Seeing Arden refuse to give commentary, Tyler and Evan had to temporarily back down.
The reason they sought Arden's opinion was simply competitive posturing.
After all, both considered themselves the best-off in the dorm and even the class, so naturally they had to establish superiority.
As for why they cared about Arden's opinion...
Although Arden's family was dirt poor—he wore clothes from Target and his shoes were New Balance, probably costing just over fifty bucks, which was cheaper than Evan's underwear—Arden was six-foot-one, well-built, and handsome.
Even the two arrogant rich kids had to admit Arden was the undisputed class heartthrob.
However, this guy seemed overly indifferent, usually having minimal presence in class.
Sometimes he seemed too aloof, like just now, acting like it had nothing to do with him.
What the hell are you acting cool for? When you want a girlfriend, you might not even land anyone better than Chloe.
After all, girls these days were realistic—they looked not just at appearance but also financial capability.
Take Tyler, a local Bayside kid whose family owned four properties and who drove a Passat freshman year—he'd managed to get into a relationship quickly.
Meanwhile, Arden's family was dirt poor. Could he ever afford a Passat in this lifetime?
Didn't have that kind of capability, you know.
Tyler grumbled internally for a bit, then picked up his phone to happily text his girlfriend.
I've already got a girlfriend, unlike you single losers!
Afternoon.
Arden woke from his nap feeling refreshed.
He checked the time—still over half an hour until afternoon class, "Physics Lab."
He'd head out for a walk first, then go to class when it was time.
Pennbrook University was massive, its campuses occupying a significant chunk of the surrounding area. Some people joked that Bayside was a city built within Pennbrook University.
Naturally, there were tons of commercial facilities on campus: convenience stores, food courts, coffee shops, even escape rooms...
Arden was wandering aimlessly when he suddenly spotted an Apple Store.
Apple was good, but what made it good?
It was good because their stuff was expensive!
Arden's eyes lit up as he walked into the store, picking up the latest flagship phone on display to check it out.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, 1TB storage, officially priced at $1,899.
He summoned the system to confirm—indeed, such an expensive phone clearly counted as indulgence for a college student.
With the rise of domestic brands, a $300 phone could achieve smooth daily use and handle games perfectly.
But sorry, Arden needed to trigger rewards, so he could only "reluctantly" swap his cost-effective budget Android for a top-tier Apple product with zero value proposition.
He chose the natural titanium color, feeling the texture looked nice.
Arden paid cheerfully, then held his breath waiting for cashback.
[Ding! Detected host's indulgent spending of $1,899, triggering 6x cashback, +$11,394]
Good fortune has arrived!
Arden secretly pumped his fist—this cashback directly pushed his savings past fifteen grand.
Not enough yet.
Arden's gaze swept across the other products in the store.
Worth noting that Apple, as a brand, had high-premium products beyond just phones.
Tablets and laptops weren't bad either!
iPad Pro 2TB cellular model: $3,099
MacBook Pro, Max chip version, maxed out with 128GB RAM + 8TB storage: $7,899
Honestly, this was Arden's first time knowing Apple laptops had configurations costing over seven grand.
Normal people wouldn't really need this kind of high-end spec, right?
But whatever!
He could use it.
After all, with system cashback, the more indulgent he was, the richer he became.
Arden said nothing, just kept paying.
He was unlucky with the tablet—only got 2x reward, earning six grand.
The laptop gave 3x reward, earning sixteen grand.
After this spending spree, his savings broke through thirty grand.
This Apple Store really is a great place to earn rewards, Arden sighed.
Not only were the items expensive, but they were also things college students could actually use, fitting the system's definition of "indulgence."
After using this system, Arden had roughly figured out its pattern.
The so-called "indulgence" meant fully enjoying material life and doing whatever he desired.
It wasn't simply wasteful extravagance.
Selling nearly ten grand worth of products at once made the staff incredibly happy. Several of them surrounded Arden to help activate his devices.
While waiting around bored, Arden suddenly thought of something.
"System, I have a question: do I personally bear the consequences of indulgent behavior?"
"Replying to host: you do not bear them personally!"
"The system will automatically eliminate indulgence's negative effects for you."
"For example, if you indulge by oversleeping and not exercising, your body won't deteriorate. Instead, you'll gain the effect of being fully rested and energized."
"Another example: if you overeat, it won't harm your body. The system will help you digest properly, absorb nutrients, and eliminate toxins."
Hearing this, Arden was delighted and pressed on: "What if I skip class?"
"Replying to host: you will automatically acquire the knowledge taught in that class."
Holy shit, this works too?!
Does this mean if I skip all my required courses, I'll ace the finals?
This System is seriously awesome!
Arden's mind immediately raced.
He recalled this morning's political theory class.
The professor's voice and smile were still vivid in his memory.
The content included bragging about recent political hot topics and recounting his daughter's study abroad adventures...
Well, skipping that class was totally fine.
Useless knowledge, get out of my head!
At this moment, the store associate interrupted Arden's thoughts:
"Sir, all your devices are activated. Would you like to purchase AppleCare extended warranty?"
"No thanks," Arden decisively refused.
If it broke, he'd obviously just buy a new one. Why pass up the chance to trigger rewards?
"Alright, then please add me on Instagram. If you encounter any issues in the future, just contact me directly. Oh, and you're a Pennbrook student, right?"
"Yeah..."
Arden felt something was off, his attention shifting from the system back to the associate in front of him.
She was a young woman who looked like she'd graduated not long ago.
When Arden looked at her, her face immediately flushed with shyness.
Adding his Instagram under the guise of customer service, but it was hard to say there weren't other intentions.
Working as an associate at an Apple Store, she'd seen plenty of rich people, but rarely someone like Arden who spent money without batting an eye, casually getting the top-tier setup and dropping ten grand in minutes.
Combined with Arden's height and good looks, the associate was completely smitten.
Since he was a Pennbrook student, there'd definitely be opportunities to meet again in the future...
Her eyes filled with longing as she watched Arden leave.
Arden, however, immediately muted her chat.
Though the associate was pretty, she still fell a bit short in Arden's eyes.
He was picky, and now with the Godly Tycoon System, it gave him capital to be even pickier.
After his shopping spree, he arrived at the Science & Engineering Building just before class started.
Honestly, why does the CS Department even have a "Physics Lab" course? It felt completely unrelated.
Whatever, no need to overthink it.
Logically, the poly sci professor's daughter's study abroad stories were also unrelated to the course, but he still talked about them. What did that prove?
College was all about the experience.
Actually, Arden was quite curious about the physics lab equipment. The high school he'd attended back home was pretty underfunded, and the lab was practically nonexistent, so he'd never gotten to touch proper experimental equipment.
He found the TA to sign in, then settled into his assigned spot.
Class would start soon—he'd mess around on his tablet for a bit first.
Gotta say, Apple's display quality was excellent.
Arden logged onto Amazon to check out recently popular desktop PC builds.
He'd just had a new idea.
Though Apple laptops were high-end, they sucked for gaming. So buying another desktop for gaming was also reasonable indulgence!
He directly chose a high-end gaming brand, ROG—commonly known as the "Republic of Gamers," the white whale dream of countless PC enthusiasts.
He maxed out the specs, looked at the price: over twelve grand. Nice, this order would guarantee at least twelve grand profit! After all, there was minimum 2x cashback.
Just as Arden was about to place the order, a faintly familiar, cool, mature female voice suddenly spoke beside him:
"Don't buy that model—it's a ripoff."