Chapter 151: Two Flavors

Two.

That was the number of flavors Aiden had eventually settled on.

As much as he’d figured having a couple more would be nice, the budding entrepreneur had come to realization that it was best if he didn’t overdo it.

Customers might want variety, yes, but they often also often wanted variety within a set limit, not a choice paralysis simulator.

Besides, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t always go seeking another type of beverage if they weren’t feeling particularly interested in Death Wish for whatever reason.

If that was the case, then the inevitability was always set in stone that his beverage wasn’t always going to be their numero uno.

To that effect, it would do him a whole lot of good to craft something that was more inclined towards what these customers he already had sought after, and not what he believed was needed.

That way, he and SlurpPAK could leave the impression that they were listening to their wants and demands, which in turn would earn them more goodwill from these paying customers.

It was also why he began scouring the internet at some point, his gaze curious as he tried to figure out if there was any specific flavor they were requesting for.

’I really need to find someone to manage these growing accounts...’ Aiden came to a certain realization as he kept scrolling.

Much to the youth’s surprise though, he didn’t even have to rack his head to come up with flavors to work towards.

For starters, people liked the base coconut taste so much, it was clear there was a good market for it and solely it.

’Huh? Who would’ve thought?’ Aiden looked pleasantly surprised... though he literally found himself facepalming a moment after, the realization making him feel like a dunce;

"Of course, they’d want the base flavor, dummy! That was literally what caught my attention in the first place!"

"I even appraised it and everything..." Aiden ruffled his hair in mild annoyance at himself.

Granted his photographic memory aided him in actively remembering things he wanted to recall, it was clear it wasn’t a passive miracle worker.

Especially when he was the one nerfing his very own thoughts.

He’d gotten so into making Death Wish its own thing, he’d literally sidelined one of the things that made it a great product in the first place.

’You know Aiden, sometimes I fear for you and how you keep pushing the limits of your goals.’ the youth chastised himself with a light shake of his head, a resigned sigh escaping him as he continued doing his research.

With a ’new’ flavor in {Mint-Coconut Sparkling Water} out of the way--which was also going to be a cinch to mass produce for very obvious reasons--the youth soon found another.

One that was heavily requested for across many of Death Wish’s and SlurpPAK’s official accounts.

"Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes..." Aiden leaned against the kitchenette counter, his head tilted slightly as he mumbled to himself.

Then he humorously muttered to himself a moment after, a chuckle escaping him;

"Ironic though, since strawberries and raspberries aren’t even true botanical berries..."

Granted that was information Aiden already had in his memory bank, it was that much more prominent to him these days as he was now a walking encyclopedia of interesting agricultural facts.

All thanks to the new game they were building.

"Whatever the case may be, {Berry-Blast Sparkling Water} it is." Aiden came to a decision.

Now, he only had to figure out how to get it to the same grade as the previous ones.

To that effect, Aiden got down to work, cooking dinner for himself, whilst also jotting down a few key ingredients here and there he’d need to make the product whilst simulating it in his head.

As he didn’t feel like heading out anymore for the rest of the day, that was all he managed.

Besides, he wasn’t in any rush to make it, so he opted to take his time formulating it and getting it to its possible best before he then suggested improvements using {Midas Touch}.

As a result, he soon retired to bed, woke up the next morning, observed his usual routine and went about his day.

Unsurprisingly, sylly week was still in full-swing, as was the undeniable party culture from the students on campus.

Not that it stopped a lot of Pacific Height’s lecturers from commencing their classes like they were already prepping for their first Continuous Assessment (CA).

Aiden’s department especially--alongside a select few--had a structure where their assignments, tests and attendance took up fifty-percent of their entire CA, while their final exams accounted for the rest.

A structure that differed heavily from most departments on campus where their exams usually accounted for about sixty to seventy--sometimes eighty--percent of their total assessment.

This structure, was one that was very specifically, put in place for Pacific Heights, largely because it was a school that was curated towards not only the rich and wealthy, but also a whole lot of busy, working students.

