The entire lecture hall froze.

The students couldn’t understand why an ice-cold campus belle like Mandy Forbes would bring herself so low as to bow to a nobody like Chrome.

There was no amount of context that could make them understand this.

Mandy lifted her head, her bangs framing her graceful face and bringing out her starry blue eyes as she smoothed her short blonde hair.

"I am sorry for not inviting you..."

Mandy’s voice was quite mature for her age.

She was twenty-two yet she spoke like a lady in her 30s which to some... was quite attractive.

"The reason I did it wasn’t to single out people who are poor. It was me being considerate."

Chrome just stared at her with half-lidded eyes.

’Considerate? If you were being considerate, you wouldn’t use the word ’poor’ so casually. Seriously, what are women in this world on?’

Mandy didn’t seem to notice his internal judgment.

She continued with her calm voice.

"There is almost no relation between the rich and the poor besides the society they can sometimes share due to one circumstance or another. Every student that attends Blue University should come from a rich family. I’m not saying this to put down the poor. But if you were to come to the party, as well as the others I didn’t invite, you wouldn’t find it fun in any way. It’d be unfamiliar grounds for you."

There was no mockery or intent to insult in her voice. This was simply what Mandy genuinely believed. She knew that if the uninvited classmates showed up, they’d get clowned on for coming from poor backgrounds. The wealthy students would spend the whole night making fun of them.

She didn’t want something so negative at her party, so she figured it was better to exclude them entirely and save whatever dignity they had left in a school where money was everything.

Chrome hadn’t said a single word so far.

All he could do was think.

’I mean... the idea is stupid, but I get it. At least she’s not a completely terrible person like I thought. Definitely better than most of the other arrogant, spoiled students at this school that’s for sure...’

Mandy cleared her throat elegantly.

"If that is all, I have a party to plan."

Since Chrome was silent, she didn’t linger. She walked back to where she and Quinn had been standing, and picked up her designer handbag.

Quinn just stared at her in utter disbelief.

"How can you be so blunt to him? That—"

Mandy irritatedly raised an eyebrow.

"Do you even hear yourself? You claim to like this guy so much, but it doesn’t seem like you even understand what it means to like a person. It goes beyond just getting them gifts and hoping they’ll fall into your arms. For the prodigy child of the Hilton family, I’m disappointed you don’t even get the first part of that."

Sliding her luxury handbag over her elegant, sylph-like arm, Mandy left and didn’t look back.

Quinn just sat there in stunned silence.

That’s how lectures ended for the day.

Most of the students dispersed, but Nate and Chrome were still hanging back in the lecture hall. Chrome was staring intently at his cracked screen as he repeatedly sent different messages to Lana.

[Chrome: Hey, babe?]

[Chrome: Can you just tell me what’s going on?]

[Chrome: Do I come see you at work?]

The app showed they were delivered, but she wasn’t reading a single one of them. He kept texting, and she still didn’t give him any attention.

"What in the world is going on...?"

He kept typing away.

Nate closed his textbook.

"Hey, do you want to go see the new place my parents got after this? It’s not much, but maybe we could do some clean-up so my parents don’t have to stress over it when they move in?"

Chrome’s eyes never left his phone.

Nate sighed, shaking his head.

"Are you even listening to what I’m saying, Chrome?"

"Mhm, keep talking bro..."

"You sure?"

"Uh, sure as hell dude..."

"..."

Seeing how focused Chrome was on his phone, Nate sighed again.

"Some other time then."

He stuffed his textbooks into his bag and left the hall.

Chrome didn’t even notice him leave.

He scrolled up, looking at the long walls of text he’d sent Lana, none of which had a read receipt.

"Did Quinn really tell Lana something bad about me? I didn’t think she’d sink that low... I really want to confront her about it, but there’s the fact that she’s from a top family I can’t afford to offend right now."

He leaned back in his chair and groaned loudly.

A second later, he jerked back up and snatched the phone tightly.

"Screw it, I’ll just call her."

Before he could dial, a panel popped up.

