Chapter 249: A Huge Sum of Money

For a rare moment, Aaron Xavier pondered what qualities he possessed that might make Zoe Pierce see him in a special light.

Designing mecha clearly wasn’t his forte.

It would have been better not to think about it at all. The more he did, the more frustrated he became.

He couldn’t think of a single impressive skill. He’d always been a free spirit, unlike Nathan Lockwood and the others, who had learned all the things expected of high society.

And now, he couldn’t come up with a single decent talent to capture Zoe Pierce’s attention.

He fell silent.

Meanwhile, Nathan Lockwood, standing beside him, was also mulling over what to get Zoe Pierce.

Chase Shaw’s gift of a mecha played to his strengths.

’But Zoe must need *something*,’ he thought. His gaze unconsciously drifted to her ear, which had just cooled from a recent flush, when he suddenly noticed a small piercing.

No matter how she kept pace with them on missions, at the end of the day, she was still a young woman.

A simple gemstone wouldn’t be anything special.

’What about an earring that can monitor all sorts of vitals at any time?’

’That could be useful.’

’Linked to her Intelligent Brain, it could monitor her pheromones and other data, providing a timely warning if any issues arose.’

’The technology for such a small device was already mature.’

’And if I pair it with a beautiful gemstone, it should suit her perfectly.’

While the two Alphas beside her were lost in their wildly different thoughts, Zoe Pierce’s gaze returned to the design drafts in her hands.

On every sheet, she could almost picture him at his desk, sketching away.

He was normally such an irritable, impatient person, yet he had poured an extraordinary amount of patience into this.

’If Nathan Lockwood and Aaron Xavier weren’t here right now, Zoe wasn’t sure if she would have just let him kiss her.’

Suddenly, she felt a burning gaze on her from the side.

Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but meet Aaron Xavier’s somewhat reproachful gaze.

"Zoe, do you think I’m useless?" ’Compared to this, all the things he used to be proud of were completely useless in a romantic relationship.’

Without a second thought, Zoe Pierce shook her head. "Of course not."

Aaron Xavier didn’t seem to care if Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw heard. "But I don’t know how to do any of that."

He could appreciate art, but he couldn’t create it to save his life.

Zoe Pierce added, "It’s not like I like you because you can design mecha."

’The way I see Chase Shaw now is just because he’s shown a side of himself I’d never seen before, and it’s admittedly a little captivating.’

’But everyone is different. I’ve never confused the four of them.’

’Liking them isn’t just about whether they can design mecha.’

’If that were the case, there are plenty of people in Interstellar Space who can design mecha. I can’t possibly fall for all of them.’

Hearing Zoe Pierce’s words, Aaron Xavier’s eyes lit up. He leaned a little closer to her. "Then what do you like about me?"

She had always been passive, never explicitly stating what she liked about any of them.

He wanted to know how Zoe Pierce truly saw him.

The Alpha’s eyes shone, and he looked at her with immense anticipation.

Zoe Pierce turned her head, avoiding his gaze, but she still listed a few things. "You’re always great at livening things up."

’Even though he can be a real hothead sometimes, whenever there’s a fight to be had on my behalf, he’s always the first one to charge in and speak up.’

’He knows his public persona and isn’t afraid to offend people, so he’s often the one to say the hard things. I’ve noticed.’

"Then what was your first good impression of me?" Aaron Xavier was self-aware enough to know he couldn’t have made a good one initially, since he’d started off by mocking her.

So he rephrased, asking when her opinion of him had started to change.

Zoe Pierce glanced at him, hesitating for a moment over whether to tell the truth.

Aaron Xavier raised an eyebrow. ’Is her first good impression of me really something she needs to hesitate about?’

"Zoe!" Aaron called out. "I won’t get mad."

’Fine,’ she thought. Since he was so eager to know, she wouldn’t lie to him.

"The time you suddenly transferred a huge sum of money to my account."

In that moment, Aaron Xavier seemed to glow with a golden light.

He was like the Child of Fortune, serving at the feet of the God of Wealth.

Aaron Xavier, of course, hadn’t forgotten that. He’d even deliberately demanded that Zoe Pierce call him "big brother" then.

"That little bit of money was all it took for you to change your mind about me?" An inexplicable awkwardness washed over him. On the one hand, he felt the sum was too small to be worth anything. On the other, he was unsettled that *this* was the reason her opinion of him had first changed.

Back then, he’d even had ulterior motives, transferring the money partly out of spite.

Zoe Pierce just nodded honestly. "Yep."

’Back then, I was a poor, penniless wretch. A huge sum to me was nothing for him to transfer with a flick of his wrist. We didn’t have the relationship we have now; he was just purely helping me out.’

’Of course my opinion of him changed. And even though he got me to say something just to feel superior, I wasn’t really mad about it.’

Nathan Lockwood hadn’t even known about Aaron Xavier sending Zoe Pierce money. He spoke up, "When was this?"

"Back during the tournament," Aaron Xavier said.

Only Miles Sherman knew about it.

Aaron Xavier thought for a moment, then pulled out his Intelligent Brain and started tapping away.

Watching him, Zoe Pierce had a bad feeling. She glanced over and saw Aaron Xavier pressing zero after zero.

He was trying to send her money again.

Zoe Pierce immediately grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Don’t send me any."

A quick glance revealed seven or eight zeros, a heart-stopping number.

Aaron Xavier wasn’t surprised she had stopped him. He just looked up and said, "I don’t know what else to give you. But if money makes you happy, then I’ll just give you more of it. I have plenty, anyway."

His investments over the years had paid off. Taking out tens of millions of Star Coins wasn’t an issue for Aaron Xavier.

His way of showing kindness was a bit too simple and blunt.

Zoe Pierce shook her head. "No, it’s too much."

’Back then I had a legitimate reason,’ she thought. ’But I’m not short on money now. The Pierce Family’s business is taking off, and it’s profitable every day.’

"Then let me rephrase," Aaron Xavier said with a playful grin. "Zoe, just help me hold onto it. I’ll only spend it recklessly. Isn’t it only right for a wife to manage her husband’s money?"

Zoe Pierce was speechless. "..."

She wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words, yet agreeing felt awkward.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, only managed to insist, "No. It’s too much. You keep it."

"I haven’t gotten any of you a gift either." Thinking about it, the only thing was a wooden doll she and Nathan Lockwood had bought together.

With the others, things had moved so quickly she had completely forgotten about it.

Thinking about it now made her feel a little guilty.

She felt she’d received so much from them but had given nothing in return for their devotion.

"Aaron Xavier, let me get you something too, okay?" Her voice softened just a little, which was more than enough to break his resolve.

He stopped tapping the numbers and tossed his Intelligent Brain aside. "I’m telling you, I’m completely helpless when it comes to you."

If she didn’t want it, then that was that. He would just have to think of something else.

"Zoe, I really, really like you," Aaron Xavier said, looking up at her. "You can’t give all your attention to the others. I’ll get jealous."