Bab 17: I won't simp anymore

Chapter - 17

Rick stood in front of an apartment, the bag of beer cans weighing heavily in his hand. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should ring the doorbell or not.

He was standing in front of Emily's apartment. Rick knew he might have hurt Emily by disappearing without a word. So, the first thing he did after getting discharged from the hospital was to buy a few beers and visit Emily.

There might not be any possibility between them, but she was still his friend, probably the only friend he has. So he wanted to make things right. But he also feared that he might only make things worse.

But the system as always was ready to help him out.

[

1. Ring the doorbell and explain everything to Emily (Temptation +5)

2. Walk away (Temptation -10)

]

'Well, if the system says so,' As he raised his hand to ring the doorbell, his mind raced with conflicting thoughts. "Should I do this? What if she's already asleep? What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Huh... I guess it's best not to rush at this moment,"

In the end, Rick decided to against the system and follow his instincts. He did not press the button. He did not want to use the system against Emily, at least not now. It was probably best to give her space, he thought to himself. Even he needed some peace of mind.

Turning away from Emily's apartment, Rick went to the door next door, and with a heavy heart, he entered his own apartment. The silence inside only echoed the emptiness he felt in his soul.

Meanwhile, inside her apartment, Emily had been peeking through the door's peephole, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rick. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him standing there with the bag of beer cans. But as he turned away, her hope turned to disappointment.

She has been waiting for Rick for all these hours. She would occasionally walk out of her apartment and stare at his apartment, only to be dejected every time. She kept looking out of the window every now and then, hoping to see him.

And finally when she was about to lose hope, she saw a taxi stop in front of the apartment complex and Rick got off it.

Hurriedly she rushed to her front door and peeked through the peephole, waiting for Rick. And Rick did come. He even stopped in front of her door. There was just one door between Rick and Emily, yet they were so far apart.

"Why did he ask me to wait if he never had any intention of coming back?" Emily wondered aloud, her voice choked with sadness.

She had held onto hope, waiting eagerly for Rick to return. She wanted to pour her heart out to him. But he was not there when she needed him. She couldn't understand why he had asked her to wait, only to disappear without a word.

She slowly slid down to the floor, her back against the door, tears welling up in her eyes. Her heart felt heavy with sadness and confusion. "Why did he have to leave without saying anything? Did I do something wrong?"

Her mind was flooded with questions and self-doubt. She couldn't understand why Rick had suddenly disappeared from her life, leaving her feeling abandoned and hurt.

As the tears streamed down her cheeks, Emily tried to make sense of it all. She remembered the moments they had shared, the laughter and the connection they had, and it only made her more confused.

"Maybe he didn't really care about me," she whispered to herself, the guilt and self-blame consuming her, "Or maybe he is tired of me now."

But deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story, that there was a reason Rick had left without a word. She wanted answers and closure, but she didn't know how to reach out to him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rick entered his room, the bag of beer cans landing on the table with a thud. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally drained. As he collapsed onto his bed, he could feel all the events of the day catching up to him. "Man, so much happened today," he muttered to himself.

His mind quickly replayed the events of the day. The encounter with the old homeless man, the strange cane he received, the lightning strike, waking up in the hospital with the Lust system, his love tryst with Amanda, and now, the daunting thought of facing Emily tomorrow.

"Ugh, what a mess," Rick sighed, burying his face in the pillow. He couldn't believe how things had spiraled out of control in such a short period. He knew he had messed up with Emily, and he was feeling defeated.

As he lay on the bed, his mind kept going back to Emily. He couldn't help but think about how hurt she must have been after his sudden disappearance. He had left her in the dark without any explanation, and he knew he had hurt her deeply.

"I need to find a way to make it up to her," Rick muttered, his mind racing with thoughts of how he could face Emily and apologize for his actions.

True, he had long exhausted his patience to wait for Emily to reciprocate his affection. He found it annoying to hear her constantly talk about Roy. But no matter what, she was her childhood friend. Away from home, they have only each other to depend on.

"I need to draw the line," Rick thought to himself, "I can be friendly with her, but no way I am going to act like a simp. No... Never..."

"After all, I have Amanda now," Rick suddenly thought of Amanda and his face bloomed with smile.

"Such a sweet girl,"

[Flashback]

After getting the nod from Rachel, Rick hurried to the reception to get his discharge papers.

"Hello," Rick greeted the receptionist.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?"

"The thing is... I want to get discharged. And don't worry Rachel, my doctor has already approved of it," Rick told the receptionist.

"Just a moment, sir. Let me check with Doctor Rachel," The nurse said and picked the intercom. She talked on it for a while, before hanging it up.

"Sir, you need to fill the details, deposit the money for your treatment and you are good to go," the nurse said, smiling at Rick.

