The second finance professor of the day left the hall.

Chrome didn’t bring a pen, much less a bag.

He sat through the entire thing and learned nothing.

It was almost as if he didn’t care that he was a third-year business student.

Instead, his mind was entirely occupied by Lana.

’Why did she refuse to go out on a date with me?’

Chrome thought with heavy brows.

’Maybe I was right to think Quinn told her something bad about me. I have to find out.’

He did a small side glance to Quinn, who was seated a few rows away.

Quinn immediately noticed he was looking at her. She tried to maintain her composure, raising a slender hand to tuck her golden hair behind her ear, but that revealed her bright red cheeks.

Chrome could see it from where he sat.

[Ding! Target Quinn Hilton has prepared a special present for the Host. The system will schedule the rejection route with immediate effect.]

Chrome gave the floating panel a deadpan stare.

"You must really hate women, huh..."

[Ding! Host’s secret identity as ’Mr. Gold’ has gained huge popularity in the last few hours. You’ve successfully made your future mother-in-law your enemy, along with a host of other billionaires!]

Chrome tilted his head. "Future mother-in-law?"

[Olivia Hilton is confident that you’ll marry her daughter in the end, or she will personally make it happen.]

Chrome sighed tiredly.

"The women in this world are in fact strange..."

He pondered it for a moment.

If he married into the Hilton family, he’d certainly become a high-value son-in-law. But if he nurtured his identity as Mr. Gold, he could become something far greater than that... a man so powerful and elusive that he would be desired by countless powerful mothers as the ultimate suitable partner for their daughters.

The idea was incredibly shallow.

But then again, this world was also very shallow.

"Tell me more about Mr. Gold."

[The identity serves as the ultimate financial shield for the Host. All funds generated from system rewards are securely stored under this identity. Any amount you wish to spend as Chrome Langley will be transferred to your local account to ensure protection from the IRS, financial investigators, and any unwanted eyes.]

Chrome nodded to himself. "That makes sense."

[Ding! The rise of your identity as ’Mr. Gold’ has greatly increased your value as a man, opening up multiple new rejection routes! The Host has been rewarded with the following cash rewards:]

[Reward 1: An option to pick one luxury supercar, each valued at over $1,000,000.00.]

[Reward 2: A custom-crafted, highly expensive 24k gold mask valued at $350,000.00, to be worn whenever appearing in public as Mr. Gold.]

Chrome smiled a little. "I get a car?"

[Yes. The Host can receive further massive cash rewards by triggering events that open new rejection routes. Your secret identity as Mr. Gold will cause more powerful women to desire you, making it easier to find rejection targets.]

"Makes sense..." Chrome muttered.

Suddenly, five holographic panels expanded in front of his eyes, each displaying a stunning, high-definition picture of a legendary vehicle.

[Item 1: McLaren P1]

[Item 2: Mercedes-Maybach SL 680]

[Item 3: Ferrari Purosangue Vennum]

[Item 4: Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan]

[Item 5: Porsche 918 Spyder]

Chrome stroked his chin as he studied them.

"Personally, I’d like the SL 680..."

But the situation called for other choices.

"Mr. Gold seems like the kind of guy who would drive a heavy Rolls-Royce. But... if I really want to give him the ultimate image of an elite, ultra-rich person, I have to go for the Porsche 918 Spyder. It’s very rare, and truly rich people own rare stuff."

There was an Italian client he’d worked for when he was still a corporate finance guy in his past life. That guy owned a clean collector’s model of the 918 Spyder, valued around $1.5 million. It was a masterpiece.

Nodding firmly, Chrome reached out and tapped the panel for the Porsche 918 Spyder.

[Congrats! Host has successfully acquired the Porsche 918 Spyder. The vehicle has been safely delivered to your Imperial Lakeview Penthouse garage, complete with all legal documentation under Mr. Gold.]

Chrome smiled and melted into his chair.

