Originally, Scarlet, who'd failed at flirting and instead had her true nature exposed by her junior, was full of resentment.
Suddenly receiving Arden's lunch invitation, her mood immediately brightened.
Hmph, little guy pretending to be some modern stoic, yet suddenly inviting an older girl out to eat? Isn't he interested in her after all?
"Lunch, huh? I don't know if I'm free—I'll have to ask Derek."
Scarlet feigned reluctance and pretended to ask Derek, and the answer, of course, was yes.
Being able to afford a nearly $125k car, having a meal with such a premium client was perfectly normal.
Moreover, Arden was so young—very likely he'd have future car-buying needs, so maintaining relationships with such clients was essential.
Not to mention they were fellow alumni, and looking at Scarlet's beaming face, seemed she'd taken a liking to her junior?
Derek saw through it but said nothing, approving Scarlet's early departure.
Just helping young love along.
Arden took her, first making a detour to the DMV to get license plates.
Some dealerships charged extra fees for plates—total ripoff.
This dealership didn't seem to have that problem. They could handle it for Arden, only charging official processing fees with no markup.
Arden chose to go himself, mainly because he'd never dealt with DMV business before and wanted to see what it was like.
During the process, Arden chatted with Scarlet about interesting stories from school and the dealership, without any further ambiguous situations.
The two tacitly pretended what happened during the test drive hadn't occurred.
Actually, Arden didn't care—if Scarlet wanted to continue flirting with him, he wouldn't mind.
After all, she was a charming, sexy beauty, and still 'factory sealed,' so playing around would be fun.
But clearly, the senior didn't want to. She was afraid of exposing her inexperience.
Arden noticed Scarlet seemed very invested in her "femme fatale" persona, insisting on maintaining the experienced older woman attitude in front of Arden.
Real high-attack, low-defense energy.
He wondered what drove this fixation, but whatever—everyone had their quirks. Arden respected his senior's preferences.
They drove to IKC Plaza, not far from the dealership.
This was one of Bayside's premier luxury shopping districts, home to many international luxury brands and numerous high-end restaurants.
"Been here before, senior?"
"A few times, but not many. Food here's so expensive—not something an intern like me can afford."
"Aren't you a star salesperson?"
"Still an intern contract, low commission, pure grunt work. Sigh, now I'm just hoping to graduate and get full-time status soon."
"Senior, recommend a place. Don't worry about price—just what you think is delicious."
"Oh~ Since my junior said so, I won't hold back then."
Scarlet chose an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant, opening the page on her phone to show Arden.
"Can you handle Japanese food?"
"Yeah, I eat everything. Got a great appetite."
"I can tell—how else could you grow so tall without a good appetite?" Scarlet took the opportunity to pinch Arden's arm.
Arden still didn't react.
Sigh, really, this junior wasn't on the same level as ordinary college guys.
He'd probably already messed around with quite a few girls.
Scarlet's mind filled with chaotic thoughts as she led the way to this high-end Japanese buffet restaurant.
She'd only been once before, with a company team-building event, eating the $45 per person tier that featured fresh salmon, Arctic shrimp, and various Japanese snacks.
Taste was good, and crucially, everything was beautifully presented—perfect for photos, appealing to many girls' aesthetics.
In the private room.
Arden briefly skimmed the menu and told the server:
"We'll take the $190 per person option."
"Are you sure you want the highest-tier package?"
"Yes."
Scarlet quickly interjected: "Oh, there's no need for such an expensive meal—actually the $45 option is quite filling."
The $45 package was this buffet's lowest tier.
Above that were $85 and $130, which added pricier ingredients and gourmet dishes like New Zealand langoustines, fresh sea urchin, foie gras... As for the most expensive $190, it offered unlimited servings of French oyster sashimi, bluefin tuna, black abalone, extra-large conch, M9 wagyu... and other premium ingredients.
Looked incredibly impressive, and Arden hadn't tried any of them, so he wanted to give it a shot.
Anyway, the indulgence system would reimburse him.
Facing his senior's advice, Arden said: "It's fine, senior. I said I'm treating, so I'm definitely treating you well. Don't worry—this level's zero pressure for me."
The server glanced at Arden's Uniqlo T-shirt, finding it somewhat hard to process.
Wasn't this a college student who'd saved several months of living expenses just to afford this one meal?
Scarlet, however, knew very well Arden wasn't showing off—over a hundred per person truly was nothing to him.
A GLE was considered excellent for young people, and he'd bought the top trim. Actually, when buying cars, the chosen configuration could largely reflect the buyer's cash flow scale.
After all, some comfort features weren't visible from outside and didn't significantly boost appearances, so many people didn't opt for them.
Often, by removing the trim badges, changing paint, or vinyl wrapping, you couldn't tell the core powertrain differences between base and top trims.
Therefore, pure show-off tycoons tended to buy entry-level models of high-end lines.
Only truly wealthy people would blindly max out top trims.
Like Arden's GLE—if you could tolerate the base model, you could get it for around $70k.
But he not only bought the top trim, he'd also looked completely nonchalant and casual during vehicle inspection.
Often, spending attitudes, more than specific prices, revealed hidden information.
Other details also reflected Arden's considerable financial strength.
For instance, his latest iPhone was also maxed out.
Earlier, when he was putting away contracts at the dealership, an Apple laptop peeked from his backpack. Scarlet casually asked about it and learned it cost seven grand.
Would a guy from an ordinary family drop seven grand on a laptop that wasn't even gaming-friendly, drive a $125k car, and casually spend nearly two hundred per person on a meal without blinking?
Speaking of which, when Scarlet attended freshman orientation, why hadn't she heard such a big fish had arrived in CS?
Maybe he kept low-key at school.
Immediately, Scarlet's interest in successfully seducing Arden intensified.
It was normal for a truly wealthy man to have more composure than ordinary men.
Such a premium junior was even more worth Scarlet's dedicated pursuit.
"Junior, I haven't done anything for you, and you suddenly invite me to such an expensive meal—I feel kinda bad~"
The Japanese restaurant had authentic décor with tatami floors, requiring shoes off before entering.
At this moment, under the soft, warm private room lighting... this senior was truly unstoppable. She didn't forget to flirt before food even arrived—both inexperienced yet eager to play.
Arden looked down, admiring her for a moment, and murmured: "Do you treat other clients like this, senior?"
"No, only you."
"Really?"
"Believe it or not, hehe."
"I believe you, senior."
Arden stared directly at Scarlet, a playful curve on his lips. Suddenly... Scarlet immediately trembled all over, shrinking back abruptly, her face flustered.
Though Arden didn't say it explicitly, Scarlet clearly understood what he meant to convey.
Oh, it's so annoying—how does this junior have such sharp eyes!
How come the whole world thinks she's experienced, but only Arden sees through her pure, innocent nature?
And Arden was precisely the only one Scarlet especially wanted to flirt with, even making physical contact beyond normal boundaries.
A subtle emotion spread between them.