Chapter 504: Chapter 504

I made my way to the balcony, sliding the glass door open before stepping outside.

The space was enclosed with glass panels, so the snow didn’t reach inside—but the cold still crept in, wrapping around me like a warning.

I exhaled slowly, staring out at the white-covered world as the phone continued to buzz in my hand.

Then I answered.

"Hey, Char," I said as I answered the call.

"Evan," she muttered, clearly not happy to hear me. "What do you want?"

"Uh... how’s life?" I asked, sitting down on one of the sunbeds. "Did you settle into the place we put you in?"

"Yes, we did," she replied. "It’s kinda far from work, but we’re managing. Why did you call?"

"There’s this girl—Isabella. You know her?"

"Yeah," she said. "She works where I work. Why?"

"Well, a guy from work, Melvin, is... I guess you could say he’s into her. He wants to get to know her better."

Charlotte let out a small breath. "Isabella isn’t really like that, Evan. She’s not that type of girl."

"Try telling that to Melvin," I said, rubbing my face. "What can you tell me about her?"

"I’m not telling you anything, Evan. Not after what happened."

"Please," I said. "Look, I’m sorry about everything. About you getting kidnapped and all that. It wasn’t my intention."

"No shit," she said flatly. "Not your intention, right."

"Charlotte, I mean it. I’m sorry."

She sighed. "Just stop talking for a second. You’re irritating me. What do you want to know?"

"What is she into? Like hobbies?"

"She likes music. She plays drums and knows a bit of bass. She lives alone. That’s pretty much it."

"So she’s into music," I said. "Does she have a favorite band or anything?"

"I don’t know. We don’t talk that much. She’s just someone from work."

"Alright. That still helps. Thanks, Charlotte."

"Don’t call me again."

"I can’t promise that," I said with a small smile. "Anyway, see you. And... sorry again."

"Up your ass, idiot."

She hung up.

I looked at my phone for a moment, then slipped it back into my pocket. At least now I knew Isabella liked music. That was something Melvin could work with. If he played it right, he could start a conversation from there.

I leaned back for a second, shaking my head to myself. I was really playing wingman now. If someone had told me that before I got this system, I would’ve laughed at them.

I went back inside and sat down at the table. The girls had already started eating, the quiet clinking of forks filling the room. I liked days like this. Everything felt slower, easier. It almost made me forget about the things I should’ve been worrying about, like K.

"Earth to Evan," Nala said. "Pass the orange juice."

"Oh, right. Sorry." I handed it to her. "Just distracted."

"About what?"

"K," I said. "I already told you."

Nala shook her head. "K..."

Kim leaned forward slightly. "I thi—"

A knock on the door cut her off. I glanced over. Jasmine started to get up, but I raised a hand.

"I’ll get it."

She sat back down as I walked to the door. I leaned in and looked through the peephole.

Eleanor.

I unlocked the door and opened it. She looked nervous. Her hair was messy, like she had just woken up or hadn’t slept at all, and she was wearing a wrinkled t-shirt with loose pants that almost dragged on the floor. Something was clearly wrong.

"Eleanor?" I asked.

"Evan," she said quietly. "It’s... my brother."

"What about him?" I asked, stepping slightly outside while keeping a hand on the door.

"He lost the money," she said. "The money you gave us. Horse racing."

"He gambled it?" I asked. "Horse racing?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He bet all of it."

I exhaled and shook my head. "All of it... wow. Fucking wow."

"I told him not to," she said quickly. "I told him we should use it for this month’s debt, but he was so sure he’d win. Now we have nothing again."

"He really doesn’t think ahead, does he?" I said.

"He’s an idiot," she replied. "But he’s still my brother, so I’m stuck with him."

"Eleanor, you need to talk to him," I said. "He can’t keep throwing money away like that. Who bets twenty-five hundred dollars on a horse race and expects it to go well?"

"I will, but he doesn’t listen to me."

I sighed. "Alright. I’ll give you another twenty-five hundred, but you need to try again. Talk to him."

Her expression softened immediately. "Evan... thank you. I don’t know how to pay you back."

"Just talk to him. That’s enough. Wait here."

"Thank you. Seriously."

I nodded and went back inside, heading to the master bedroom. I closed the door behind me and made sure I was alone before opening the Shop. I selected the 500-dollar option and bought it five times, bringing my total down to 28639 credits.

Even after that, it still felt like too much. I had more than I knew what to do with. At this point, I didn’t even need to work if I didn’t want to. I could just keep earning credits and converting them whenever I needed money.

══════════════════

SHOP [Page 2]

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• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

• Time Stop (90c)

• 500 Dollars (50c)

• 1 Ability Point (150c)

• 1 Mastery Point (160c)

• Desire Aura (100c)

• Reputation Point +30 (200c)

• Mastery Evolve (1500c)

• Random Skill (2000c)

──────────────────

Credits: 28639c

══════════════════

I left the bedroom and walked back to the door. Eleanor looked up immediately, and I handed her the money. Relief was obvious on her face as she took it.

"Thank you. I’ll pay you back, I promise."

"You don’t have to," I said. "Just make sure things get sorted."

"Thank you... oh... thank you so much."

"We were having breakfast," I added. "Do you want to come in?"

She shook her head. "No, I should go talk to him."

"Alright."

"Thank you again, Evan."

"Don’t worry about it," I said, lightly bumping her shoulder. "Just handle it."

She nodded. "I will. Have a good day."

"You too."