Chapter 30: Shameless Group Of Women

Tina felt her heart ache even more. Linda pulled her aside and whispered, "Sweetie, I think you should just ask Ryan directly. If he really gave her those things, did he win the lottery or has he been pretending to be poor all along?"

"Are you feeling better???"

Tina, who cared a lot about saving face, wrestled with it for a long time before finally sending Ryan a WhatsApp message.

In the past, he would reply instantly. But this time it took a full five minutes, each minute felt like an eternity. When the message alert finally sounded, Tina felt like she’d come back to life and quickly grabbed her phone.

"Much better. I’m eating right now."

It seemed like a perfectly normal reply, but Tina immediately felt annoyed. In the past, he would have sent a long wall of text, fussing over her until she found it irritating.

In a huff, she didn’t reply. Kai suddenly sent another message, saying he was sorry about yesterday and stuff like that.

Back in the dorm, the AC installation wasn’t done yet, they still needed to test it and charge the coolant.

Ryan and his two roommates took Anna to Roadside Restaurant, which was probably the best restaurant nearby.

"One roast goose, one iron plate braised pork, one black pepper short ribs, one steamed Australian lobster, braised chicken with abalone sauce."

Anna picked up the menu, politely hesitated for a moment, then started ordering: "Ryan just got over being sick, so he needs some nourishment. Let’s also get a bowl of morel mushroom soup."

Jason quietly tugged Ryan and whispered, "Ryan, I only have a little over 200 left."

Wester also secretly sent a message: "I’ve got 100 in... I can still swipe 1,200 on my credit card. We’ll pool together and send it to you."

They knew Ryan had just used his card to buy the iPhone 17 and was probably broke right now.

This meal sounded expensive. Just the lobster alone would be over a 300, and the other dishes didn’t sound cheap either.

Normally they wouldn’t be suckers, but their brother had gotten together with the campus beauty, and Anna’s takedown of Tina earlier had felt particularly satisfying.

Plus, she’d installed an AC for them and topped up the electricity card with 1,000 dollars, it was only right to treat her to a nice meal in return.

While Ryan was still stunned, Jason had already transferred 230 over, along with a message saying he still had 2,000 credit left on a loan app and would cash it out and send more.

Ryan was a poor student, and his roommates came from ordinary backgrounds too. They were ready to splurge for this, even if it meant going out and delivering food together afterward.

Ryan felt a bit moved. He returned all the transfers and said with a laugh, "No need!"

Just as the two were looking confused, Ryan turned to Anna with a casual smile and said, "Anna, I don’t have much money left. I can’t afford this bill."

Anna was holding an iced cola, handing one to each of them, and paused for a moment before saying coquettishly, "This meal’s on me. I just met your brothers, and I picked the place, of course I’m treating."

"Heh, well, we won’t be polite then."

Ryan had a relaxed, easygoing look. Wester and Jason were stunned, that was just shameless.

Anna shot Ryan a flirtatious glance, as if to say, "We understand each other."

She knew Ryan wanted to keep a low profile on campus, so of course she wouldn’t expose him. A few thousand dollars for a meal, she’d play along.

Back in the dorm, Tina was feeling conflicted. Linda said beside her, "Sweetie, Kai’s asking you out again."

"Don’t mention him. I’m so annoyed!!!"

Tina was visibly irritated.

Just thinking about the iPhone 17 and the LV bag worth 28,000 that should have been hers, all given to that bitch Anna, made her chest tight with anger.

What bothered her even more was that Anna had been carrying that 58,000 limited edition bag today. That was even more of a blow.

"Whoa, the sun must’ve risen from the toilet, Wester hasn’t posted a single moment all year."

"What did he post?"

Hearing it was Ryan’s roommate, Tina sat up immediately and grabbed her phone.

One look and she was practically furious. The caption read: "Thanks to the goddess for the loving feast. Thanks to my roommate, even a wild boar gets to eat fine grain."

The nine-panel photo grid showed beautifully shot pictures of exquisite dishes. That giant Australian lobster was especially eye-catching.

Linda always loved making a fuss, and the other roommates heard and pulled out their phones too, buzzing with chatter.

"No way, really? Those broke guys are eating a feast?"

"The place looks like Roadside Restaurant, it’s a few hundred per person, maybe even a thousand."

"And it says a goddess is treating. Which goddess is that generous? Charity shouldn’t go to feeding these broke guys either."

"That lobster is 488 per pound, one that size must be close to 2,000 dollars."

Someone immediately teased Tina, "Sweetie, looks like your simp’s roommate found a sugar mama. Let’s get in on the good times too."

"Right. I heard there rice dishes are amazing too, especially the crab meat soup with salted egg yolk. Mixed with rice, it’s to die for."

"I think it’s 280 for one serving, if I remember right."

After saying that, the girl grinned and said to Tina, "Sweetie, your simp is there too. We haven’t had lunch yet, why don’t you tell him to pack us some food?"

Tina gave an awkward laugh, "He doesn’t have that kind of money."

"Pfft, you said you trained him well. For you, he’d definitely borrow if he had to."

Linda knew roughly what was going on. For the sake of face, they shouldn’t back down. She pulled Tina and urged her, "Sweetie, why overthink it? Just tell him to bring us food, he’ll definitely agree."

"This, I..."

Tina hesitated, then steeled herself and called. Ryan picked up this time: "Classmate Tina, what’s up?"

That "Classmate Tina" instead of "Sweetie" stung her heart. "Sweetie" was the nickname the dorm had given her.

Ryan used to call her that too, until she’d asked him to stop. Now it felt bitterly ironic.

"Ryan, are you and Jason at Roadside Restaurant?"

Tina kept her voice calm.

"Yeah, having dinner here. The dorm was noisy with the AC installation, so we came out."

"Oh, I see. The second cafeteria is pretty much out of food, and none of us in the dorm have eaten yet."

Tina lied for the sake of appearances, forcing herself to add, "Could you pack some food for us? I’ll pay you back later."

Ryan started to respond, but Anna, sitting right next to him, had been listening closely. She leaned in close to his ear, her breath warm, and whispered with a playful, sarcastic edge, just loud enough for only him to hear:

"You can buy it for her. Go ahead. Show her how generous you are now."

Ryan felt her breath on his neck and caught the mockery in her tone. He paused, his jaw tightening slightly.

He knew exactly what she was implying, that he’d fall right back into his old patterns, that he’d grovel at Tina’s feet again.