Chapter 028：Surface Friendship

"Get lost! If I see you again, I'll beat you up every time!" Jay kicked the downed thug, his voice fierce and intimidating. He felt triumphant, having fought alongside his friends and won against greater numbers—a story he could brag about for at least a year. He assumed Maggie would be impressed by his bravery, but when he turned around, he saw she had already run to Arthur.

Jay's face fell.

"Wow, Arthur, how are you so strong? I never noticed before. Have you trained in martial arts?" Rex asked, eyes wide with astonishment.

"He must have. There's no way he could be this strong otherwise. Looks like he's been hiding his skills from us. If he really went all out, the three of us together couldn't beat him!"

"No wonder the girls like him; he's amazing!" The roommates expressed their jealousy and admiration.

However, they didn't understand that the girls were drawn to Arthur not because of his fighting skills, but because he was wealthy. Arthur, uninterested in Maggie's advances, ignored her. With her average looks, she didn't meet his minimum standards, so he wouldn't waste his time on her.

Checking his system interface, Arthur noticed changes in his body since his physical enhancements. His height had increased from 179 cm to 180 cm. Though it was just a centimeter, it indicated potential for further growth. His weight had also increased, explaining his recent constant hunger and increased food intake.

"Sorry about the fight in your internet café, Xanthe. We might have damaged a few computers," Arthur apologized.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just a few monitors, easily replaceable," Xanthe replied with a smile.

"How much are the monitors? We'll pitch in to cover the cost," Jay said, his voice pained. The fight had been satisfying, but they had to pay for the damages.

"No need to pay. You're all Arthur's good friends. Not to mention just a few broken monitors, even if the entire Internet cafe was destroyed, it would be fine!" Xanthe said generously.

Her words nearly made the roommates choke. What spell had Arthur cast to make girls so devoted to him, to the point they didn't care about the damages?

"Damn, where's Arthur? He just disappeared!" one of the roommates exclaimed.

Arthur had already left the Hello Internet Café. He couldn't stand Maggie's relentless flirting. She acted like a persistent dog, oblivious to his disinterest and shamelessly clinging to him. It was disgusting, especially since she was Una's friend.

Arthur had pursued Una for three years, finally convincing her to be his girlfriend. Maggie, however, constantly badmouthed him to Una and looked down on him. Una's gold-digging tendencies were one issue, but Maggie's meddling was a significant factor in their breakup.

Now, strangely, Maggie seemed to like him. Did Una know about this? Was Maggie really just a surface-level friend to Una? Even if he no longer liked Una, Maggie's immediate attempt to seduce him was too eager and unseemly.