[Ding! To keep up appearances as Mr. Gold, you need to post your luxury lifestyle on your social media accounts and livestream to attract more women for rejection.]

Chrome annoyed fly-swatted the system panel away.

...

Meanwhile.

Lana and Sofia Hernandez were seated in the quiet patio area of an upscale café, sipping on lattes. Lana had just finished pouring her heart out, explaining her relationship with Chrome and how she lacked the money to take him on a proper date, which was why she’d turned him down for the first time since they officially started dating.

Feeling a massive weight lifted off her chest, Lana let out a sigh of relief.

"So... yeah. That’s it."

Sofia didn’t give an immediate response. Her gaze fell onto Lana’s small smartphone resting on the wooden table between them. The screen had a few noticeable cracks, and it didn’t take a price tag for a high-earning model like Sofia to know just how cheap the model was.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

They were all text messages from Chrome.

Lana’s eyes lit up and she eagerly reached out to grab the phone and reply.

Slap.

Sofia gave her hand a gentle, warning slap.

"NO!"

Lana quickly pulled her dainty hand back, rubbing it with a gloomy, pouty face.

"But can I at least reply? It’s super rude not to... what if he’s worried about me or something?"

Sofia shook her head in disbelief.

"I really don’t get your fixation on this man, Lana. He isn’t remotely a caring person. If he sees you going through so much on his behalf, working yourself to the bone, and his first thought is still to ask for a date of all things? Not asking how you’re doing, or if you’re sleeping well? That selfish bastard asked for a date!"

Sofia didn’t even realize how worked up she was getting until she slammed her palm hard against the table.

Lana sheepishly rubbed her arm and looked away as a red look of shyness crept onto her face.

"He’s not selfish... he probably just wants to enjoy himself at least once. And as the woman in the relationship, I have to do more to cater to his needs."

Sofia pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

She frowned at the stubborn girl.

"Lana, have you gone for a spa treatment recently?"

Lana blinked. "No."

"What about some mani-pedis?" Sofia pressed.

"No..." Lana mumbled.

"A massage?"

"...no..."

"What about tuning up your skincare routine?"

"I don’t do skincare..."

Sofia sighed softly.

"Oh, honey... it’s fine to take care of your boyfriend, but if he’s going to make you miss out on the basic things that women should enjoy, then he’s not worth it."

Lana gripped her supple, porcelain thighs tightly and kept her head down like she’d cry.

"You’re wrong."

Buzz. Buzz.

The phone rang loudly this time.

Both of them looked down at the caller ID, which proudly display the name [Sweetheart].

Lana and Sofia locked eyes.

Sofia instantly shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, no! Don’t answer it!"

Lana lunged across the table for her phone, but Sofia was faster. She snatched the device and immediately swiped the screen to decline the call.

Lana gasped and her eyes widened in paralyzing shock as she slapped both hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

Sofia nodded righteously and set the phone down.

"It was necessary. You need to—"

"NO IT WASN’T!"

A rarely bold Lana shouted.

Sofia held up her hands.

"Sweetie, I’m just trying to help you."

"Then don’t!"

Lana cried out. She snatched her cracked phone off the table and stormed away.

Sofia sat alone on the patio.

...

Chrome was walking out of his faculty building when his phone vibrated with a notification.

[Call Declined]

He stared at it and sighed defeatedly.

"She’s really pissed, huh..."

Before he could wallow in his confusion, a panel flashed in front of his eyes again.

[Ding! Host is advised to head to your $12 million Imperial Lakeview Penthouse immediately to get active on your social media accounts!]

[System has generated a mandatory luxury itinerary for the night to maximize host’s status:]

[1. Uncork a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti wine.]

[2. Take a high-resolution selfie overlooking the city skyline from the infinity pool.]

[3. Initiate a live stream showcasing the automated glass garage holding your supercar collection.]

[4. Filter through incoming DMs from top-tier influencers to prepare for the next rejection phase!]

Chrome lifted a brow.

"I don’t have a supercar collection?"

The system didn’t care.