"Another girl? What do you mean?"
Marcus played dumb, pretending not to understand the underlying meaning behind Mia's words.
Just then, he happened to see Sofia returning from a distance.
"My friend is back. Senior, let's talk about whatever it is tomorrow at school!"
Marcus waved at Sofia from afar, bade farewell to Mia, and walked over to meet Sofia.
Seeing this, Mia tactfully walked away.
...
"That girl... she looks like the sales associate from the makeup store earlier, right?"
Sofia watched Mia's departing back, recalling that she seemed to have seen this person at the makeup store earlier.
Marcus had no intention of hiding anything and nodded honestly.
"Actually, she is my first love's roommate. But I didn't recognize her at the makeup store earlier."
Upon hearing the words "first love," a sense of crisis inexplicably arose in Sofia's heart.
It is said that for every man, a first love is an indelible white moonlight in his heart.
Sofia had just made up her mind to win Marcus over, yet she didn't expect a first love to pop up at this moment. Furthermore, her roommate had specifically come over to strike up a conversation with Marcus while she was away using the restroom.
Could it be that she wanted her roommate to pass along a message asking for a reconciliation?
Sofia asked tentatively, "How did you and your first love... break up?"
Looking at Sofia's curious, baby-like gaze, Marcus pursed his lips and muttered to himself.
"How am I supposed to explain this... If I told you we broke up because I was poor, would you believe it..."
Seeing Marcus remain silent for a long time, Sofia thought she had asked an inappropriate question and apologized hurriedly.
"I'm sorry... I was being abrupt... I was just purely curious, I didn't mean anything else by it, please don't take it to heart..."
Sofia's flustered appearance while apologizing made Marcus find her somewhat cute. Seeing a beautiful woman sincerely apologizing to him gave him an extra sense of satisfaction. It showed that he held a certain position in this beauty's heart. Otherwise, a beauty wouldn't bother apologizing.
Marcus smiled and explained, "Actually, there's nothing that can't be said. It just feels a bit embarrassing."
Then, Marcus told Sofia the whole story about him and Jessica. Including how he had repeated a year for Jessica's sake, and how Jessica had dumped him in front of many people at the school gate today.
"She looked down on you... for being poor?"
After listening, Sofia put on a confused expression, filled with disbelief.
She had encountered quite a few second-generation wealthy heirs. But a rich kid like Marcus, who could be so generous to a girl he was meeting for the first time, was absolutely one of a kind.
If this counted as poor... then that girl's standards were way too high...
Sofia turned her head and, seeing Marcus's plain and unremarkable attire, seemed to understand something.
"He must be too low-key usually and hasn't deliberately shown off his wealth. That led his first love to think he was just a poor kid. Many domineering CEOs in idol dramas love using this trick, hiding their identities first and pretending to be an ordinary person. Just so they can find someone who truly loves them and isn't after their money. Yes! That must be it!"
Sofia felt secretly pleased, thinking she had completely figured Marcus out.
"Besides, he has already given me such valuable gifts. If I keep pestering him to buy this and that, it will definitely make him resent me. It would be better if I take the initiative to buy him some things. For one, it would count as returning the favor. For another, I can also use these actions to tell him that I'm not the kind of person who only gets close to him because he has money."
Sofia took the initiative to link arms with Marcus and smiled sweetly.
"Actually, it's a good thing she broke up with you. That girl is too materialistic! Dating should be pure and shouldn't be mixed with these things."
Marcus nodded in agreement, but chuckled inwardly.
"Aren't you materialistic yourself? We just met and you already wanted me to buy you such expensive coffee and makeup..."
However, Marcus naturally wouldn't say this out loud. After all, with the system's support now, he didn't care at all. One could even say he was currently afraid that the girls around him wouldn't be materialistic. He wished these people would be as materialistic as possible! That way, he could get more cashback from the system.
...
Sofia linked arms with Marcus and headed toward a men's clothing store.
"Let me take you to buy a few outfits. You guys are the worst at dressing yourselves. I'll pay for it later, and you are not allowed to fight me for it!"
Marcus didn't say anything out loud, but he was secretly overjoyed. Originally, he couldn't get cashback on his own spending. Since Sofia was willing to pay, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
...
Sofia was worthy of being a student at an art school. Her aesthetic sense was top-notch.
In just over an hour, she not only helped Marcus pick out several good-looking outfits but also took him to get a haircut. In total, she spent over five thousand.
The current Marcus could be said to have undergone a complete transformation.
Marcus's features were originally very sharp and handsome. It was just that he didn't know how to groom himself before, and his thick hair weighed him down, making him look listless. He was like a foolish student who only knew how to study.
Now that Marcus stood in front of Sofia, she couldn't help but feel her heart rate accelerate.
At 1.85 meters tall, with sharp, well-defined features, a neat, short, layered haircut, and broad shoulders, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a model. His clean face and sunny gaze inadvertently exuded waves of masculine hormones.
Even Marcus was attracted by his own handsome face when he looked in the mirror, and he took several extra looks.
"Damn, am I actually this handsome? Girls really know how to dress people up; I was living too sloppily before."
Marcus raised an eyebrow at himself in the mirror and revealed a satisfied smile. This smile made Sofia's heart skip a beat.
Sofia: Affection Level +1 point
Sofia: Affection Level +1 point
Sofia: Affection Level +1 point
Sofia: Affection Level +1 point
Sofia: Affection Level +1 point
"Ding. Detected that the target's affection level has risen to 55 points. Congratulations to the host for obtaining 5 points."
He hadn't been able to reach 50 points of affection even by throwing money at her, yet he didn't expect that simply becoming handsome would directly raise Sofia's affection level to 55 points.
It seems that once the affection level exceeds 50 points, raising it further cannot rely solely on simple spending. After all, anything above 50 points falls into the category of romantic interest. In this situation, to make the other person like him more and more, he has to rely on personal charisma.
Thinking of this, Marcus suddenly became curious. If he followed the system's affection rating, what would be Jessica's affection level toward that bald man?
"Ding. Detected host's thought. The host can spend 1 point to redeem one chance to check another person's affection level toward a specified target."
Marcus was stunned; he didn't expect the system to be this intelligent. Anyway, he couldn't exchange his current points for anything else for the time being, so he might as well satisfy his curiosity.
"System, I want to redeem it. Help me check Jessica's affection level toward that bald man."