With his mind calmer, Elias immediately asked the system to display Emily's status so he could see his overall gain from their first date.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
Name: [ Emily Hawthorne ]
Age: [ 26 years old ]
Current Affection Percentage: [ 25% ]
Affection Level: [ Medium ]
Current Multiplier: [ x4 ]
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
X4 Multiplier! 25 per cent current affection! Elias's heart eased even more as he read through the holographic blue interface. Sure enough, their date had paid off, shooting off Emily's affection for him from a measly [ 10% ] to an astounding [ 25% ], thereby also increasing his current Multiplier to [ x4 ]. This meant that every money he spent on Emily would now receive a three times reward cashback, a significant boost for him.
Elias then asked the system to display his main status.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
Name: [Elias Benjamin]
Age: [ 24 years old ]
Current Relationship Status: [ Casually Dating ]
Relationships:
[ Emily Hawthorne [ Developing Affection - [ Medium ] ]
Current Bank Account Status: [$390]
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
'But it's still not enough!' Elias thought, sighing. He walked towards a nearby bench to carefully analyse his situation.
He had lied to Emily that he lived off a trust fund and invested in start-ups when he couldn't even provide for himself or pay for his junior brother's medical bills; now, he has to ensure that he keeps the lies consistent and that she doesn't ask too much about the various start-ups he had invested in or allow her to find out who his parents were; otherwise, he risks losing everything.
Luckily, Emily understood that he didn't want to discuss it after discerning the hint he had provided, so he was safe for now.
However, since he was still uncertain about how long it would take to raise Emily's affection over [ 40%], he needed to ensure he maximised the cashback rewards if anything went wrong since his plan was not foolproof.
He knew he needed to find another potential candidate and obtain another means of cashback rewards because he couldn't reach his aim with Emily alone.
However, the problem lies in where he would find women who could rapidly develop affection for him.
Suddenly, Elias's phone began to ring and vibrate. He removed it from his pocket to check who it was and was immediately surprised to see the number on it—a friend from his workplace. He remembered that he hadn't yet called to inform them about what had transpired.
After briefly hesitating about what to do, he answered the phone call.
"Hello?"
"HELLO! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY HELLO?! WHERE ARE YOU, ELIAS?" a resounding voice screamed from the other side of the call, making Elias pull the phone from his ears.
Elias exhaled before putting the phone back in his ears. "Sofia, is that you?" he asked, guessing who the screaming voice belonged to.
"OF COURSE, IT'S ME! WHO ELSE DO YOU THINK WILL WASTE PRECIOUS TIME CALLING TO INFORM YOU TO GET TO WORK AS FAST AS YOU CAN BEFORE YOU END UP BECOMING FIRED?"
"Um… Ahem, Sofia, I won't be coming to work any longer."
The other side suddenly became quiet.
"Are you feeling unwell? Or don't tell me that you got into a terrible accident and lost one of your limbs? We still need you to take orders and serve food to the guests after all."
"No, I'm not unwell, and I haven't lost any limbs either. I've decided to quit working at the restaurant and search for something else to do with my life."
There was no sound from the other side until after several seconds.
"Wow, look at you, the next Christoper Columbus! Who will sponsor the voyage this time? Or don't tell me you've found a better job and didn't bother informing me about it?"
Listening to the sarcastic response, Elias sighed tiredly and responded, "No, I ––" but before he could complete his sentence, the voice immediately interrupted.
"Elias?"
"Yes."
"GET YOUR ASS TO THIS RESTAURANT IMMEDIATELY BEFORE I COME THERE, BEAT YOU UP AND DRAG YOU OVER HERE MYSELF!"
The call was swiftly disconnected.
Elias looked at his smartphone, pondering whether he should head back home and prepare for tomorrow after such a stressful day or head to the restaurant and formally hand in his resignation.
"It's best if I head over to the restaurant so Sofia does not have a bad hard time once I'm gone," Elias muttered, standing upright.
Sofia had always cared for him whenever something went wrong and lent him money when he was short on cash. Because of this, everyone working in the restaurant knew how close they were as friends. Quitting his job without warning wouldn't be unfair to her, especially since it could jeopardise her position.
Elias checked his watch. It was 5:42 p.m.—only 18 minutes until the restaurant opened at 6:00 p.m. He quickly hailed a taxi to ensure he made it on time.
The taxi driver noticed him and swiftly pulled up to his position.
…....….
As the taxi came to a grinding halt, Elias paid the driver his fees and stepped out.
Elias turned to the side and looked at the luxurious two-story restaurant with a large sign featuring the simple yet requisite calligraphy "Celestial Dining."
The two-story restaurant building featured tall, narrow windows that offered glimpses of its sophisticated interior. The grand, arched entrance was framed by polished brass and glass doors, complemented by a velvet rope line.
A smartly dressed doorman in a tailored suit and white gloves stood at the door, opening and closing it as he welcomed guests with a welcoming smile.
Taking his eyes away from the high-end restaurant, he focused on a woman in chief's attire, racing towards him. She had rich caramel skin tone and long, wavy, dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail.
She was Sofia, the Sous Chef at Celestial Dinning Restaurant.
Sofia soon arrived before him.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Elias asked, awaiting her response. However, instead of responding, she instantly took his hand and dragged him forward, racing towards the direction of the restaurant's back door.
The restaurant's backdoor was only accessible by the restaurant staff. It contained part of the kitchen and the dishwashing and storage areas.
....
Author's Note: Please share your powerstones and add this novel to your library if you enjoy it!