The Titans group chat finally went silent.
It was already noon.
Aiden James and his roommates, Jason, Ryan, and Daniel, headed to the campus dining hall for lunch.
Meals there were cheap, barely ten bucks for a full plate.
No one would've guessed that "Mr. James," the mysterious online tycoon who just dropped thousands of dollars in gifts on a streaming platform, was now sitting in a crowded college cafeteria eating a simple $10 meal, not even bothering to order meat.
Meanwhile, in another part of town…
"Sophia, what do I do? Aiden hasn't replied to me all morning!" Emily Rose nearly threw her phone in frustration.
She had texted him three times already and nothing. Not even a seen.
"Emily, girl, what's going on with you lately?" Sophia asked, raising an eyebrow. "You used to have Aiden completely wrapped around your finger. Now you're acting like a nervous freshman. What gives?"
Emily groaned. "It's different now! Back then, he was just some broke guy who followed me around. Now he's rich and he's got girls like Ivy Mae and Zoe Quinn chasing him. If I play hard to get again, I might lose him for real this time!"
Sophia crossed her arms. "Okay, fair point. But still, you've got one thing they don't - history. Aiden chased you for three years. You were his first love, and that doesn't just fade overnight. He's probably just acting cold to blow off steam because of how you treated him before."
Emily blinked, realizing Sophia had a point. "Yeah… that makes sense. He's just venting. Once he cools off, I'll have a shot again."
"Exactly! Don't give up now. Just be patient and a little strategic." Sophia gave her an encouraging smile, though deep down, she was laughing to herself.
Please. You threw him away when he was nothing, and now you want him back because he's rich? Dream on, sweetheart.
Still, she had her own plans. Flirting with Aiden directly might make her look desperate but Ryan, his roommate, had already been trying to get close to her. That connection might come in handy.
After lunch, Jason, Ryan, and Daniel dragged Aiden to an off-campus gaming lounge.
He didn't really want to go but he didn't have any classes that afternoon, and the others wouldn't take no for an answer.
Besides, what else was there to do in college besides crash in the dorms, binge shows, or hit the gaming café for a few rounds of League of Legends?
"Hey, you got any four-seat setups open?" Jason asked as soon as they stepped into the gaming lounge.
"Yeah, business has been kinda slow lately," the girl at the front desk replied with a friendly smile. She was surprisingly cute, the kind of girl who could brighten up any gamer's day.
Aiden blinked. "Wait... Ivy Mae? What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're working part-time managing this place?"
The girl turned toward him, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, I'm not the manager! My family owns this gaming lounge, didn't you know that, Aiden?"
She sounded genuinely excited, almost shy, but couldn't hide the spark in her eyes. Running into Aiden here was the last thing she expected.
Her family owned seventeen gaming cafés across the state, but business had taken a serious hit since the pandemic. Employees hadn't been paid in months, and rent on this particular location, right next to campus, was due soon.
It cost over $25,000 a year just to lease the place, and with six employees waiting on paychecks, things were tight.
The $700,000 Aiden had quietly lent her a few weeks ago had saved her family's business from collapse.
"I seriously had no idea your family owned this place," Aiden said, glancing around.
This lounge had nearly two hundred high-end PCs, neon lighting, premium chairs, and a full snack bar. It had to be worth at least a couple million to build and set up.
"Wait, hold up, this is D-Lounge, right?" Daniel asked, wide-eyed. "The D-Lounge chain with like a dozen branches across the city? Don't tell me your family owns all of them?"
Ivy nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, but things haven't been great lately. Business is down everywhere, and honestly... my parents were close to bankruptcy."
She shot a quick glance toward Aiden, subtle, but full of meaning.
If it weren't for him, she'd have lost everything.
"Whoa, so you're actually a rich second-gen kid?" Ryan said, stunned. "There were all those rumors about you being a gold digger, but clearly, people just didn't know the facts!"
Jason laughed and elbowed Aiden. "Man, your luck with girls is seriously next-level."
Ivy puffed up her cheeks in mock annoyance. "Well, those rumors weren't entirely wrong. I am kind of a gold digger," she said playfully. "But don't think that means you guys get free game time here! Only Aiden gets that privilege!"
The guys burst into laughter. She had managed to joke away the tension and, in the process, made Aiden look like a total boss.
Her timing, tone, and confidence were perfect. Her emotional intelligence? Off the charts.
"Damn, Aiden, go for it already!" Daniel groaned. "If I see one more girl flirting with you, I'm gonna puke."
"Seriously, what's your secret?" Ryan added, shaking his head. "How come you're the one getting chased by all these gorgeous girls? I thought I was the dorm's ladies' man!"
It didn't make sense. Daniel had always been smooth with girls, charming, funny, and good-looking. Yet lately, Aiden seemed to be the one surrounded by attention.
And not just from random girls, these were top-tier girls. Ivy Mae. Zoe Quinn. Even Emily Rose had started circling back. It was unreal.
"Let's queue up for a five-stack," Ryan said suddenly. "Sophia's on her way over!"
"Wait, who? Sophia? As in Emily Rose's roommate?" Jason looked over, eyebrows raised. "Dude, since when did you start talking to her?"
Ryan grinned smugly. "Been working on it for a couple of months now. She's into games, so when I told her we were hitting the lounge, she offered to play support. Perfect timing, right? Guess I finally get to show off in front of a girl for once!"
He rubbed his hands together, practically glowing with anticipation.