Inside the car, Ethan glared at his cousin with a mixture of embarrassment and exasperation.
"There was no need for that," he said, though his voice carried more amusement than genuine anger.
Noah laughed softly. "Come on, admit it—you enjoyed watching their faces when you got in."
"Maybe a little," Ethan conceded, his glare softening into a grin. "But you could have given me a heads up. Half the school probably thinks I’m some secret millionaire now."
"Is that such a bad thing? " Noah asked, smoothly navigating through the school traffic while the GT-R’s engine purred with restrained power.
"I mean, you are going to be one soon, from your streaming hustle." Noah teased.
Ethan rolled his eyes at but couldn’t help but hope that his cousin’s words would become true.
As they drove toward Ethan’s house, his cousin’s curiosity about the earlier day’s events finally overcame his embarrassment about the school spectacle.
"By the way," Ethan said, his tone shifting to genuine interest, "my team has been going crazy trying to figure out how you got so good at the game so quickly."
Noah raised an eyebrow while keeping his eyes on the road. "Oh?"
"We checked the replays frame by frame, looking for any signs of cheating or assistance software," Ethan continued with obvious fascination. "Everything came back clean. You’re completely legitimate, but your improvement rate is absolutely insane."
Level 3 Gaming skill in action. Can’t exactly explain that.
"Just natural talent finally clicking, I guess," Noah replied with deliberate vagueness.
"Natural talent doesn’t explain going from asking basic questions to outplaying professional players in a few days," Ethan pressed, his competitive gamer instincts demanding logical explanations for impossible progressions.
Noah smiled mysteriously but didn’t elaborate, leaving his cousin to speculate about training methods or hidden gaming backgrounds that didn’t actually exist.
Some secrets are better kept.
They arrived at Ethan’s house within fifteen minutes, the familiar suburban neighbourhood providing a stark contrast to the high-performance vehicle that had just delivered one of its residents home.
"Want to come in and have some food?" Ethan offered as they pulled into the driveway. "Mom’s probably making dinner, and she’d love to see you again."
Noah considered the invitation briefly before shaking his head. "I appreciate it, but I have a few things to take care of this evening."
He reached for a bag that was lying on the side, which contained the healing loaves he’d taken from his shop, the golden bread wrapped.
"Actually, I want you to try this bread," Noah said, extending the bag toward his cousin.
Ethan raised an eyebrow with obvious confusion. "Bread?"
Although it was just bread, even wrapped up, it looked incredibly appetising. The aroma that escaped the cloth wrapping was unlike anything from a normal bakery.
"Try this bread out. I want you to let me know how it tastes," Noah explained, his tone carrying importance that made Ethan accept the package with growing curiosity.
Ethan looked confused by the request but nodded slowly. "Okay... sure. Is this from some special bakery or something?"
"Something like that," Noah replied evasively. "But listen, this is important—I need you to eat all of it. Don’t save any for later, don’t share it with anyone else. The whole loaf, tonight, then take another one tomorrow."
Ethan’s confusion deepened at the specific instructions, but he recognised the seriousness in his cousin’s voice.
"All of it? That’s a pretty big loaf, Noah."
"You will finish the whole thing. Trust me on this," Noah insisted, his expression made Ethan nod without further questions.
If the bread works on his diabetes, even partially, it could change everything for him. If it doesn’t... well, at least he’ll have eaten some really good bread.
"Alright," Ethan agreed, clutching the bag in his hands.
After dropping his cousin off, Noah decided to stroll around the city for a while, seeking the simple pleasure of normalcy that his lifestyle rarely provided.
Walking through the mall, he experienced the life of ordinary humans, his previous self. He wanted to simply wander, buy himself a cup of coffee, and experience how life would have been if he’d remained a normal person with a regular job.
Noah ordered himself a coffee latte and walked through the mall, checking out new clothes, miscellaneous gadgets, and the kind of consumer goods that had once seemed impossibly expensive but now fit comfortably within his budget.
The transformation from poverty to wealth still felt surreal during moments like these, when he could browse without calculating every purchase against his remaining funds.
After the leisurely stroll, several items caught his attention.
A few clothes that caught his eye, a few technological accessories that seemed interesting, and some impulse purchases that served no purpose beyond satisfying his curiosity.
The freedom to buy things simply because he wanted them felt good.
At the checkout counter, the total reflected his casual approach to spending.
"That will be $2,559, sir," the cashier announced with courtesy.
Noah nodded, taking out his credit card and placing it on the POS terminal without the slightest concern about whether the payment would be approved or not.
The payment went through smoothly, generating a receipt for purchases that would have been impossible to buy before.
He walked out of the store carrying several dozen bags of expensive clothing and items.
As he walked through the mall’s main corridor, Noah noticed several girls glancing in his direction. The attention wasn’t entirely unwelcome, though it reminded him of complications he preferred to avoid.
Surprisingly, one of them proved brave enough to approach directly rather than simply staring from a distance.
"Hey, where did you get that from?" she asked with a bright smile.
Noah returned the greeting politely before responding with genuine confusion. "Get what?"
"That beautiful smile on your face," she replied with a playful smirk that revealed her flirtation strategy.
He raised an eyebrow at her boldness before laughing softly at the creativity of her approach.
"Good one. I got it from my parents. Do you need something?"