Infinite Cashback: My Wealth Rebate System

Jason stepped out of the apartment building and pulled the door shut behind him. The cool morning air greeted him immediately, carrying with it the crisp scent that only existed before the city fully woke. A few cars rolled past in the distance, their engines little more than a low hum, while the occasional pedestrian hurried along the sidewalk with a destination already in mind.

He adjusted the sleeve of his tracksuit before taking a few light stretches, loosening his shoulders and calves.

Just a few meters away from the apartment stood a small convenience store. It wasn’t anything special, just a modest corner shop squeezed between two aging buildings. It had been there for as long as Jason could remember. Whenever he needed instant noodles, bottled water, or forgot to buy toothpaste, this was where he came.

The glass door was already open.

Inside, shelves were being stocked one by one.

Standing behind the counter was a young lady, Sarah. She attended the same school as Jason. She was wearing the store’s blue uniform and matching cap. Long black hair escaped from beneath it in smooth strands that rested against her shoulders. Despite the loose uniform, it did little to hide her naturally curvy figure, her chest and slender waist giving her an appearance that drew attention without her even trying. Yet the most noticeable thing about her wasn’t her appearance.

It was the smile she wore almost every morning.

Bright and relaxed

The kind that made the sleepy convenience store feel a little warmer.

If not for her presence Jason’s visits to the store for any reason would reduce significantly.

She looked up from arranging a row of bottled drinks and the moment she spotted him, her eyes lit up.

"Jason!"

Jason stopped mid-step and turned toward the shop.

A small smile appeared on his own face.

"Morning, Sarah"

Sarah leaned against the counter with both elbows resting on its surface.

"Morning. You’re actually awake this early?"

She looked him up and down before her eyebrows rose.

"And you’re wearing running clothes?"

Jason glanced down at himself before laughing awkwardly

If only you knew that I am as much surprised about this as you are Jason thought

"Figured I’d try being productive for once."

"Oh?"

She tilted her head playfully.

"So today’s the day you’ve finally decided to become one of those fitness influencers?"

Jason snorted.

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves."

"I’ll be happy if I survive one kilometer."

Sarah laughed, the sound light and genuine.

"I literally just opened the store," she said, gesturing toward the shelves behind her.

"If you need water or an energy drink or something before you head out, I can grab it for you."

Jason waved both hands.

"I’m good. Thanks."

"Suit yourself."

For a brief moment, the conversation settled into a comfortable silence.

Then Sarah’s expression shifted ever so slightly, as though she’d just remembered something.

"Oh!"

"What happened yesterday?"

Jason blinked.

"Yesterday?"

She nodded.

"Don’t play dumb now. Your dressing gave it all away, a suit, the fancy haircut and the flowers."

A teasing grin slowly spread across her face.

"Weren’t you going to confess to someone?"

Jason stared at her for a second.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

Sarah gave him a look that practically screamed Seriously?

"Jason"

"You walked into my store carrying the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen."

"You were dressed like you were about to attend an awards ceremony."

She folded her arms.

"What exactly did you expect me to think?"

"That you suddenly developed a passion for gardening?"

Jason rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fair point."

"I knew it!"

She pointed at him triumphantly.

"So?"

"How’d it go?"

"Did she say yes?"

The smile on Jason’s face stiffened almost imperceptibly.

For the briefest moment, yesterday flashed across his mind again. From the restaurant to the alone time he had with Amanda until the finale, when he eventually summoned the courage to ask her out

He forced himself to breathe before answering.

"It..."

He scratched the back of his head.

"...didn’t really work out."

Sarah’s teasing expression softened.

"Oh."

Jason quickly smiled, pretending it hadn’t bothered him.

"It happens."

"I guess we just weren’t meant for each other."

His tone was casual.

Almost convincing.

Only someone paying close attention would notice that the smile never quite reached his eyes.

Sarah looked at him for another second, as if wanting to ask more.

Instead, she simply smiled.

"I’m sorry."

Jason shook his head.

"Don’t be."

"Life goes on."

Before she could continue the conversation, he lightly pointed down the road.

"I should get going."

"If I stand here any longer, I’ll probably convince myself to skip the run."

Sarah chuckled.

"That’s true."

She raised a hand and gave him a small wave.

"Alright."

"Don’t collapse before you make it back."

Jason laughed.

"No promises."

With that, he returned the wave and adjusted the phone in his pocket, and resumed his slow jog down the quiet morning street, leaving the little convenience store and yesterday’s conversation behind him, at least for now.

Leaving the convenience store behind, Jason settled back into his jog.

His pace wasn’t particularly fast.

It wasn’t the kind of stride that belonged to someone who had spent years training their body. If anything, there was a noticeable stiffness to his movements, the slight hesitation of someone trying to remember instructions he’d never truly practiced.

