A survey showed that most of the romantic relationships during the High School period failed because of the intervention of parents and teachers. Fortunately, this virtual reality galgame arranged a home without parents for me as the protagonist to avoid this kind of trouble.
Although not comparable to some next-generation masterpieces with maps of millions of square meters, the range of activities in this game was still much larger than that of Hanakura Town in "The Story Of Cherry Blossoms", and my residence was in an ordinary residential area. In addition, the game designer also designed a large number of NPC residents.
Since Ying and Shen Qing have replaced the original NPCs, naturally they also needed to live in the original NPCs' homes, and get used to their lifestyles. People like Shen Qing naturally would not cause any concerns. But could Ying fit into this game well without exposing anything.
It must be said that I was very worried...
At around 7:30 in the morning, I left my house to go to school, and of course I did not forget to carry the lemon cheesecake.
"Morning, classmate Shi!"
After seeing me, the eyes of the girl with long orange hair and double ponytails at the school gate lit up. She suddenly greeted me. Even if she lost the iconic long hair, she was still as unique as before. Yes, this girl was Ying.
The way Ying called me has changed, which was not a small improvement. At least now, it wouldn't attract Awakened AI's attention...
But was it okay to greet me so suddenly? I immediately looked around cautiously, making sure that no NPC had noticed this. It was really worthy of being a galgame. The NPC girls who came to school were all slender and beautiful. Although the girls were wearing sportswear, their exquisite curves would be revealed when they bend slightly. It was not the same as the real female High School students. In terms of boys, they were very ordinary, which was a comfort to the players.
Ying and I walked together, but kept a slight distance from each other.
In order not to attract attention, we naturally didn't talk much, but just as I was thinking, a girl with an arrogant look passed us at a fast pace and walked to the teaching building...
"Shen Qing?"
"Boyfriend Stealer!"
She only noticed us after hearing our voices, and then came to my other side to keep a certain distance and move side by side with us.
"--It just so happens that I have something to tell you about the task."
She suddenly lowered her voice.
"Oh."
I immediately paid attention to what she was going to say. At the moment, we looked like some secret agents meeting up with each other on the street.
"I've discovered that in this game, players can have relationships with multiple heroines at the same time."
"Have relationships with multiple heroines at the same time? That means I can have a harem?"
"Disgusting! Is that what you think about all day? You already have a girlfriend, but you are still thinking about having a harem? Just for the convenience of the task, you can increase your friendship with the three heroines at the same time. Don't even think about having a harem or anything."
"An otaku girl who loves to play galgame is in no position to say this to me..." I murmured.
"...Yuan, what are you talking about? What harem?"
Ying over the other side heard us and asked me with a smile as always. But I saw a trace of coldness in her eyes...
"...No, nothing! You heard it wrong!"
I quickly waved my hand and denied it.
You must be kidding. If Ying knew that I had the idea of having a harem, I was afraid I would be 'fragmented' immediately!
I didn't want to die for such a strange reason.
"——So, in order to complete the task efficiently, it is necessary to increase the 'the level of affection' of all the targets for me at the same time? Of course, this does not mean that I want to conquer them, I have to do it just for the task."
"Yes, you can think it that way. Anyway, it is not as simple as you think to chase a few girls at a time. Maybe you will be the one who quit first. Any questions?"
"No..."
On the surface she was asking me if I had any questions, but in fact, even if I had any questions, she would probably ignore it.
She was just telling what she thought. She would not care about my questions at all.
"If that's the case, then here is the plan. You can take it and have a look, noob."
Damn it. She just joined the organisation a few months earlier than me, but she used the look of a pro to look down on me...
As a High School in a galgame, there was actually quite a small amount of school time a day. Starting from morning reading at 8 o'clock, there were 4 morning classes, 3 afternoon classes, and the school would finish at 4 o'clock.
When we entered the classroom leisurely, sat down slowly, and took out the books to prepare for the morning class, the middle-aged bald headteacher suddenly walked in and announced a piece of breaking news——
"We are going to the water park as a whole class on weekends. This is a collective activity to enhance everyone's relationship. Everyone must come."
Water park...
"Water park... what is that?"
A ball of paper flew onto my table. People who have gone to school were not unfamiliar with this. This was the most primitive way to convey information.
And this ball of paper was undoubtedly the note that Ying sent me.
The reason why Ying passed the note was that I said that it was not suitable for us to frequently contact each other in the game, and it was more convenient to pass the note in class.
