Harem Investment System: Getting Money And Women - Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Tired Chapter 101: Tired Ethan barely made it back home in one piece.  His limbs felt like lead as he rolled into the driveway, parking his bike in the garage with all the precision of a sleep-deprived zombie.  He swung his leg off the bike, nearly tripping in the process, and let out a long sigh.  His body was practically begging for sleep, but his mind?

His mind was still stuck in work mode.

He trudged inside, kicking the door shut behind him.  The Mansion was quiet, save for the faint hum of the refrigerator.

He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it aside – whether it landed on a chair, the floor, or some parallel dimension, he didn’t care.

Collapsing onto the couch, he let out a deep exhale, his head sinking into the cushions.  ‘Just five minutes,’ he told himself.

‘Then back to work.’ Before he could fully close his eyes, his phone vibrated on the armrest.  He groaned but answered it anyway, barely lifting the device to his ear.

“Yeah?” His voice was thick with exhaustion.

“Finally!” Zack’s voice came through loud and clear, immediately launching into a rant.  “Dude, you won’t believe it.

The registrations just keep going up.

We passed 200,000.

Do you get how insane that is?” Ethan rubbed his eyes, trying to process the information.

“Mmm.

Good.” “Good?!” Zack sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

“This isn’t just good, Ethan!

This is borderline terrifying!

The site is barely holding up.

If we don’t reinforce the servers, we’re gonna have a full-blown system crash!” Ethan blinked slowly, letting out a noncommittal grunt.  He was already half asleep, but his fingers instinctively reached for his laptop on the coffee table.  He flipped it open, the glow of the screen making his eyes sting.

“I’ll sort the tickets,” he mumbled.

“No, you won’t,” Zack shot back.

“Dude, you sound like you’re about to pass out.

Go to sleep.” Ethan ignored him, already clicking through the registration system.  His vision blurred slightly and he nearly slumped.

Zack sighed on the other end of the call, clearly frustrated.

“Ethan, are you even listening to me?

Go to bed, man.

You’re gonna crash if you keep pushing yourself like this.” Ethan didn’t respond.

He let out a low grunt, his fingers lazily dragging across the laptop’s trackpad as he tried to focus on the screen.  But exhaustion was already winning.

His head drooped slightly, then bobbed back up as he tried to fight it.

“Ethan?” Zack called again, but this time, the only reply he got was a faint, drawn-out groan – followed immediately by a light snore.

Zack exhaled in defeat.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Just then, soft footsteps sounded from the staircase.  Vanessa had come downstairs, dressed in an oversized hoodie, rubbing sleep from her eyes.  She had clearly woken up from the sound of Ethan’s call.  She stopped when she saw him slumped over the laptop, head resting awkwardly against the couch, completely knocked out.

She arched a brow.

“Seriously?” Zack, still on the phone, must have heard her.

“Vanessa?

Oh, thank God.

Ethan just passed out mid-sentence.

Can you drag him to his room before he ends up with a laptop-shaped imprint on his face?” Vanessa rolled her eyes, stepping closer.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” She reached down and carefully pried the laptop from Ethan’s limp fingers, setting it aside.

She took a moment to look at him – his face was peaceful, his usually sharp features softened by sleep.  He must have been really exhausted.

With a small sigh, she crouched down and carefully maneuvered one of his arms over her shoulder, attempting to lift him.  “Alright, come on, big guy.

Let’s get you to bed before you start drooling on the couch.” Ethan, of course, didn’t respond, but he instinctively leaned into her as she hauled him up.  He was heavier than she expected, forcing her to brace herself before slowly dragging him toward the stairs.

Zack was still on the phone, amused.

“Need help?” Vanessa scoffed.

“Oh sure, why don’t you teleport here and carry him yourself?” “Hey, if I could, I would.

Watching you struggle would be hilarious.” Vanessa huffed but didn’t argue.

She half-carried, half-dragged Ethan up the stairs, muttering under her breath about how he needed to stop working till he was out of it.  Eventually, she reached his room, nudging the door open with her foot before guiding him inside.

She eased him onto the bed, pulling the blanket over him before stepping back.  Ethan stirred slightly, mumbling something incoherent, but didn’t wake up.

Vanessa shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Idiot.” With that, she turned off the bedside lamp and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Zack, still on the line, snickered.

“So, what do we do now?” Vanessa sighed, heading back downstairs.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going back to sleep.

You can deal with whatever’s going on.” Zack chuckled.

“Fair enough.

Night, Vanessa.” “Night, Zack.” She hung up the call, grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen, and disappeared back into her own room.

Meanwhile, Ethan, completely unaware of everything that had just transpired, slept soundly.

Ethan woke up to the sensation of sunlight rudely stabbing through his eyelids.  His head throbbed, a dull, persistent ache that reminded him exactly why Zack had been yelling at him to go to sleep last night.

Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and sat up, immediately regretting the movement.

 The world swayed for a second, and he let out a quiet curse, pressing his palm to his forehead.

“Yeah… definitely overdid it,” he muttered.

Forcing himself out of bed, he staggered forward, stretching his arms with a loud yawn before trudging into the bathroom.  He turned on the automated tap, letting warm water rush into his hands before splashing it over his face.  The heat soothed his tired skin, washing away the grogginess.  As he straightened up, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

“Huh.

I look better,” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his messy hair.