"Ding!"
-58,000
The price of extravagance at the bar was a major hit that nearly depleted Shen Yi's assets.
As the cash register chimed, Shen Yi helped the tipsy Jian Leyi out of the bar. The scene gradually faded, and when it became clear again, they were both back in the car.
After Jian Leyi's "drunken" act, the drinking had come to an end. The original branch hadn't triggered, instead leading to new developments.
Facing Jian Leyi who was pretending to be drowsy in the passenger seat:
A. Expose her act and ask for her address to take her home.
B. Wake her up and discuss where to go next.
C. Open the door and kick her out to sober up.
D. Say nothing and drive her straight to your home.
E. Custom input
Holding his phone, Shen Yi sat up straight. He had a feeling that this round's rating would depend on his current choice.
The first and third options were immediately ruled out. Whether sending her home or kicking her out would waste all of Shen Yi's efforts for the night - both were terrible choices.
As for the remaining options, Shen Yi was still undecided.
Both were good choices, but the outcomes could be drastically different.
The pale white UI dialog box couldn't completely hide the situation inside the car. Shen Yi fell into deep thought as he watched Jian Leyi pretending to sleep on his right.
After a long while, Shen Yi chose the second option. Although taking her home was tempting, Shen Yi remembered he was playing a dating simulation, not looking for a one-night stand.
Though this gold-digger seemed defenseless, taking advantage of her drunken state wouldn't count as a successful conquest. Given her open personality setting, rushing to the end would probably result in a low score.
In a dating sim, how could there not be a confession scene? Based on Shen Yi's experienced gaming intuition, only a successful confession would count as completing the conquest.
Gently shaking her, Jian Leyi opened her hazy eyes as if just waking from a dream.
"Ah~ Sorry, I can't hold my liquor. I must have troubled Young Master Shen~"
Her voice was coy and ambiguous, subtly changing how she addressed him.
That "Young Master Shen" gave Shen Yi goosebumps. It felt strange to his ears, and he wasn't used to such an address, though her act was truly worthy of a seasoned green tea bitch.
"It's still early, where should we go next?"
Facing Shen Yi's suggestion, Jian Leyi nodded gently: "Wherever Young Master Shen goes, I'll follow. I'll do whatever you say~"
At this moment, Jian Leyi was incredibly docile, almost giving off the impression of a submissive wife.
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yi faced new choices:
A. Park, B. Hotel, C. Cinema, D. Public toilet.
Among three short options and one long, choose the longest - Shen Yi picked the cinema almost without hesitation.
If he remembered correctly, movies were listed among Jian Leyi's traits, so this choice must be right.
After confirming his choice, unexpectedly, Jian Leyi's delicate eyebrows furrowed, making Shen Yi, who had been observing her reaction, tense up.
Jian Leyi pondered with furrowed brows before speaking:
"I don't really like watching movies, I've barely been to cinemas."
Shen Yi was puzzled by her response. Character traits couldn't lie, so was the system setting him up?
While pondering, he suddenly recalled what the assistant had described earlier: traits were fixed, but preferences were dynamic, and he suddenly understood.
Jian Leyi being a gold-digger and green tea bitch were traits, while drinking and movies could be considered preferences - they could be either likes or dislikes.
Shen Yi had made a wrong judgment due to insufficient information. Her true preferences must be enjoying drinking but disliking movies.
Having figured it all out, Shen Yi suddenly felt the satisfaction of solving a puzzle.
Just then, Jian Leyi stroked the carbon fiber interior trim, her fingers gliding across it as her expression quickly brightened.
"But that was before I met Young Master Shen. I rarely went because it felt too lonely going alone."
"Let's go watch a movie now, I can't wait~"
The complete turnaround in attitude made Shen Yi marvel - apparently with a high enough favorability rating, you could choose options that went against the character's preferences.
'Perhaps next time I could try confessing in a public toilet just to see her reaction.'
Shen Yi stroked his chin, entertaining the mischievous thought, wondering whether it should be in the men's or women's restroom.
After Jian Leyi agreed, only the "Drive There" button remained on screen, and Shen Yi clicked confirm.
The scene changed, and they had arrived together at the cinema entrance.
Rows of posters stood on both sides, though they were too foggy to see clearly. The view continued to move forward.
At the ticket counter, there was a "ding" sound as 160 yuan was deducted from Shen Yi's account - exactly the price of two tickets. At the same time, options appeared:
A. Romance, B. Action, C. Sci-fi, D. Horror.
Shen Yi casually chose romance. Since he wouldn't actually be watching the movie, any choice would do, might as well pick one that seemed right.
After entering the theater, time jumped forward and the scene darkened. A dim screen light fell on Jian Leyi's face, the view shifted right to her profile, tears streaming down her face as she cried emotionally.
Facing the deeply moved Jian Leyi:
A. (Be a simp) Hold her in your arms to comfort her
B. (Wipe her tears) Take the chance to confess your love
C. (Curse loudly) Yell at her for being so emotional
D. (Stand up) Make everyone in the theater look at me
Shen Yi, who had been intently watching the screen, finally smiled at these options and suppressed his voice:
"NICE! Got it!"
After his cheer, Shen Yi immediately clicked the confession option.
Jian Leyi, who had been absorbed in the screen, was caught off guard by the sudden confession. Her facade crumbled instantly - this situation was something she hadn't anticipated.
Disbelief and emotion showed simultaneously on her face. Choked with emotion, she covered her mouth, unable to speak. Her tears flowed more intensely as she could only nod repeatedly in excitement...
As the confession ended, the entire screen turned white, illuminating Shen Yi's face by his bed. The last scene he saw was Jian Leyi throwing herself at him.
In the phone, Cupid's arrow pierced through a pink heart with a "poof," and the scene froze.
"Date ended, conquest successful!"
"System calculating..."
...
[Overall Rating: B+, A successful date]
[Notice: Your charm has increased, your conquest experience has increased]
[Reward: 200,000 yuan, Charm +2]
[System Comment: Money isn't everything, but without money, nothing is possible.]
[Rating meets requirements, synchronize rewards?]
[Review scene?]
A cascade of information flooded the screen. Shen Yi felt like he had just experienced an immersive movie and was still savoring it as he confirmed each displayed message one by one.
'Why only B+? Is A the highest grade, or is it S? What did I miss?'
Shen Yi frowned at the rating. He could accept B+, but it hadn't met his expectations.
He wasn't too concerned about the assets and charm rewards - this was just a beginner-level scenario. Judging by this output rate, there was still much grinding to do.
'Synchronize? Synchronize to where? Weren't the rewards already given?'
Shen Yi was already eager to see the scene review and carelessly clicked confirm synchronization.
This dating mini-game had thoroughly captivated him. Now that he had his report card, he naturally wanted to see the 'answer key.'