Infinite Cashback System

He turned and headed toward the door, hearing Kumiko whisper something urgent to Chloe in rapid Korean behind him. Chloe’s response sounded distinctly unimpressed, followed by what was probably Kumiko trying to defend herself and failing badly.

Jordan’s apartment felt cold and empty after spending the night in Chloe’s bed. The boxes of computer components sat stacked in his living room exactly where they’d left them, each one labeled with Kumiko’s neat handwriting in both English and Japanese.

The graphics card box alone probably weighed more than his old laptop, and from what he’d glimpsed of the specs, it cost several times as much. But the System’s cashback had converted the entire shopping spree into a net profit, which meant he was technically getting paid to build Chloe a gaming rig.

Economics hadn’t prepared him for this kind of arbitrage opportunity.

He grabbed the largest boxes first, stacking them in his arms with a care he wouldn’t have bothered with a few months ago. The weight settled against his chest in a way that felt manageable, almost natural. His body knew how to distribute the load across his core now, how to shift his stance for better balance. No awkward shuffling or dropped packages.

Back at Chloe’s door, he knocked with his elbow since both hands were occupied.

Chloe opened it wearing a knowing smirk that suggested she’d heard him fumbling around through the wall. "Find everything okay?"

"Still working on the shirt situation," Jordan admitted, carrying the boxes inside. He set them down next to what had apparently become Kumiko’s electronics triage center. "Figured I’d handle the heavy stuff first before she started wondering if I’d gotten lost."

Kumiko had managed to regain some composure during his absence, though her cheeks still held a faint pink tinge. She immediately dove toward the boxes with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning.

"Perfect! We can start with the motherboard installation and work our way through the component hierarchy in order of complexity!" She pulled out what looked like a circuit board covered in slots and connectors.

"This is a beautiful piece of engineering. AMD Ryzen architecture with PCIe 5.0 support and DDR5 memory compatibility. Very premium specifications."

Jordan made another trip to collect the remaining components, and by the time he returned, Kumiko had transformed Chloe’s coffee table into a surgical workspace. Every piece was arranged with military organization, cables sorted by type and length, screws separated into tiny compartments that she’d apparently brought with her.

"Okay," Kumiko announced, pulling her hair back into a more secure ponytail. "Building a PC is like performing surgery, but on electronics instead of people. Everything has to be handled with care, everything has to go in the right place, and if you mess up, things die."

Chloe sat forward on the couch, coffee mug cradled in both hands. "That’s reassuring. Should I be worried about electrocution?"

"Only if you touch the wrong parts while the power supply is connected, which we will not be doing because I am a responsible teacher who values safety." Kumiko picked up what looked like a metallic box with a fan attached. "This is the case. Think of it as the skeleton that holds everything together."

Jordan settled onto the floor next to Kumiko, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. She immediately went rigid, her breathing becoming slightly faster as she tried to maintain professional composure.

"So where do we start?" Jordan leaned over to examine the case, accidentally brushing against Kumiko’s arm. The contact made her squeak softly.

"M-motherboard standoffs!" she announced a bit too loudly. "We install the little metal posts that keep the motherboard elevated inside the case so it doesn’t short circuit against the metal housing!"

Chloe watched this interaction with the expression of someone taking detailed mental notes for future reference. Her grip on the coffee mug had tightened slightly, and Jordan caught her eyes narrowing when Kumiko’s voice went up another octave.

"Let me grab that shirt first," Jordan said, starting to stand.

"No!" Kumiko’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist before she caught herself and jerked back like she’d been burned. "I mean, we should maintain momentum while the workspace is properly organized. Shirt acquisition can occur during our first break in the assembly process."

Chloe’s eyebrow climbed higher. "Momentum. Right."

"It’s a technical term," Kumiko insisted, her face growing redder. "Workflow disruption leads to decreased efficiency and increased likelihood of component installation errors."

She’s really committing to this excuse. I have to respect the dedication even if she’s fooling absolutely nobody.

Jordan settled back down, noting the way Kumiko’s eyes immediately dropped to his chest before snapping back to the computer components with suspicious intensity. "Okay, Professor Yamanaka. Show me how to install these standoff things."

The next hour passed in a blur of technical explanations delivered in Kumiko’s increasingly flustered voice. She guided Jordan through each step with the patience of someone who genuinely loved teaching, but her usual smooth confidence kept breaking down whenever he moved too close or asked her to hand him a tool.

"The CPU socket is the most delicate part," she explained, holding up what looked like a small square processor. "You have to align the gold triangle in the corner with the socket triangle, and then it just drops in with zero force required. No pushing, no pressing, just gentle placement and—Jordan-kun, are you listening?"

Jordan had been listening, but he’d also been distracted by the way Kumiko’s crop hoodie rode up when she reached for components, revealing glimpses of her flat stomach and the waistband of what looked like white cotton panties with little strawberry prints.

The combination of her technical competence and obvious attraction to him was doing interesting things to his ego.

"Golden triangle, zero force, got it." Jordan accepted the processor from her hands, their fingers brushing for just a moment longer than necessary. "Like this?"

He lowered the CPU toward the socket with careful precision, guided by his enhanced motor control. The chip settled into place with a satisfying click, perfectly aligned on the first try.

"Exactly right!" Kumiko beamed at him with genuine pride. "You’re a natural at this! Most people try to force it and bend the pins and then they have to buy a new motherboard and—"

"Kumi." Chloe’s voice cut through the technical babbling with surgical sharpness. "How much longer is this going to take?"