My Billionaire Cashback System! I Get Paid for Investing in Beauties

Rose’s phone lit up on the floor.

☎️Calling => Maya.

Rose saw it before he said anything. She turned toward the screen and for one second, just one, something crossed her face that he hadn’t seen on her before.

She was up before he could speak.

He watched her cross the floor and pick the phone up, not particularly concerned with the absence of clothes, which was either a testament to her composure or evidence that she was more alarmed than she looked. She glanced at the time on the screen, and the alarm became a little clearer.

She looked at him. Put one finger to her lips.

He nodded and said nothing.

She answered. "Hey, Maya."

A pause. He could catch the faint cadence of Maya’s voice from where he was, but none of the actual words.

"I’m around. I just went out for a walk." Rose’s voice was completely even. "No, it’s fine. It’s a safe neighborhood, I promise."

Adrian looked briefly at the ceiling.

A walk. That’s the best she could come up with?

He got up and moved toward the living room, far enough to give her room but close enough to still hear her side of it. Rose drifted the same direction, phone against her ear, her free hand moving once through her hair.

"Uh-huh." A pause. "Yeah." Another. "I know."

The answers were getting shorter, the gaps between them smaller.

She glanced at the screen and stopped walking.

He saw it land on her face. Not panic, exactly. The quieter version of it, the kind that arrived when you did the math and didn’t like the number.

They’d lost the morning entirely.

"I’ll be right there," Rose said. "Don’t worry." A beat, and then, with an edge that hadn’t been there before: "I said I’ll be right there, Maya."

She ended the call.

She stood there for a moment, looking at the screen. Then she turned, set the phone down, and reached for her clothes.

"Well." Adrian pulled his shirt on. "She’s obviously awake."

Rose looked at him. "Yeah... um. I guess I should probably get going."

She was already moving as she spoke, finishing up her dressing and shrugging her coat on, then paused like something had just occurred to her.

"I’m still coming to the rehearsal."

Adrian looked at her. She seemed serious.

"I know."

"I wasn’t joking about that."

"I said I know," he replied with a casual tone. "It’ll be in the afternoon. After classes."

"Call me before you head out." She picked up her phone from the counter. "So I know when we’re going."

"Will do."

She walked over to him, took a second to look at his face the way she did when she was checking something she didn’t plan to say out loud, then kissed him. Quick. Deliberate.

"I’ll see you at school."

"Yeah," Adrian said. "See you."

She left. The door clicked behind her, and the apartment went quiet.

Adrian stood there for a moment.

Then he exhaled and dropped back onto the couch, pressing his fingers against the space between his eyebrows.

Long morning. Longer than he’d expected, and the math on how it had gone was only just catching up to him.

But it had gone well. The money was handled. Rose had taken the Jenna situation better than he had any right to expect, not perfectly, but well enough. And more importantly, he now had an actual target in front of him. Someone with a clear need and a reason to take him seriously.

Jenna.

If she had the talent to back the opportunity up, this could become something real. He wasn’t planning to let it sit unattended.

He got up.

He showered quickly, more out of routine than necessity, changed, fixed his hair, and sprayed his perfume before grabbing what he needed for the day. Breakfast wasn’t a problem. He’d already dealt with that at three in the morning, apparently.

Besides, if the nutritional multiplier was to bring his hunger back, he could literally get takeout from anywhere.

He checked his phone before leaving.

The group chat was quiet. Nothing from anyone. That was a first, considering that Drew was in the chat.

Maybe they were busy. He shrugged and typed.

Adrian: yo. Why’s everywhere dead. You guys planned a meet-up without me?

Adrian paused, waiting.

He looked at Drew’s name, already expecting the typing indicator to appear.

It didn’t.

Huh. Drew was usually the first to respond to anything that didn’t require actual effort. His silence was mildly unexpected.

Adrian gave it another minute.

Still nothing.

He stopped waiting, pocketed his phone, locked the door behind him, and headed downstairs.

He got to the second floor and paused before he stepped through, just to be sure there was no Maya. Then he stepped toward his car.

The drive was uneventful.

By the time he pulled into the university parking lot, Rose had settled into the background of his thoughts, replaced by the quieter focus that came with having something concrete to work toward.

He parked, took out his phone, and opened his messages just in case Drew had sent a text.

There was nothing. Something was definitely up.

His eyes caught sight of something else.

You have 1 new message: Jenna.

He raised a brow. A private DM. He clicked the message.

Jenna: Hey. I’ve been off. Had a really long night. Don’t worry about it. Just know I have a surprise for you.

Well, now he was curious.

A second text came in.

Jenna: btw, What time are we meeting?

Adrian: I’m free right now. And the surprise does sound kind of tempting.

A short pause passed as all Adrian could see was the indicator.

Then.

Jenna: Alright. Meet me at the administrative building after class and you’ll get your surprise. 🌚

Adrian stared at his screen. Right. Apparently, she wasn’t going to tell him anything.

He put his phone away and stepped out of the car.

Classes first. Then the surprise. Then everything else.

He locked the car and started walking, already wondering what the hell Jenna had planned.

Of course, he had a surprise of his own.

Rose.

A few hours to secure an investment, and he might even get to spend the day with his potentially first two harem members.

Yeah.

That sounded...

Bzzzzt!

The sudden vibration of his phone cut through his thoughts.

Adrian stopped.

His hand instinctively went toward his pocket, but his eyes caught the faint outline of the phone pressing against his trousers. He frowned, then pulled it out.

The screen was already lit.

And what he saw made his expression change.

‼️ ALERT ‼️

Host authentication in progress.

Proceed with caution to stand a chance of an Upgrade!

Adrian stared at the message. For a moment, he didn’t move. Upgrade?

The system had never phrased anything like this before.

His thumb hovered over the screen as his mind quickly ran through the possibilities. Is this a glitch?

Or was something actually happening to the system?

He looked around briefly. No one nearby seemed to have noticed anything unusual.

His attention returned to the screen.

"What’s this supposed to mean?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a new screen loaded almost immediately.