Chapter 8: 8. A compromise

"He said it was his car?"

"That’s ridiculous, he couldn’t even afford to rent that car."

The taunts of those people with bullies mentality made Riki extremely disgusted.

He stepped forward, making Hannah feel very uneasy under Riki’s gaze. There was no trace of the usual silly smile on Riki’s face; instead, he stared at her sharply. As if his gaze could pierce straight through her chest and stab her heart.

Full of anger.

As if a dark aura was enveloping Riki’s body.

"Ri-rik-riki..." Hannah stammered.

Riki was already right in front of her, leaning his head closer, and Hannah reflexively closed her eyes.

She thought Riki was going to hug her or kiss her in front of Anton. Hannah knew Riki still loved her; he was just pretending—

"Move aside."

Hannah quickly opened her eyes.

Riki pushed Hannah’s body out of his way.

"Riki!"

"You’re blocking my path. Go away with your rich new boyfriend who can’t even afford a car like this, so you have to take a selfie in front of someone else’s car."

Anton, offended by Riki’s words, immediately grabbed Riki and tried to punch him. However, Riki’s reflexes were quick enough to catch Anton’s fist before it touched his handsome face.

Riki himself was surprised he could do it. It was impressive, considering he used to just give in.

[Your strength has increased slightly, master]

True, his strength had increased, though only slightly.

But that was good.

Proud of himself, Riki finally had the courage to confront Anton. He pushed Anton’s much larger body away. He even managed to land a punch on Anton afterward.

"Enough, stop fighting because of me!" Hannah said, pulling Anton away and hugging him.

"I know you’re jealous that Anton is now my boyfriend, Riki. But stop it, enough is enough. There’s no need to pretend to have money by renting a luxury car just to get me back. I’m already with Anton, so—"

Hannah stopped her rambling when Riki suddenly burst into loud laughter. The sound of his laughter seemed to be mocking her, making Hannah feel embarrassed for no reason.

"Sorry if I disappointed you, Hannah. I didn’t rent anyone’s car; I even have all the documents in my name for that car. And I specifically brought that car so I could go on a date with the prettiest girl on campus," said Riki.

"But the prettiest girl on campus is me!" Hannah retorted, still confident.

Riki smirked, then turned around.

Angeline was still standing there, behind Riki with her elegance.

Riki extended his hand to Angeline.

The girl approached Riki, took his hand, then smiled at Hannah.

At that moment, Anton and Hannah’s faces looked like clowns, not expecting Riki to ask Angeline Harland out on a date.

"You must have paid Angeline to go on a date with you, right?" Anton accused.

Angeline smiled, genuinely amused by the ridiculous accusation.

"Can someone like Angeline be paid to do something silly? Come on, Anton," Riki interjected.

"Get out of the way, all of you! I have to go on a date with the prettiest girl on campus!" Riki shouted, holding his car keys high in the air.

When the car beeped, they finally made way.

Riki opened the car door for Angeline to get in. After closing the door, he turned back to look at them all. He smirked, then quickly got into the car.

Riki knew they must have been very embarrassed at that moment, even though their faces still showed clear denial.

[You have successfully completed your third and fifth missions today]

[Your reward of two million dollars, 10% shares in L.I Company, and +7 for all stats is now yours]

[You have received 7 points]

Angeline suddenly giggled after the car left the university area.

"Sorry you had to witness such a silly drama earlier, Angel," Riki said.

Angeline shook her head slowly, "No, it was very funny, Riki. They’ll say anything to deny that you now have money. Was Kaivan right when he said you’ve been hiding the fact that you’re not actually poor?" Angeline asked, sounding very cautious as she spoke.

Riki snorted, "Well, let’s just say that’s how it is, Angeline."

"So, is it true?"

"Do you want to go out with me because you know I have money? Well, that’s pretty normal. I don’t blame you, because who would want to date a poor guy, right?"

Unexpectedly, Angeline burst into laughter again. The crisp sound of her laughter sounded melodious to Riki’s ears.

"You might not believe it, but even now, I still can’t believe that you’re actually not poor anymore. Think about it carefully—why would you pretend to be poor? You don’t look like someone who pretends. I know you’ve been working hard all this time, doing part-time jobs at several places. Whatever it takes as long as you get money. Someone who’s pretending wouldn’t act like that, right? But you’re right, Riki. A normal girl wouldn’t want to date a poor guy."

Riki smiled slightly. He didn’t know how to respond to Angeline. But Angeline was indeed very smart; it was hard to deceive her.

"Are you not a normal girl?"

Hearing Riki’s question, Angeline chuckled again.

"I’ve heard it from my cousin," Angeline replied.

"But Angeline, I wouldn’t dare approach an upper-class girl like you if I didn’t have money."

"Oh, I don’t think you don’t have money, it’s just—"

Riki shook his head slowly, "It’s okay, I know you still don’t believe I have money. It’s normal to think that way."

Angeline sighed deeply, then smiled faintly.

"Then I’ll be honest now. I accepted you because I find you very attractive. It has nothing to do with money at all."

"So, should I be honest too?" Riki asked.

Angeline nodded, looking at Riki with a demanding gaze, urging him to be honest with her.

"I asked you out because I think you’re very beautiful. But don’t worry, I no longer have any feelings for Hannah. Those feelings vanished after seeing her true nature."

"It’s okay even if I’m just a rebound, Riki. We’re just dating, right? Honestly, I’ve never dated before because nothing has ever caught my interest."

Riki didn’t know that Angeline wasn’t as arrogant as people said she was.

She was just an ordinary, sweet girl who longed for beautiful things.

[Your sixth mission today is to buy whatever Angeline wants; don’t worry about the money if you’re dating the most beautiful girl]

[You will receive three times what you spend on Angeline]

Well, Riki was also an ordinary human being who could be happy about the great opportunity the system had given him.

"I’ll grant you anything you want, Angeline. Let’s make your first date the most beautiful one you’ve ever imagined."

"Are you sure?" Angeline asked, clearly doubting Riki’s words. However, she quickly showed him something in a small pink notebook with a small black ribbon.

It was Angeline’s wish list.

Riki stopped the car to read the list.

His eyes widened as he saw all the items Angeline considered romantic.

-Rent a Skydine for a romantic dinner with your partner.

-Being given a large bouquet of pink roses.

-Receiving a beautiful pink diamond ring.

The further down Riki read the list, the more money started spinning in his head.

But Riki would get three times the amount—this was a good opportunity.

"Let’s do it, Angeline."