Apocalypse Rebate: Spoiling Beauties Makes Me Richer!

Sitting outside a familiar dessert café’s outdoor patio, a stunningly beautiful young lady with long pink hair sat beneath a large umbrella. Her beauty easily attracted the attention of nearby passersby, as they stole glances at the gorgeous young lady. None of them, however, were confident enough to approach her.

Unaware of, and uninterested in, the attention her presence was garnering, Summer sat absent-mindedly staring into the distance, lost in thought.

Having run out on Bruce yesterday despite him helping lessen her workload, she felt guilty about leaving him like that.

Though she still found it difficult to maintain eye contact with him like normal, especially after the kiss on the cheek a few days ago, she felt that wasn’t enough reason to simply leave him behind after everything he’d already done for her.

With that in mind, she decided to come earlier today so she could treat him to dinner this time.

After all, he was the one helping her out, so it felt wrong for her to keep accepting things from him despite being the one receiving the help.

Glancing at her OmniBand, she realised he was running a bit later than usual today, making her worry that something might’ve happened.

’I’m just overthinking again. Since it’s Friday, it’s normal for deliveries to be more in demand than the rest of the week.’

As most people either stayed home or worked from home on Fridays, it wasn’t strange for deliveries to be in higher demand as well, meaning he’d have more work to do.

Feeling even more guilty, as Bruce was going through all that just to lessen the burden on her shoulders, Summer became even more determined to treat him this time instead.

’Though it might cut into the savings I need for the treatment. It’s more than worth it, as long as I can at least make him happy too.’

Feeling somewhat down after recalling the reason she was going through all this, Summer turned in another direction, deciding to find something else to take her mind off those dark thoughts.

Resting her head on one hand, she noticed a figure jogging from afar.

Even from a distance, she could tell that the figure was undoubtedly handsome, while his somewhat dark purple hair, styled in a unique fashion, made him stand out.

’Is it magenta? Can’t really tell from here.’

A little confused about what colour his hair actually was from this distance, she soon lost interest after noticing his features, which were obviously the type that could easily make women fall head over heels for him with just a smile.

However, she wasn’t particularly interested in those kinds of guys.

’He’s a bit too flashy for me.’

At the thought, her mind instinctively drifted to the kind of guy she’d prefer.

Surprisingly... or perhaps not surprisingly...

A single image popped into her mind.

The culprit being none other than Bruce.

Both versions, to be exact.

The slightly chubby Bruce...

And Panda-Bruce.

Noticing this, her face heated up as she realised she’d just imagined Bruce as her ideal type, causing the tips of her ears to redden slightly.

Shaking off the thought, she glanced back at the flashy guy, who seemed to be heading in her direction for some unknown reason.

Feeling the situation was a bit nostalgic, she felt like she’d experienced something like this before.

’It can’t be... Right?’

An unsettling feeling crept over her as a wild thought emerged in her mind. She quickly dismissed it, deciding she was simply overthinking again. After all, such a thing couldn’t possibly happen twice within such a short period.

However, upon seeing the figure wave at her with a bright smile that, though slightly different, had already been etched into her memory, the feeling only intensified.

’No way!’

Upon getting closer, the flashy guy’s smile widened as he said,

"Sorry I’m late. Things got a bit crazy at work. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting long."

Still trying to process what was happening, Summer failed to register what the flashy guy had just said.

Instead, she hesitantly asked, as though doubting whether she was imagining things.

"Bruce... Right? It’s really you? You look... different!"

Noticing the stunned, somewhat dazed expression on Summer’s face, the flashy guy simply scratched the back of his head as he awkwardly replied,

"Uhh... Yeah. I guess it’s because I just got a new haircut."

That small habit alone confirmed it.

Not just his reply, but the odd, yet familiar, tic of scratching the back of his neck whenever he didn’t know how to respond, Summer became even more shocked by the realisation.

’New haircut? More like a whole new body! How the heck can someone change so much in so little time?’

Unable to comprehend how he’d undergone such a complete transformation in less than a week, Summer simply stared absent-mindedly at him.

Taking the opportunity while she remained star-struck by his sudden change, Bruce sat down before gesturing for the waitress.

Responding to the gesture, the waitress made her way over, though she took her sweet time approaching the duo, almost as though she were intentionally slowing her pace and reluctant to attend to them.

Getting a closer look at her, Bruce was a little surprised to realise she was the same waitress who had tried to disgrace him in front of Summer before, only to end up becoming the first victim of his face-slapping fiesta after his encounter with the former Bruce’s ex and her new boyfriend.

Having expected he’d eventually run into her again since he often chose this café whenever he wanted to spend quality time with Summer, Bruce couldn’t help but feel somewhat pleased that their reunion happened immediately after his transformation.

A smirk slowly spread across his face.

Bruce couldn’t help but entertain a few mischievous ideas about teasing the lovely waitress a little as payback for the ’welcoming’ treatment she’d tried to give him the last time.

’Oh, this is gonna be real fun!’