Just as Jason was quietly delighting over Julia's favorability hitting 100, a system prompt chimed:
"Julia is feeling sad because you're leaving.
It is recommended to activate the Symbiosis function to share her sadness."
Jason almost snorted.
Share her sadness?Why? This is her emotion. A man shouldn't sink into her mood—he should lead her out of it.
So instead of accepting the system's suggestion, Jason stepped forward and wrapped his arms naturally around Julia.
"Your parents just stabilized," he said softly. "You're probably still worried, so stay with them for New Year's. If you miss me… you can come to me. Or we'll meet once school starts again."
They hadn't officially confessed, nor declared themselves a couple.But anyone who's lived long enough to understand relationships knows—confessions aren't always necessary.
Sometimes, when the atmosphere is right, you just move forward.
Hands held, kisses shared—that's confirmation enough.
Besides, after seeing 100 favorability, Jason had even less reason to hesitate.Normal guys might worry about the "three great delusions," but with the system confirming everything, there was no ambiguity.
As expected, Julia hugged him back—tightly—burying her face in his chest.The sadness she felt moments ago quietly dissolved in his warmth.
The system, seeing she was no longer sad, awkwardly closed its "activate Symbiosis" prompt.
Julia stayed in his arms for a long while until the gazes of passing travelers made her blush. She stepped back with a shy breath and whispered:
"Then… go ahead. Please tell your parents I send my regards. I didn't have time to buy gifts."
Jason smiled, deliberately teasing:
"It's fine. Just bring some next time you visit my place."
Julia's cheeks went scarlet.Before she could recover, Jason lowered his head and kissed her.
Their lips met.
Julia froze for half a second—then instinctively leaned in.
She was inexperienced and a little clumsy, but Jason was already a veteran.
He guided her gently, turning the kiss into something soft and sweet.
But since they were in public, he didn't deepen it.Julia broke away with a burning face and hid against his chest again, speechless from shyness.
By the time they finally parted, her sadness had completely disappeared—replaced by sweetness and the warm glow of affection.
But then—something flickered across her expression.
She suddenly remembered the rumors she'd heard…that Jason had multiple girlfriends.
Her chest tightened.
Was she hurting those girls?Did they not mind sharing him?She had never thought about "sharing" before…
But Jason, having comforted her, didn't dwell on her momentary unease.He boarded the Gulfstream G550, settled into his seat, and eagerly opened the system interface.
System – Mission Five Progress
Total Favorability: 900 → exceeds requirement (100)
Raise 8 beauties (score ≥ 8) to 80:Completed (8/8)
Raise 3 beauties (score ≥ 8) to 90:Completed (4/3)
Raise 1 beauty (score ≥ 8) to 100:Completed (1/1):Julia
"There's still over a million left that I haven't spent," Jason muttered."Once that's gone, the mission will complete instantly."
But then he noticed something else.
His total favorability had exceeded 100.And he now had four girls at 90 favorability, not three.
"That's… wasteful.Ninety-point favorability isn't easy to achieve. Might as well lower one."
He tapped the system to manually adjust the surplus.
Jason felt that adjusting the favorability through financial manipulation was the easiest way. Favorability lowered through money-related changes was the simplest to raise again later.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Olivia:
"Didn't someone try to smear me a while back?"
Olivia smiled. "A lot of people envy you. Plenty have tried to smear you, but we suppressed all of them. Which one do you mean?"
Jason said, amused, "The guy who originally owned the industrial land. His smear post was surprisingly well-written."
Olivia recalled it immediately.
Yeah, he tried. Not sure if he was just bitter that you made too much money or if he thought he could force you to give something back."
"He claimed you were heading toward bankruptcy because of overexpansion, blind investments, financing issues, debt pressure, poor project planning, mismatched product positioning, chaotic internal management, disputes with partners, real estate regulations, land policy adjustments…"
"Basically, he said your capital chain broke and you were headed for bankruptcy. Outwardly wealthy, but actually nothing but negative assets."
"To outsiders, it sounded reasonable. But insiders knew it was all nonsense. His smear didn't get traction, and we shut it down quickly."
Jason said, "Don't suppress it. Let it spread."
Olivia froze. "Are you sure? It won't hurt you much, but it doesn't help either."
"I'm sure," Jason said.
Olivia's strength was that she didn't over-question. She immediately went to execute the order.
Within hours, the smear rumor spread across campus.
Because Jason was famous at the University, the thread was quickly reposted on the school forum. Students reacted immediately—some skeptical, some mocking, some secretly thrilled.
"I just learned about this Jason Carter guy and he was insanely successful. How long has it been? Already bankrupt?"
"That's why being arrogant never ends well. Look at real wealthy families—who shows off like that? Only flashy nobodies do."
"Upstairs is truly jealous. Don't believe every rumor. People with his kind of money don't go bankrupt easily. And even if he did file for bankruptcy, the leftovers would still be more than you'll ever see."
"I hope it's fake. I heard Jason donated a ton of money to our school. Lots of scholarships are from him. But one thing is certain—he MUST return our department's beauty queen."
Information Systems Department — girls' dormitory.
Emma had been studying her elective, "High-End Female Aesthetics and Private Social Etiquette," but she was drifting off.
She only liked Module One—fashion, makeup, posing for photos.
Module Two, about how to act gentle to satisfy the egos of elite men, gave her a headache.
Module Three, about cultivating a specialized professional skill to stay competitive, felt like torture.
She had always been pampered by men; she never needed to struggle like this.
Even Module One conflicted with her usual style—like her beloved nail art.
But the course stated:
"Men generally don't like long, flashy nails. Some even feel physically uncomfortable. Research shows Jason Carter almost certainly dislikes nail art."
That meant having clean, natural nails would keep him more attracted.
Emma felt that giving up nail art was too painful.But when she pictured becoming Jason's woman and living in a luxury villa…
She endured.
Just then, Lily let out a shriek.
"Emma! This is bad! Look—something huge happened to Jason!"
Emma jumped up."What happened? He didn't get… another new girlfriend, did he?!"
Lily hurriedly turned her phone toward her."No—the school forum reposted something. They're saying Jason's company is in trouble… that he's facing bankruptcy!"
There are 150 chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
patreon.com/B_A_3439