The university library's third floor was Aiden's favorite place to work—quiet, overlooked, with huge windows that caught the afternoon light. He'd claimed a corner table to review the system's latest update.
LEVEL UP! Host has reached Level 2.New abilities unlocked. Daily draws now available.
Before he could explore further, someone dropped a stack of books on the table across from him with a deliberate thud.
"You're in my spot."
Aiden looked up to find a girl about his age, Asian, with sharp eyes behind stylish glasses and an expression of mild annoyance. She wore a hoodie from Stanford's computer science program and no makeup, radiating the kind of confidence that had nothing to do with appearance.
"I didn't see a reservation," he said mildly.
"I sit here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2 to 5. I've sat here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for three semesters. It's my spot."
Most people would have moved. The old Aiden definitely would have. But something about her directness, her complete immunity to what should have been his system-enhanced charisma, intrigued him.
"Big library. Lots of tables."
"This table has the best light, is furthest from the elevator noise, and has an outlet that actually works." She crossed her arms. "So. Are you moving, or am I making this uncomfortable?"
"I'm good with uncomfortable."
A smile tugged at her lips despite her obvious irritation. "You're that guy. The one everyone's talking about."
"People talk."
"They say you went from broke to buying $600 coats in two weeks. That you shut down Jessica Martinez so hard she left campus crying." She sat down across from him, uninvited. "They say you're either a genius investor or involved in something illegal."
"And what do you think?"
"I think people are stupid and gossip is boring." She opened her laptop—covered in coding stickers. "But I'm curious. Nobody makes that kind of return that fast legally unless they have insider information or are extremely lucky."
"Option three: I'm very good at pattern recognition."
Now she looked genuinely interested. "Stock prediction algorithms?"
"Something like that."
"Bullshit. You're what, junior? Senior? If you'd developed actual predictive software, you'd be in Silicon Valley, not Central State. So either you're lying, you got lucky, or—" She stopped, studying him. "You know something no one else does."
Aiden closed his laptop. "And you are?"
"Sophia Chen. Computer science major, 4.0 GPA, currently building an AI research project that's going to revolutionize neural networks." She said it matter-of-factly, not bragging. "I'm also the only person in this library who isn't treating you like you're God's gift to campus because you bought some new clothes."
That was refreshing. Everyone else had been looking at him differently—awed, interested, attracted. Sophia looked at him like he was a puzzle to solve.
"The charisma boost doesn't work on you."
"What?"
"Nothing." He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Sophia Chen. I'm Aiden Schols."
"I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are now." She pulled out her books. "Fair warning: I'm not moving. This is my spot. You can share or relocate."
"I'll share."
They worked in silence for twenty minutes. Aiden researched potential investments, Sophia coded something that looked impossibly complex. He found himself glancing at her screen, impressed by the elegant architecture of her program.
"Stop looking at my code," she said without looking up.
"It's good code."
"Of course it is. I wrote it." She paused her typing. "How do you know anything about code?"
The system had granted him business analytics and prediction abilities, but not programming knowledge. Still, something about her logic structure made sense to him in ways it wouldn't have before. "Educated guess."
"Another non-answer. You're interesting, Aiden Schols. And suspicious." She closed her laptop. "Want to get coffee and tell me the truth about your mysterious windfall?"
"What makes you think I'd tell you?"
"Because I'm the first person who's treated you like a normal human being since you got your money, and you're desperately curious why your natural charm isn't working on me."
She was right. Completely right. Aiden found himself laughing.
"Coffee sounds good."
As they left the library together, he noticed the stares, the whispers. But he was only paying attention to the girl beside him who saw through everything—the money, the charisma boost, all of it.
Sophia Chen was going to be either his greatest ally or biggest challenge.
He couldn't wait to find out which.