Chapter 23: The Tessa Time-Share Agreement
“Separately?”
For the first time, the three women’s gazes aligned perfectly and landed on Vanessa’s face all at once.
Vanessa was very satisfied with the effect. She cleared her throat and officially presented the shocking proposal that would one day deserve a place in Halewick University history.
[The Tessa Time-Share Agreement]
“That’s right. Sharing.” Vanessa lifted one long finger, the nail painted a glossy red, and tapped lightly in the air. “Captain Riley’s physical development plan is extremely important, but the time must be controlled. So I suggest that every morning from six to seven-thirty should belong to Captain Riley as her exclusive fitness time.”
“As for our dear Molly,” she said, turning toward Molly with the smile of a cat that had stolen cream, “Tessa’s energy supply is even more important. So from Monday to Friday, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will all be under your control. Make sure our Tessa is well fed.”
Finally, her gaze landed on the person with the strongest presence, Seraphina.
“And our dear Seraphina is responsible for the highest-level soul cultivation. So after dinner every school day, along with all weekends and holidays, you may freely arrange Tessa’s time and take her to experience all kinds of refined artistic activities.”
This agreement, which essentially divided up a person like property, was absurd to the extreme. It was practically renting Tessa out by time slot.
Strangely enough, however, it was also the only solution capable of breaking the current deadlock.
Riley, Seraphina, and Molly exchanged glances. After a fierce silent battle and negotiation through eye contact, they miraculously all fell quiet.
Vanessa seized the moment and struck the final nail. “Of course, the most important principle is this. During each person’s exclusive time, no one else may interfere for any reason. Ladies, what do you think?”
In the end, under Vanessa’s devilish lobbying, the three of them silently accepted the arrangement.
“So… I just got sold off by all of you?” Tessa slumped in her chair, feeling as if both her body and soul had been hollowed out. She had no will to live.
At that moment, the system prompt finally arrived late in her mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You perfectly resolved the [Triple Breakfast Appointment] romantic battlefield! Limited-Time Quest [Perfect Master of Time Management] has been completed beyond expectations!]
[Quest Reward: Affection Points +200]
[Current Affection Point Balance: 430.]
This time, however, Tessa had no interest in the reward.
She stared at the “schedule” that had been packed full from morning to night, and for the first time, a strong sense of powerlessness rose in her heart. Her life seemed to have been arranged completely by other people. Even what she wore was decided by her roommates, especially Vanessa.
Thinking of that, she instinctively lowered her head and looked at her closet. Inside hung quite a few “battle outfits” Vanessa had bought for her, all with alarmingly little fabric.
A strong thought suddenly bloomed in her mind.
She wanted to buy her own clothes.
Clothes she actually liked. Cute but relatively modest sportswear and everyday outfits.
She picked up her phone, opened a shopping app, and began choosing seriously. After finally selecting several pieces she loved and preparing to place the order with a little thrill of happiness, an extremely realistic problem hit her like a bucket of ice water poured over her head.
On the payment page, her balance was 0.
She, Tessa Vale, had nothing.
That was when she suddenly realized that this damn system had only given her one meal card with 200 dining credits from start to finish. Other than being able to eat, she had no money at all. She was completely, thoroughly broke.
Because she had been so overwhelmed by the survival crisis of her Affection Points dropping to zero, she had never even thought about something as basic as money.
A penny could defeat a hero. Without money, forget buying clothes. She did not even have the tiniest bit of personal space that belonged to her. Taking back control was nothing but a fantasy.
This belated realization of poverty was more effective than any lecture in igniting fighting spirit. The light in Tessa’s amber eyes dimmed. She silently closed the shopping app as an unprecedented sense of embarrassment tightened around her heart.
“What’s wrong, Tessa? Did the pretty clothes you liked sell out?” Vanessa immediately noticed the change in her mood and leaned closer to ask.
Tessa hesitated for a moment. In the end, she gathered her courage and spoke in a voice so quiet it was almost inaudible, full of shame.
“I… I don’t have any money…”
“No money?” Vanessa froze for a second. Then, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, her beautiful eyes curved into crescents. She reached out and pinched Tessa’s cheek. “Silly girl. My money is your money. If you like something, just tell me. I’ll buy all of it for you.”
