EROS CASHBACK SYSTEM: You Can't Fake the Interest

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Eight Days

Garrett didn’t need a clock to know he was late. The campus made that obvious.

The quad was already quieting down, with students carrying their bags toward their buildings and finishing their coffee as they hurried to class. Garrett was one of the few people still walking toward a building instead of away from one.

Great start.

He cut across the grass instead of taking the usual path, ignored the sign telling him not to, and took the side stairs two at a time. His phone buzzed once in his pocket. He didn’t check it. He didn’t have time to stop and look at it.

The lecture hall door was already closed when he got there.

He opened it just enough to slip inside, and of course, the professor was already speaking. Several students looked toward the door when it opened. Garrett gave the room a small nod and walked to a seat near the back without looking at anyone for too long.

He sat down, pulled out his notebook, and looked toward the board. He had no idea what they were talking about.

Missed the introduction. Probably missed the important part too.

He sighed quietly and told himself he’d get the notes later. Someone would have them. He could catch up.

What he couldn’t stop thinking about was the other problem that had been on his mind since leaving his flat.

Eight days.

Freya. Emiliana. Daniel.

He still didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t have a plan, and he didn’t even know where to start. The timer was already running, whether he liked it or not, and ignoring the task wasn’t going to make it disappear.

Not now.

He pushed the thought aside. He had a lecture to get through first. Whatever problem the system had given him could wait until he was done with class.

He opened his notebook, wrote the date, and started taking notes.

For a while, he managed to focus.

---

He saw her an hour later, between two buildings, near the vending machines.

Freya was talking to someone. Garrett didn’t recognise the guy, but they seemed to know each other. She laughed at something he said, her arms crossed as she listened.

There was nothing strange about it.

Garrett didn’t walk over. He didn’t even stop properly. He was simply looking in that direction when the system appeared.

[TARGET DETECTED]

[FREYA HUGHES]

Garrett stopped walking.

He knew what that meant.

"What an asshole."

He didn’t say it out loud. He stood there for a moment, watching Freya continue her conversation without knowing anything about what had just appeared on his screen.

[PROGRESSION REQUIREMENTS:]

[1. SPEND MEANINGFUL TIME WITH FREYA HUGHES.]

[2. CULTIVATE GENUINE MUTUAL INTEREST.]

[3. CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EMOTIONAL CLOSENESS.]

[4. LOCKED.]

[TIME LIMIT: 8 DAYS]

[CURRENT TIME REMAINING: 8 DAYS]

Garrett read it twice.

The fourth requirement was still locked. No matter how long he looked at it, nothing changed.

"There’s a locked task now?"

He wasn’t excited about it. He wasn’t even panicking. Mostly, he was tired.

He had just started progressing things between himself and Emiliana, and now the system had given him another problem.

He looked at Freya again. She had no idea what was happening. She was still talking to the guy beside her, completely unaware that Garrett had just been given eight days to complete a task involving her.

Without losing Emiliana.

That part bothered him more than anything else.

He didn’t walk toward Freya. He didn’t call her name or wave at her.

Eight days.

He had no idea how he was going to handle this.

But he would have to figure it out.

Garrett found an empty bench near the edge of campus and sat down. He needed somewhere quiet to think.

"Alright. Think."

The problem was Freya. At least, that was where everything had started going wrong.

He knew Freya. She was his neighbour, and they’d known each other for a while. She was easy enough to talk to, and he had no problem with her as a person. Under normal circumstances, getting to know her better wouldn’t have been a problem.

But these weren’t normal circumstances.

He had Emiliana.

Garrett looked down at the ground for a moment.

That was the part he couldn’t ignore. He had just started something with Emiliana. They had spent yesterday together, talked for hours, and ended up spending the night together. This morning, he’d woken up beside her.

Whatever the system wanted, he couldn’t simply act like none of that mattered.

"Fine. So the task is a problem."

He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it.

Then Daniel came to mind.

Garrett sighed.

Daniel liked Freya. That much wasn’t a secret to him. His friend had told him before that he was interested in her. Garrett had noticed it even before Daniel said anything. The way he talked about her was different from how he talked about other girls.

And now the system wanted Garrett to get romantically involved with the same girl.

"You have got to be joking."

He leaned back against the bench and started going through his options.

