Chapter 126: 126 | The 72-Hour Ultimatum
Jordan waited until Chloe’s breathing evened out completely before he dared move. Her face had gone soft and peaceful in sleep, her lips slightly parted, one hand curled loosely against his chest. The blue streak in her hair looked almost purple in the dim light filtering through the curtains.
He carefully reached for his phone again, keeping his movements slow and gentle. The last thing he needed was to wake her up and have to explain why he was obsessively checking his weird magic phone app instead of sleeping beside her like a normal boyfriend would do after spending the evening with her parents.
The Cashback System interface loaded with that signature golden shimmer that never failed to make his stomach flip with a mixture of anticipation and dread. He’d grown used to the feeling over the past few weeks, but it still caught him off guard sometimes. Like finding out your test scores while knowing you either aced it or completely bombed it.
TRANSACTION COMPLETE
Purchase: Dinner at Giuliano’s
Total Amount: $347.82
Your & Chloe’s Portion: $173.91
Chloe Kim: 75% → 77% (+2%)
Return Rate: 1.54x
Rebate: $267.82
Net Result: +$93.91
Jordan stared at the numbers for several seconds, processing what he was seeing. The math took a moment to sink in through the post-dinner haze and the lingering effects of having Chloe meet his parents for the first time.
He’d just made almost a hundred dollars profit taking his girlfriend to dinner. The System had paid him to feed Chloe expensive Italian food while his parents grilled her about her financial situation and his mother made those subtle comments about how "refreshing" it was to meet someone so "down to earth."
This is so fucking broken. I love it.
The irony wasn’t lost on him. His parents had spent the entire meal assuming Chloe came from money, complimenting her "natural elegance" and asking polite questions about her family’s "business interests" while she deflected with practiced skill. Meanwhile, the System was literally paying him to date her.
He scrolled down further and found the chemistry history graph that showed Chloe’s attraction climbing steadily over the past week. The line had jumped dramatically after their first time together, spiked again after he bought her the computer setup, and now sat at a comfortable seventy-seven percent with a gentle upward slope that looked almost too good to be true.
At this rate she’d hit eighty percent within a few days. Ninety within two weeks. And then what? Would she cap out at a hundred, or could it go higher? Did the System have some kind of endgame he didn’t know about?
Focus, dumbass. Check the rest of the notifications.
MILESTONE ACHIEVED: 75% CHEMISTRY
Slot 3 Unlocked
Reward: +15 Quest Tickets
Current Total: 28 Tickets
BONUS REWARD: Gold Tier Gacha (x1)
Jordan’s breath caught in his throat. A gold tier gacha. He’d been grinding bronze pulls for weeks, getting mostly garbage with the occasional useful trait thrown in. Dramatic Tumbleweed still haunted his inventory like a bad joke. But gold tier? That was the good stuff. The game changers. The abilities that would actually make a difference instead of summoning random desert plants during awkward conversations.
And all I had to do was fall for a girl who actually likes me back. Easiest quest reward ever.
The thought made him glance down at Chloe again. She’d shifted slightly in her sleep, her face now pressed against his shoulder, one leg hooked over his thigh like she was claiming ownership even unconsciously. Her skin was warm and soft against his, and he could feel her heartbeat through the thin material of the oversized t-shirt she’d borrowed from him.
Another notification blinked insistently below the first, breaking him out of his moment of contentment.
ATTENTION: SECOND SLOT REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Your Infinite Cashback System has detected available high-compatibility targets in your vicinity. To maximize system efficiency and meet inheritance requirements, please register a second beauty to Slot 2 within 72 hours.
Failure to register will result in reduced quest rewards and delayed progression.
Recommended Candidates:
• Kumiko Yamanaka
• Alexis Van Der Berg
• Brooke Hastings
Jordan’s jaw clenched. Of course the System wouldn’t let him just enjoy having one girlfriend for five fucking minutes. Of course it had to immediately push him toward registering more girls like he was collecting Pokemon cards instead of building actual human relationships with real emotional stakes.
He glanced down at Chloe’s sleeping form again. Her hand twitched slightly against his chest, fingers curling like she was dreaming about holding something. Maybe him. The thought made his chest feel tight in a way that had nothing to do with the System’s arbitrary percentage tracking.
The idea of telling her he was ready to start looking for girlfriend number two made his stomach turn. They’d just had an incredible night together. She’d opened up to him about her father during dinner, navigated his parents’ subtle interrogation with grace, let him see a side of herself she’d never shown anyone else. The way she’d looked at him when his mom complimented her dress, like she was grateful he’d brought her into his family’s orbit.
And he was supposed to immediately turn around and start scoping out other girls?
Fuck that. Future Jordan can deal with this problem. Right now I just want to enjoy having an actual girlfriend who doesn’t treat me like an ATM with legs.
The memory of Eliza’s dismissive "just some guy from class" still stung when he let himself think about it. But Chloe had introduced him to his own parents as her boyfriend without hesitation, had smiled at his father’s terrible jokes, had helped his mother clear the table like she’d been doing it her whole life.
He dismissed the registration reminder with more force than necessary and pulled up his inventory instead. The gold gacha sat there like a glowing treasure chest, pulsing softly with promise. It looked expensive even as a digital icon, all intricate details and golden highlights that probably took some graphic designer way too long to perfect.
Jordan hesitated for only a second before tapping it. He’d earned this. Whatever came out of it, he’d earned it by actually trying to be better instead of wallowing in his apartment feeling sorry for himself.
