But regardless of choices and the occasional "screw-up", there isn't a whole lot of control of the arc of the overall narrative, and that's the point. Sooner or later, the MC is going to get caught up in something that is outwith the control of the player, even if it's something they've actively avoided being apart of (Quinn) because that's what the story is really going to be about. We think it's just about the MC getting girls and enjoying college life, but really that's just the outer layer, and the core is what Quinn is up to and how this will end up having far-reaching consequences that will ensnare the MC and thus affect everyone connected to the MC.
It doesn't necessarily have to be anything that drives a major wedge between him and these people he's connected to, it could just be something that causes some mild issues that essentially slows or even pauses the MC's story to the point where nothing really happens until a later date. But it is one way in which a time-jump could be facilitated because it creates one of those situations where the protagonist hits a major roadblock in the story and it will take time to get around it and start the story up again.