213 Mind over splatter (2/2)
…
Ben thinned his eyes. ”Scurvy, huh? I thought you've never told a joke in your life. What happened to that?”
Beluga gave him a side glance. ”It's called a metaphor, Benjamin. Read a book.”
...
Ben raised an eyebrow. ”Do light novels count?”
”No.” Beluga shook his head in disappointment.
Ben sighed... Then, when he joined the other two juniors to ponder over everything that was said, the redhead beauty from before came over, kissed Beluga on the cheek to say goodbye, and left.
Observing this, Chuck swallowed. ”Where's she going?”
Beluga watched her walk away. ”She has a photo shoot in the morning, so needed to leave early.”
Seeing this girl's shapely backside, Ben was the first to want to try applying Beluga's uber-confidence. ”Let me give it a shot.”
He scanned the club until finding a tall raven-haired girl by the bar, who looked like an actress. Although Ben gained a lot of experience in opening women until now, the quality here was without a doubt of a higher standard; so much so that his heart sped up in nervousness, something that hadn't happened before an approach for some time.
Gulping, he reminded himself to be confident. Then, his face became firm, and he walked over to her, thinking reassuring thoughts on the way:
'You're the man now, dog…'
'You're The Duke of New York, A-Number-1…'
'They're gonna have to call in the national guard to take me out, cause I ain't going nowhere!'
...
As he continued thinking positive affirmations, with each step, Ben's body relaxed further, until his anxiety...disappeared...
When he reached the girl, the confident mindset proved its effect, even putting an extra pep in his step. Using an assertive opener that's worked for him in the past, he delivered the line with perfection. 'Beluga was right, my delivery was smoother than ever! If I push past the anxiety and come from a place of confidence, it really makes a difference!'
Yet, reality didn't always play with the balls...
As soon as Ben finished his opener, he received an unexpected system alert.
[You've failed the Value Test - the target's value is too high relative to yours. Attraction is impossible. Approach failed]
[Target's current attraction level: invalid]
'Huh? Value test?' He blinked, having never seen this notification. Meanwhile, the girl scoffed at him. ”Not interested. Get lost little man.” Then, she turned around and ignored him. Scrunching his eyebrows, Ben could only return to his crew in confusion.
”What happened?” Antonio asked.
Ben sighed. ”She wanted to explore the sea…”
…
Something preoccupied his mind though. 'The system mentioned value. What was that?'
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