Chapter 5: Helping Aunt

Jeff saw a laptop that can fit his budget and decided to buy this.

LAPTOP-FUS2NUUH, that cost around ₱28,500. It's not the best but it's more than enough for what he needed.

It was powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor running at 2.80 GHz, which was fast enough to handle programming, web development, and even some basic AI work.

Its Radeon integrated graphics couldn't run high-end games, but they were good enough for light gaming and using development tools like Unity.

With 8 GB of RAM, multitasking was smooth, and it could run coding environments and small-scale AI models without much trouble, though 16 GB would have been better for more demanding tasks.

The system was 64-bit, making it fully compatible with modern software, programming tools, and game engines.

Jeff then went to the counter to pay for the laptop. The staff at the register welcomed him, and after completing the purchase, he couldn't wait to see what more he could create now that he finally had a laptop.

Carrying the bag with the laptop inside, he headed down the escalator to the first floor to buy some groceries.

As he approached the entrance to the grocery section, something caught his eye. He spotted Rose speaking with a man and she looked visibly uncomfortable.

Jeff didn't think twice and quickly walked over to his aunt. 

"Aunt Rose, you're actually here! I've been looking all over for you," he said, raising his voice slightly so she could hear him. 

Rose was momentarily surprised when someone called her "aunt," but as soon as she saw it was Jeff, she smiled then a brilliant idea came to mind. 

She gently pulled Jeff to her side and introduced him. 

"Brian, this is Jeff, my best friend's child. Jeff, this is Brian," she said. 

Jeff and Brian exchanged polite nods. Jeff noticed that Brian was dressed in a business suit, giving off the appearance of a formal, professional man.

From the way Brian looks like he can be considered a rich man from the way he dress.

"Brian, sorry, but Jeff and I have to go now. He's starving and hasn't eaten yet," Rose said, quickly coming up with an excuse to leave. 

Brian looked at her and smiled. "Well, we can eat in there. It's my treat, consider it a little something for the young guy," he added, glancing at Jeff. 

Jeff could tell that his Aunt Rose didn't really want to stay with this man, so before she could respond, he stepped in. 

"Thank you, mister, but I don't eat outside. It's unhealthy," Jeff said politely but firmly.

"Let's go, Aunt Rose." He then took her delicate hand and walked away, leaving Brian standing there, stunned.

Brian was left speechless for a moment, "Unhealthy food... outside? Hmm. This kid is interesting. Well, it's normal for someone to be protective of thier aunt," he muttered to himself, still processing what had just happened. 

Meanwhile, Jeff and Rose were already outside. Jeff continued to gently pull her along until they were a good distance away from the mall. 

Once they slowed down, Jeff looked up at her and asked, "Aunt, who was that? Is he one of your pursuers?" 

Rose let out a sigh and touched her forehead, clearly annoyed at the mention of Brian. 

"Yes, we were classmates a long time ago. He confessed to me back then, but I turned him down. Then today, we ran into each other this morning, and he offered to have coffee with me," she explained, recounting the events to Jeff. 

After finishing, she looked at him with a grateful smile, "Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I would've done." 

She wrapped her arms around his in appreciation. 

Even though Jeff was only sixteen, he was tall about an inch taller than his Aunt Rose.

"It's all good, Aunt. If you're ever in trouble, this nephew of yours will be there to help," Jeff said with a smile. 

Rose chuckled softly as they walked toward the pedestrian. Glancing at the time, she saw it was already around ten in the morning. 

"Have you had breakfast yet? Do you want to eat? And oh yeah I just noticed did you get a new bag?" she asked, eyeing the black bag slung over his shoulder. 

It was only now that she noticed it. Jeff, hearing her questions, pointed at the bag with his thumb. 

"Oh, this? It's a laptop. I just bought it earlier for some projects," he explained casually.

Rose's eyes trembled for a moment as she looked at him deeply.

"You do know that I have a laptop. You didn't need to buy one and just from the look of it, it seems to be expensive." she spoke.

Rose knew his situation well. Jeff's mother rather her best friend was the only one working.

Jeff's father had fallen ill years ago, leaving her to raise both Jeff and his older sister alone as a single mother.

Rose can deeply understand the hardship her best friend, who is also named Rose. But her full name is Rose Ann Rama.

So she called her Ann, Jeff hearing her words felt warm in her heart. "Aunt, this-this. This is a special case." His eyes wandered aimlessly.

Seeing his expression, Rose chose not to press further, "Well, I trust you. I've known you since you were little. Buying a laptop must be important to you, so don't feel troubled I was only asking."

"Thanks, Aunt," Jeff replied gratefully.

He didn't want to reveal his golden finger just yet. In fact, he planned to keep it a secret, buried deep within him, since it was closely tied to his future.

Rose, watching him act so guarded, simply smiled, "So, have you eaten? It's my treat," she offered kindly.

The town of Sara wasn't a grand place. At its center stood a modest-sized shopping center, the Gaisano, surrounded by a few local shops and restaurants scattered throughout the area.

There was also a plaza, and just across from it stood Jeff's school. This was why he usually walked when he went to school since it was close.

"Actually, I already had my breakfast," he replied, feeling excited to start his day of programming.

He needed to earn money quickly.

Hearing his polite rejection, Rose pouted slightly, "If you say so..." her voice sounding a little down.

But Jeff didn't notice her tone. His mind was already occupied, thinking about what kind of project he should work on next.

They walked together for a short while, and then he bid her farewell before heading up the stairs to begin his work.

He took a quick shower again given how hot the weather was then changed into an undershirt and a pair of shorts.

His build was well-toned from occasional exercise; he wasn't lazy and made sure to stay active.

Sitting on his bed, he took out the laptop, opened it, and powered it on. Soon, the familiar Windows interface appeared on the screen.

Seeing the clean Windows desktop with no apps installed yet, Jeff knew he needed to set everything up from scratch.

The problem was he had no internet connection. Thankfully, his phone still had some mobile data, so he turned on the hotspot.

Just as he was about to connect, a thought struck him.

"Wait... don't I have a godly programming skill? Why do I still need to rely on my internet connection?"

Jeff pursed his lips, realizing he had been thinking too normally. He was now a god in the digital world.

Why think normally?