Although passing notes was a necessary skill for most high school students, it was still difficult to throw notes silently. Fortunately, my teaching was good, and she quickly mastered this skill.
"Oh that. It's a water-themed amusement park with swimming pools, slides and artificial waves."
In "The Story Of Cherry Blossoms", there was no such facility as a water park, not even a swimming pool, so Ying did not know what a water park was. Because the game map where she was born was just a small town, and the environment was too simple.
It must be said that it was not the first time that she did not understand something.
"So there really is such a place! I really want to go with Yuan."...
——To be honest, I haven't had much interest in water parks for a long time, and I even thought it was a place for children to play.
But... If going with people of the same age, especially beautiful girls of the same age, then everything would be different!
That was right, I thought of something lewd! Since it was a water park, there must be swimsuits and wet bodies, right?
Sadly, in reality, I always saw aunties when I went to the swimming pool, but this kind of dating simulation game was different. The girls in this class were all pretty young girls! Besides, two of them were controlled by Ying and Shen Qing respectively. That was to say, I would be swimming with my virtual girlfriend and my beautiful classmate in reality at the same time! This was something that should be far away from me and it would not happen again. I must cherish this opportunity.
It was really great to be able to participate in this game together...
...
"Here is your cheesecake."
During the lunch break, I found a girl with two ponytails who looked like a junior high school student in the same place.
"You really brought a cake… let me make it clear first, but I am not touched by it at all. Do you understand?"
What was the matter with her tsundere look?
Watching tsundere people really felt different from actually meeting one. The latter really made me feel the urge to hit her.
"Tsk, in that case, I'll take it back."
I pretended to take back the cake.
"Wait what! No!"
She rushed forward to take away the cake. But the cake had been raised above my head by me, and she, who was about 150cm tall, naturally couldn't reach it.
She was jumping back and forth, trying to reach the cake, like a puppy.
"Okay, I'm a little touched, alright! Now give it to me!"
"That's more like it."
I gave the cake to her. Although it was impossible to correct her strange character in a short period of time…
I didn't know what I was thinking at the moment? It was impossible to change the character setting.
"By the way, you need to say thank you after receiving the gift."
"You are so annoying. Wow! This cake is so delicious, I can't remember how long I haven't tasted it..."
"Are you suffering from the Eighth-Grader Syndrome?"
Obviously, she was at such an age, but she was speaking in an elderly tone, it was not difficult to think that her setting also included the Eighth-Grader Syndrome.
"Um... uh... you are suffering from the Eighth-Grader Syndrome…"
…...
"——What is the Eighth-Grader Syndrome?"
After eating the cake, she sat in a chair and looked up at the lush leaves covering her head.
"... You just remembered to ask me questions now"
"... I forgot to ask when I was eating the cake."
"A dummy that can't handle two things at the same time... Don't be discouraged. It's not your fault."
"You are a dummy!"
"You have eaten the cake. You should tell me your name now, right?"
"It seems to be... Fei Fei, right?"
"Don't you even know your own name..."
"Because... no one has called me by my name for a long time!"
She retorted me dispiritedly.
I realized that the double ponytails in front of me might not be pretending. She probably really couldn't remember.
"Let's not talk about whether you can use the adjective 'very long' at your age... even if no one called your name, you should not forget your name, right?"
"Not if you haven't been called for too long."
"Your name is like swimming and cycling skills, how can you forget them?"
"Mmmm..."
She seemed to suffer a heavy blow…
My question was too direct. It probably upset her… I couldn't help but feel pity for her.
She was such a dummy.
"But I can't remember the last name..."
I have never seen such a confused person.
"Forget it... Don't force yourself. Remembering the first name is more than enough."
I patted her on the head. But my hand was pushed away by her in a dissatisfied manner.
"I think so too. It's your turn now. What's your name?"
"My name—Shi Yuanxing."
"Um... then I will just call you Dummy for short."
"... Are you kidding me? You are the dummy, not me. Besides, does this have anything to do with my name?"
"I won't tell you!"
"I think you are asking for a punishment..."
"Ha! You can't catch me!"
Even if the opponent was such a petite girl, I would not be merciful!
"Ow! I'm sorry, please let me go!"
...Unexpectedly, I reached out my hand and grabbed her ponytails easily.
And she lost her arrogance as soon as I grabbed her ponytails, and kept begging for mercy.
"It turns out that you are so weak. Now say that you are sorry."
