"No, they don't like games. They join the club only because of the enthusiastic invitation of a beautiful girl and endure to this day. They will indeed be sad for a while after you leave here, but I swear it won't last long."
"In this club, Lily, only you really love games. But with your talent, even if you play games every day, it is not enough to support a club like the game club..."
He even said that. If I still didn't stand up to help Minghai Lily, then I would not be qualified for a human being——
"In this game club, it is not just the club president who loves games!"
I stood between them, almost face to face with the former club president.
"...Uh, who are you?"
"I'm just an ordinary member of the game club. First of all, I want to tell you that although I admit that not everyone in the game club loves games, I swear that from today onwards, every one of them will become a game lover!"
"Secondly, games exist as hobbies rather than jobs. The club president does have limited abilities, but the type of games she wants to play should be determined by herself, rather than go to your game club and be ordered to play some games by you!"
"Lastly, indeed everyone joined the club because of the club president's appearance and invitation. But if the club president leaves the club, they definitely will not be sad for a while as you said. They will definitely try their best to keep the club president!"
I took out the stack of questionnaires. This was 'evidence' that everyone would do their best to keep the club president...
[Question: What do you think about the game club and what do you think if the club president leaving the club? ]
[Answer: Although I first joined the game club for some other reasons, after a long time, this place feels like home to me, and the club president is like my elder sister. If the club president left, it would probably be as painful as losing a loved one. ]
…Is this guy a siscon? I silently complained.
[Question: What do you think about the game club and what do you think if the club president leaving the club?]
[Answer: Game club? It's a place where you can relax and unwind (please don't let the club president see this, she will definitely scold me for not being lazy, please don't let the club president see this). Can't imagine what the game club will look like after the club president leaves, probably this place will soon be abandoned, right? ]
... It's a pity that the club president has already seen it.
I showed A4 paper full of words, page by page.
[Question: What do you think about the game club and what do you think if the club president leaving the club? ]
[Answer: The game club is the only place in this school that makes me feel like I have a presence! No matter in the class or anyone else, I am always bullied and ignored because I am fat. In the game club, I feel that I and everyone are on an equal footing (everyone will be scolded by the club president, no one is special). Without a game club, I would have no place to stay... So if the club president is going to leave one day, I will try my best to stop it]
This was the last one. It was Tianzhong's answer.
"Everyone..."
Minghai Lily's eyes were red, and when she noticed that I was looking at her, she turned her face to the other side to face the wall.
"Did you see it? This is what everyone really thinks!"
This was my trump card. It seemed that the whole day's effort of running around worked well...
"..."
The former club president was shocked by my trump card and unable to say anything for a long time.
"Hmm... I admit that everyone in this club really likes it here. But Lily is different from you, she is not just passionate but talented as well! In addition, only when she is with me, her talents would flourish best. You all are laymen, what can you..."
"Then let's fight?"
"What?"
"Let's fight, just use your so-called game to compete for the club president, and whoever loses will need to give up the club president."
"Are you serious?"
"If you lose to a layman like me, then don't try to boast about how good you are in front of the club president."
"Gaocheng classmate, you..."
Minghai Lily did not expect that she would become the prize for a duel, and she looked at us two blankly.
"Don't worry, club president. This club contains all your hard work and precious memories, and I've seen all your hard work with my own eyes, so I won't let it disappear like that. I won't lose."
"Okay, what game do we play?"
The other party agreed readily, and he seemed confident.
"Since I proposed the duel, you can choose the game type."
"Then don't regret it. I choose fighting games."
Playing fighting games with a controller was not what I was best at. However, I was very confident in my reaction and operation ability, so I should have no problem beating him.
We returned to the classroom for the game club together. Everyone was stunned when they saw the former president and Minghai's red eyes.
"This is the former president of the game club. We are going to compete in the fighting game. If he loses, he promises that he will not harass the club president."
"This damn guy!"
