As Owen was enveloped by the wave of green energy and dragged into the arrogant young woman's dressing room, the image of a massive wardrobe and a large mirror reflected in his shocked eyes. Being physically controlled by a supernatural power was an experience unlike any he'd ever had.
"Sigh~ Victoria!" Fortunately, a familiar deep voice interrupted her actions, and Owen was immediately released.
Alex walked into the room with a weary expression. "When are you going to stop acting like this? Last time it was the delivery boy, last month it was the new gardener. Not everyone who walks into my mansion is the all-purpose repairman you need!" He raised a hand to his temple and shook his head in exasperation before continuing.
"How many times have I told you not to use your psychic powers to turn on the electronic devices in the house? You don't have delicate enough control to use them. That's why they break every time you use them just a few times! Is it so hard to just press the remote with your own finger, or have you forgotten how to use your hands?
Ugh~ Forget it. No matter how many times I tell you, you still do the same thing. You should thank me for being rich," Alex sighed heavily.
Victoria, who was being scolded with such cutting words, seemed to pay no mind to Alex's speech at all. She simply tilted her chin up slightly, snorted in displeasure, and said just a few words, "
Hmph~ Then just hire me a handyman who can fix everything," before turning and storming out of the room without a care.
Seeing this, Alex could only sigh helplessly before turning to Owen and apologizing with a more serious expression. "Sorry she gave you a hard time, Owen. Her name is Victoria, my wicked wife. Don't pay her any mind. Let's talk about our important business in my office," he said, then led Owen to his study. Owen didn't even get to say a word of greeting or response; he just shrugged and followed Alex.
Alex's office was spacious and luxurious. Various files were neatly organized on fine wooden bookshelves, and a set of dark leather guest sofas sat in the middle of the room, indicating the owner's taste and orderliness. There were also many antique and expensive-looking decorations.
After sitting down on the soft, comfortable dark leather sofa, Alex got straight to the point without wasting a second. "Let's get right to it, Owen, because I don't have much time. I have a mountain of documents I need to finish signing. I'm going to give you a job as a test to see if you're worth my one million dollars. It's a rather risky job for the average person, but if you're meticulous and have good instincts, these jobs aren't that difficult or risky. Will you accept it?"
Owen thought for a moment about the hidden meaning Alex was trying to convey.
"A rather risky job" but "not that difficult or risky" if one had "good instincts." But he soon stopped thinking and immediately used his Choice System ability. A translucent window appeared before him:
…..
[1. Any job, I'll do it. (Affection -1, Enters the path to clearing debt.)]
[2. It's risky? You'll have to give me more details. Information is the metric for my decisions. (Affection +1, Enters the path to clearing debt.)]
[3. Huh? You said it's risky? I won't do any job that has risks! (Affection -5, Alex will no longer help you clear your debt.)]
…..
Of course, Owen had to choose the second option. The translucent window vanished, and he spoke to Alex in a steady voice, "It's risky? You'll have to give me more details. Information is the metric for my decisions."
Hearing this, Alex smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth. "That's what I call meticulous. Now all that's left is your instincts," Alex said as he leaned back against the sofa.
"I'm keeping an eye on my political opponents. So, I've hired several professional investigators to track them and dig up various pieces of information for me. But I'm not brainless enough to believe everything those investigators bring me. If they can take money from me, they can take money from someone else. So, that information needs to be checked carefully a couple of times. And your job is to check that information for me, to see how accurate it is… Well, hurry up and decide if you'll take the job or not."
Hearing this, Owen now understood the scope of the job. That's why Alex said it was risky. The risk was that if those politicians found out he was investigating them, he would be the first one to be in trouble. But if he was subtle enough, nothing would happen to him.
'It's fine, I still have the Choice System to help me,' Owen thought confidently before nodding to accept Alex's job. "Of course, I'll take the job! Big rewards always come with risks."
Alex nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. I knew you had more guts than my friend Damian. I'll send you the file on the first target tomorrow. Delivered straight to your house, of course. A pleasure doing business with you, Owen."
Seeing Alex stand up and extend his hand, Owen also stood and shook it. "A pleasure doing business with you too, Governor." After finishing his business with Alex, Owen drove home, his head full of thoughts about the new job to come.
The next morning, Owen received a package from a delivery person. It was the file Alex had sent as promised. He took it into his room and opened it to see what was inside. The file contained a photograph, the target's name, address, occupation, income, hobbies, and other information, including some details about a gray-area business.
Owen knew he needed to verify the information in these documents, which could take a whole week since he definitely couldn't cut into his regular work hours to do it. It was just his side job.
With that, Owen tossed the file into a drawer and went to work at Jessica's coffee shop. He thought it would be just another ordinary day for him, but it wasn't. Out of the blue, while wiping the coffee counter, Jessica spoke up.
"Owen, I'm so bored this weekend I have nothing to do. Are you interested in going for a walk with me at the park?"