"I'm sorry! Let go of my hair, it hurts! Rude human!"
I let go of her ponytails, and then she fell on a chair because of an unstable center of gravity. Rude human?... As if she was not a human being. She indeed had Eighth-Grader Syndrome...
"Why do you want to do this! I see, you are not a dummy, you are a jerk!"
She jumped up and hit my shoulder with a fist—the pain of an attack of this level was not as strong as my foot knocking to the corner of the table.
"Girls who say this will not be able to get married in the future, you know?"
"..."
Her smile gradually froze.
"Is it true?"
I nodded.
"Does it mean that no one will bring me lemon cheesecake?"
——So she was worried about this? Just how much did this silly kid love lemon cheesecake...
"Not only will no one bring you lemon cheesecake, but you will also die alone."
"I don't want to be like that, just tell me how to get lemon... how can I not die alone?"
She grabbed my shirt eagerly, and deliberately changed her words along the way.
"If you really don't want that to happen, then have a good relationship with the people around you first."
Sure enough, foodies were easy to fool...
"But… I have no one I can talk to. The only one I can talk to… is you!"
Was the situation that bad?
Originally I thought that this kind of thing would not happen to anyone. Even the lonely person would have at least one friend, right?
Was this kid so dumb that no other children wanted to play with her?...
"Then if you listen to me, there may be hope."
"Okay, I will listen."
She nodded solemnly.
That was more like it…
But speaking of the methods... I thought about it for a while, but still couldn't think of any.
After all, I have never encountered such a situation. Not to mention that letting a game otaku teach a little girl how to make friends? This matter itself sounded very ridiculous, alright. I couldn't recommend her to play large-scale dating games to learn skills, right?...
"Um, I will tell you the method in a few days..."
"That's not important… Will you bring me more lemon cheesecake?"
This kid was truly a foodie...
"But, will you not get bored just eating lemon cheesecake? Don't you want to eat other flavors? For example, matcha..."
Although I had no experience in chatting with girls, I often heard them gossip.
I remembered that many girls have said that they loved to eat matcha.
"Matcha? What is that?"
"Don't you know matcha?"
This time I was really shocked. Although the girl in front of you looked petite, she was around 14,5 years old, right? But she didn't even know the matcha… It was really pitiful.
"I only know lemon cheesecake. I heard it from people passing by."
"Matcha is a super delicious thing. In addition to lemon cheesecake, how about I bring a matcha cake for you next time?"
"...Um, Okay, I think I will try it."
Ding--
It was the bell for class.
I had to go back, or the worst result was that Ying would look for me everywhere because she was worried about me...
By the way, recently, she has been having a lot of fun playing with a black cat. After confirming that the cat was not controlled by Shen Qing or someone else, she who loved little animals decided to keep it.
This was great. Thinking about the setting of "The Story Of Cherry Blossoms" that she could not have pets in her house... This was a good thing for Ying.
"Class is about to start, see you later."
"Don't forget my cake!"
Her voice came from behind, even at this moment, she did not forget to remind me of the cake.
"Yuan, you are late again. Did something happen?"
Slightly late, I walked into the classroom and sat down in the eyes of all classmates. Then I received a note from Ying.
"No, nothing, don't worry."
"After school, I need Yuan to help me."
I was curious, what kind of help did Ying need?
I skipped the lesson phase.
"Yuan! I suddenly remembered that if I don't have a suitable swimsuit for the water park tomorrow, what should I do?"
After school, I was pulled aside by Ying.
"You don't have a swimsuit at home already?"
"That... yes, it's just an ordinary black one-piece swimsuit. If I wear such a swimsuit, Yuan would definitely not want to look at me more, right?"
Was it a black one-piece swimsuit… I didn't really mind. I didn't have any opinion on what kind of swimsuit a beautiful girl should wear, but it would be best if she could wear a bikini.
"So, can Yuan accompany me to pick a swimsuit after school!"
Pick a swimsuit after school?
The scene of waiting for Ying to change her swimsuit in the clothing shop and then coming out shyly to show me...
Such a scene has never happened in my lifetime. Now that my girlfriend took the initiative to ask, there was no reason for me to refuse.
"No problem! Let's go now!"
"Eh? Yuan, why do you become so enthusiastic all of sudden.."
I picked up my schoolbag faster than Ying and took her towards the city center.
The shopping mall in the city centre was only 5 minutes away from the school. The names and logos of many stores there were modified from the brands that existed in reality. However, because I wasn't familiar with any one of those female underwear brands, so I felt very troubled on the way to the shopping mall.
