NOVGO.NET Chapter 31: Strategic Women!
Chapter 31: Strategic Women!
He glanced at Anna, who was watching him with an amused, knowing smile. The sarcasm in her eyes was unmistakable.
Ryan turned his attention back to the phone and said flatly, "I’m in the middle of a meal. I can’t right now."
There was a long pause on the other end. Tina clearly hadn’t expected that response.
"Oh... okay, never mind then. You enjoy your meal."
She hung up quickly, her voice clipped and embarrassed.
Ryan put his phone down and looked at Anna, who was still smirking at him. He shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Not happening."
Anna’s smile widened. She gave a small, satisfied nod and went back to her food as if nothing had happened.
But after a moment, she leaned in again, this time her voice soft and sweet, but still just for him: "Actually... you should buy it for them."
Ryan looked at her, confused. "What? Why?"
Anna’s eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief.
"Because I know what you’re trying to do. You want to cut her off completely. And you should. But if you just refuse flat out, you look petty. Like you’re still hung up on her."
She took a sip of her cola, then continued, "But if you buy the food and deliver it, casually, like it’s nothing, you look like you’ve moved on. Like you’re so unbothered that you can still do her a favor and not care. That’s the real power move."
Ryan thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowing.
’What kind of logic is this?’
"And," Anna added with a playful wink, "you can say I paid for it. That way, she knows exactly who you’re with. She’ll see that I’m the one providing now. That you don’t need her."
Ryan considered her words.
’Oh! Showing dominance among the girls. I get it now.’
"Fine," he said slowly. "But I’m only doing this because you suggested it."
Anna beamed. "Of course. That’s what makes me the big-hearted woman, right?"
Ryan shook his head with a small laugh. "You’re something else."
Jason and Wester had been watching this entire exchange with growing confusion. Jason leaned over to Wester and whispered, "What are they whispering about? Did I miss something?"
Wester shrugged. "No idea. But whatever it is, it’s making Ryan look like he’s about to do something stupid again."
Jason snorted. "Wouldn’t be the first time."
Anna caught their glances and smiled sweetly at them, completely unbothered. "Don’t worry, boys. I’m just taking care of your brother."
Wester and Jason exchanged another look but didn’t say anything. There was something about Anna’s confidence that made it hard to argue with her.
Ryan, meanwhile, was still processing what Anna had suggested. He picked up his chopsticks and poked at his food absently.
Was she right? Would refusing Tina flat out make him look bitter and petty?
He didn’t want to give Tina the satisfaction of thinking he was still hung up on her, even if a part of him was still hurting.
He glanced at Anna again. She was eating her meal as if nothing had happened, but he could see the faint smile playing at the corner of her lips. She knew exactly what she was doing. And damn it, she was making sense.
Ryan let out a long breath. "You know, you’re pretty manipulative."
Anna looked up, her eyes wide and innocent. "Manipulative? I prefer to call it ’strategic’."
Ryan laughed despite himself. "Strategic. Right."
"Besides," Anna continued, her voice dropping back to that soft, conspiratorial tone, "don’t you want to see the look on her face when she realizes I’m the one paying for her food now?"
Ryan paused. Actually... that did sound satisfying.
"Alright," he said finally. "Let’s do it. But I’m not going to enjoy it."
Anna’s smile was knowing. "Of course not."
After the meal, Anna paid the bill in style. Ryan called the waiter over and ordered eight portions of Roadside Restaurant’s famous rice dishes, crab meat soup with salted egg yolk, and a few extra side dishes. Anna paid for it all without blinking an eye.
Wester watched the exchange with wide eyes. "Holy crap. Did she just drop another few hundred like it was nothing?"
Jason nodded slowly. "Yeah. This is either the best thing that’s ever happened to our boy, or the most terrifying."
"Terrifying how?"
"Think about it. If she’s willing to do all this now, what’s she gonna expect in return?"
Wester’s face paled slightly. "Right. That’s... a good point."
Ryan overheard them and rolled his eyes. "Relax, guys. She’s not like that."
"Famous last words," Jason muttered.
On the way back, Wester said in a daze, "I still feel like I’m dreaming. Did our Ryan really land the campus queen Anna???"
Jason gave Ryan a kick from behind and said indignantly, "And he’s even living off her, and doing it with a straight face, acting like it’s the most natural thing in the world."
"Anna is such a beautiful goddess. I can’t believe she’s blind. When I get rich, I’m sending her to the best eye hospital."
"I think she needs a brain check more. If she had any sense, would she go for Ryan? And let him live off her?"
Wester was also jealous, but then he patted Ryan’s shoulder and said, "But Ryan, I think what you did wasn’t right."
Jason chimed in, "Exactly. Having a meal is one thing, but buying food for Tina’s whole dorm, and letting Anna pay for it? That’s just shameless."
"Right. Living off her is one thing, but this is too much."
"Way too much. Even we can’t stand it."
Ryan just shrugged and grinned. "Anna insisted. What was I supposed to do?"
"You could’ve said no!" Wester exclaimed.
"And disappoint her?" Ryan shook his head dramatically. "That’s not the kind of man I am."
Jason groaned. "I can’t believe this. Our boy is a kept man now."
"Kept and proud," Ryan said with a smirk.
Wester and Jason both lunged at him, and the three of them broke into a roughhousing scuffle on the sidewalk, laughing and shoving each other.
"Seriously though," Jason said, catching his breath, "you better not mess this up. Anna’s way out of your league. If she leaves you, I’m not gonna feel bad for you."
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan waved him off. "I’m not gonna mess it up. She’s actually... she’s not what I expected."
Wester raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect?"
Ryan thought about it for a moment. "I don’t know. Someone like Tina, I guess. But she’s different. She actually... cares. In her own weird way."
"Weird is right," Jason muttered. "But hey, if she keeps buying us food, I’m not complaining."
The three of them burst out laughing again.
The two roommates exchanged glances and groaned. Shameless. Absolutely shameless.
The three of them walked back to school smoking after-meal cigarettes. Ryan sent a message and called Tina downstairs.
In the past, he’d have waited like a lovesick fool for ages, even having to call several times before she’d show up looking annoyed.
But this time, Tina had come down early with Linda, waiting at the dorm entrance.