Seth didn't care about the previous owner's friends or their stupid clubs—those guys enjoyed using his money and connections while mocking him regarding Su Muyue. It was amazing that he never realised they were spreading the bad rumours about him.
'Ungrateful garbage.'
"Seth, is this okay? Weren't they your friends..." Elena felt a little worried because before she 'came back' in reality, she had been watching for a while before the call came.
How Seth acted and the people around him, seeing if there was anything she didn't know or understand but found that despite seeming to have so many friends.
He was alone.
The mall was quite strange, mixtures of expensive and elegant displays and small shops selling random trinkets—it reminded Elena of a Japanese arcade mixed with Western culture, but Seth seemed to ignore it all as they headed towards a survival gear store with climbing props and tools, the type you would visit when needing gear for camping or going hiking in the forest.
Elena followed silently beside Seth, who ignored those who greeted him along the way... He gave them a nod and was civil, but when they offered to go somewhere or check something out with him, he held Elena's waist gently and smiled, "Sorry, I am on a date with my fiancée, so maybe next time."
'They're not my friends...' He thought with an odd smile. "Come on."
Behind his back he could hear them clicking their tongues, claiming their 'money bank' became strange, however, this time even Elena heard it due to her levelling up and she realised... That he truly was alone.
No longer feeling sorry for them, she grabbed Seth's hand, stroking his knuckles, hoping he knew she didn't care about his money or family; she just wanted to be beside him.
"This shop looks cute... look at those little hammers and hatchets, hehe."
At least the store he stopped at was different from the others—a large shop that took up two floors, everything was neatly displayed and organised by category, and the staff looked friendly and professional, offering customer advice and answering questions.
"Greetings, sir and madame, welcome to our store; what are you looking for today?" A young man dressed smartly walked over and bowed, greeting Seth and Elena politely.
It made Elena feel special and happy, giving her a sense of being treated like royalty.
"Camping gear, we're planning a trip into the mountains with some friends," Seth answered the question honestly, "I want to take my girl here to explore more dangerous areas, boots with a good grip as there may be ice, a set of tools for four people for now, with everything from fuel... to hatchets and survival goods. Here is my identification and VIP card for the mall."
Some goods needed the buyer to be vetted and checked, so he preempted the kind sales assistant—upon seeing his black diamond card, he realised that Seth was a huge customer.
Seth wanted both tents and the gear because he didn't know if the mansion might need to be abandoned, and having several sets was to give one to Elena after learning she had a small inventory thanks to the partner system.
'I will tell her more tonight about the strange things and give her a cultivation technique.' Seth thought, recalling that he also needed to teach her how to cultivate safely and properly.
The sales assistant nodded, taking the card and ID before handing it over to a colleague, asking Elena what shoe size she wore before running off to collect samples of gear and tents for them to check out, leaving behind another person to ask them to browse and select items first.
It took over an hour for them to finish their purchases—for some reason, Elena bought a leather bodysuit, dark red hiking boots, and the basic equipment. She seemed to like them and got several sets and insisted on paying.
"Thank you for your patronage!" Of course, the three assistants who gathered everything after spending over $20,000 would be excited; all the items would be sent in twenty-four hours to the huge mansion that his assistant confirmed purchase of earlier in the day.
****
"Eh? Why are we here?" Elena gasped—the place they arrived was the most renowned beauty and hair salon owned by a world champion seven times over, and her name was Shimizu Midori.
"Well, how about you take this little thing and let your hair down."
Seth was holding a ticket with a platinum border, and written on it was 'Platinum Grade Makeover treatment for one - With Midori Shimizu herself.'
He remembered in the novel that when it was a side story of Elena before the end, she always wanted to go here, but Seth gave the ticket his mother gave him to Su Muyue.
"R-Really... I heard the rumour you were giving this to her..."
Elena trembled slightly, looking at Seth with watery eyes, thinking this meant so much to her and that he understood her better than anyone else.
"Ah? Rumour? No, I don't think I ever said who this ticket was for... besides, Su Muyue doesn't need makeovers." At first, Elena thought he was insinuating she needed one, but then... "She looks the same no matter how she dresses with that frosty face. Haha!"
What surprised her was the laugh was genuine, and he didn't seem to have any kind of lingering affection; a drop of worry in her heart loosened as she took the ticket, looking at him for a moment before she hugged him, kissing him softly.
"Thank you... Seth, thank you... I love you." Her voice was soft and gentle, filled with warmth and happiness, showing how much this meant to her; her hand slid along his crotch as she whispered with a red face, "I'll make this up to you... no matter what you want!"
Seth smiled, thinking that this girl was only brave at times while very shy at others, "Mm, go on then; I'll pick you up in two hours. Buy too much stuff and have the time of your life—you can't return later."
"Mm! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Lend me your second card. Okay... Hehe~ thank you!" She skipped off, entering the huge salon, slowly vanishing from Seth's eyes as he shook his head, "No... There will never be another chance this place will be gone in three days."
Turning around, he looked at his phone... reading, watching and saving all the images, insults and words written about Elena by those pricks from the entrance before. 'Since you want to cause trouble, don't blame me for getting my hands bloody. You picked the worst time to test me.'
Seth began to head to the VIP gambling area, his hand flipping a small dagger as he began to hum a macabre song normally sung at funerals.
'As if I could forget the things you people did the moment the world went to hell. Maybe you won't die, but nobody will ever be hurt by you guys again.'
The author seemed to want to add a shock factor and make people crack and become feral and insane too fast, leading to scenes that disgusted Seth in the other world; he couldn't agree with adding those things just for the sake of it.
Maybe if it was a few months in and hunger and despair set in, those things might be believable, but the same day... haha.
"What's the best way to make someone a eunuch?" Seth asked for his phone as the search engine brought up several methods while a passing couple shuddered, mistaking him for a thug with a small blade, his black suit, with a long jacket.
"What a weirdo..."
"Shh... let's just go, he seems like a gangster..."