Chapter 28: No. 28: Sweet Rewards
Though Bruce had spent some time together with Summer today, even complimenting her a bit before he signaled the waitress, her Affinity Level hadn’t increased in the slightest.
Even despite him lending a hand in reducing her workload and enabling her to have some free time to herself and the much-needed rest she hadn’t had in a long time, the Affinity Level still didn’t budge past 59+ since last time.
However, Bruce suspected that this wasn’t because she was unappreciative or unmoved by his actions throughout the day, but rather because it was most likely difficult to break through the 60-point Affinity Level, as it likely meant something significant or substantial. After all, as he recalled, the System had described an Affinity Level of about 60 as indicating that the Target had developed deep feelings towards him.
If so, it somewhat made sense that such trivial things weren’t necessarily enough to easily boost her Affinity Level, as they had in the past.
Instead, he concluded that Summer likely had to reassess her feelings multiple times to ensure she wasn’t just moved by his sudden display of wealth or affection towards her.
After all, Summer was a proud, beautiful young lady who had an absurd number of suitors all vying for her affection, who would easily spend over a thousand times more than what Bruce had done so far, be it in wealth or affection, at the mere prospect of her reciprocating their feelings.
However, she’d never been interested in such people in the past, as she felt women who were simply attracted to a man based on his wealth or appearance were shallow and materialistic, and would easily abandon their previous partner should they find another who was wealthier or better-looking. As well as abandoning all the feelings and bond they shared with their previous partner for a better chance at life, rather than choosing to grow together with the one they truly cared for.
The kind she absolutely despised.
As such, he suspected it was neither about his inability to meet up to her standards nor about him in particular, but instead, Summer trying to reaffirm to herself that her feelings were, in fact, genuine and not misguided due to the current situation.
’Things probably aren’t going to be as easy from now on, huh?’
Sighing to himself, Bruce realized merely spending money on Summer most likely wouldn’t increase her Affinity Level towards him from now on. Instead, his actions, as well as the thought put into each one, would likely determine his development with her and his progress going forward.
Glancing at the floating heart icon visible only to him, Bruce noticed it was now a dazzling golden colour, as opposed to before.
Upon reaching 60 Affinity Level, the heart-shaped icon floating atop Summer’s head changed from deep yellow to a golden colour. The sight, dazzling to the eye, easily drew his attention.
’If I remember correctly, it was previously yellow when her Affinity Level was around 40. Then it changed to a deeper variant at 50 before changing to this one presently. And Naomi’s is still grey, probably because we just met and her Affinity Level is still around 20, which is close, but not necessarily enough to be considered an acquaintance yet, as her affection is still somewhat neutral towards me.’
Based on his recollection, he deduced that each Affinity Level’s colour changed depending on the Bonded Target’s current affection towards him.
The duo enjoyed their time together uninterrupted as they savoured the refreshments, snacks, as well as the soothing atmosphere around them.
On finishing, Bruce went on to pay the bill, resulting in a series of notifications following soon after.
[Host has successfully strengthened bond with a Target while Spoiling them with Affection]
[Processing Rewards Based on Performance...]
[Analysis Complete!]
[Congratulations on Spoiling Bonded Target, Summer Monroe, with Affection]
[Host has been Rewarded 270 Rebate Coins]
{5% has been deducted from the amount earned}
{Current Rebate Coins: 208.25 » 464.75}
[Congratulations on another successful splurge on Bonded Target]
[x40 Rebate has been awarded on the total amount spent during the splurging session]
[Amount Spent: 220KPT]
[Reward: 8,800KPT]
[Daily Rebate Session: 1/3]
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’Damn! Guess I was right. Higher Affinity Levels do equal more Rewards.’
Stunned on seeing the amount of Rebate Coins he gained from a single interaction with Summer, Bruce realized he’d made the right decision to help her out today.
’It’s even more than the amount I received for completing a minor milestone earlier, and I didn’t even have to spend that much this time.’
This was undoubtedly the highest amount he’d received at once from the System so far.
Considering he didn’t even have to spend as much as he did last time to get Summer her earrings, which she was surprisingly wearing already, Bruce concluded that his earlier assumptions were right as well.
The System didn’t require him to spend money before he was awarded Rebate Coins. Simply spending time with them and increasing or maintaining their affection towards him was more than enough to do so.
’Probably depending on the person though.’
Glancing at the amount spent and the reward gained, Bruce sighed lightly.
As this place was a spot Summer recognized, since she worked here on Sundays, Bruce couldn’t purchase too much without alerting her, as she was already familiar with the prices here.
Though he could’ve easily picked another spot to meet up and sent her the location while purchasing something extremely expensive without her knowing the actual price of it, Bruce decided against it.
After all, his goal today was stacking up on his affection with Summer. As such, he needed her to be as comfortable as possible to ensure she subconsciously let her guard down while he slowly but efficiently broke down her walls when she was off guard.
’Besides, there’s no need to rush trying to make money at the moment since I already have a lot at hand now, and it’s still only the third day since I got here. Not to mention, I have to be cautious about the amount I spend due to the government tracking everyone’s spending range within a certain timeframe. So it’s best to limit it as much as possible... For now at least.’
Another reason for limiting the amount he spent was because he felt having excess money in the bank, especially for someone like him who was still new to the feeling, was especially tempting, easily inclining one to spend as much as possible, especially when he could gain more than forty times the amount spent now.
As such, he planned on focusing more on gaining Rebate Coins for now until he came up with a solution to deal with his lack of suitable job revenue to correlate with the amount he spent.
Still lingering on the amount spent, Bruce stared at it for a bit as he realized that the System didn’t just calculate the amount he spent on Summer alone, but the overall amount spent in general, including what he spent on himself as well.
Meaning, as long as he spent money with a Bonded Target’s share in mind, he’d likely not have to worry about the amount, as he’d get a Rebate on the total amount spent at the time, provided the daily Rebate limit wasn’t exceeded.
’Probably.’
With that, Bruce decided to close the notifications as the duo talked for a while longer before they both parted ways, with Summer returning to her afternoon job as a staff member at a chocolate café, while Bruce finally decided to head to the gym after completing his main objective for the day, to start his training with the stunning Miss White.
And hopefully, increase his progress with her as well.
’Easier said than done though.’
As Affinity Level was more than just numbers, but rather a means to roughly track how a Bonded Target felt about him, Bruce knew it wasn’t going to be easy to simply move from barely acquaintances to something more in a short period of time.
However, when had limited time ever been a problem for him?
As long as he put his mind to it, Bruce was confident that he could at least gain her attention.
’Best not get too cocky now.’
Realizing he might’ve been getting ahead of himself due to having things go his way lately, Bruce decided to get his ego in check, as that was often how mistakes were made. And with the limited number of Bonded Targets he’d met so far, he couldn’t afford to squander his opportunity just because he was getting arrogant.
Not to mention, her Affinity Level towards him was still relatively low at the moment. So, it would probably take a while before he made any progress.
’In most circumstances at least. But in this case, things are a bit more favourable.’
Considering he was presently directly under her as a trainee, and was her only client, it gave him more leverage than if he’d simply met her outside and tried approaching her under normal circumstances.
As such, it was left to him to devise a means to help grow their relationship as much as possible.
’Let’s see how it goes.’
Smirking at the thought, he headed to the gym to begin his training for the day, and hopefully something more as well.
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