Harem Stealing System
Chapter 40 : Deadline

Chapter 40: Chapter 40 : Deadline

After leaving the cafeteria, Eiden made his way back to class. This time, he was attending the same lecture as Sasha. However, they were seated far apart, and just like always she was beside Crysty.

They sure are close. At this point, it feels like they’re the childhood friends instead of us, Eiden thought. He gave a quiet sigh and tried to focus.

As the lecture wrapped up, the teacher reminded everyone that the final submission date for their project was fast approaching. That single sentence reignited the anxiety Eiden had momentarily forgotten about during lunch. His shoulders tensed. Of all the things to be reminded of...

Once classes ended, Sasha approached him Crysty walking beside her. "Let’s go back home together," she said cheerfully. Eiden blinked at the two of them. "Not hanging out?"

"No," Sasha replied frankly, giving him a small smile. He gave a casual nod and stood up.

On the walk back, Eiden noticed something odd Crysty had split from them somewhere along the way. For some reason, he had expected her to accompany them all the way back. Curious, he asked, "Crysty’s not staying over?"

Sasha nodded. "Yeah, her parents called. They were a bit worried about her safety, so they asked her to come back tonight."

"Oh, is that so?" he muttered, then added with a small smirk, "Hmph."

"So, how long was she at your place anyway?" Eiden asked. "About eight days, I think."

"That long, huh?" He glanced at her sideways, then asked as casually as he could, "You done with the project?"

"Yes," Sasha said proudly. "It’s finished and already submitted. What about yours?" Eiden’s face paled slightly, though it didn’t show. Thanks to his skill Face Master, his expression remained unreadable. Still, inside, his nerves were on edge. "It’s... okay," he said, voice steady. Sasha paused. Her brows furrowed. "Hmm."

"What?" Eiden asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "I don’t know. It’s... confusing," Sasha replied, analyzing him closely. "What is?" he pressed.

"Well, the way you answered makes it sound like something’s wrong with your project. Like, maybe you lost it or it’s not going well. But the way your face looks it’s calm. Normal. I can’t tell what’s really going on." She tilted her head slightly. "Before, I could usually tell by your tone and expression, but now they’re not matching."

Eiden froze for a heartbeat. Damn. Childhood friends are scary. She can still read me even with this skill active. I might’ve found a loophole in Face Master it can hide my expressions, but not my voice or the way I speak.

"You’re probably just imagining things," Eiden said with a dismissive chuckle. "Hmm... I don’t know about that," Sasha replied, still eyeing him skeptically.

Eiden simply laughed it off and quickly changed the topic. Thankfully, Sasha followed his lead. "So," he asked, "did Ruel’s men try to confirm anything with you?"

Sasha looked a little annoyed. "Yeah. I think they suspected me... Like I had some kind of grudge or plotted something against him. Honestly, I don’t even know what they’re thinking."

"When was this?"

"It happened last year. You wouldn’t know," she replied curtly. Eiden didn’t press further. "Did you tell your parents about any of this?"

"No, not yet," she said. "Why not?"

"I forgot," she said, a bit too casually. "Sheesh... is that all?" Eiden muttered.

Suddenly, Sasha jogged ahead, twirling around to face him with a teasing grin. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" By the time they reached Eiden’s house, Sasha marched in confidently and headed straight for the guest room.

"I’m staying over," she declared, throwing herself onto the bed without a care. Eiden raised an eyebrow. The moment Crysty’s gone, huh?

"Where’s Aunty and Uncle?" Sasha called out, not even waiting for him to ask. "Probably out," Eiden replied, closing the door behind him.

Soon after, Sasha took a bath while Eiden waited his turn. Once she was done, he stepped into the bathroom to quickly wash up and refresh himself. Just as he emerged, he heard the front door open his mom and dad had returned.

Dally, his mother, smiled warmly when she saw Sasha. "Oh? Staying over again?" Sasha nodded politely. Dally simply smiled. "That’s nice."nAlgir, his father, wasn’t particularly surprised either. "Sasha, I heard you had your birthday recently. Sorry I couldn’t attend."

Sasha gave a small shrug and smiled. "It’s okay. Even Dad didn’t make it. I know you were busy." Yeah... busy cheating, Eiden thought bitterly, holding his tongue.

Dally headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner while the rest of them relaxed in the living room. When dinner was ready, they all gathered around the table. Conversation flowed easily except for the part where Eiden purposely left out the whole kidnapping incident. No need to cause a panic.

Sasha, meanwhile, had slipped perfectly into the role of beloved house guest. She chatted animatedly with Dally and Algir, her laughter ringing through the room like she belonged there more than Eiden did. She helped Dally clean up afterward, chatting with her like a daughter.

Eiden quietly excused himself and retreated to his room. With the door shut, he slumped into his chair and stared at his laptop screen.

I’ve got no choice now...

His original project was gone lost due to circumstances he didn’t dare explain so he had to start over from scratch. He pulled up his old drafts, bits and pieces he had saved here and there, and began stitching them together into something vaguely resembling a complete report.

It wasn’t perfect not even goodnbut it was enough to submit. Better to get a low grade than fail entirely, he thought grimly. He also hoped that by submitting something, his groupmates wouldn’t blame him. They wouldn’t know if this version was the original or not. After all, they had all worked hard... except Linda, who was supposed to finalize and edit everything but had been mysteriously absent.

He continued working for another hour, eyes bleary, focus intense. That’s when he heard a soft knock at the door. "Eiden?" Sasha’s voice drifted through. "What is it?"

"Are you busy?" Eiden glanced at his messy desk, his screen filled with hastily typed paragraphs, and sighed. "Yeah, very much." There was a short pause. "Never mind then," Sasha said quietly, and he heard her footsteps fade. He frowned slightly. What did she want?

For a second, he considered getting up but the looming deadline held him down. He shook his head and focused again. Three more hours, he thought, hammering through the rest of it. By the end, he leaned back and exhaled deeply. It wasn’t great. It barely passed for decent. But it was done.

He closed the laptop and crawled into bed. If only I had two more weeks... but that’s not happening. His eyes fluttered shut, and he gave in to the overwhelming pull of sleep.

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room elsewhere in the city, a figure lay on a bed, whispering . "Eiden was the one to take the video and upload it..." The figure’s eyes stared blankly at the ceiling . Does Ruel know? Why was he discussing it with Airin? Did she tell him to do it? What is her relationship with Eiden...?