what looks good. My mom always bought my clothes before.
"Are you free this afternoon?" I blurted out, right after she finished her story.
"Huh?" Emily blinked, a little surprised, but then smiled. "No, nothing's wrong. Why, you want to ask me out?"
She looked at me with that bright, easy smile of hers—relaxed, confident, like she didn't miss a beat.
"It wasn't really about going out to play."
Evan waved his hand, catching Emily's confused look. "Honestly, I just wanted to get a haircut this afternoon, maybe pick up a few new clothes. Trouble is, I have no idea what looks good. Think you could help me out?"
Emily grinned and shot back, "I don't work for free. You'll owe me. At minimum, a cup of coffee. No less."
He laughed. "Two cups, then. You drink one and toss the other." He waved her off like he didn't care.
Emily rolled her eyes at him. "That's just wasteful."
She started laughing, then looked him up and down. "But for real, you need that haircut. Your hair's too long, and honestly, it's not doing you any favors."
In her mind, if Evan just picked a better hairstyle—even if his face stayed the same—he'd look way sharper. And, let's be real, his clothes weren't helping either. They looked cheap, with zero sense of style.
"Trust me," Emily said, already getting into it. "Let me handle your haircut and help you shop for clothes. You'll look like a brand new person by the end of the day."
Evan nodded, suddenly relieved. He wanted that mysterious reward the system promised, after all.
While he talked, he pulled out his phone and messaged Lena: "Let's meet at six tonight. You'll be off work, right? I'll come pick you up."
She texted back almost immediately. "No need! It's Saturday. I'm off and just staying home."
A pause, then another message: "Where are we eating? I can just go there myself."
He replied, "Send me your address. I'll pick you up." No way was he letting Lena go alone, especially with that first kiss task hanging over his head.
They chatted for a few more minutes until Lena sent the address—some old apartment complex. Evan texted, "Alright, I'll come by this afternoon. I'm grabbing lunch now, so let's talk more when we meet tonight."
"Okay, eat first," Lena replied.
He set his phone down. Emily didn't ask who he'd been messaging. Instead, she changed the subject.
"So, what's your budget? For the haircut and clothes, I mean. It'll help me pick out the right stuff."
She eyed him, clearly curious. Even though she already figured Evan was loaded, she wanted to know just how much he'd drop on clothes. Clothes say a lot about someone.
"Hmm, $20,000. As long as we don't go over," Evan said, not missing a beat. Then, almost as an afterthought, he shrugged. "But if it does go a little over, that's fine too."
He figured changing his image was worth it—even if it ate up more than what the system gave him. Looking good mattered.
Emily just stared at him, stunned. "Twenty thousand? Seriously?"
She glanced up at him, realizing she'd totally underestimated him. Anyone who could drop $20,000 on clothes without blinking was on a different level. And Evan seemed so casual about it, like twenty grand was pocket change.
Of course, she had no idea the money was basically free for him. Still, Evan caught her surprise and, not gonna lie, he felt pretty good about it.
"Alright, then. I'll give you a $20,000 makeover," Emily said, finally snapping out of it.
"No problem. I'm counting on you," Evan replied, grinning before turning back to his food.
Emily started eating, but she kept sneaking glances at him, still wrapping her head around it.
—
After lunch, it was already one.
"Let's hit the salon first, then go shopping for clothes," Emily decided. "The afternoon goes fast, you know."
They left the cafeteria, and Evan turned to her. "Alright, let's head to the parking lot and grab my car."
He watched her reaction, kind of curious if she'd be surprised that he had a car parked there. But Emily just stayed cool.
"You're not even surprised I'm driving us?"
Evan asked his question.
Emily just smiled, like she'd seen this coming. "I'm not surprised at all," she said, almost teasing. "I saw you park yesterday. I was at the supermarket next door when you drove in."
So that's how it was. Evan caught on right away. He'd wondered last night if Emily had spotted him behind the wheel, and now she'd just come out and said it. No pretending, no awkwardness—just straight up honesty.
He looked at her, kind of amazed. "You're not even going to act like you didn't see me?" he asked.
Emily's eyes sparkled. "Are you surprised I'm being so upfront about it?" she said, her smile widening.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Evan admitted.
She shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with it. Plus, you probably figured it out already—I was a little more forward yesterday, and again today."
It was a little awkward, the way she said it, but she didn't try to hide anything.
Then Emily looked right at him. "Being rich and coming from a good family—that's your edge. Just like mine is being good-looking and having a nice figure."
She didn't see anything wrong with being drawn to Evan's background. That's his advantage, just like hers is her looks. If she wasn't attractive, she doubted Evan would've asked her out shopping this afternoon.
In the end, everyone's got their own strengths. For guys, it's things like money and looks. For women, it's beauty and charm.
"You're pretty honest," Evan said, grinning. He hadn't expected her to lay it all out like that.
But she was right. Money was definitely working in his favor right now.
"Yeah, I think so too." Emily flashed him an even brighter smile.
They kept chatting as they walked to the school parking lot. Evan took out his car key and tapped the button. The headlights of the car blinked on, the paint catching sunlight—sleek, sharp, impossible to miss.
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