Li Yiyi was an avid manga reader.
At first, she had zero interest in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. One look at the cover with all those girls, and she figured it had to be either a harem or a love triangle series.
For a reader like Yiyi, this type of story was a big no. She always preferred a single main romance.
But as the manga's popularity grew and the buzz continued, even her friend, who usually didn't like these kinds of stories, had praised it. So Yiyi finally decided to give it a shot.
And if she didn't like it, she was definitely going to criticize the Porter.
To her surprise, she was immediately hooked.
Lines that would usually annoy her came off as clever and surprisingly fun.
But what shocked her most was the last chapter, where the Porter had, of all things, killed off the girl she thought was the heroine, Mai, and married the main character, Sakuta, to another girl!
This was beyond outrageous! If not for the "To Be Continued" at the end of the chapter, she would have already flooded the Porter's social media with complaints.
"Hmph, he better fix this storyline," Yiyi thought as she opened the latest issue. She'd barely started reading before she burst out, "What a jerk!"
Although Shoko had married Sakuta, his smile had grown rare since their wedding. It was clear he still couldn't get Mai out of his heart. Yet despite that, he still married Shoko. What else would you call him but a jerk?
At the seaside, Shoko sat beside Sakuta.
"Sakuta, girls can be selfish. They want the person they love to only love them back," she said quietly.
Sakuta looked down at the silver ring on her finger, following the direction of her gaze.
"I'm sorry, I…"
"Shh." Shoko placed a finger over his lips, stopping him. "You don't have to apologize. I know you can't forget Mai. To be honest, I can't either… After all, my future was her gift."
She placed a hand on her chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath, a sad yet grateful look in her eyes.
Then, she smiled gently, staring out at the ocean. "But all I want is for the person I love to be happy, even if that happiness isn't because of me. So, I'll help you."
"What?" Sakuta asked, surprised.
"As long as you aren't happy, no matter how many times, I'll come back from different futures to help you. So, please, give up trying to make yourself miserable. Because your happiness is my happiness too."
Shoko's voice was firm, and Yiyi could feel the depth of her commitment. For Shoko, Sakuta's happiness would mean that Mai would live, and Sakuta himself would survive.
But it would also mean that without Mai's heart, Shoko wouldn't survive.
"Shoko's such a good person…" Yiyi murmured. Now she didn't want either girl to die. "The Porter has no right to make such great characters and then just… ugh!"
In the story, the Shoko from the future returns to a time before her heart surgery. She decides to rewind time to the fourth day after the accident and send Sakuta to the morning of the accident.
At this point, many readers felt like they were reading Steins;Gate all over again.
But here, instead of science, it was superpowers. Seeing Sakuta work relentlessly for the woman he loved made him look incredibly cool in Yiyi's eyes.
"But what can Sakuta even do now?" she thought.
Since only one version of Sakuta could exist in the same time, Future Sakuta dressed up in a rabbit costume and went to the crash site to save his past self, who was determined to die. Just as Past Sakuta was about to get hit, Future Sakuta pushed him out of the way.
When the symptoms of Adolescence Syndrome faded, Sakuta's two selves merged back together.
Everything seemed fine, but…
"What about Shoko?" Yiyi whispered, her heart aching for the girl willing to sacrifice herself for Sakuta's happiness. She really didn't want Shoko to die.
Sakuta felt the same way.
He decided to go back three years, to the very beginning, and attempt a full reset.
During New Year's Eve, Sakuta and his friends visited Shoko in the hospital. There, Sakuta confided his plan to her. Shoko admitted she also now had the memories of the future Shoko and was happy they had shared so many experiences.
She realized her present self was a young fourth-grader who triggered Adolescence Syndrome due to a mix of excitement and fear about her future.
Shoko resolved to reset everything and create a future where Sakuta wouldn't be sad but happy, even if it meant she would never meet him.
In the end, Sakuta wrote a comment on Shoko's Future Plan report, helping her complete her assignment. As they waited in the hospital hallway, they heard the New Year's countdown echoing.
In the mist of sleep, Sakuta saw the ICU door open and heard someone shouting about Shoko's condition. But he drifted into a dream, seeing a fourth-grade girl bravely finish her "Future Plan."
Meanwhile, Shoko didn't appear on the beach to help Sakuta. Instead, she saved him in a dream, helping middle-school Sakuta out of despair.
And somehow, a high schooler named Mai felt inspired by a dream and ended up starring in a movie.
The story was so beautifully crafted that readers couldn't stop reading. They admired the Porter even more for creating such a perfect narrative.
It seemed like everything was back to normal, the wheels of life turning once more.
But…
Would Sakuta and Shoko really end up as mere strangers?
The readers wanted a happy ending, but deep down, they didn't want Sakuta to forget all the experiences he'd been through.
They continued reading, hope and worry mingling in their hearts.
Three years later, Sakuta and Mai strolled along a beach and saw a girl who looked strangely familiar. In this worldline, Shoko had survived, thanks to the movie Mai had starred in.
Sakuta felt a familiar sensation in the sea breeze, and the memories flooded back.
He shouted out her name.
"Shoko!"
The warmth of old memories and a surge of emotion filled his heart.
The girl on the beach opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Tears streamed down her face, and she made no effort to hide them.
"It's me, Sakuta!" she cried. "It's me!"