In the café, Ivan had already been kicked out. the owner had left too, and the crowd of onlookers slowly dispersed.
Only Grace remained behind. After all, Jason was already the real boss now, and as company president she naturally had to report to him. Grace stood in front of Jason, a little nervous.
Jason leaned back in his chair and said calmly,"Relax. Your work performance is solid. Just now, they even praised you, saying the company wouldn't have survived without your effort. Keep it up—make the company bigger and stronger."
Whether Grace had a personal life or supported some younger boyfriend was none of Jason's concern. Her job was to run the company well.
Grace's heart lit up. "Don't worry, boss. I'll do everything I can to keep this company growing."
Jason nodded. "Good. I'm giving you a task—get me a contract to acquire a university patent related to automation technology. Price it at around $500,000."
Jason had two reasons for this move.
First, the company was genuinely good—perfect for "laundering" the reward money he'd earned through his strange system tasks. Second, since the company's products tied into automation, acquiring a university patent was completely logical.
This way, when he sent large sums of money to his parents, there'd be a paper trail and a legitimate explanation. Otherwise, what college kid suddenly wires his parents half a million dollars without raising suspicion? They'd assume he got involved in something shady.
His family wasn't rich, but they weren't desperate either—his dad had some savings, and both parents were in decent health. Dropping a fortune on them out of nowhere would only worry them.
So Jason decided to start small—hundreds of thousands, not millions. Enough to impress, but not overwhelm.
Grace didn't understand why Jason wanted it handled this way, but she didn't ask. "Got it. I'll have someone reach out and buy a patent in your name. That way, even if anyone digs, it'll all check out."
That was what Jason valued—her efficiency. Within hours, Grace had things lined up.
Jason also called his university's administrative office and asked for documentation on the "innovation patent bonus." He even had them add a note of a $50 scholarship payout on the paperwork.
He forwarded both sets of documents to his parents. By the time he was done, his balance from the last three system tasks showed $600,000. Without thinking too much, he wired exactly $600,000 to his parents. Maybe subconsciously, it felt right—like this was truly his hard-earned money.
He even left the rest of the balance untouched, just so his parents wouldn't worry and try to send money back.
Not long after, Jason's phone buzzed—his dad, Daniel, was calling. Jason motioned for Grace to get back to work, then answered.
"Jason," his father's voice was full of disbelief, "is this real? Your college patent actually sold for half a million? I mean, I knew automation covered both software and hardware, but I never imagined it could fetch that much!"
His mom, Linda, was in the background, her voice even more emotional."Our son is incredible. He's still in college and already earned more money than we've seen in our whole lives. Six hundreed thousand—Jason, I'm putting most of this aside for you. You'll need it when you settle down and start a family."
Jason almost choked. He hadn't even graduated, and his mom was already talking about marriage funds. Just two years ago, she scolded him not to date early.
He quickly explained that he was now working with Skyline Tech, and would have more opportunities to earn in the future. He urged them to slow down, stop working so hard, maybe even take a break from the long shifts at the factory.
But his parents wouldn't hear it. His dad scolded lightly, "Don't forget your roots, son. Money comes and goes, but hard work keeps you grounded. Save it—you never know when tough times hit."
Jason sat there, listening to their voices, a warmth spreading in his chest.
Over the past few weeks, he had spent ridiculous amounts—Millions gone in days. He was almost numb to it. But this $600,000? This felt different. This was priceless.
At the same time, he felt helpless. His parents' worldview wouldn't change overnight. But he wasn't in a rush—time would fix it.
For now, one thing was certain—this "patent bonus" gave his parents peace of mind, something to brag about to relatives and neighbors. And that, Jason thought with a smile, was worth more than the money itself.
Now that everything was set, it was only logical for Jason to step deeper into Skyline Tech. From here on out, the money would flow in bigger and bigger waves.
After hanging up with his parents, Jason tapped open the glowing system panel to check the task progress. Just then, Quinn walked over.
She had been waiting quietly, watching Jason keep busy. But now that he seemed free, she couldn't hold it back any longer.
Just as she opened her mouth, Jason raised a hand to stop her."Wait. I'm not finished yet."
"Oh, okay…" Quinn nodded softly and sat across from him. Her eyes were still red, her voice hoarse, her whole demeanor less radiant than usual—more vulnerable, more delicate.
Lily watched with mixed feelings. To her, Quinn was completely under Jason's control now. But thinking about it, it wasn't surprising.
They didn't know Jason's true reason for acquiring Skyline Tech, but from their perspective? Jason had just dropped $240 million for Quinn's sake.
Jason pretended to stay absorbed in his phone, scanning the system. Task 4 was almost complete:
Raise the favorability of three women (score 8+) to 80 → Complete. (Grace, Megan, Holly)
Raise the favorability of one woman (score 8+) to 90 → Complete. (Quinn)
Now he was only 76 favorability points short of the total goal.
Jason smirked inwardly. Didn't expect the hard one to get finished first. Guess I'll clean up the easy ones later. Another seventy-six points? With eight universities in this college town, all it'll take is a stroll around campus.
Satisfied, Jason dismissed the panel and looked across at Quinn."How are you holding up? You okay?"
Quinn met his gaze, her eyes full of warmth. "I'm fine… thank you for saving me back there."
Jason waved it off. "No big deal. Just glad I could help. Go back to your dorm, get cleaned up, and get some rest." He stood up to leave.
"Wait—where are you going?" Quinn blurted, instinctively rising to follow. Her heart was brimming with emotion and admiration, and she hadn't even had the chance to express it.
But after a couple of steps, she realized how forward she was being. Her cheeks flushed red. Just then, Jason chuckled and said,"The new bike I bought? Thinking of taking it for a spin around the university town. I've heard the other campuses are packed with gorgeous girls, and I haven't checked it out yet."
Jason's words were deliberate. He didn't want Quinn imagining him as her destined prince. He'd said it before—he couldn't stand the idea of a girlfriend sneaking off to meet another guy alone. Even if nothing happened, just the fact of it left a sour taste.
So he had no intention of treating Quinn as a real girlfriend.
Her favorability was already 91—raising it further would be near impossible. There was no point grinding it anymore. For Jason, Quinn's only remaining value lay in her newly unlocked [Opportunity] skill.
With that, Jason walked out of the café, revved it once for style, and sped off.
Quinn and Lily stood frozen, staring after him in a daze.
Lily was the first to speak, incredulous."Seriously? There's a knockout beauty right in front of him, completely head over heels… and he says he wants to go look at more girls?"
Jason had just blown $240 million and stormed in like a hero. Anyone could see Quinn was already his for the taking. All it would've taken was one word, and she'd be his girlfriend.
But instead? He brushed her off and talked about chasing more beauties in town.
Quinn herself was stunned. To her, Jason had arrived like a prince, spending millions without hesitation, defending her name in front of everyone. Her heart had been moved beyond return—she was ready to give herself to him completely.
And yet, Jason's last words rang in her ears: he wanted to see other girls.
Had it all just been one-sided on her part?
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