In principle, it essentially meant that a student might not attend all of the classes prior, seat for the exams and still pass if they studied hard enough.

Getting really good grades though?

Now that was something they would have to work their assess for nonetheless.

But for the select few students in the gang’s department, and other departments like Medicine, Surgery, Law and the likes... well they were much stricter rules in place for very obvious reasons.

In any case, the second day of college came to an end without much fanfare from the gang, though Aiden did branch the supermarket to pick up some of the ingredients he needed to make the {Berry-Blast Sparkling Water}, and couple other ingredients on the way home.

Wednesday came, and Aiden soon found himself back home before noon, accompanied by his girlfriend whom had decided she wanted a simple home date instead of going out.

Even then, she had glammed up like she was headed out for an outdoor date, and had slipped into a comfortable, sleeveless denim jumpsuit and tennis shoes underneath.

Aiden on the other hand, was dressed in a simple, brown floral shirt and blue jeans and brown slip-ons.

"Welcome to my... second, humble abode, Your Highness." he joked as he held the door open and gestured for her to enter.

Giggling softly, Clarissa remarked as she proceeded to walk in;

"The pleasure’s all mine, Sir. Adorkable."

No sooner had she, her gaze lit up when she saw that he had arranged the living room in an indoor picnic-styled format.

Then she turned over to look at her man with sweetest of smiles, though he wasn’t even aware as he was busy closing the door.

Placing the fruits and housewarming gifts she’d brought on the living room table which he had now put in the corner, her gaze naturally caught the painting that the youth had placed up on the wall, a warm smile touching her lips.

"That’s... so... beautiful." she breathed out the words.

For a fact, there were much better paintings out there than the one her boyfriend had painted.

Hell, she’d seen so many beautiful, great paintings over the years given how many vacation trips she’d gone on, so she wasn’t even exaggerating her reaction to it.

Especially when she was the blunt, sassy type with a clearly, catty edge.

Yet, there was an undeniable sense of palpable ardor and passion that just bloomed through Aiden’s simple painting of his home, all of which was accentuated by every stroke of the brush.

So much care and love was put into it, it literally begged to be stared at for hours on end.

"Thank you, sweetie." Aiden walked over with a loving smile of appreciation, placed a quick kiss on her cheek, then headed right back to the kitchen to pull out the two coolers he’d placed in one of the cabinets.

One contained cold smoothies, while the other was stocked with all the homemade snacks he’d made earlier in the day.

Through it all, Clarissa kept staring at the painting with her palms interlocked behind her back, clearly enamored by it.

Then she turned around, her palms resting on the curve of her hips as she said;

"I’m really looking forward to you opening that art gallery, babe."

"As am I," Aiden chuckled in response as he began arranging the plates on the picnic blanket.

"You know, I was actually thinking of painting a portrait of you, recently." he casually added and Clarissa did not miss the opportunity to be shameless;

"I could nude pose too, if you want?"

Aiden literally had to stop himself from having his thoughts wonder, though judging by the gleam in his girlfriend’s clearly mischievous yet flirty gaze, she was having the time of her life.

Laughing heartily as she watched him struggle to keep his face from ripening in full-force, the lady walked over and wrapped her hands around his waist whilst looking up at him in amusement.

Then she winked at him seductively.

"You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?" Aiden’s lips twitched as he looked down at her.

"It’s very rare that I get to see you blush. Of course, I’m enjoying this." she admitted with an even more shameless grin.

"Besides, I don’t recall telling you that the antidote operates on a dosage basis," she cocked a suggestive brow.

"So, if you don’t want to become obsessed..." she insinuated as her eyes dropped to his lips.

Mentally shaking his head, Aiden gave her what she wanted.

More than that, he was glad that she was staying over for the night.

Afterall, he’d been waiting on a good opportunity to upgrade her stats.

Meanwhile, as the two lovebirds bonded over their kiss, somewhere else across the world, was a very, very pissed CEO.