Chapter 477 - 473: She Agreed

Hearing this, the guys couldn’t help but look at each other. They all pretty much knew what was going on.

She was just stringing him along. It was obvious she didn’t like him, but she wanted to keep him around as a tool to take nice pictures for her.

But they couldn’t bear to crush Victor Tucker. When guys get lovesick, they can be even more stubborn than girls.

Wayne said awkwardly, "Vince, even though the result wasn’t what you hoped for, your courage to take the initiative is really admirable. You have to create your own opportunities!"

Rabbit nodded, agreeing with Wayne for once.

That did make some sense. Plus, with the growing sense of crisis in his own heart, Ethan Sterling’s palms were sweating as he clutched his phone. "So, should I ask her to... the aquarium this weekend?"

"The aquarium is a great idea!" Wayne clapped his hands. "Getting coffee is boring, movies are too obvious, and amusement parks or the zoo are too sunny. The aquarium is perfect!"

Rabbit added, "I was just scrolling through videos the other day and saw that the city aquarium got a new batch of penguins. Girls love cute little animals."

Ethan Sterling nodded, a little confidence gradually building inside him. He worked up the courage and sent Seraphina an invitation: "Hey Seraphina, are you free to go to the aquarium this weekend? I heard they got a new group of penguins, and they have all sorts of marine animal shows!"

On the other end, Seraphina stared at Ethan Sterling’s message for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile.

’An aquarium?’

’How unique!’

"Just the two of us?" Seraphina asked deliberately.

When a guy gets a message like this, he usually has one of two reactions. The first is to reply directly, "Just the two of us," to subtly hint at his own private intentions.

The second is to try and hide those intentions, not wanting the other person to think he has an agenda.

In the past, Ethan Sterling would have definitely been the second type, wanting to take things slow and give her more time to gradually accept him.

But now, he felt like he was running out of time.

So he replied directly, "Yes, just the two of us."

Seraphina blinked at the words on her screen, then turned to her roommate. "Is our dinner get-together on Saturday or Sunday?"

"Either works. Do you have something going on this weekend? If you do, you can pick the day. We’re all free anyway."

Seraphina nodded. "Let’s do Sunday, then. On Saturday, I’m going to the aquarium to see the penguins!"

"The aquarium?" Hearing this, one of her roommates shot up in bed. "I want to go too! I’ve never even seen the ocean!"

Another roommate immediately corrected her with a laugh, "Honey, there’s no ocean in an aquarium. They just fill up big tanks with seawater to keep marine animals. It’s a completely different feeling from seeing the actual ocean."

"That’s fine too! I’ve never seen marine animals either, but I love dolphins." The girl looked at Seraphina with anticipation. "Seraphina, can you take me with you?"

The request was so sudden that Seraphina was caught off guard.

But smart as she was, she knew exactly what Ethan Sterling was thinking. If she randomly brought a roommate along, regardless of her own feelings toward Ethan, it would be a bit disrespectful to him.

After all, by agreeing to go, she had implicitly agreed to go with just him.

’I should have just said no in the first place.’

But seeing the hopeful look in her roommate’s eyes, the words of refusal got stuck in Seraphina’s throat.

This roommate had tested her way out of a small northern town. Her entire perception of the world beyond her home came from textbooks and the internet. So when she joyfully asked to come along, Seraphina believed one hundred percent that her excitement and hope were genuine.

After a moment’s hesitation, Seraphina smiled and nodded. "Okay, how about we have our dinner on Saturday, and then we can all go to the aquarium together?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"I’ll bring my camera! The aquarium is super photogenic!"

"How about we all wear the same color?"

Seraphina made an "OK" gesture, then turned back to her phone and replied to Ethan Sterling: "Sure, let’s go on Sunday then!"

’She agreed!’

Ethan Sterling happily replied: "No problem. See you at the aquarium entrance at nine on Sunday morning?"

"Whoa, don’t ask for nine! Who wants to wake up that early on a weekend? You should’ve suggested the afternoon," Wayne said.

Rabbit added, "The time doesn’t matter. The fact that she agreed means you have a chance."

Ethan Sterling scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I figured if we met earlier, the day would be longer, right? We’d have more time to spend together."

"Leave it to you, Sterling!" Wayne had a sudden realization, placing his hands on Ethan’s shoulders with an expression of enlightenment. "As expected of a top student! Your intellect always takes the high ground, no matter the situation!"

Ethan Sterling slapped his hands away. "Anyone who can get into Lorcain U is a top student, aren’t they?"

Wayne might seem like a goofball, but he scored a 678 on his college entrance exams!

While the guys were excitedly chatting, no one noticed Victor Tucker grab his camera and slip out again.

「A corner of the campus.」

"More good news for me?"

This time, it was Victor Tucker who had contacted Owen Griffin, and Owen had also come alone.

Victor Tucker licked his dry lips, squinting against the sun as he looked at Owen Griffin. "Is there a reward this time?"

Owen Griffin frowned from the heat, but a roguish smile remained on his face. Hearing the question, he glanced unhurriedly at the camera hanging around Victor’s neck and gestured with his chin. "Do you know how much that camera costs? You think one piece of news is going to pay for it in full?"

Victor Tucker’s gaze shifted away in embarrassment, and he lowered his head slightly. He had only been testing the waters.

Once a person gets a taste of something sweet, their greed just grows and grows, expanding without limit.

Just like a corrupt official who can’t stop taking bribes.

"You said it yourself. You said there’d be a reward for information, that you wouldn’t treat me unfairly," Victor Tucker whispered guiltily, his voice barely audible.

But Owen Griffin heard him clearly. He smiled and nodded. "Alright, spit it out. I’ll see if this news is worth anything."

So Victor Tucker told Owen Griffin everything that had just happened in the dorm room.

"Sunday, nine in the morning, at the aquarium?"

"Yeah."

Victor Tucker raised his head again to look at Owen Griffin, feeling a bit more confident now that he had delivered the information. "I told you everything, I didn’t hide a single word. Ethan Sterling is chasing Seraphina, and I think he’s smart. Seraphina will probably like him."

"Smart?" Owen Griffin shook his head. "It takes more than just being smart to handle this kind of thing."

Victor Tucker said nothing, because the rest had nothing to do with him.

Owen Griffin asked with a smile, "The info is pretty useful, but don’t get too greedy. This time, whatever you want can’t cost more than a dollar!"

"It won’t," Victor Tucker blurted out.

"Ha." Owen Griffin sneered. "Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind. Spit it out. What do you want?"

"I want an iPhone 16 Pro, the white one. I checked, and with the ’Billion Subsidy’ deal, the price comes out to less than seventy cents. Can you order it today? I want to get it as soon as possible, in a few days..."

Owen Griffin caught on. "A gift for someone?"