Chapter 67

The next day.

Early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, Edward stirred from his slumber to do his usual morning routine.

The quietude of the dawn embraced him as he moved through the familiar motions.

At around eight o'clock, Edward set off to the campus with Patricia, and as they reached the classroom, they took their seats in the classroom and began to chat with each other about their weekends.

The atmosphere was relaxed, with the morning sun gently streaming through the windows, creating a warm and welcoming ambiance for their conversation.

"I-I brought my younger siblings to mall and played there for hours, we went to a videoke and eat in KFC..."

"Oh, by the way, I also bought a phone, c-can we exchanged numbers?" Patricia blushed as she asked his number, feeling embarassed to asked a boy about his phone number

"Sure.." Edward shrugged and didn't care too much about what she was thinking, took her phone and went to typed his phone number in her contact list.

"Nice choice." Edward nodded after saving his number, and then went compliment her smartphone - Samsung Champ.

Back in the previous time-space he also bought the same model of smartphone and it was one of his favourite among the ones that he had gotten.

The compact and portable design, long battery life, and social networking integration—had the iPhone 4 not been released at this time, he might have chosen to purchase this phone instead.

"How much?" Edward asked after she gave back her phone.

"Around ₱2,800.."

"That's... a bit expensive.." Edward muttered and calculated in his mind.. If he remembered correctly, the one he had back then was only less than ₱1,500... But then again, the Samsung Champ has only been released recently, so it was reasonable to expect it to be more expensive.

"A bit... but I think it's worth it.. I think it's cute."

"I think so too... oh, by the way, are still buying prepaid load for internet? Do you want to connect on my internet?"

"T-that.."

"No need to hesitate, I won't ask you to pay bills for it or anything of that sort."

"No, I mean, won't that make you pay more?"

"Nah, do you know why many people prefer a fixed subscription to buying a prepaid load? It is because people do not have to worry about how much data they have spent. What people are paying in is speed and bandwidth..." Edward continued, before informing her that having her connected won't have any effect on the bills at all.

"It turns out to be like that..." Patricia's eyes brightened and felt reasonable, "No wonder people says that internet cafe are profitable.."

"Yeah, it's indeed profitable.." Edward nodded at her words, but the second part of her sentence stunned him.

That right, Internet café is indeed profitable... Well, at least right now...

After all, smartphones were not yet widely used, and people weren't aware of the convenience of having a WiFi and internet setup on their own, so whenever someone needed to use the internet or do anything else online, they just went to an Internet café.

However, Internet speed had experience rapid development during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the frequent technology upgrades—sometimes even monthly—became the norm.

The restrictions of outside activities forced people to spend more time indoors, and as people invested more time on the internet, they also became more aware of the practicality of having their own home internet setups and chose to install their own internet rather than visit an Internet café.

The subsequent developments stemming up from COVID-19, the rapid advancement of technology, and the increased affordability of the internet led to a decline in the entire Internet Cafe industry.

Edward couldn't help but ponder whether he should also delve into the Internet cafe business or not... Although the decline of the Internet cafe industry is indeed inevitable, that was still years later.

He could invest in it right now, and earning it back before the market decline is not impossible, and if he did it right, he could even earn several times more than his initial investment.

Also, it's not that the decline of the market means the dead end of the industry; back then, even if many were bankrupt, there's still some that survived and successfully turned into a gaming hub.

People who went on them weren't necessarily because they have no personal PCs or internet access, but because of the social experience that indoor gaming couldn't offer.

If he did it right, Edward could also turn the business into such a hub, or even make it a part of the local culture.

As long as the pricing and service were good enough to the point where everyone would prefer playing there rather than indoors.

"Should I? Or not?" Edward contemplated for a while, but in the end, he sighed, leaning back in his chair and letting out a weary breath.

He was tempted, to be honest... The idea was very alluring.. However, his tightly packed schedule couldn't allow him to add any more tasks, otherwise, he was afraid of being the first traveler to die of overworking.

"Well, at least, not for now," Edward added with a thoughtful expression. The prospect was truly promising, and he felt a surge of confidence that he could handle it properly.

Although his schedule was tightly packed with various kinds of projects, he didn't want to miss any opportunity that could make him earn more money.

"Eyy? You okay?" Patricia called worriedly as if noticing him dazing off.

"Ah, yes, I just thought of something." Shaking his head, Edward reassured her.

Time passed.

The lesson ended at exactly around two o'clock in the afternoon, after bidding farewell to James and the other classmates, the two of them left the room under Miss C's suspiciouss gaze that was following their departure.

"Damn, now I'm starting to dislike her," Patricia mumbled uncomfortably as she felt the weight of frustration settle in her chest.

"Oh, isn't she your favorite?"

"No way, she's never been my favorite, I just like her subject."

"Oh, and why are you annoyed by her?"

"I, I just felt like she's not teaching anything at all, I mean, have you ever seen her bring her own materials? No! She just keeps others doing reporting and then clarifies what the reporters reported... That's all!"

"Now that you think about it.. i felt like it was indeed what she's doing."

"I know right, should we report her to the dean's office or whatever for being iresponsible?" Patricia asked expectantly.

"At what part is she irresponsible?"

"Huh, for not having her own materials, obviously."

"What else?"

"Eh? N-nothing else why?"

"See, it's not about her not having her own materials. She's a teacher, and her duty is to teach us, and that's what she did.. although what she's doing is indeed a bit questionable, at the end of the day, she fulfilled her role, and that's what really matters."

"... I," Patricia bit down on her lip, hesitating for a moment before finally mustering the courage to question him. "D-don't you dislike her for caring too much about our relationship? Why do you sound like you're taking her side over mine?"

"Eh, did I?" Edward raised an eyebrow, wondering if he had indeed given that impression, and felt like it was indeed the case, so he went on to explain, "I'm not taking her side; I'm just stating facts. Also, although I really dislike her, that doesn't mean I have to dislike her all the time. It just happens that her style of teaching was aligned to my expectations."

"...You mean, her, not teaching anything at all and giving quizzes after the reporting?"

"Yep, it's quite simple, actually. I don't have to jat down any notes, I don't have to listen at all as she's not doing reciting; all I have to do is copy yours to get an acceptable score on the quiz."

".. you know, I feel like I shouldn't asked you in the first place."

Back at the apartment building.

The two went to their respective units to attend to their individual tasks until 2:50 in the afternoon.

Edward was in the middle of preparing in the music room when suddenly, a knock came at the door of his apartment.

Temporarily halting his action, he went to open the door, and upon seeing Patricia, he let her in without further formality.

Together, the two proceeded to the music room and continued what he had started, and some time later, the preparation was complete and the recording also began.

This time around, with the additional experience gained from the previous week, the two of them acted more synchronously, making the whole process of recording simpler and more efficient.

The two were deeply absorbed in their work until four in the afternoon when a knock echoed from the outside door.

"Who's that?" Patricia asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I don't know," Edward said with a shrug. His curiosity piqued, and together they went out to check who it was.