"Come in."
Shen Yi stepped aside and let her in.
Cheng Jun entered the room and looked around curiously.
"Have a seat. My place isn't as nice as yours, a bit smaller," Shen Yi said, guiding her to the sofa while he sat on a chair by the table.
Cheng Jun sat on the sofa, her hands resting on her knees as she glanced around.
Once seated, her loose T-shirt revealed her fair and delicate collarbone, which seemed deep enough to hold a handful of water. Her long, slender legs reflected the light, almost blindingly white, and her bare feet in flip-flops unconsciously curled her tender toes.
"It's quite clean," she commented after looking around.
"The place is small, and there’s not much stuff, so it looks tidy," Shen Yi replied casually, glancing at the room he hadn’t lived in for long.
Cheng Jun pointed to a paper bag on the table and said,
"Try this, I... I made it."
"Sure," Shen Yi replied, taking a piece and putting it in his mouth. After chewing for a while, he nodded in approval,
"Not bad, it's delicious."
Cheng Jun's eyes lit up with a hint of hesitation,
"Really?"
She had been practicing her cooking skills recently. Being naturally smart and eager to learn, her progress had even surprised the housekeeper who taught her.
"Of course," Shen Yi said sincerely. The cookies were sweet but not cloying, no worse than those sold in stores.
Cheng Jun smiled, a genuine smile that blended with her inner expectations, forming a sense of joy.
Seeing her efforts recognized by Shen Yi, she felt it was all worth it.
Even this small sweetness was something she wanted to share only with him.
Shen Yi was almost dazzled by her smile.
"Ding~"
A notification sound came from Shen Yi’s phone.
He opened it and saw that Fu Nanzhi had arrived home and was letting him know she was safe.
He instinctively smiled and sent back a "received" emoji.
Cheng Jun's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her happiness seemed to fade instantly.
She vaguely guessed something, her lips twitching as if she wanted to say something but held back.
The atmosphere quickly cooled, and not long after, Cheng Jun excused herself. Shen Yi stood up and saw her out.
After she left, Shen Yi walked to the bed and lay down.
He sighed softly and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
...
The next morning, the sunlight was pleasant, and Shen Yi went out for his usual run.
Just as he exited the neighborhood, a car pulled up beside him.
The window rolled down, and Cheng Jun, wearing sunglasses, greeted him.
Shen Yi waved back. One headed to work, the other to jog, and they went their separate ways.
Watching the taillights of the car, Shen Yi shook his head. A brand-new Porsche in such a modest neighborhood seemed out of place.
Preoccupied with thoughts, Shen Yi only ran for half an hour this time, grabbed a quick breakfast on the roadside, and headed home.
After freshening up, he sat down and pulled out his laptop to start a new day of simulations.
Several web pages were open on the laptop, all containing knowledge he had picked out the night before to study.
A screen unfolded, and Shen Yi clicked on [Text Simulation].
He skipped a long list of instructions and prepared to start the matching process.
"Dating Assistant Reminder: Text Simulation is a reality-based simulation that randomly retrieves players' surroundings for suitable targets. Two targets will be selected, and you can choose one to pursue."
...
...
"Begin matching?"
"Begin matching!"
[Searching...]
"Detected passive gaming behavior!"
"Warning: Passive gaming may lead to unknown risks. Please proceed with caution."
[Penalty: Number of matched targets reduced from 2 to 1.]
[Matching successful!]
Shen Yi's eyes widened in shock at the information before him.
"What?!"
His brilliant idea had barely been used once before it was doomed to fail.
From the system's warnings and penalties, it was clear that exploiting bugs wasn’t possible.
This was a dating simulation game, and it was best not to stray from the main theme.
Clearly, what he had done in yesterday’s simulation was considered slacking off by the system.
"Now I can’t freeload, and I’m being punished..."
Since the system had set these rules, Shen Yi had no choice but to accept them.
The unfortunate part was that his options for pursuing characters had narrowed. From now on, no matter who the system randomly selected, he’d have to grit his teeth and go along with it.
As for the unknown risks mentioned in the warning, Shen Yi didn’t want to test them. He didn’t want to risk losing the system altogether.
There was no use dwelling on it. For now, he had to focus on seriously completing this simulation with the selected target.
With that in mind, Shen Yi prepared to look at the character the system had matched him with.
Name: Shu Yunyi
Gender: Female
Age: 34
Charm: 91
Cup: E
Marital Status: Single
Number of Dates: 7
Experience: 0
Preferences: Aloof, Travel (Details require unlock with pursuit points)
Overall Rating: 94
"This is..."
Shen Yi was stunned, his gaze unfocused.
Despite this being another highly-rated character, Shen Yi felt little joy.
Because he knew her.
Shu Yunyi—such a distant name, or perhaps not so distant, as she had been one of the youngest lecturers during Shen Yi’s university days.
She had also been a prominent figure on campus back then.
A beautiful lecturer in her late twenties, kind-hearted, with a great figure, a gentle voice, and strong expertise.
A single photo of her could set the campus forum ablaze.
She was the object of admiration for countless students, including Shen Yi at the time.
In the naive days of youth, a figure like her had entered their lives, radiating charm effortlessly.
Though unintentional, she had left a profound mark in everyone’s memories, like ribbons of beauty fluttering in their minds.
"It’s her. She’s probably a professor by now," Shen Yi muttered to himself.
The last time he had seen her before graduating, she had already been an associate professor, qualified to mentor graduate students.
Shen Yi’s gaze lingered on the "Single" status, feeling a bit dazed.
"Didn’t I hear she had a boyfriend? She’s 34 now and still unmarried?"
This was something Shen Yi had heard from his seniors. Back then, many had lamented, feeling as though they had all collectively lost their chance.
Now, she was a "leftover woman," still unattached.
Shen Yi looked at the glowing [Start Simulation] button below, and his memories slowly came alive.
"Pursue her?"
[Selected: Shu Yunyi]
[Simulation begins!]
[You are Shen Yi, a 25-year-old high-quality male, physically strong, energetic, handsome, and outstanding, ranking among the best in the crowd.]
[Your goal is to find Shu Yunyi and successfully pursue her.]
[After some thought, you realize you actually know her, though you’re unsure of her current situation.]
[You’ve come up with an idea on how to find her, and based on this clue, you decide to...]
A. Use your college student’s naive wisdom and charge ahead recklessly.
B. Seek out a senior who stayed at the university for clues, letting a familiar face guide you.
C. Put up a banner at the school gate to find her, accusing her of abandoning you.
D. Take free action.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
