Harem Investment System: Getting Money And Women-Chapter 179: A Blushing Mess

The thought crossed his mind multiple times, but each time, he hesitated.

It wasn't like they were best friends. Were they?

Sure, they had dinner last night.

Sure, he had seen her a little more relaxed than usual.

But did that really give him the right to pry into whatever was bothering her?

He wasn't sure.

So, for now, he kept quiet.

Instead, he worked.

The underground section needed to be reinforced, which meant helping the workers pour cement into the support pillars.

He rolled up his hoodie even further, the muscles in his arms flexing slightly as he lifted and moved materials alongside the crew.

A few of the workers gave him nods of approval — clearly impressed that the man who hired them was actually getting his hands dirty.

Ethan wasn't doing it for praise, though.

He was doing it to keep his mind occupied.

And yet, every so often, his gaze would flicker back to Riley.

And every so often, she would still be staring into space.

By the time they had finished setting a few of the foundational structures, the foreman called for a break.

The workers stretched, wiping sweat from their brows, and Ethan grabbed a bottle of water, twisting the cap off before taking a deep drink.

Riley, however, barely moved.

She was still staring at the clipboard, but Ethan had a feeling she wasn't actually reading anything on it.

That was it.

He wasn't usually one to push when people didn't want to talk, but this was getting ridiculous.

Ethan walked over, holding the water bottle in one hand and nudging her arm with the other.

"You good?" he asked casually.

Riley blinked, as if snapping out of a trance. "Huh?"

"I asked if you're good," Ethan repeated. "You've been spacing out all morning."

Her grip on the clipboard tightened slightly. "I—uh, yeah. I'm fine."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Because you look like you're about two seconds away from wandering into a hole and getting cement poured on you."

That earned a short, amused breath from her — something close to a laugh, but not quite.

"I'm fine," she said again, this time with a bit more conviction.

Ethan studied her for a moment.

She wasn't lying. Not entirely, at least.

But she was holding something back.

He could tell.

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Still, if she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to push her.

Not yet, anyway.

"Well," he said, taking another swig of his water, "if you do end up falling into a hole, let me know in advance so I can record it."

This time, she actually laughed.

Ethan soon stretched out across a stack of wooden crates, arms folded behind his head as he gazed up at the sky.

The morning had been exhausting, and now that their break had started, he wasn't about to pass up the chance to rest.

Around him, the sounds of the construction site had softened — not completely gone, but reduced to the occasional murmur of workers chatting over their meals, the rustling of sandwich wrappers, and the steady crunch of gravel under boots as people moved around.

The drilling had gone well that morning, and they had made solid progress in pouring the underground foundation supports.

If things continued at this pace, they would be done with this phase sooner than expected. Right according to what Ethan wanted.

Ethan sighed, shifting slightly against the crates. The sky above was a soft shade of gray, with thick clouds drifting lazily across the horizon.

The sun, which had been merciless earlier, was now hidden behind them, offering a small reprieve from the heat. It wasn't exactly cool out, but at least he wasn't sweating bullets like before.

His gaze lazily wandered across the site. A few of the workers were gathered under a tarp, cracking jokes as they ate.

Others sat on overturned buckets or leaned against stacks of cement bags, finishing up their lunches in silence.

And then —

His eyes landed on Riley.

She was sitting a short distance away, perched on a mat beneath a shaded area. Her lunchbox rested in her lap, but she wasn't really eating.

Instead, she was poking at her food, her fingers absently tracing the edge of the container as she stared off into space.

Something was on her mind.

As he lay there watching her, he couldn't help but wonder what could be the issue.

And then it happened.

Her eyes flickered toward him.

It was brief — so brief that if he had blinked, he might have missed it. But he didn't blink.

For a split second, their gazes locked.

And in that instant, Riley's entire face turned red.

Not just a light blush. Not the kind of embarrassed warmth someone gets when they're caught daydreaming.

No, this was full-on, face-burning, caught-staring-at-someone-you-shouldn't-be-staring-at kind of red.

Ethan's lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk.

'Interesting.'

Riley, on the other hand, looked absolutely mortified.

She quickly turned her head away, stuffing a too-big bite of food into her mouth as if that would somehow erase what had just happened.

Her fingers clenched slightly around the edge of her lunchbox, and for a moment, she looked like she wanted to disappear into the ground.

Ethan chuckled under his breath.

She was thinking about something.

And now, he had a feeling it wasn't just work-related.

He stretched his arms above his head, feeling the tension ease from his muscles before he finally sat up.

"Still thinking, Riley?" he called out casually, his voice laced with amusement.

She nearly choked on her food.

Coughing slightly, she quickly grabbed her water bottle, taking a long sip before forcing herself to look at him.

"N-No," she stammered, her voice just a little too high-pitched to be convincing. "Why would you ask that?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Dunno. You've just been a little out of it today. This should be the twentieth time I've caught you like this,"

Riley's fingers twitched around the bottle she was holding. She looked away, her gaze fixing firmly on the ground. "I'm fine," she muttered.