"Classmate Gaocheng, beat him!"
"Classmate Gaocheng, you can do it!"
For a moment, there were such noises in the classroom, many of them were trying to encourage me...
"Can I choose this 'Ironfist Superpower'?"
"You can."
Then--
We pressed the buttons on the controller at the same time when the game started.
['You Win]
"...I lost."
The former president put down the controller.
Even if it was a game controlled by a controller, my game ability was still very reliable.
"Yeah! Classmate Gaocheng good job!"
Tianzhong was particularly excited, probably he truly didn't want the club president to leave.
"...Damn it, how could I..."
The former president was in disbelief.
"So, what are you still sitting here doing?"
I waited for him to calm down a little bit, and said those words to him, which indirectly told him that he should leave now.
"As I said before, I won't bother Minghai Lily again. You are a very good gamer, and the game club will probably… No, it will definitely become better."
Even if he lost the game, he stood up and bowed to me.
"Lily, I will not try to persuade you anymore, maybe this is really the best place for you. I just hope you will always be happy, and I will come to see you later when I have time. Goodbye."
After he finished speaking, he walked straight in the direction of the door, without looking back.
"Goodbye..."
Minghai Lily stared at his back until the classroom door closed again.
"Classmate Gaocheng, thank you so much."
The tone of her speech was very gentle.
"As a member of this game club, this is what I should do."
"I don't know what to do without you..."
"Anyway, it's not a big deal. If you really want, buy me a cup of coffee in return..."
I didn't expect that one day I would let a beautiful girl buy me a drink, and I could easily say it.
The sad thing was, it was only limited to the game...
——
[Twelfth Day]
Cafe.
Minghai Lily sat opposite me, and there were two glasses of ice mocha on the table.
I looked at the opposite shop outside the glass window, and the billboard above showed an advertisement for Shuiyuan Weina's concert.
With this week's hard work, I finally cleared the game, Gazing at the stars. In the Happy Ending, Zhenli realized that Hexi was the best man to her. After experiencing the classic scene of the confession on the bridge, she re-established the relationship with Hexi and returned to Teng Ye Prefecture together with him...
"Actually, Classmate Gaocheng, he and I are neighbors and we have known each other since we were very young. We didn't meet each other often at that time, and didn't become good friends until we found out that we were classmates in high school."
She stirred the ice mocha in the cup and said. To be honest, it was beyond my expectation that the plot could progress to this point, but a long self-narration like this always gave me a bad feeling...
"It was he who brought me into the gaming community for the first time. We founded the game club at the time, dreaming of making it the best club in this school..."
"I admire him, who is talented in games and has great leadership... So, when he left school, I was shocked."
I watched the coffee cup cast a shadow under the light.
"I remember... He had been persuading me to transfer before he left, but at that time I was reluctant to leave this newly established club, and quarreled with him several times."
"Club president... I think although what he said was a bit too much, his intention wasn't bad."
I tried to comfort her.
I didn't know when, lively music began to sound in this cafe.
"Probably."
"It's just that everyone has different ideas, so what he believes is right may not be right for you."
I thought of Shuiyuan Weina's mother, who worked hard to plan for Shuiyuan Weinna's future. She was also doing it for her own good.
"Thank you for comforting me... To be honest, I always thought that I could deal with it myself. But when I was desperate, Classmate Gaocheng appeared in front of me like a prince who was trying to save me this princess... Hey! Don't laugh at me."
I couldn't help myself but laugh.
"I told you that as a member of the club, that is what I should do. If it were Classmate Tianzhong, he would also do it for you."
"No, Classmate Gaocheng is different from them..."
Her face was very red.
"Can classmate Gaocheng go out with me?"
"Ah..."
I finally understood what she meant by that. So it was a confession again? Sure enough, my bad premonition was accurate!
I resisted the urge to agree.
"I'm sorry, I can't."
"...why?"
"Because..."