Oddly enough...

It wasn’t terrible.

Months ago, during one of his countless "I’m going to turn my life around" phases, he’d spent hours watching fitness videos. Proper posture. Breathing techniques. Foot placement. Arm swings. He had absorbed far more information than he’d ever put into practice.

The motivation had disappeared.

The knowledge hadn’t.

His back stayed relatively straight, his shoulders relaxed, and his arms swung naturally by his sides. Even his feet landed more softly than he’d expected.

"I guess I was paying attention after all."

A faint smile crossed his face.

It disappeared less than a minute later.

"Huff..."

His breathing began to grow heavier.

The muscles in his calves slowly tightened, and a dull ache crept into his thighs. His lungs weren’t burning yet, but they were beginning to question why they had suddenly been assigned extra work after months of unemployment.

Jason couldn’t help but laugh between breaths.

"So this..."

"Huff..."

"...is what happens when you suddenly decide to become healthy."

His body wasn’t protesting because one kilometer was impossible. It was protesting because it hated change.

Anyone who had ever decided to start exercising after months of doing absolutely nothing knew the feeling. Your mind convinced you it would be easy.

Your body immediately filed a formal complaint.

Jason kept going anyway.

His breathing gradually found a rhythm again, and as the road curved gently to the left, a small neighborhood park came into view.

Several students occupied the benches scattered beneath the trees, chatting casually before classes began.

Jason’s eyes drifted over them without much thought.

Then he froze.

"Those are my classmates"

There were five of them and he recognized every face. They weren’t particularly his friends, they were more like the kind of classmates you exchanged greetings with whenever your paths crossed.

A simple "Morning" followed by a nod and very few times a brief conversation before lectures.

Nothing more.

His pace slowed to a walk.

For a moment, he considered simply jogging past.

Then he remembered something.

Amanda

A few of them were part of her friend group causing his chest to tighten almost imperceptibly.

"It’d be weird if I ignored them."

He scratched the side of his cheek.

"I’ll just say hi or a simple hello and then take my leave"

Making up his mind, Jason stepped off the jogging path and headed toward the park.

He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a familiar name drifted through the morning air.

"...Did you guys hear what Jason did yesterday?"

His footsteps stopped almost instinctively at the sound of his name and their conversation continued.

"He actually confessed to Amanda"

Another voice burst into laughter.

"No way."

"I’m serious."

"I heard he even brought flowers."

Jason remained where he was, hidden behind a broad tree that stood a short distance from the benches.

His heart skipped.

They were talking about him.

"Seriously?"

One of the girls shook her head.

"I honestly don’t know what he was thinking."

"I mean, has he ever looked at himself?"

Another boy chuckled.

"I’ll give him credit for his confidence. The wrong kind, but still."

More laughter followed as they talked but Jason didn’t move.

For some reason his feet refused from taking action

While his feet and brain were battling movement, another girl spoke.

"I talked to Amanda after it happened."

The laughter immediately died down.

"What’d she say?"

The girl rolled her eyes before imitating Amanda’s voice with exaggerated dramatics.

»"He’s nice and all but I never once gave him the impression I liked him."»

She snorted.

"Then she said she couldn’t believe he actually thought he had a chance."

A few of them laughed again and another voice joined in.

"The crazy part is that she said he kept doing things for her."

"Buying her lunch, helping with assignments and walking her back to her front door after classes."

A boy shrugged.

"That’s on him."

"No one told him to do all that."

"Being nice doesn’t mean a girl owes you anything."

"Exactly," another replied. "But you know what elsw Amanda told us?"

The group leaned in slightly.

The girl lowered her voice, though not enough to keep it from carrying across the quiet park.

"She said Jason was... convenient."

A few confused looks appeared.

"Convenient?"

"Yeah."

"He was always available whenever she needed something."

"If she forgot lunch, he’d buy it."

"If she needed notes, he’d send them."

"If she was bored, he’d reply instantly."

The girl let out a short laugh.

"She said having someone like that around was useful as long as they didn’t start getting the wrong idea."

Silence settled over the group for a moment.

Then someone muttered,

"Damn."

Another boy sighed.

"I almost feel bad for him."

"Almost?"

"Come on."

"He should’ve realized that much sooner."

One of the girls folded her arms.

"The embarrassing part wasn’t even the confession."

"It was that he actually believed they were close, that he truly had a chance"

Another laugh rippled through the group.

Jason stood motionless as the morning breeze still brushed against his face.

The birds still sang overhead.

People still jogged past the park as though nothing had happened.

Yet somehow the world had become eerily quiet. Every word he had just heard echoed inside his head, each one striking harder than the last.

Not because strangers were laughing at him, he could care less about that.

But because the person he’d spent months caring about had reduced him to nothing more than someone...

...who was useful until he became inconvenient.

[A/N]

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