But I didn't need to worry about finding them, the storefront with pink and black signs would clearly tell customers that this was an underwear store.
Although I ran here on impulse... I realized one of the most fundamental problems, I didn't understand these things at all.
"Eh? This is the underwear shop. Does it also sell swimwear?"
I nodded to Ying, who was looking at the storefront in front of me excitedly, and we walked into the forbidden place in front of me together.
In the end I chose to ask the clerk for help.
"Hi, can I help you?"
The shopping guide lady in the shop came to us with a smile.
"That, women's underwear, no, I mean swimwear..."
This was the first time I set foot here besides being with my mother, and I answered without confidence. Sure enough, even in the game, this kind of thing would feel embarrassing.
"Oh, is it for this lady? Please come with me."
Fortunately, it was an experienced shopping guide. Seeing this situation, she directly brought us to the girly swimwear area.
"Please take your time."
The AI shopping guide in the game recommended a few swimwear that was suitable for Ying and left us alone.
Nice! They were all bikinis...
"Yuan, white or pink, which one is more suitable for me?"
"Um… white."
There was nothing better than seeing a gentle girl in a white bikini. It matched her pink hair well.
"Then I'll try this one."
She took her bikini and walked into the fitting room.
The waiting time was always very long. In other words, the design of this fitting room was a kind of welfare in itself. There were huge gaps between the top and bottom of the wooden door. From the gap below, I could see Ying's bare feet, lifting up from time to time in order to take off something...
"Sorry to keep you waiting, it took me a lot of time to take off the underwear..."
Then, the door was opened...
Ying, wearing a white bikini, stood in the doorway and looked at me slightly nervous.
——Whether it was the plump chest or the smooth waist outline, it was full of girly attraction, this… this was really a beautiful sense worth admiring...
"Um, is this swimsuit suitable..."
"...Although it is suitable, maybe the pink bikini over there will be better."
Wanting to see Ying wearing different bikinis, I quickly said.
"Since Yuan said so..."
I helped her to get the pink bikini and then passed it to her.
Yes, I could see Ying wearing a different bikini again...
In the end, after trying on different swimwear, we finally chose a white bikini with a bow behind the neck…
I really look forward to Ying getting wet after wearing it...
"Yuan, are you thinking of anything lustful?"
Speaking, Ying began to untie the straps of his swimsuit without hesitation.
"...Huh? No, Ying, you've misunderstood me!"
"If you want to do lustful things, we can do it anytime?"
Speaking of lustful things, usually because Ying only had a virtual body, so I would not be able to do anything. However, it may be possible to achieve this wish in this game that was not suitable for all ages…
No, no, what was I thinking! Obviously, the little angel had been misled by the strange things on my computer. At this time, if I let her sink even more, it would be over!
The little angel was a little angel because she was pure and innocent! Although the little succubus Ying was very interesting in a sense, this was not a custom girlfriend that could be adjusted casually according to my preferences.
If I knowingly manipulated her, how was it different between the artificial Smart Companions on the market?
Ying was Ying. She was a special artificial intelligence. I couldn't accept this kind of cheating to satisfy my desires.
"Huh? Isn't that..."
I looked in the direction Ying was pointing... Wasn't the short-haired female High School student walking there Shen Qing?
Meeting Shen Qing here was really beyond my expectations. In reality, we lived together for a few days. Except for class, I have never seen her go out, and no real friends have come to her.
Her otaku personality was much worse than me in a way.
Although I didn't know why she is here, I had to thank her for giving me a reason to change the subject.
However, what was interesting was that almost every time she went to school, I could see brave young men trying to strike up a conversation with her, and trying to ask her out or something, but her expression has never changed at all. She didn't give anyone a face...
I have always felt fortunate that I didn't have that kind of delusion towards her, so naturally I didn't have to bear her contempt...
"..."
While I was thinking, Shen Qing also saw me.
"You are buying clothes?"
Unexpectedly, she took the initiative to speak to us.
"Tsk... Boyfriend Stealer is here."
"Can't you think of a solution for your girlfriend's attitude toward me?"
Shen Qing looked at Ying who was hiding behind me speechlessly. Like a cat protecting her food... her hair almost stood on end.
"Ying... It is not what you think."
