Ivy Mae: Favorability +1
Ivy Mae: Favorability +1
Ivy Mae: Favorability +1
...
After Aiden James transferred the five million, Ivy Mae's favorability toward him began to climb again.
Even without meeting in person, it kept rising steadily.
88 points… 91… 94!
Just one step away from breaking through the final threshold, one step away from a successful counterattack!
But right when he thought it would happen…
The progress bar froze.
> "Damn it, seriously? You're stopping now?"
Aiden stared at the glowing system panel in front of him, his eye twitching. He was this close to completing his next stage, and the favorability had stalled at 94 points.
> "You're playing with my sanity at this point…"
He leaned back on his bed, exhaling sharply.
Should he send more money?
No. That would be overkill.
He knew better by now, too much money wasn't love, it was dependence. Keep it up, and she'd start seeing him as nothing but a walking ATM.
The system's success formula was simple:
Money + Sweet Talk = Invincibility.
He already had the money.
What he lacked was the second part, sweet talk.
Unfortunately, Aiden had never been good at that.
Confessing? Saying cheesy things? That wasn't his style.
He'd learned that lesson the hard way from Emily Rose.
Back then, he confessed too early. Showed too much sincerity.
And in the end? He was crushed.
> "No," Aiden muttered. "Never again."
The golden rule of relationships was simple:
Never confess first.
If she's interested, she'll spend time with you.
If she's not, walk away before you dig your own grave.
Once a guy confesses, he hands over all his power.
Girls can smell desperation, and once they do, they'll start pulling away.
Aiden wasn't about to repeat that mistake.
He didn't even plan on truly pursuing Ivy Mae.
At first, she was just part of his system's counterattack chain, a tool to generate more rewards.
That's why he had always been calm, relaxed, even occasionally cold toward her.
Ironically, that made her even more drawn to him.
Now, staring at the chat box, Aiden hesitated.
He began typing:
> "If you ever have any difficulties again, tell me. I'll always help you."
Then he frowned.
> "No… that's too pathetic. I lent her five million, not the other way around. Why should I sound like a servant?"
The memory of how he used to beg Emily for attention made his stomach turn.
He deleted the message.
Then typed again:
> "Ivy Mae, you're not allowed to flirt with other guys anymore. Got it?"
He paused.
> "...Too harsh. I'm not even planning to date her, why bother acting possessive?"
Delete.
Aiden exhaled, rubbed his temple, and finally typed two simple words:
> "Goodnight."
Short, polite, neutral. Perfect.
He'd learned,
The less she understood his true feelings, the more power he held.
Uncertainty was control.
That was the highest form of counterattack.
Moments later, her reply popped up:
> "Yeah! Goodnight, Aiden!"
He smiled faintly.
But the favorability bar still didn't move.
> "Forget it," he muttered. "The more you rush it, the easier it is to screw up. I'll handle it tomorrow."
With that, Aiden put down his phone, turned off the lights, and let out a long breath.
Tomorrow was another day.
And another opportunity to play the game right.
Early the next morning.
Downstairs at the Phase II Apartments, near the boys' dorm.
A pretty girl with a slim figure stood waiting, holding a delicate breakfast box. She'd already been there for over ten minutes.
"Damn, she's gorgeous and she actually brought breakfast? Which lucky guy gets that kind of treatment?"
"I've seen guys bring food for girls plenty of times, but a girl bringing it for a guy? That's a first!"
"Man… the good girls are all taken by pigs. I'm this handsome, and I've been single for over twenty years!"
A small group of guys were whispering and watching when Aiden James walked out of the dorm with his roommates, Daniel, Jason, and Ryan.
The moment Aiden stepped outside, Emily Rose hurried toward him, smiling sweetly.
"Aiden, I made breakfast for you. Let's go to class together!"
Aiden frowned slightly. "No thanks. You should eat it yourself. It's better if we keep some distance… don't want people to misunderstand."
His voice was calm but firm.
The boys watching from the side almost choked.
"What the hell? He turned her down?"
"Bro, she's a total ten and he's acting like she's invisible. Is this guy blind?"
Before their shock could fade, another girl appeared, Ivy Mae, with her wavy hair and perfect curves. She walked right up to Aiden, glaring briefly at Emily Rose.
"Brother Aiden," she said in a soft, teasing voice, "I brought you breakfast too, it's still warm!"
Her tone was enough to make half the guys in the area melt on the spot.
"Holy crap, another one?"
"Who is this guy? Some rich heir?"
"No way, this dude's a legend. Two gorgeous girls fighting to give him breakfast?"
Daniel, Jason, and Ryan were frozen in disbelief. They'd always assumed Aiden's dorm stories about girls were pure exaggeration but seeing Emily and Ivy standing there, both offering him food, they realized their roommate was on another level.
The air around them grew tense as both girls held out their breakfasts, waiting for Aiden's choice.
Crowds of curious students began to gather.
"Wait, isn't that Aiden James, the guy everyone used to call a simp?"
"Yeah… what the hell happened? He's got girls lining up now!"
"If he can turn things around, maybe I still have a chance with Cassandra Flare!"
"Cassandra Flare? The campus beauty? Bro, you're dreaming!"
Trying to defuse the awkward tension, Daniel laughed and said, "Hey, Bro, if you're not gonna eat those, we'll take them!"
"Fine, all yours," Aiden said casually, handing both breakfast boxes to Daniel and Ryan.
Emily and Ivy looked a bit disappointed, but at the same time, relieved. At least he hadn't chosen the other girl's meal over theirs.
The crowd began to quiet down, until another figure appeared.
Walking gracefully, Zoe Quinn, the most beautiful girl on campus, approached Aiden holding a paper bag with soy milk, fried dough sticks, and rice noodles.
"Aiden," she said softly, smiling, "here's your breakfast."
For a second, the entire dorm entrance fell silent.
Every guy there just… froze.