“No… that’s not it.” Tessa shook her head. For the first time, she expressed her own wish so firmly. “I want to… earn money by myself.”
The dorm instantly went quiet.
Chloe and Iris also stopped what they were doing and looked at Tessa.
The smile on Vanessa’s face faded a little. She studied the rare stubborn seriousness on Tessa’s face. Then, a light called “business opportunity” suddenly flashed in her eyes.
“Earn money?” Vanessa slapped her thigh, instantly excited. “Baby, you’re sitting on a mountain of gold and crying poverty!”
“What?” Tessa looked completely lost.
“Streaming, baby!” Vanessa announced with enthusiasm. “That face, that body, that voice! If you don’t become a streamer, it’s a crime against the universe. You could specialize in soothing all those lonely, empty ears.”
“No! I don’t want to show my face!” The moment Tessa heard she would have to put herself out there, she shook her head frantically like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Making poses in front of a camera? She would rather die.
“No face. Voice only,” Iris, who had been silent until now, offered the key suggestion. “Virtual streamers and sleep-aid radio are popular right now. You can use a virtual avatar instead of appearing in person.”
“Right, right!” Chloe added excitedly. “And ASMR! Tessa, your voice is so pretty that even if you just read a book, people’s ears would fall in love. We can build you a super mysterious [Deep-Sea Siren] persona. You sing late at night and steal souls with your voice!”
The plan of a faceless ASMR sleep-aid channel with occasional singing passed unanimously in an instant.
Vanessa had fully entered the role of ace manager. She excitedly announced that she would become Tessa’s first manager and number-one supporter.
At that moment, the system’s voice rang in Tessa’s mind with its usual shameless flair.
[Ding! Detected the Host’s intense desire to earn money! Side Quest Activated: [Virtual Songstress Development Plan]!]
[Stage One: Purchase entry-level streaming equipment. Complete your first test stream of no less than 30 minutes within one week, and receive your first paid “gift” from a fan.]
[Quest Reward: Affection Points +50]
[Quest Failure Penalty: For 48 hours, every time you speak to someone, you must first let out a sweet, breathy “Mm~” and follow it with an uncontrollable wink.]
The moment Tessa saw the failure penalty, she felt all the blood in her body freeze.
[What the hell kind of punishment is this?! “Mm~” and a wink? Are you afraid people won’t realize I’m acting like a walking thirst trap?!]
She could immediately imagine the hellish scenes.
On the morning athletic field, facing a stern Riley, she would sweetly say, “Mm~ Riley, I can’t do this move properly…” Then she would start winking like mad.
The result? Most likely, Riley would explode from blushing on the spot and then make her train to death for “improper training attitude.”
In the dining hall, facing Molly as she brought over a loving lunch, Tessa would look at her with seductive eyes and say, “Mm~ Molly, today’s food smells so nice. Sweet, just like you…”
The result? She would probably scare the poor girl so badly that Molly would abandon the lunchbox and run.
As for Seraphina…
Tessa did not even dare to keep imagining. In the library, saying to that cool, moonlit upperclassman, “Mm~ Seraphina, this poetry collection is so hard to understand. Teach me, please…”
The consequences would be ten thousand times more terrifying than letting the entire world know she was completely broke.
[No! Absolutely not! I have to succeed at this quest!]
A survival instinct and fighting spirit stronger than ever before burned fiercely in Tessa’s heart.
To protect her innocence and dignity, and to avoid becoming a walking hormone generator, she had to earn money.
Immediately.
Right now.
Her highly action-oriented roommates immediately began dividing the work.
Chloe took charge of searching online for reviews of professional microphones and audio interfaces. Iris took charge of planning the dorm space, forcibly clearing out a small corner that would become the future “streaming room.” Vanessa had already begun writing furiously, drafting stream announcement copy that made one’s face heat up just from reading it.
Tessa looked at her roommates busying themselves for her, and warmth and emotion filled her chest.
It turned out that wanting to earn money did not get her laughed at. Instead, everyone supported her with all their strength.
She clenched her fist.
For the first time, she had a concrete expectation for the future.