Hearing Morgana's request, Sofia tightly clutched Marcus's arm like a bird protecting its food.
Sofia knew that behavior like Marcus's throwing money around at the slightest provocation would definitely make many girls feel favorable towards him. She had finally found her soulmate, and she couldn't let anyone else snatch him away!
Marcus also looked puzzled, wondering if Morgana had taken a fancy to his wealth and wanted to develop a further relationship with him.
Morgana hurriedly explained.
"Treat this money as a loan from you! I might not be able to pay you back all at once, but if you agree, I can pay it back in installments every month!"
Morgana's eyes were clear; she looked like a simple, naive girl who hadn't seen much of the world.
Marcus waved his hand, clearly not taking the mere 85,000 to heart.
"No need. Your own phone got smashed; you'd be better off saving that money to get yourself a new one."
Originally, Marcus wanted to offer to buy Morgana a new phone directly. But considering that this was their first meeting today, offering to buy her a phone without any reason might scare her. If it backfired and lowered her favorability, it would be a loss.
Seeing that Marcus wouldn't accept her proposal, Morgana was in a bit of a dilemma.
Seeing this, Marcus consoled her.
"When it comes down to it, the one who broke the vase was that fatty who caused trouble earlier. Consider this money as me paying on his behalf. If I have the chance, I'll go and get it back from him. Every debt has a debtor, and every grievance has a source. Why should you be the one paying for it!"
These words were very reasonable, and Morgana couldn't refute them for a moment. However, having received such a big favor from Marcus, Morgana still felt uneasy about it.
"Then let me treat you both to this meal today!"
Morgana's monthly salary was only about seven thousand; after deducting rent and daily expenses, the remaining money was probably just enough for a meal here.
Sofia naturally wouldn't agree. This was her opportunity to actively repay Marcus; how could she let someone else snatch it away?
"No need, I'm paying for this meal. No one is to fight me for it!"
Sofia's eyes unconsciously turned towards the hotel front desk; she even thought about going to pay the bill first.
Marcus laughed and pacified the two of them.
"I certainly can't refuse Sofia's kindness. As for Morgana, if we meet again by chance in the future, you can treat me to a meal then!"
Following Sofia's example, Marcus cast a long line to catch a big fish, laying the groundwork for the future in advance.
Neither girl had any objections to this proposal.
However, Morgana suddenly seemed to think of something and looked at Marcus with confusion.
"How did you know my name?"
Marcus was stunned, only then realizing that the two of them hadn't actually told each other their names yet. He had only known Morgana's name through the system's personal information panel.
This was bad... How should he explain this... He couldn't just say he could read minds...
Thinking of mind-reading, Marcus subconsciously glanced at Morgana's chest. A flash of inspiration hit him, and he immediately had an idea.
"It's written right there on you!"
Marcus pointed to the name tag on Morgana's chest and said, feigning calmness.
Morgana only then realized that every waiter at the Dunmore Hotel was required to wear a name tag engraved with their name, and she was, of course, no exception. Still, this boy had pretty good eyesight; a normal person would have to get close to see what name was on the tag.
The farce came to an end. Morgana went back to work, and Marcus and Sofia sat back down at the table.
"I'm sorry, I ruined your meal today."
Marcus felt a bit guilty; it was his first time eating with a beautiful girl in such a high-end restaurant, and it ended up like this.
Sofia shook her head, not caring at all.
"How could you say that? You were so cool just now!"
After saying that, she gave Marcus a thumbs up, her admiration evident in her eyes.
At this moment, the rest of the food they ordered was served.
"Cheers, to celebrating you leaving that ignorant first love girlfriend!"
Sofia raised her glass, looking at Marcus with a radiant smile.
Thinking about being dumped, Marcus still felt a hint of bitterness, but he raised his glass and clinked it with Sofia's openly.
"Alright then, and let's also celebrate me meeting my first friend in Dunmore today!"
Amidst laughter and conversation, the two enjoyed their meal.
Sofia's favorability temporarily remained at 60 points.
Considering that today was the first day of freshman registration and it wouldn't be good to return to the dormitory too late, Marcus said goodbye to Sofia and took a taxi back to school after the meal.
This morning, Marcus was the first person to arrive at the dormitory. When he arrived at the dorm, the other roommates hadn't come yet. Marcus thought that by now, his roommates should have all arrived. He had been busy outside all day and hadn't met his roommates yet.
So, after arriving at the school gate, Marcus conveniently bought three large bags of barbecue at the school service area. After all, they were going to spend four years together, so it was never wrong to build good relationships in advance. Moreover, it was especially easy for guys to get close; sometimes a meal or even a bottle of water could make the other person willingly call you 'Dad.'
Arriving at the dormitory door, Marcus checked the time; it was already ten o'clock at night. The lights were still on in the dorm, so it seemed they hadn't gone to sleep yet.
Marcus politely knocked on the door and then pushed it open to walk inside.
He saw three shirtless boys sitting at the table playing computer games. At that moment, a game had just ended, and the large red word "DEFEAT" was displayed on their screens.
"You guys are just too bad... I had such a huge advantage early on, and I still couldn't save you..."
A boy with an afro complained. The two people being complained about knew they were in the wrong and silently kept their heads down without saying a word.
One of them, a boy wearing thick-rimmed glasses, happened to catch a glimpse of Marcus walking in carrying the barbecue. He widened his eyes and blurted out a question.
"Handsome, who are you?"
Being called handsome, Marcus embarrassedly scratched the back of his head.
"I'm in the same dorm as you guys. My name is Marcus. I've been out all day, so I haven't had a chance to meet you yet. I bought you guys some barbecue as an apology!"
Marcus grew up in an orphanage and worked part-time jobs during high school, so he was far more socially adept than these boys who had just entered university.
Sure enough, the moment the three of them saw the barbecue, they pounced on it like three hungry wolves with glowing green eyes.
"You are too kind!"
"Holy crap, you bought so much! You're a rich kid!"
"Then we won't be polite!"
The three had been playing games in the dorm all day and hadn't even had time to eat, so they were already starving. Seeing the barbecue Marcus bought was like refugees seeing disaster relief food.
While munching away, they took turns introducing themselves to Marcus.
The boy with the afro was named Jack Ward, the boy with the thick-rimmed glasses was named Ben Pike, and there was another boy with a crew cut named Luke Hart.
"Were you guys playing together just now?"
Marcus pointed to the red "Defeat" on their computer screens and asked.
Jack Ward swallowed a big mouthful of meat and wiped his greasy mouth.
"Yeah, these two noobs have been dragging me down all day. Do you play League of Legends too? If you do, let's play together!"
The most common nightlife for college boys was playing games together.
Marcus nodded. He didn't have his own computer and used to play at internet cafes. There were many experts at the internet cafes, and Marcus often squatted behind them to watch, learning some good skills.
"But I haven't had a chance to buy a computer yet, so I'm afraid I can't play with you guys today."
Marcus spread his hands, expressing regret.
Luke hurriedly stood up and gave up his seat.
"I'm tired of playing today anyway. Why don't you use my computer first?"