Coffee shop.
Arden looked at the girl across from him, who was holding an iced latte and chattering nonstop, and fell into self-doubt.
Who said Imogen was aloof? She wasn't aloof at all—just look at that mouth going a mile a minute.
She was completely different from the image classmates usually had of her.
Just now, Imogen had initiated an exchange of secret signals with him, and then Arden discovered they were both die-hard fans of a certain music anime about a girls' band.
Afterward, Imogen seemed to have found a rare kindred spirit, and her desire to express herself burst forth.
The Science & Engineering Building hallway wasn't convenient for chatting, so the two headed to a nearby coffee shop.
They chatted about everything.
They were shocked to find they not only liked the same anime.
Their common interests had an incredibly high degree of overlap.
For example, their favorite shows and movies, their favorite music, and beloved books.
And also their usual hobbies—like gaming, watching weird videos, cooking, and various tech product reviews...
It was like finding another version of himself in the world!
This greatly shocked Arden. Logically, shouldn't a cool, aloof academic goddess have elegant hobbies befitting her status?
Or, as people stereotypically imagined, following celebrities, watching entertainment gossip, shopping with girlfriends, knowing luxury brands inside and out.
Yet Arden actually saw his own reflection in Imogen.
This was genuinely hilarious.
But it also filled him with excited anticipation.
After all, "someone who gets me" was a higher-level spiritual need, especially when that person who understood you was a beautiful girl with long black hair and a mature vibe.
As they chatted, both coincidentally took a sip of coffee at the same time, and the air suddenly fell silent. The coffee shop was filled with the leisurely afternoon atmosphere. Their gazes inadvertently met, but then they shyly looked away.
"Um... well, I need to head to Professor Miller's lab to work."
"Go ahead. Important stuff comes first."
Imogen looked at Arden with a hint of reluctance, moved her lips, but didn't speak.
She grabbed her backpack and left.
Actually, Arden also had something he didn't get to say.
He wanted to know why Imogen, even with income from working in the lab, still worked as a gaming companion.
It wasn't meant to look down on companions, but generally, female college students shouldn't need to work that hard, right?
It seemed Imogen was really strapped for cash.
Whatever. He'd ask later if there was a chance. Maybe it was private and inconvenient to share.
After finishing his coffee, Arden bought some small desserts at the shop to take away.
This coffee shop focused on an aesthetic vibe and could be considered a popular Instagram spot within Pennbrook. The desserts they sold weren't cheap, which was perfect for Arden to trigger rewards.
He took them back to the dorm and shared with Ryan.
"Bro, want me to help you write your lab report?"
"Why the sudden offer?"
"I've been mooching food and drinks off you, and I feel bad. Might as well help with some chores. Oh, right—if you play gacha games in the future, I can also help you grind."
Ryan looked sincere.
Gotta say, this guy really did have good character. Many people loved taking advantages, and after taking them, showed zero gratitude.
However, when gacha games were mentioned, Arden had a new idea.
Playing gacha games was also a fantastic way to indulge in spending!
Take the most typical example, Genshin Impact: pulling on a new character banner for everything available would have an expected cost around $350. If luck was bad, it might cost over $400.
If there were two new characters in the current banner, that was a super jackpot.
Arden opened his computer and logged into his Genshin account.
When this game first launched a few years ago, Arden had tried it and felt he didn't particularly like the gameplay itself, though the characters were pretty. The problem was he couldn't afford to pull—it was too expensive.
Spending $100 on microtransactions was like throwing a pebble in water without seeing a ripple, and during high school, a hundred bucks was enough for Arden to eat frugally for a month in the school cafeteria.
Times had changed. Since the system considered game spending as indulgence, he'd pull to his heart's content!
Arden spent money like water, doing crazy ten-pulls, directly clearing out everything pullable from the banner.
Total spending exceeded $750.
Arden didn't even know who this game character was or her backstory.
Didn't matter—he only needed to know the system triggered 8x cashback: $6,000!
Ryan next to him was stunned.
He'd long heard that rich people played mobile games and spent money as naturally as breathing.
Now he'd witnessed it firsthand.
This was completely different from those players who did daily quests, meticulously calculated and saved gacha currency. It felt like they were playing two entirely different games!
Credit card modifier—how terrifying!
"Bro, does that wealthy family that found you still need another long-lost son? How about adding me?"
"What the hell do you mean 'add you'? Are you trying to join a game lobby?" Arden logged out and sent the account credentials to Ryan. "I pulled everything. You can play for me. I haven't played in ages and don't know where the story's at."
"Huh?? No, bro, aren't you gonna try the character you just pulled?"
"Try what? I already quit. Too lazy to study these new mechanics. I'll just watch you play."
"...Bro, if you don't abandon me, I'd like to acknowledge you as my godfather!"
"Get lost. I don't want you as my dumbass son."
Arden laughed and cursed, returning to his own computer.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, doesn't HoYoverse have two other gacha games?"
Ryan's eyes lit up: "Yes, bro, yes!"
Half an hour later.
Ryan's computer screen showed two windows, simultaneously running Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai Impact 3rd was also running on his phone.
Triple operation, incredibly smooth.
Arden exclaimed in wonder: "Wow, you were born for this!"
"It's okay." Ryan said modestly. "I'm just more familiar with the mechanics of these grinding games—not difficult. I did account boosting during summer break, and the computer I'm using now was bought with money I earned from it."
"Impressive."
Arden pondered. If he opened an online gaming studio and let Ryan run it, then put all his paid accounts there, wouldn't that satisfy the indulgence condition?
After all, he was having someone else play for him, not just spending without playing.
Wouldn't constitute waste.
But that was for the future. For now, he'd let Ryan help with the HoYoverse Trinity.
Mutual help between roommates. Anyway, Ryan loved playing, and having whale accounts to mess with was pure joy for him.
With full cashback from topping up across three games, Arden's savings had already exceeded $150,000.
Now in Arden's mind, Apple's status as a cashback holy land had been replaced by HoYoverse.
After all, phones and tablets lasted a long time once purchased.
Gacha games, however, changed banners in less than a month.
For Arden, it was stable cash flow.
And super simple and easy—didn't even need to leave the room. He'd top up, and his roommate would play for him.
After some thought, Arden instructed Ryan: "Remember to remind me when banners update in the future. I'll top up and max them out again."
"...Do I have to max out every banner?"
"Max it, absolutely max it!"
"..."
This was a true rich person, spending money with absolute freedom.
The key was Arden was also low-key and didn't like to flex. He had zero airs about being wealthy.
In comparison, the other two in the dorm—the "local boy" and "Gatsby"—were far too inferior.
Ryan sighed inwardly.
[Ding! Host's savings have exceeded $150,000. Reward: One luxury car lottery ticket. Please continue working hard and indulging!]
Luxury car lottery ticket?
Not bad.
Bayside's metro area was huge, and public transportation wasn't as convenient as in major cities. Having a car to drive would be nice—Ubers were always less convenient.
Arden summoned the system to check the lottery ticket details.