I didn't know what kind of excuse I should give her. I couldn't just tell her that I wanted to explore the secret ending of this game, right?
"Welcome~"
This voice was familiar...
Behind the customers who just came in, a pink-haired waitress in a maid outfit was greeting them.
Wait a minute, the pink-haired waitress... Wasn't that Yuchuan Ying? ! Why was she working here? Was this a coincidence?
Suddenly, I got an idea!
"Sorry, I already have someone I like..."
When I said this, my tone was full of sadness. In fact, I was really sad. After all, rejecting beautiful girls' confession was not a happy thing.
"...Classmate Gaocheng, you already have someone you like?"
She didn't seem to believe it.
"Yes, her name is Yuchuan Ying, and she is my classmate… Right there."
I pointed to Ying who was greeting customers in a maid costume in the distance.
"If everyone has a destined lover, then she must be my destined lover...Club President, you will definitely meet someone better than me."
"...I see, if this is the case..."
As expected it was her, after a little thought, she accepted my excuse.
Then she stood up suddenly, drank the coffee in one go, and then placed the cup heavily on the table.
"Ah-cough cough, so cold!"
"This is not beer..."
"Actually, I was just joking. Did you take it seriously? You really think that I would be interested in younger boys? Also, I don't like to be the third wheel."
Then, without saying goodbye, she turned and left the cafe.
"?"
After she left, I saw a piece of paper falling on the ground. Did it fall from her?
[ March 23rd (Sunday), Yu Ying Theater, the total number of reservations: 2, reservation name: Minghai Lily, ticket holder name: Gao Chengyuan, page 2/2. ]
She... originally planned to invite me to a theater show?
Since it was a ticket with my name written on it, I probably didn't need to return it to her, right?
"Classmate Gaocheng?"
While checking the ticket information, Ying who was working finally noticed me.
"Are you drinking coffee alone?"
I looked at the two cups on the table. I didn't think that I would be able to hide this...
"No, I was just chatting with a friend, she left first... Is Classmate Yuchuan working here?"
"Yes."
"That must be very hard, right?"
"No, it's just after school and on weekends."
"Why does Classmate Yuchuan work here?"
The hidden line would appear soon. I didn't know much about her. It would be nice if I could take this opportunity to ask.
"Because I need money..."
I didn't expect that Ying, who was pure and lovely in my eyes, would actually say the words 'need money'.
Did both of her parents? Pass away No, no, I clearly remember her saying that her father was still alive.
Was it to pay the debts for the gambler father?
"Customers over there need to order... I'm sorry, Classmate Gaocheng, please excuse me."
After she finished speaking, she bowed to me, and then went to another table of high school students.
It was so strange. It seemed that Ying's story was not simple...
When I walked out of the store, the sky was already embellished by the pink sunset.
In this way, I finally cleared the plot lines for Minghai Lily and Shuiyuan Weina. In fact, as Waning Moon said, as an early game, it had many imperfections and the logic of the plot was relatively simple.
This was limited by the AI technology at the time, and only simple stories could be designed. The characters' reactions were relatively simple, their logical thinking was still shallow, and the number of events and scripts that each character could carry was also greatly limited.
But for some reason, the stories of these two characters left a deep impression on my mind.
Whether it was Shuiyuan Weina, who likes cooking, or Minghai Lily, who was a game club president, their AI was only at the level of children compared with the latest model of the smart companion.
This was the so-called feeling of loss after the ending was near, right?
It was not far from the day of clearance of this game, what about after clearance? Would this game sink in my memory like other games?
I did not know. This was how the game was. It would become meaningless after it was cleared. It would never be as infinitely long as the real world, and its plot would not be as colorful as the real world.
But on the other hand, the real world was much crueler than the game world. There was no noble lineage, hard work may not be rewarded, and no beautiful girls would confess to me.
I really hoped that I could live in a game world…
Anyway, it was useless to say so much. It was time to reload the save and clear the final plotline.