Even stood frozen for a moment, a bewildered look on his face. He opened his lips to say something, but no words came out.
Instead of lashing out angrily, he decided to calm himself for a moment. Then, an idea suddenly struck his mind.
With a thought, he activated his insight skills.
Name: Fred
Skills: Intermediate Cooking [13/200], Beginner Business Management [79/100]
Impression: 61
Evan squinted his eyes for a moment, noting that the screen was somewhat different from what he expected.
'System, what is this?'
[The Insight skill is still at a low level so you can't see the detailed stats of the other party. An impression represents the liking he has for you.]
'What do you mean by LIKING?' Evan asked inwardly, his mind racing with thoughts.
His body shivered for a moment.
[Host, relax...]
[Impression indicates the affection of an adult for his juniors. Affection represents liking or love, and loyalty represents devotion. The feeling of a person towards you would appear in the Impression tab numerically, here is the scale.]
[In the case of a woman, an impression above 0 means favorable. A score of 20 means likeable, above 40 means admiration and above 60 means she loves you. Above 80 signifies she is in mad love and 100 represents the legendary fit, representing that only death can separate.]
[In the case of men, it's the same until 40. Above 60 indicates loyalty and a very good friendship. Above 80 means, they won't betray you unless someone has forced them to, and 100 means unshakable loyalty, he won't betray till death, and in any situation, you would be at the top of his priority even if he is threatened with his family or his life.]
[Warning to host.]
[The above-mentioned scenario is only applicable if the man is straight. If he is gay or you can understand according to your IQ, it will be similar to the love scale.]
Fred noticed Evan's expression and seeing the young man keeping mum, he felt a bit guilty.
"COUGH!COUGH!"
Evan snapped out of his thoughts. If not for Fred's interruption, he might have forgotten about it.
'I have to get used to this skill and avoid making a fool out of myself when using insight skills,' Evan thought, resolving to learn from his mistakes.
"Uncle Fred, why did you fire me? I haven't made any mistakes and always try to execute the designated tasks as perfectly as possible."
"I was overworked and when everyone left, I would stay alone to clean the restaurant till midnight," Evan pleaded earnestly.
"You didn't do anything wrong and I like your work attitude, kid, but I am firing you because of that incident with the TV actress," Fred spoke solemnly.
"But I'm innocent. It is my parents who fought while I haven't done anything. The mob attack..."
"Stop!"Fred spoke authoritatively, seeing Evan's expression.
"Kid, I believe in you and want to keep you for work, but I can't. And I am doing this for both of our sake."
"See, no matter how much you hide, there will be some fuckers who would somehow find you and once he posts things by editing some annoying things. You might be targeted again and this time it could turn brutal. Last time you survived, but who knows what will happen. The fire had calmed down after you were hospitalized but it is still smoldering. I am sure that actress Suri is likely going to push things to gain more popularity. Even if outsiders don't, I am sure there will be someone greedy here who will sell you out. And with this, my restaurant is also gonna suffer. So, it's better to prevent a worst-case scenario."
Evan nodded his head, unable to refute. With things gaining momentum, it might be difficult to get out once he had completely healed.
Only God knows how many people had photos and videos of that incident. He can't cause unnecessary trouble for others.
Still, it made him feel sad that he had to suffer for things he was not even a part of.
Out of all the work he had done, this one paid the most— about 10,000 Rs for six hours of work daily, with extra for overworking and Fred had been quite benevolent to him.
Noticing this, Fred pulled out a paper from the drawer and slid it to Evan.
"Huh!" Evan stared at the paper confused.
It was a cheque of 60,000 Rs.
"As far as I remember, you're gonna graduate in two or three months. This much money should be enough for you to last before you soon get a job in some company, making you free of worry."
"Sorry, I can't take that," Evan refused resolutely.
"Just take it."
Fred and Evan engaged in a tug-of-war which ended with Fred's anger bursting out.
"Just take it and get the hell out of here. Think of it as a loan and repay me when you strike it big in the future."
"Now get out," Fred shouted, intentionally raising his voice louder.
Evan laughed, thanked him, took the check and walked out feeling a bit refreshed.
The moment Evan stepped out, numerous heated gazes locked onto him.
"Evan, what happened?"
"I noticed that Fred was screaming at you."
"Nothing, I was just fired," Evan said with a bitter smile, bringing silence to the room.
They wanted to show some pity and compassion, but Evan shrugged them off.
He didn't need anyone's pity, especially when it wasn't sincere.
Evan didn't linger in the place long and under everyone's curious gaze, he packed his things and walked away.
Before walking out, he stopped for a moment and sadly gazed at the piano in the hallway.
It was the only thing that had kept him company on those lonely nights when he was in charge of cleaning the entire restaurant at late nights.
He used to sit and play to calm his heart.
Though his piano skills sucked and he didn't even know the P of piano, it didn't matter to him.
Shaking his head, Evan walked out, knowing that a new life was awaiting him.
"With so much free time, I should better spend my time on studying. I am already at the bottom of my class. If not for the University's benevolence and no-failure policy in the final exams, I might not be able to graduate."
______
The cars honked on the bustling road and following the wave of people, Evan walked, staring at the billboards and tall advertisements.
"Now what should I aim for? When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming someone who owned an entire world. Childish though, it was my wish to create a better world for everyone. But as I grew I realized that all of this was just a bubbly dream."
"Now, my current goal is to land a job and break free from my parent's clutches. But with the system, I don't know what I should aim for or what are the system's limits.
[I have no limit. Host, you have endless possibilities, but it depends on your growth and actions. I can't help you do anything if the host is useless or incompetent, can I?]
Evan was about to speak when he heard a commotion behind him.
"Catch him! He stole my bag."
Evan turned back and saw an agile figure evading people's grasp. His movements were quite sharp and with his fast reaction and slim stature, he was able to evade the people who tried to block him.
The man passed through the gap between feet and then used the side blocks of buildings to jump up, displaying great acrobat skills.
Evan raised his brows, wondering if this guy was running away or performing a public stunt—this was just too flashy.
Soon, the man was right in front of him
Instead of blocking, Evan stepped aside, but just as the man was about to run, he stretched his feet and stuck the guy's ankle, making him stumble.
BANG!
After stammering for a step, the man fell to the ground but using his momentum he tried to roll his body to advance but a few muscular men jumped on him and got a hold.
"Haaa..."
A woman with heavy make-up, huffing and puffing, who had been chasing after the guy appeared after a minute and thanked Evan.
"Thanks for the help."
"I don't know what I would do without you. I had many important documents in the bag and would have been in trouble if you had let this thief go."
"Please let me go. I swear, I would never steal again," the thief pleaded and started crying.
The messy situations lingered for a moment.
"Will you really not steal anymore?"
"Yes, I swear on my family name."
The three men saw the attractive woman with a love-stricken smile and were about to reply when the woman pulled out her smartphone along with a selfie stick and turned on the camera.
"Fans, did you see this? There is still justice in the world."
"Woooo...I was so scared, but thank God nothing happened to me," the woman said, striking a pose, making their body shiver.
"And not only with the help of these three brothers I caught the thief but I also taught him a lesson. The thief had learned his mistake and promised me that he would never steal again."
"Am I not great?'' The woman then blew a kiss and winked with a seductive smile.
At the side, Evan, who had already called the police, froze.
He stared down at his phone and then at the woman and three hunks along with the thief who were mingling about and screamed inwardly, 'What the actual fuck?'