"Money," only when the receptionist mentioned it, did Rick remember about it. It was a problem. He actually had no money. In fact, Rick had no money, and no cell phone to call someone for help. How was he going to leave?

"Ahemm..." Rick, looked at the receptionist, embarrassed. He did not know how to say it to her, "Is there some way I can pay the hospital fees later? When I was brought to the hospital, I didn't have my phone, or my wallet with me."

"You didn't have your phone or wallet?" The receptionist looked at Rick and nodded in understanding, "It's no problem, sir. You can use this phone to call your family or friend," The receptionist said, pointing at the landline phone beside them.

"That..." Rick did not know what to say. Apart from Emily, he had no one to call so late at night. But he did not want to call her.

"Here, I will pay for him," just as Rick was thinking who to call, Amanda showed up with a bag in her hand, "He is a friend of mine."

"Your friend?" The receptionist looked at Amanda and Rick and without saying anything more, she took the card from Amanda.

"No..." Rick stopped the receptionist and then looked at Amanda, "You don't have to do this. I will just call my friends and..."

"It's alright. Just take it," Amanda said and then leaned forward to whisper into Rick's ears, "Just think of it as your sugar mommy paying for a great sex."

"Huh...?" Rick was stumped. Did he just become a gigolo? And what's with the attitude? She was so embarrassed not to long ago, turning red even when he looked at her. And now she has totally redeemed herself. She was taking the lead.

"Alright, let's go," while he was lost, Amanda already paid his bill and spoke.

"You really didn't have to," Rick spoke, only to be glared at by Amanda.

"Why are you young guys like this?" Amanda frowned, "Look I don't want to hassle with you. Here, take this and leave," Amanda pushed the bag she had into Rick's arms and with hurried steps turned around to leave.

"Don't forget to come for a checkup," after she had walked a few steps, Amanda stopped. She turned to look at him, reminded him and then walked away. This time, not turning back.

"What was that all about?" Rick looked at the retreating figure of Amanda and then at the bag he was holding. When he opened the bag, he found some clothes in it and a fifty dollar bill. Most likely it was for him to take a taxi home. His heart felt warm when we looked at the stuff in his bag.

Amanda might have acted different, but deep inside, she was just so sweet.

[Flashback End]

"How can someone actually break the heart of girl like her?" Rick murmured. In fact, he had clothes. He got them in the lottery spin. But he still chose to wear the clothes Amanda got him.

"I should buy her a gift. Something good,"

As Rick lay on his bed, his mind racing with thoughts of Amanda, a sudden jolt of realization shot through him. He remembered the notifications he had received from the system right after making love with Amanda. In a hurry, he sat straight and opened the Lust system to check the rewards.

"Alright, let's see what we got here," Rick muttered to himself as he looked through the system interface. And soon, a bunch of notifications popped in front of him.

Ding!

[

Quest: Have sex with Amanda

Progress: Quest Completed

Quest Reward:

Love: +1

Ero Points: +20000

EXP: +5000

]

Ding!

[

Quest: Make Amanda give you a blowjob

Progress: Quest Completed

Quest Reward:

Ero Points: +2000

EXP: +3500

]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[First Sex reward: 1 Lottery Spin]

[Sex Reward: +$50,000]

[First Love Reward: 1 Summon Card]

[Amanda First Love Reward: +$100]

[Amanda Second Love Reward: +$1000]

Rick's eyes widened in surprise. "Damn, that's quite a haul," he exclaimed, a mix of excitement and curiosity bubbling within him. He couldn't believe the rewards he had received just from the system in just a day.

Without delay, he opened his personal information.

[

Host's Name: Rick Smith

Age: 22 years (Expected: 90 years ; Limit: 125 years)

Gender: Male

Cultivation Level: Mortal (24%)

System Level: 1

Experience (EXP): 9900/10000

Skills: ---

Summons: ---

Sexual Encounters: 1

Harem: ---

Quests in Progress: ---

]

"My expected age has gone up," Rick looked at the information about him and looked at the change, "So if I don't screw up and there are no mishaps, I am going to live a really long life. I suppose it's a good thing."

"Cultivation level... Hmmm..." Rick pondered, there was no '?' question mark or any other information about this thing. Yet, this has increased as well, "Well... Will see about it. It's not a bad thing that's for sure."

"My Experience jumped up quite a bit. I am just 100 points short from reaching the max," Rick mused when he looked at Experience bar, "I wonder what will happen when it reaches maximum value."

"Maybe the system will level up," Rick grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He had no idea what leveling up in the system meant, but it certainly felt like an achievement, "I can't wait for it to level up. I am just one quest away from level up."

"But before that... I have quite a few rewards to check out," Rick rubbed his hands thinking about the cash reward system gave him. He could practically smell the money.

"Inventory."

* * * * *

[What gift should Rick give Amanda? Wrong answers only.]