"Yuan, why do you want to defend Classmate Kazusa? For the first time, there is someone I like, and we also promised to be together forever. The two happiness overlapping each other should bring more joy. I should have had a dreamlike happy time, but why did this happen... Why does Yuan want to protect this Boyfriend Stealer..."
"Classmate Ogiso, obviously I met this idiot first. Also please don't misunderstand our relationship again, alright..."
"What are you talking about?"
Why did these two suddenly begin to act like NPCs? What was going on with this strange line full of literary and artistic feeling?
"Oh, it seems to be a small easter egg in the game. When the NPCs we play meet each other while the main character is around, it will trigger after a certain scene."
"Yuan, Yuan, it was strange just now, I couldn't help but just say that."
Even Ying said so, I could only believe it.
"This may have something to do with that legendary galgame. Anyway, I will save it first. We just replaced the NPCs. In essence, our system authority is not as high as yours. So we can't avoid this kind of event."
With bright eyes, Shen Qing suddenly took out a notebook from her arms as if she had discovered a new world and wrote down the conversation just now. Sure enough, as soon as it was related to galgame, she would show a high level of strange interest...
"It should be that the system has replaced what we wanted to say to a certain extent, and then it became like this. It's very interesting. These may be the lines of the two characters in the original game. This is a little different from the rumor. Normally, only the character information should exist, and the lines like these should not appear. And in this game, no player would bring those two NPCs together, so we should be the first to discover this!"
"So you came here to buy clothes?"
It was time to interrupt her, I always felt that if I didn't speak, she may continue.
"Oh... I wouldn't do such a stupid thing."
"I don't think buying clothes is a stupid thing."
I said this to her.
"Oh? You don't seem to know why I said it is stupid."
She put on that look of contempt again...
"You don't know that the wardrobe in your bedroom can choose clothes and change clothes for you automatically?"
...
I just threw my school uniform on the chair when I got home and put it on the next day. How would I know this?
"Classmate Shi, not only do you have low intelligence, but you also lower other's as well."
"I don't have the chance to wear anything else other than my school uniform. How can I know this function!"
I didn't know if this was a normal function. But Ying didn't seem to know as well, which was a bit strange. Looking at Ying, she showed no surprise at all.
"Fortunately, Yuan didn't know this, otherwise, there would be no way for him to go shopping with me~"
It turned out that she just deliberately pretended not to know...
I was the only one who didn't know!
"I'm here to find clues, but not to go shopping and relax. After all, the water park is a very important activity. In order to help you, this layman, I also have to avoid being discovered by Awakened AI. Do you know how hard it is for me?"
"Oh, so that's the reason."
Although it was very reasonable, the bag hidden behind her looked exactly like the swimsuit that Ying was holding. After all, I was a player who was good at shooting games, and my sight was pretty good.
"Your attitude, it seems that you don't believe me."
"That is definitely your illusion."
However, it was not a good choice to expose her to this kind of place. I cared more about the wardrobe mentioned by Shen Qing. Since she was here, should I try it?...
"Shen Qing, can you please do me a favor? Ying doesn't have any clothes after she left the previous game. I want to choose some clothes for her, but I have no confidence in myself, so..."
"So you are asking me to select clothes for her? Is this the task of some kind of dressing game?"
"Yuan is already asking you nicely..."
Ying looked at me confused. Yes, the relationship between Shen Qing and I was not good, and it was impossible for me to ask her in normal times.
"I hope you can help me."
"...fine."
"No matter who it is, as long as it is a girl, I don't want them to be naked in front of a perverted man like you every day. And I also want to try to make our two characters interact with each other more, maybe I can find more clues related to the legendary galgame. There were rumors a long time ago that the production company of this game knew the inside story."
"Who is a perverted man!"
"Who do you think is the person who approached my room secretly?"
"I didn't approach your room secretly, you just opened the door when I was about to knock."
"Anyway, you are a perverted man. Asking two girls to stay in your room and try on different clothes for you. You dare to say that you didn't have any strange ideas?"
"Tsk, say whatever you want to say."
Forget it, for the sake of agreeing to my request, there is no need to care about this with her-and she did say that I had a little delusion, taking the girl back to her home or something...
"Furthermore, if I want to be alone with this fishy cat, I can't accept it! A Yuan, you have to come together!"
Shen Qing stared at me fiercely with the eyes that you dared to follow and immediately killed you, but it took me a long time to calm Ying's emotions...
Compared to a cat, it is indeed difficult for her to believe that Shen Qing is not malicious by more than one level. It is really a wave of unrest.