What You Like ≠ What I Accept

[Ding! Detected host indulging in lavish spending—consumption of 2,974 yuan at a rural-style restaurant triggered a 4x cashback reward. Cash reward: +11,896 yuan.]

Su Bai placed his order and casually paid for his dishes at the counter.

Honestly, it was ridiculously expensive.

But that was the result of Su Bai going completely wild—ordering all sorts of premium wild game without restraint.

Though compared to the fish he had this morning, this didn’t seem as outrageous.

At least these were proper, substantial dishes.

What surprised him was triggering the "Indulgence Cashback" feature.

This was strange. These dishes were shared by the whole table, so logically, they shouldn’t have qualified for the system’s cashback.

Otherwise, Su Bai could just treat his entire class to meals every day and rake in cashback effortlessly.

So he asked the system about it, and soon, "System Bro" gave him an explanation:

[When the number of S-tier goddesses (excluding the host) whose favorability toward the host exceeds 80 makes up at least half of the total diners, the meal qualifies for Indulgence Cashback.]

Oh, so that’s how it works… Wait a minute!

Su Bai suddenly realized something was off.

There were seven people besides him.

Excluding the three guys…

That meant all four girls had favorability ratings over 80.

The others were understandable, but Jiang Qiuran? What was going on with her?

Su Bai quickly pulled up Jiang Qiuran’s stats panel:

[Name: Jiang Qiuran]

[Age: 18]

[Body Stats: 161cm, B-cup]

[Relationship History: 0]

[First Kiss: Intact]

[Virginity: Intact]

[Current Favorability: 82]

Damn!

So the bond between childhood friends really carried some weight!

Su Bai was genuinely shocked.

He’d always known that Jiang Qiuran’s fallout with him was because she wanted to chase luxury, not because she disliked him.

The logic was weird, but for Jiang Qiuran, it made sense.

Most girls would think nothing of stringing along a poor-but-handsome backup while chasing rich guys.

But Jiang Qiuran couldn’t do that. In fact, her personality made her terrible at playing the field—she just floated around, getting to know well-off guys at school.

What a waste. Not pure enough to be innocent, not ruthless enough to be a gold-digger.

Su Bai found it kind of hilarious.

That said, he figured Jiang Qiuran must be satisfied with her current situation—surrounded by admirers, playing the field.

But he never expected her favorability toward him to be at "willing to date" levels.

This made him a little nervous. Bro, stay away!

He had zero interest in dating someone like Jiang Qiuran. There were plenty of reliable girls around.

Wasn’t it said that childhood friends rarely develop romantic feelings for each other?

At least Su Bai had never felt any "worldly desires" toward Jiang Qiuran.

He saw her less as a girl and more like the neighbor’s cat.

Yeah, a big, fluffy cat!

Whatever. Just because she likes me, do I have to reciprocate?

Nope.

As Su Bai’s wealth grew and his lavish lifestyle became public knowledge, more and more women would flock to him.

"Going with the flow" was Su Bai’s philosophy. So he’d just sit back and enjoy Jiang Qiuran’s antics like free entertainment.

At his core, Su Bai was lazy—a perfect match for the Indulgence System.

The deepest form of indulgence? Letting things unfold naturally.

"Achoo!"

Back at the table, Su Bai noticed Jiang Qiuran taking a bite of the freshly served spicy cold dish.

Instantly, she was wrecked—sneezing uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down her face.

She looked ridiculously cute, all teary-eyed.

Xue Tao and Chu Mingzhe stared, transfixed, their throats bobbing as they scrambled to pass her tissues.

Smack!

In the chaos, the tissue box flew off the table—and landed right in Su Bai’s hands.

Su Bai: "…"

These two—the local guy and the Shanghai elite—were truly a match made in hell. Even fighting over who gets to hand a girl tissues sends the box airborne.

Unreal.

"Ugh, tissues, I need tissues…"

Jiang Qiuran, still dazed from the spice, tugged Su Bai’s sleeve, snatched two tissues from his hand, and—after using them—shoved the crumpled mess back at him.

Su Bai froze.

So did everyone else, their expressions a mix of shock and amusement.

Once she’d wiped her tears, Jiang Qiuran suddenly realized what she’d done. Instantly, her cheeks turned a soft pink.

When girls blush, the shade and texture vary.

Some turn deep red, radiating embarrassment.

Jiang Qiuran’s blush was a delicate pink, like a perfectly ripe peach in autumn.

"If you can’t handle spice, don’t force it. Didn’t we get McDonald’s earlier? Xinyan, grab it from my car’s trunk."

"On it~"

With that, Su Bai returned to his seat, acting completely unbothered.

Yep, playing dumb.

But his roommates’ eyes were practically screaming:

Dude, since when are you involved with Jiang Qiuran too?

Is this whole trip just your harem tour?!

Especially Chu Mingzhe, who’d been eyeing Jiang Qiuran, planning to impress her with his classical music knowledge and high-end audio gear.

Yet before he could even pull out his prized vinyl collection, he noticed—

Why was Jiang Qiuran looking at Su Bai like a scorned woman glaring at her ex?

Something’s not right here…

Luckily, their food soon arrived, diverting attention.

Gotta admit, the rural-style dishes looked fantastic—generous portions, fresh ingredients, and cooked to perfection.

The kind of food that screams "wok hei."

Everyone dug in like ravenous beasts.

The awkwardness seemed to fade—but in reality, each person was silently cataloging every suspicious detail.

After the meal…

On the way to the restroom, Wan Xinyan cornered Jiang Qiuran:

"Qiuran, I remember you mentioned during orientation that you’re from Ancheng No. 1 High?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just curious. Since Su Bai’s also from Ancheng No. 1, I figured you two might’ve known each other before?"

Wan Xinyan’s tone was casual, her intentions expertly masked.

Jiang Qiuran couldn’t tell how much she actually knew.

Tch. This girl’s no pushover either.

Then again, none of the women around Su Bai seemed simple.

So Jiang Qiuran played dumb too: "Well, I knew of Su Bai, but we weren’t close."

"Really? The way you grabbed tissues from him looked pretty familiar. Almost like you two had history."

"Uh, haha…"

Jiang Qiuran mentally groaned. This Wan Xinyan’s a sneaky one—pretending to be clueless while lowkey teaming up with Su Bai to mess with me.

Sigh.

What’s done is done. Better focus on the future.

The rift had already formed, and wallowing in self-pity was pointless. She ought to leverage her status as the childhood friend—a veteran in his life—to get closer to Su Bai again.

She just couldn’t accept it!

And so, Jiang Qiuran forced a social smile, the kind perfected by pretty girls.

"By the way, Xinyan, why do you call him 'Brother Su Bai'? You’re not actually his little sister, are you?"