Hearing the system notification that Emma's affection toward him had increased by 5 points, Jason couldn't help grinning.
Main Quest 4 not only required his total affection points to reach 400, but also three girls with at least 8 charm points to reach 80 affection—and one girl with 9 or more charm points to reach 90 affection.
Emma's affection had now risen by 15, sitting at 77. Just a few more points, and she'd hit 80.
Of course, Jason wasn't planning to chase after her. Even if he didn't want, but he knew that her affection would rise naturally sooner or later.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. One of his friend stepped in with a serious look.
"Jason, did you tick off someone from the Student Association?"
Jason blinked. "Don't think so. Why?"
He sighed. "I just got word. There's a meeting the day after tomorrow to discuss kicking out some students for poor academic and extracurricular performance. Guess whose name is at the top?"
Jason frowned. "Me? But I'm not even close to failing out."
"Exactly," He said. "You've missed a few classes, but normally you wouldn't even be on their radar. This feels… targeted. Like someone higher up in the Student Association has it out for you."
Jason scratched his chin. "I've always been friendly. Kept a low profile. Who would I have offended?"
His three roommates rolled their eyes so hard it was audible.
Low profile? Yeah right. With Holly Larson, Quinn, Megan, and Emma constantly around him, he was anything but low profile.
one of them muttered, "Third bro, maybe it's because you've been hanging out with Holly, Quinn, and Megan too much. Half the guys in the Student Association are in love with them."
He nodded, looking both annoyed and envious. "Yeah, no offense, but you went from being a nobody to flirting with three of the most popular girls on campus overnight. If I didn't know you, I'd want to punch you too. Actually, I kinda do."
another one asked, "So what, someone in the Association's higher-ups is using this as an excuse to get rid of Jason? That's straight-up personal revenge."
nodded grimly. "That's exactly what it is. But they won't admit it. I'll ask around and see if we can smooth things over. Jason, you should start thinking of your own plan, though. Might get messy."
Jason smirked faintly. "Thanks. I can handle this."
After he left, the roommates whispered among themselves. Sure, they were jealous of Jason's luck with girls, but when trouble hit, they still instinctively wanted to back him up.
Jason sat back in his chair, thinking hard. Could it be Miller, the Student Association vice president, the same guy Megan introduced at that party last week?
But Josh hadn't looked like the petty type.
Not that it mattered. The fact someone this minor could cause him problems was the real issue.
Today it was a Student Association meeting. Next time it could be messing with his graduation paperwork.
He wasn't about to waste time dealing with small-time bullies.
Jason realized something then—if his money didn't translate into influence, he'd always be stuck in situations like this.
In the real world, power beat money more often than not.
He made up his mind. This would be his practice round. Starting with this tiny campus empire, he'd learn how to translate wealth into actual power.
Pulling out his phone, Jason tapped through a few contacts on WhatsApp until he found the number for one of the student, the Student Association's Finance Minister.
Time to make some moves.
The friend request was quickly accepted on the other side, and Jason got straight to the point:
"Hey, this is Jason from the Student Council's Learning Department."
"Jason? From the Learning Department?" he sounded confused. After all, Jason had nothing to do with him. Even if there was official business, it should've been the department head reaching out, not some regular member.
Jason didn't waste time: "I heard that the school's financial aid budget is running low. Is that true?"
He replied, "Yeah, that's pretty much the case. There are always students who qualify but can't get the financial aid because there just isn't enough funding. It's not just our school; it's the same everywhere—limited spots, so naturally, some people get left out."
Jason nodded slowly. "I also heard that the library fund and even dorm maintenance budgets are running tight?"
He sighed. "Exactly. Our tuition is already among the lowest in the state, so budgets are always thin. We're constantly told improvements will come, but the funding is just never enough. Most of these things are handled by the Finance Office, though. The Student Council can't really interfere much."
The council's Finance Committee mostly managed small internal budgets and did the initial review of financial aid applications, but the final decisions were out of their hands.
Jason thought for a moment, then asked, "Could you help me get in touch with the Director of the Finance Office? I want to make a donation."
He froze for a second. Donations? From a student? Normally, that kind of thing only happened after someone graduated and made it big.
"Uh… how much are we talking about here?" He asked cautiously.
"Let's start with a hundred thousand," Jason said casually. "But the total amount will depend on the situation. I want to make sure every dollar goes exactly where it's needed."
He nearly dropped his phone. A hundred thousand dollars to start? That was way above his pay grade to handle. He quickly replied, "Got it, I'll reach out to the Finance Director right away."
It was obvious to him—Jason was about to throw money around like crazy.
And honestly? It made sense.
Jason wasn't the type to play political games or waste time cozying up to people for favors. All that small talk and networking nonsense just slowed things down.
Why not just throw money at the problem?
A six-figure donation would skyrocket his status on campus overnight. Expel him? Please—schools bent over backward for donors like that.
And as a bonus, he'd be helping someone like Holly Larson, the girl from the music department whose financial aid kept getting denied despite her rough situation. That alone would boost her opinion of him for sure.
"Yo, Jason, you going to the Piano Club event this afternoon?" one of his frinend asked casually while fixing his hair in the mirror.
He didn't expect him to say yes.
Back when they first joined, both of them had ulterior motives. He didn't have a particular target in mind; he was just hoping to meet someone. Jason, on the other hand, was aiming straight for Emma after she once mentioned how attractive it was when a guy could play the piano.
The Piano Club was full of beautiful girls, and whenever Quinn, the campus beauty queen, showed up, it was both a musical and visual treat. That alone was enough to keep Josh showing up religiously.
Jason eventually found out Emma wasn't actually that into the piano. She'd just made that comment in passing. So, he slowly stopped going.
That's why He figured Jason wouldn't bother this time, especially since Jason was busy with Student Council stuff and even at risk of getting kicked out of it.
But Jason swung his legs out of bed and stood up. "Yeah, I'm going. Why wouldn't I?"
The Student Council problem would solve itself once the donation hit. No need to stress about it.
So why not take advantage of his time left in the Piano Club to get closer to some beauties?
There are 40 chapters ahead in my Patreon, with 2 daily chapters. If you are interested can check it out.
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