Jessica was about to step forward to confront Marcus and get things straight, but Brad grabbed her.
"Don't embarrass me!" Brad's tone was stern.
Like most people in his age group, he valued status and face above all else. The reason he was willing to spend money on Jessica was simply because she was young and beautiful, and it gave him face to take her out.
For a middle-aged man, when out and about, driving an expensive car didn't compare to having a young, beautiful woman by his side. The better a woman was dressed, the more others would think the man standing next to her was someone significant.
But today, Jessica's loss of composure was demeaning enough that it dragged Brad down with her, making him lose face as well. At this moment, Brad felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.
"I'm warning you, don't cause trouble for me!" Brad could only vent his pent-up anger on Jessica.
Jessica felt extremely aggrieved. Just that morning at the school gate, when she was making threats to Marcus, Brad had praised her for being sensible. Why had her behavior suddenly become "causing trouble" in his eyes?
"But he..." Jessica wanted to defend herself.
Brad didn't have the patience to listen to what she had to say and rudely interrupted her.
"Know your place! Keep your anger to yourself. Don't act like a lunatic and make me lose face with you! I'm not your boyfriend, and I won't coddle you with sweet words. Don't forget how much money you still owe me! It's already generous enough that I brought you here to eat, so don't push your luck!"
After being yelled at by Brad, Jessica pursed her lips tightly, fighting back tears of humiliation. After a long while, she nodded silently.
"I understand, Mr. Brad. It won't happen again..."
Seeing that his goal was achieved, Brad said nothing more, wrapped his greasy, fat hand around Jessica's waist, and walked into the hotel.
The top floor of the Dunmore Hotel was a revolving Western restaurant. Looking out from the window, the night view of most of Dunmore was in full view. Above was the brilliant starry sky, and before them was the bustling neon lights.
This place was even touted as one of the must-visit spots for couples in Dunmore City. Although it was a very romantic dating hotspot, the exorbitant prices made many people shy away.
Only after walking in did Marcus understand why Jessica had been so eager to have a meal here. It was indeed a place with a great atmosphere.
Marcus and Sofia sat at a table by the window. After they sat down, a waiter handed them two menus.
"So, how is it? Inviting you to eat here counts as showing sincerity, right!"
Sofia looked at the night view outside the window, her tone somewhat smug. She had only been here to eat once before. That was when some rich second-generation heir had invited her for Valentine's Day. A meal here cost over two thousand per person. If it weren't to thank Marcus for buying her a bag, she wouldn't have been willing to treat him here.
"Thanks for earlier."
Thinking about how Sofia had stood up for him earlier, Marcus felt very grateful.
Sofia heroically patted her chest, as if she didn't take the matter very seriously.
"I was just helping someone in need! It's a small matter! Don't take it to heart!"
Having spent some time together from noon until now, Sofia had completely dropped her guard in front of Marcus and returned to her truest self. The real Sofia had this kind of free-spirited and uninhibited personality.
Marcus hadn't expected that beneath Sofia's sweet appearance lay such a side. This strong contrast actually made Marcus appreciate her all the more, feeling that Sofia was very genuine. Although she was a bit materialistic, it wasn't a major issue.
"How about I treat you to this meal? You just bought me so many clothes this afternoon."
Marcus flipped through the menu briefly and estimated that a meal for two would probably cost five or six thousand. As a college student, Sofia's living expenses shouldn't be very high. She had already spent over five thousand on clothes and a haircut that afternoon; if she had to pay for dinner, her total expenses for the day would exceed ten thousand.
Marcus was quite considerate. Anyway, he had the two million plus in cashback he had just received today, so treating her to this meal was merely a drop in the bucket.
But upon hearing this, Sofia immediately waved her hand in refusal.
"No way, we agreed that I would treat you! Don't fight me on this. If you really want to treat me to a meal, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"
As expected of a high-level master of manipulation, with just a few short sentences, she had already started laying the groundwork for their next meeting.
Although Sofia also felt this meal was expensive, in order to play the long game and completely win over Marcus, she felt the money was worth spending. In her view, rich people like Marcus must have eaten plenty of delicacies in their daily lives. Inviting him to eat anywhere else would seem too cheap. After thinking it over, this place was the most appropriate.
But what Sofia didn't know was that this was the first time Marcus had ever eaten in such a high-end place in his life. From the moment he sat down, Marcus felt a bit reserved inside. He was afraid of embarrassing himself. However, thinking of the two million plus balance on his card, his confidence gradually grew.
After the two of them ordered their meal, Brad came up with Jessica. They sat not far from Marcus and his companion.
Marcus saw Jessica cast a resentful glance at him, but he ignored it completely and continued chatting and laughing with Sofia.
Before long, the waiter brought over the appetizers Marcus had ordered.
"Hello, sir. This is the white wine steamed mussels you ordered."
The waitress had a crisp voice and was very pretty. As expected of one of the top hotels in Dunmore, even the waitstaff were so pleasing to the eye.
Marcus nodded in satisfaction and thanked her.
"Thank you."
"Ding, detected that the host is talking to a member of the opposite sex. The host's current heartbeat value is fifteen points, meeting the binding conditions. Binding successful!"
"?"
Hearing the system's notification, Marcus almost spat out the lemonade he had just drunk.
"This system... is playing with me? Does this mean I can't talk to the opposite sex in the future? Even saying thank you requires binding... The key is, I don't even know the young lady's name..."
Just as Marcus was complaining internally, the system automatically opened the waitress's personal information panel.
Personal Information
Name: Morgana Sykes
Age: 18 years old
Favorability towards host: 10 points
Occupation: Dunmore Hotel Waitress
Height: 167cm
Weight: 49kg
Marcus silently rolled his eyes in his heart. Although the system had bound Morgana Sykes, the two of them were just passing acquaintances with no connection whatsoever. Moreover, both Sofia and Jessica were present; he couldn't possibly be thick-skinned enough to insist on spending money on Morgana, could he...
Thinking of this, Marcus felt speechless.
After Morgana finished serving the dishes, she left, and Marcus had to awkwardly bury his head and start eating.
Just then, the crisp sound of a slap came from the direction of Jessica's table.