Before the classroom could empty out, a beautiful blonde girl walked confidently onto the stage at the front of the lecture hall. She cleared her throat, tapping the mic on the podium to call for everyone’s attention.

It was Mandy Forbes.

She was widely recognized as one of the top campus belles of Blue University, a girl blessed with both staggering beauty and a wealthy family lineage that held major power in the city’s commercial sectors.

The remaining students in the hall instantly stopped talking and smiled at her.

"Wow, look at Mandy... she looks so pretty today."

"Right? Her outfit is insane. Wonder what she’s up to."

Mandy smiled elegantly at the crowd.

"Excuse me, everyone. I just wanted to announce a party I’ll be hosting this weekend at the Grand Horizon Hotel. The business department will be joining us, along with students from the art and medical departments."

The entire class instantly cheered and celebrated.

Mandy raised her hands to calm them down.

"A lot of you in this room are already on the VIP guest list and are fully invited. So, to save time, I’ll just call out the names of the few people who aren’t invited. I hope you won’t be offended, it’s just a matter of limited capacity."

She opened her pink tablet and started reading off a short list of names.

"...Nate Lyles."

"...Teresa Winslow."

She called a few more, then read the last name.

"...and Chrome Langley. See the rest of you there!"

She smiled brightly.

"THIS IS STUPID!"

A female student furiously shouted.

Erica... her name was on the list.

"Who do you think you are to exclude us? You’re just a stuck-up, arrogant bitch!"

Mandy didn’t even flinch. She calmly adjusted her designer glasses, looking at the raging student with a relaxed and unbothered expression.

"It’s fine. Whatever makes you feel better."

She wasn’t triggered at all.

Her complete lack of emotion made the angry student feel painfully insignificant, like she wasn’t even worth a second of her time. Frustrated and humiliated, the girl stormed right out of the lecture hall.

[Mission: Host has been publicly embarrassed by being placed on the uninvited list for the campus belle’s big party. To counter this, rent a more luxurious venue and host an even bigger, grander party!]

Chrome stared at the screen.

’I should be embarrassed for not being invited to a party that’ll be full of frat boys chugging beer and running around naked? That seems like a waste of money.’

[Successfully completing this quest will open a rejection route with Mandy Forbes!]

All he heard was cash rewards.

"Fine. Let’s do it."

Beside him, Nate looked despondent.

He turned to Chrome with a sad, pathetic expression.

"Man... it seems like we didn’t get invited."

Chrome blinked, looking at him blankly.

"Uhm... who are you?"

Nate snorted loudly, looking offended as he quickly adjusted his glasses.

"Uhh, your friend and classmate? We’ve sat together for since first year, dude!"

Chrome let out a small, sheepish smile.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Sorry about that."

He yawned deeply, resting his chin in his hand.

"I don’t really care about the party, though."

"How can you not care?!"

Nate groaned as he slumped in his seat.

"That party is our only chance to get a rich girlfriend to take care of us. The only thing keeping me afloat right now is my scholarship. My parents just moved to a new place and they’re so broke they haven’t even put a sofa in the living room yet."

He let out a depressed sigh.

Chrome pressed his lips tight.

"Uhm, that’s rough, buddy..."

BLAM!

A loud crash from the front rows.

Quinn had slapped both of her palms onto her desk as she stood up with a furious glare.

"Mandy! What’s the meaning of this?! I explicitly told you to invite Chrome to the party! Why didn’t you exclude his name from the uninvited list like I asked?!"

Mandy didn’t look up right away. She casually held out a finger, telling for Quinn to wait, while she calmly took a sip of water from her oversized Stanley cup.

Many students were befuddled.

"Look at that, Quinn is actually fighting for him?"

"Why does she care about that guy anyway?"

"Yeah, he isn’t all that yet he’s causing drama between the campus belles?"

Chrome pinched the bridge of his nose.

’This woman will ruin everything...’