Lucas chillin' in his gaming chair, letting his cursor move aimlessly on the computer screen. Even though his favorite game was still open, his mind was drifting to something else—Jane Harper.
He remembered Jane's smile that morning, her genuine gaze when receiving the box of brownies, and her soft laughter that for some reason kept ringing in his head. "Why do I keep thinking about her?" he muttered, scratching his head in frustration.
Usually, in times like this, Lucas would distract himself by playing games or exploring virtual worlds full of ideal characters. For years, he was mesmerized by the perfect female avatars in the game—they always looked pretty. But now, even that thought felt empty.
"Jane is not like that," Lucas thought. No shiny armor, magical weapons, or dramatic sound effects. But there was something about her that made Jane different, Jane was touchable.
He closed his game and let the monitor screen go black. His body slumped in the chair, his eyes staring at the apartment ceiling. "How long have I been living like this? Avoiding the real world, trapped in the imagination of game characters?"
Lucas remembered moments when he and Jane chatted. He realized that all this time, he hardly paid attention to who Jane really was. He always saw her as a kind neighbor who occasionally helped, without thinking deeper.
But now, after interacting more with her, Lucas began noticing small details about Jane—how she tucked her hair behind her ears when nervous, how her tone changed when talking about something she liked, or even the faint scent of her perfume that lingered when they sat together at the cafe.
Lucas felt something new. His mind started wandering unexpectedly, and he quickly shook his head, trying to chase away that thought.
"I can't think of Jane like that," he said, but his face turned red as he remembered Jane's charming smile.
However, the more he tried to ignore that thought, the harder it was for him to resist. Jane's image kept popping into his mind—when she smiled, when she laughed, or even when she looked tired yet still radiated her unique warmth.
Lucas felt his chest beating faster. He stood up from his chair, trying to distract himself by walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But it didn't help.
He returned to his seat, staring at the floating system screen. "Why am I like this now? Is this the system's effect, or... am I really starting to see Jane in a different light?"
Lucas took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He wasn't used to feelings like this. So far, he felt comfortable in the virtual world, where relationships were just statistics or missions to complete. But Jane... she was real, and it made everything feel more complicated.
He glanced at the system screen again, reading the statistics for Jane that he last saw:
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Target: Jane Harper
Mood: 80% (Delighted)
Affection (Love): 18/100 (Friendly)
Desire (Lust): 0/100 (None)
Lucas snorted. "Desire zero, huh?" he thought.
He realized that he had been living too much in a fantasy world all this time—depending on perfect characters who met all his criteria. But now, Jane was there with all her imperfections, and that's what made her look so intriguing.
Lucas sat back down, trying to focus on reality. "Maybe... it's time for me to take the real world more seriously," he mumbled. But does that mean he's ready to accept the reality that in the real world, he's just an average guy who rarely touches grass and not the chad avatar in the game?