Soon, dishes began arriving.
The super-sized sashimi platter had excellent visual impact.
Fresh sea urchins were neatly arranged, next to caviar, looking very appetizing.
As for the expensive conch, it was sliced and prepared using the live-cooking method.
The chef wheeled a cart into the private room, boiled broth, and sliced conch for customers on the spot, blanching it in broth for just seconds until perfectly cooked, preserving maximum fresh sweetness.
They even kept the conch shells after extracting meat—one was basketball-sized, placed on a plate with dry ice underneath creating a smoky visual effect.
Scarlet had been taking photos.
This scene was quite rare for her.
Arden was too lazy for pictures. He just drank his matsutake mushroom soup. The soup came in an exquisite little teapot, and he squeezed some lemon into it before drinking. Tasted great—refreshing and cut through richness.
When eating all-you-can-eat Japanese, cutting richness was essential, because for Arden, what interested him most about this restaurant were the various seafood sashimi and premium grilled meats...
However, for Scarlet, the ingredients themselves weren't most important. Instead, she focused energy on editing photos to post on Instagram.
"Senior, is your Instagram feed always this polished?"
"Of course. I like it polished. Who doesn't want to show their glamorous side on social media?" Scarlet sighed. "After all, most people only encounter something worth showing off once in a while, but for you, junior, it's just everyday life."
"That's not entirely true. Eating such premium food every day, my cholesterol would skyrocket."
"It's fine! We're still young. As long as we exercise more, nothing to fear. Or how about I help you exercise, junior, to burn off excess nutrients?"
Scarlet blinked.
Arden said helplessly: "Senior, I've noticed you don't learn. Wasn't your foot itchy enough in the car earlier?"
He made a move to grab Scarlet's leg.
The latter quickly pleaded: "No, no, no—we're eating! Can't mess around while eating, affects digestion."
After playing around for a bit, Scarlet finally finished preparing photos for her Instagram post.
Standard nine-grid format. Not long after posting, many people commented.
[Wow, what a huge conch—must be expensive, right?]
[This background, is it that Japanese restaurant at Harborview Plaza? So jealous—eating so well on a weekday lunch.]
[Sobbing, I'm gnawing cafeteria food and tears are streaming down my face.]
[Why order the most expensive set meal? Feels totally not worth it.]
[Entertaining clients again? Senior's really different after going into sales—living large every day.]
Scarlet replied to each one.
For those clearly looking for trouble, she was too lazy to bother, or she'd send a smiling emoji dripping with sarcasm.
Scarlet had long grown accustomed to negative comments or malicious attacks—been this way since high school.
After all, even then her figure was well-endowed.
She didn't cower because of gossip. Instead, she dressed up beautifully.
Let them spread rumors—no matter how much they slander, plenty of guys still adore me.
At this moment, her roommate Chloe also commented on Scarlet's Instagram post.
[Scar, you're killing it today! Did you close a big deal?]
Scarlet smiled slightly and chose to DM Chloe instead of continuing the public interaction.
In their dorm, two beautiful freshmen had joined just a month ago.
Before that, Scarlet and Chloe lived together.
Even after forming a mixed dorm, Scarlet and Chloe remained relatively closer. If there was anything worth venting about in daily life, they'd usually DM instead of using the small group chat.
Wasn't that the other two girls had issues—they were both very nice. Just took time getting to know people.
[Scarlet]: I hooked an especially handsome guy, and he's treating me to nearly $200-per-person Japanese!~]
[Chloe]: Huh??]
[Chloe]: He's treating? Don't you usually split bills with clients?]
[Scarlet]: This one's different—he's super, super loaded!]
[Scarlet]: Seriously, I'm smitten.]
[Chloe]: Ahhhh! Is Scar finally gonna shoot her shot? I'm so excited—some guy's actually gonna experience Scar's magic. Who's this lucky?]
[Scarlet]: ...Not exactly shooting my shot. Oh, hard to say—who knows if he's even interested in me.]
Honestly.
Scarlet was certain she really liked Arden.
Both physiologically and based on rational assessment of his financial status.
A truly intelligent woman should preserve her purity then act decisively when meeting Mr. Right.
The key was, she seemed outclassed by Arden...
Just a little squeeze on her calf, and her whole body went weak. She'd even had to hit the restroom to clean up...
Scarlet didn't even know she was that sensitive.
On the other hand, Arden, from meeting until now, didn't seem affected by her flirting at all.
Sigh, take it slow. Always look on the bright side. Maybe Arden was just holding back because they'd just met.
Perhaps after getting more familiar, he'd fall for her!
Plenty of time...
Meanwhile, in Pennbrook's dining hall.
Chloe looked at messages from her roommate, feeling mixed emotions.
She knew Scarlet's boyfriend requirements.
Liked younger guys.
Must be rich.
Preferably handsome.
Honestly, meeting all three was genuinely hard—those who qualified were highly sought after and wouldn't lack women.
Yet she'd actually found one.
Chloe was three parts happy for her, three parts subtly jealous, and four parts with indescribable melancholy.
She also wanted nearly $200 Japanese meals, but Tyler would only take her to the $45 tier.
He always bragged about being an amazing local—only after dating him did she realize he wasn't that well-off.
Whatever. At least Tyler's conditions were decent in their circle, and he was willing to spend on her. Nowadays those stingy, overconfident guys made huge fusses even buying boba.
At least after Chloe started dating Tyler, she achieved boba freedom.
And Tyler would continue spending on her. She just needed to keep him hooked to continuously receive benefits.
In contrast, who knew if Scarlet's so-called rich junior just wanted to play with her?
At this moment, at the dining hall table.
Tyler was next to Chloe, spitting as he lectured about car knowledge.
Mainly revolving around his Volkswagen Passat.
After all, "young and promising driving a Passat" was one of Tyler's main personal brands.
He'd start with "German engineering quality" then counter with "current domestic cars cut corners."
Chloe's head buzzed listening.
She irritably interrupted: "Tyler, let's go out this weekend—let's eat Japanese."
"Japanese? Japanese is flashy and impractical, all show. How about Chick-fil-A instead..."
Tyler's smile was forced. His budget was tight recently, and Japanese food costing hundreds at a time was truly unbearable.
"My roommate ate it today—look at this, looks so delicious."
"Ah..."
Tyler looked at the photo and broke into a sweat.
Damn, a set like that would easily cost over a hundred per person.
Seriously, sis, can't you have some self-awareness? Your three roommates are all goddesses—you're comparing yourself to them? That's enough!
However, Chloe wouldn't give up.
Tyler had no choice but to rack his brains for excuses to blow her off.
This dining hall lunch, like yesterday, was another accidental encounter between the two dorms.
Ryan was still gaming, silently grinding gacha, isolated from the world.
Hehehe, Arden's max constellation main DPS is really amazing—you can clear abyss without even trying.
Evan was in self-conflict.
Imogen sat alone in the corner, her expressionless face radiating faint melancholy.
She was thinking: why isn't Arden replying to my messages?