NOVPUB
Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Lovey Dovey
Then the video came to an end as the two of them watched it silently. After a moment, she played it back again, at the part where they were about to start singing it once more.
"The one you see in the hospital bed is my grandmother," Jessica paused as she said it with a smile.
She was very happy, mixed with some sadness, as she missed her while watching the video.
"She was hospitalized for having Congestive Heart Failure. It’s a chronic, progressive condition where the heart weakens over time," Jessica explained.
"My grandmother is the best one I’ve ever had. Whenever I came to visit her, she always played with me, gave me gifts, and always cooked for me, even though I wasn’t hungry. You could say she spoiled me a lot. Her treatment was different when it came to me. She was soft and caring, but when it came to my big brother, she was different," she said, offering a small laugh as she paused the video and zoomed in on her grandmother’s face.
Jeff just sat there, listening, their shoulders sticking together as he was deep in thought.
"So that’s why you want me to help you with this. Don’t you have any copy of this video when you lost it?" Jeff asked.
Jessica shook her head and responded, "I don’t. This is the only video. Because my phone was the one that was used to record it."
"When she passed away, in order for me not to lose it, I uploaded the video on SocialHub but set it to private so I wouldn’t lose it and let the public see it. And when it was uploaded, after we left the hospital, I accidentally dropped my phone right there." 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
"I panicked and accidentally kicked it toward the road. The moment I ran toward it, my mother pulled me back as a car came speeding, destroying everything that was left."
"I was devastated at that time, so when I borrowed my mother’s phone and logged into my account, I couldn’t remember my password. I always kept it in a appnote just in case I forgot, but for that reason, I lost the last memory I ever had of her," she said with a sigh, filled with self-blame.
Since it was her fault for losing that last memory.
"When both my parents found out that I actually saved it in my account, they did their best. They emailed the platform, SocialHub, over 10 times. But after a month of waiting, no reply came," she said, feeling sad as she remembered the scene.
Hearing this, Jeff nodded his head, as it was true.
Big tech platforms are known for delayed support. Especially for legacy or inactive accounts, customer service is often slow, automated, or non-responsive, particularly on free-tier platforms.
Even parents reaching out directly won’t guarantee a reply, especially if they don’t have legal access to the account.
It’s not unrealistic, as many users of major platforms go months or even years without proper resolution.
"So with that, both of them decided to hire some hackers."
When Jeff heard this, his ears piqued, as this was exactly what he was about to suggest. Since it seemed like a good solution.
"Even though my parents hired hackers, they were only skilled in conventional methods. If I remember correctly, it was called phishing, brute-forcing, or password reset exploits. None of it worked," she said.
"That is when one of them stated that there was a way, but if he were to get caught, my account would get banned or locked. With that, my parents decided to drop the case since we didn’t want to lose it, even though there were slight chances it would be recovered and slight chances it would not," she said.
"Hearing our ideas, he told us this is a great choice since SocialHub is a trillion-dollar company and hacking it is hard. Also, there are lots of risks involved if we plan to continue," she said.
Jeff nodded his head, as this was true. If the hacker was discovered, SocialHub might freeze or permanently ban the account if suspicious activity was detected.
Too many failed logins, or behavior that doesn’t match their authenticated fingerprint will equal to closure.
And if the hired hacker breached SocialHub’s systems directly, it would become a federal-level cybercrime in most countries.
Since logs could lead back to the hacker, and even the people who hired them might be investigated, especially if large sums were involved.
And if he accidentally triggered surveillance, big platforms like SocialHub likely work with international cyber task forces.
Attempting to bypass their system using aggressive tactics could trigger traceback protocols, meaning the hacker might get exposed and flagged globally.
"But he also stated that finding a hacker of a higher caliber is so scarce, but not impossible. So, if we ever met one, we should take our chances. But years passed, and both my mother and father had lost hope and forgotten about it. As for me, I’m still looking, and that is when I met you," Jessica glanced at Jeff with moist eyes.
The two locked gazes, and she continued, "When I heard you say that you hacked that Wi-Fi, I decided to take my chances, and I didn’t know it would actually work. This is really a blessing in disguise," Jessica said with a smile, looking so beautiful in his point of view.
"Don’t mention it, it’s my job as a programmer, so you don’t need to feel indebted," Jeff said to her humbly.
"No! I will gladly mention this, so you can remember how big of a help you’ve given to me. Do you want some payment, like money?" she asked, tilting her head.
Jeff, hearing this, twitched his lips. Money? He had some, like a lot of it. When CyberQuest approved his account, money would just come flying towards him.
"Don’t mention it, don’t trouble yourself about this. It’s cool since we’re friends, right?" he said to her with heartfelt feelings.
Hearing this, Jessica didn’t say a word as she looked down, then glanced back at him.
"Then what about me? To thank you, let’s go to the mall and enjoy. Consider it my treat," Jessica suggested with a smile, holding his arm.
Jeff, hearing this, was stunned. He shook his head frantically.
"This is not a good idea..." he didn’t finish his words when he felt his lower arm being squeezed by her hand.
"Why so quick in declining? Am I not pretty? Or rather not attractive to you? Also, this is not a date, and I’m just expressing my gratitude," Jessica said, her voice cold, making him bewildered by the sudden shift in attitude.
Seeing him silent, she continued with a glare, "You know, when I was hugging you earlier during my sudden breakdown, you didn’t take advantage of me. You really don’t find me attractive at all, do you?" she uttered.
Her face was coming closer and closer, just below him. As he looked down, their faces were only a bit apart.
"Uhhh..." he processed his thoughts as he pushed her gently on the shoulder to provide some space.
"You’re attractive, but we just met. Also a boy and a girl together in the mall, I think this is not appropriate, even if it’s just to thank..."
He was stopped again when he felt a delicate hand pinching him at the waist, making him embarrassed.
Since this kind of interaction was usually reserved for lovers, so he nodded, accepting it. She smiled, standing up with a victorious grin.
"That’s good. Then let’s go out on Saturday. I’ll go back to my room now," she said, grabbing her pillow from the bed and heading for the door.
Jeff, seeing this, still felt perplexed about why all of this was happening to him. But shaking his head, he decided to just sleep for the night and not think about it.
Outside the door, Jessica was hugging her pillow, her face partially covered so only her eyes could be seen.
She was also embarrassed by what she had done, feeling like a girlfriend controlling her boyfriend, which made her face turn red.
"Am I in love?" she whispered to herself in a low voice.
"That’s impossible, we just met. Maybe my emotions are just going haywire. I’ll try to sleep it off for the night, to calm down" Jessica said to herself as she went back to her room.
At the edge of the stairs, there was someone peeking. Her face was filled with shock as she saw this scene.
...
Special thanks to ’Meiwa_Blank👑’ – the GOAT for this month, for the Golden Tickets! Love you, brotha!
Special thanks to ’Devon1234👑’ – the GOAT for this month, for the Gifts! Love you, brotha!