He could ignore the task. That was the easiest option. Just do nothing and let the eight days run out.

The problem was that he had no idea what would happen if he failed.

He could try to complete it.

That was probably what the system expected. But doing that meant getting involved with Freya while he was already with Emiliana. Then there was Daniel.

Garrett rubbed his forehead.

He could also refuse.

Tell the system he wasn’t doing it and see what happened.

That sounded like a terrible idea.

He could ask the system for another candidate. Maybe there was some way to change the task.

Probably not.

Then there was another possibility.

Find a way to complete the task without actually getting into a serious relationship with Freya.

Garrett considered that one for a moment.

It sounded better than the others, but he still didn’t know if it was possible. The system had specifically said "genuine romantic connection." That didn’t sound like something he could fake his way through.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Great."

He still had no answer.

He needed more information. Maybe something would change. Maybe the system would explain more later.

For now, there wasn’t much else he could do.

Garrett stood up from the bench and adjusted his bag.

He wasn’t going to make a decision while he was still this confused.

Garrett didn’t get much further than the quad before Daniel found him.

"There you are." Daniel walked over with a grin on his face. "You’re not going to believe what happened."

"Try me."

"I talked to Freya."

Garrett looked at him.

"You talked to Freya."

"Not like this." Daniel dropped onto the low wall beside him. "We actually talked. Properly."

Garrett stayed quiet.

"What happened?"

"I don’t even know. I saw her after class and started talking to her about the assignment. Then we just kept talking."

Daniel was smiling as he spoke.

"How long?"

"About twenty minutes."

"That’s a long conversation."

"I know." Daniel laughed. "That’s what I’m saying. Usually, I barely get two minutes with her before one of us has somewhere to go."

Garrett nodded.

"What did you talk about?"

"The assignment. Her project. Just normal stuff."

Daniel shook his head.

"But it felt different this time. She wasn’t trying to end the conversation. She actually wanted to keep talking."

Garrett looked at him.

"That’s good."

He meant it.

That somehow made things worse.

Daniel continued talking, clearly happy about what had happened. He told Garrett about how the conversation had started, what Freya had said about her project, and how he’d finally managed to get past the awkward stage he’d been stuck in for weeks.

Garrett listened.

He didn’t interrupt.

Daniel had no idea that Freya was now the target of Garrett’s task. He didn’t know there was an eight-day timer attached to it. As far as Daniel was concerned, he’d finally made some progress with the girl he liked.

And he was happy.

Really happy.

Garrett looked at him for a moment.

He didn’t feel jealous. He wasn’t interested in taking Freya away from Daniel.

So why did this feel so bad?

He didn’t have an answer.

"You’re quiet," Daniel said. "I thought you’d have something to say."

Garrett shrugged.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don’t know. Something."

"I’m happy for you."

Daniel looked at him for a second before smiling again.

"Thanks."

Garrett gave him a small nod.

Daniel kept talking for another few minutes, going over the conversation again because he was clearly still excited about it. Garrett listened until Daniel finally checked the time.

"I’ve got to go. I have another class."

"Alright."

Daniel stood up.

"Seriously, though. Today went well."

"Sounds like it."

Daniel smiled.

"I’ll tell you more later."

"Sure."

Daniel walked away across the quad.

Garrett watched him leave.

Daniel was happy.

That was good.

He didn’t know.

Once Daniel was gone, Garrett sat down again.

He looked across the quad without really paying attention to the people walking past.

Emiliana came to mind first.

He thought about yesterday. The time they’d spent together. The intimacy. Waking up beside her that morning.

He liked being around her.

That much he knew.

But he still wasn’t completely sure what his feelings meant.

The system had been involved from the beginning. It had given him tasks involving Emiliana and pushed him closer to her.

That made things difficult.

Then there was Freya.

She had done nothing wrong. She didn’t even know the system had selected her.

And Daniel liked her.

Garrett sighed.

"Why did it have to be Freya?"

He had no answer.

Then he thought about the task again.

Eight days.

He still had time.

Not much, but enough to think.

He didn’t know which decision was right.

For once, Garrett wasn’t going to rush into a decision just because the system had given him a deadline.

Garrett stood up and started walking.

He still didn’t have an answer.

But he knew he couldn’t avoid the decision forever.

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