Hearing the sudden date invitation, Owen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow suspiciously.
'Does she have some kind of prank planned?' With that thought, he immediately used his Choice System power.
…..
[1. Of course, Jessica. I never thought you'd ask me out on a date~ (Affection +1, Enters the path to wooing Jessica.)]
[2. Yes, boss. I hope I get a bonus for this. (Affection +1, Enters the path to being friends with Jessica.)]
[3. Next time, Jessica. I'm not free this weekend. (Skips path selection.)]
…..
'Oh, looks like I can start wooing her already! That seems fun,'
Owen thought as he looked at the options. A wicked idea flashed through his mind.
'Hmph~ To pay her back for daring to tease me by taking off her shirt and posing lewdly, I'll make her fall so head over heels for me she won't know what hit her!' With that thought, Owen immediately chose the first option.
"Of course, Jessica. I never thought you'd ask me out on a date~" Owen said with a sly smile, his eyes twinkling. Hearing the word "date," Jessica's cheeks instantly flushed.
"
You idiot~ This isn't a date! It's just an invitation to go jogging together! Don't you know I often go running there to relax?" she protested, her wide eyes staring at him indignantly, though there was a hint of pleasure deep down.
Owen was surprised by her reaction. When she took off her shirt and showed him her sexy body, she didn't seem embarrassed like this at all, but the moment he mentioned a date, she got flustered. He really didn't understand her. "Okay, call it whatever you want, Jessica," Owen shrugged.
Hearing that, she immediately pouted. "Just a walk and a little run. It's definitely not a date… So, 8 a.m. Don't be late," she said, turning back to her work, leaving Owen standing there with a satisfied smirk.
When he got home, Owen didn't rest. He quickly showered and drove to the address of the target from the file Alex had sent. Of course, he wasn't going to walk up and knock on the target's door to ask if the information in the document was correct. He just had to keep his distance, be inconspicuous, and check if the target's schedule matched the information in the file. And if he got caught, he would use the Choice System to escape the situation.
'Of course, it's probably going to be a tedious and boring job, but a guy in debt like me has no right to complain,' Owen thought as his eyes scanned the area for a suitable observation point. He spent several hours each day quietly monitoring the target's behavior, trying to memorize small details to compare with the information in the file.
Time passed quickly, and the weekend finally arrived. Today, he had a date with Jessica, so he woke up a little early to make it to their 8 a.m. meeting.
At the city park, the morning sun cast a gentle glow on the lush green grass. The air was fresh, and a few people had started to come out to exercise.
"Oh~ look who it is. What a fine gentleman, keeping a lady waiting for so long..." Upon seeing Owen arrive, Jessica, who was wearing a grey sports bra and tight black leggings, greeted him with an annoyed tone.
"Is that my fault? You set the time for 8 o'clock, and I arrived at 7:50. I'm ten minutes early, and you're telling me you've been 'waiting long'? That means you came way too early. You should be blaming yourself, not me. Or are you that desperate to date me?" Owen wasn't one to accept blame without reason, so he teased her back until her face turned red because she didn't know how to argue back.
"Hmph~ Dream on, young man! Don't expect a beautiful girl like me to want to date you. We're just here to jog together!" Jessica turned her face away.
Seeing that she was reaching her limit, Owen decided not to push it further. "Yes, yes, ma'am~ I get it. Since you're the one who invited me, you should lead the way on what we should do first."
Hearing this, Jessica began to calm down and regained her confident tone. "Of course. We should start by warming up with some simple stretches. After that, we'll start with a light jog around the park. Follow me~"
With that, she led him to warm up, while Owen couldn't help but stare at her alluring body without blinking. Every time she moved, her large chest would sway gently, greatly attracting his gaze. Of course, she knew he was secretly looking at her two breasts and her butt, so she secretly smiled with satisfaction.
Soon, the two began a light jog around the park, which then unexpectedly turned into a race. Laughter mixed with panting could be heard along the path. When they were tired and out of breath, they sat on a bench to drink water and admire the view, not unlike a couple on a date, just without the sweet, romantic atmosphere.
"You said you're a streamer, so how can you keep up with me? Do you know how often I run here? Only a few people can keep up with me," Jessica said with some surprise.
"What do you mean? Do streamers have to be weak and bad at running? What kind of logic is that? Even though I used to like staying in my room, I exercise regularly on my own. Otherwise, my back wouldn't be able to handle sitting in a chair for so long," Owen explained, and Jessica nodded in understanding.
"I see. Being a streamer isn't as easy as it looks. I had a lot of fun today, Owen. If you're free next weekend, you can come run with this big sis again. But I have to go now. See you, Owen. Bye~" Jessica said, waving goodbye.
Owen nodded and waved back. "I had fun too, Jessica. See ya~" After that, Owen drove home to shower off the sweat, then went out to continue working on Alex's job…
—-------