HP - Chapter 1

Sweetheart Simulation 1

Zhong Xu predicted she wouldn’t live to see her 25th birthday.

As it turned out, her jinxing ability remained consistently accurate.

She idly imagined that tomorrow’s local news headline would probably read: “Woman Dies After Running into Door While Immersed in a Game!” — and this news would surely be forwarded by parents in those “Family Love” group chats, with long rants about how video games are harmful.

She always knew she’d die young, but she didn’t expect to die in such an embarrassing way.

But whatever — she was dead anyway, what use was dignity?

Zhong Xu’s reaction to death was unexpectedly calm... like something she had long anticipated had finally happened, and now she felt none of the initial excitement.

Everyone else wanted to live — only she had long grown tired of life.

[Player successfully detected]

[Player identity confirmed]

[Transferring player into a new world]

Bzzt... bzzzzt...

[Dear player, welcome to Sweetheart Lovers. The game is restarting. Please read the following information carefully.]

A strange electric buzzing suddenly exploded in her mind — and no matter how she listened, it didn’t sound like a grim reaper’s summons or a death sentence from the underworld.

Did she... not die?

Was this a dream?

Zhong Xu instantly imagined countless possibilities — all scientifically reasonable.

But reality didn’t seem all that scientific.

[Game Background]: This is a love simulation game filled with sweetness and romance! The player will take on the role of an ordinary girl, Xiao Lian, who accidentally encounters three handsome young men and experiences a series of dreamy stories. But… which one of them is truly her destined lover?!

[Game Objectives]:

(Mandatory) 

1. Go on at least one date with each of the three male leads; 

2. Raise intimacy level with one male lead to at least 90.

(Optional) 

1. Raise intimacy with all male leads to at least 90.

[Game Rules]: 

1. The game includes multiple locations. Visiting different places at specific times will unlock various storylines; 

2. Items useful to the player are scattered throughout the map. In short, explore the map and actively pursue romance with the male leads!

[Game Reminder]: Love triangles can get intense — please avoid them if possible~

[The game has successfully restarted. We hope you enjoy your romantic journey.]

This world was beyond unscientific — it was downright magical.

The strange buzzing gradually faded. At the moment it disappeared, Zhong Xu felt like she had awoken from a long nightmare. She sat upright and instinctively scanned her surroundings — years of wandering and sleeping in the wild had trained her to always be alert.

The scenery around her was stunning — vibrant, dreamy colors painted a scene straight out of a shoujo manga’s modern city campus.

She was sitting on the school lawn, next to a girl lying down with a book covering her face. Students in uniforms passed by in pairs, and the whole campus seemed to be bubbling with pink romantic vibes.

Zhong Xu, unable to resist, poked at one of the floating bubbles — pop!

The bubble burst.

Zhong Xu was startled: “What kind of love paradise is this? The pink bubbles are organic?”

“Xiao Lian, you’re awake?” The girl beside her removed the book from her face, sat up sleepily, and said, “Let’s go then.”

“Go where?”

“Didn’t you say we’d feed the cat near the music room after our nap?”

As Zhong Xu had the thought, a map panel popped up in front of her.

The map showed all the places she could visit, with the school taking up most of it. She noticed the "Music Room" was currently glowing with pink effects — clearly luring the player to trigger a romantic encounter with a male lead.

“Nope, nope, not going.”

Zhong Xu had played plenty of games before, including otome games, but experiencing one firsthand after death? She had zero interest.

Someone who didn’t even want to live — why should she bother pursuing some male lead just to clear the game?

She sneered inwardly and hoped some system out there could hear her: “I’m giving up. Let the world end.”

Unfortunately, no one responded.

“Okay, so where are we going now?”

“To the library, of course. Students should study more.”

Glancing at the game map, Zhong Xu chose a plain-looking library icon. It looked safe — unlikely to trigger any special storylines.

Also, before the world ended, she wanted something to kill time — and to see whether the “game creator” had built an entirely new world or just copied rules from the original one.

With a bit of curiosity, Zhong Xu walked into the library—

[Game Notification: Charm +1]

[Game Notification: Romance Skill +1]

“……”

What the hell?

Zhong Xu never expected to one day flee in terror from a library.

“Forget it, I’ll just go to class.”

Still shaken, Zhong Xu picked another seemingly safe location — the classroom.

Once in class, Zhong Xu opened a book — “365 Tactics to Woo the Male Lead” — the bold title left her speechless.

[Game Notification: Scheming +1]

[Game Notification: Romance Skill +1]

Zhong Xu let out an exasperated laugh: “So this is a school specifically designed to cultivate love-obsessed brains, huh?”

Rebellious to the core, she skipped class and went straight home to flop onto the bed.

Ding-dong! Game Notification:

[You had a good night’s sleep and a wonderful evening.]

She had just laid down one second, and the next, dawn was already breaking outside her window.

Zhong Xu, unconvinced, lay back down on the bed again.

Ding-dong! Game Notification:

[You had a good night’s sleep and a wonderful evening.]

Ding-dong! Game Notification:

[You had a good night’s sleep and a wonderful evening.]

Ding-dong!

……

[Your energy level is full. You no longer need to rest. In this season of love, welcome a brand-new day with joy!]

This time, Zhong Xu couldn’t even laugh. As a veteran gamer, she had seen many unreasonable game mechanics, but this level of shamelessness was a first.

“Rested” from her “good night’s sleep,” Zhong Xu stormed into campus full of resentment. She wandered aimlessly until she heard a cat meow and gradually came to a stop.

Up ahead, a blond and handsome boy lingered by the roadside. A cat tried to rub against him, but he ignored it. His expression was tinged with anxiety, as though he was waiting for someone.

Waiting for who?

This boy, who was obviously one of the main leads, who else could he possibly be waiting for?

When she spotted the “Music Room” sign, Zhong Xu let out a short laugh: “Seriously, who’s seducing who here?”

Her eyes sparkled slightly as she mimicked a cat’s meow to tease the feline, pretending to stroll past casually.

By the time she reached the music room’s entrance, the handsome boy who’d just been there had already disappeared.

Zhong Xu didn’t plan to stop walking, but after just two steps, a figure emerged from the bushes ahead — the blond, handsome boy now smiling brightly while holding a cat. A leaf clung to his hair, making him look especially fresh and charming.

“Can you hold this for me?” the blond boy asked with a smile, offering the cat to her. “I was about to deworm this little guy, but it got way too playful and made a mess of me.”

“……”

Zhong Xu almost wanted to applaud. If she hadn’t witnessed it herself, she wouldn’t have believed someone could dive into a scripted scene so fast — in under a minute, the boy-meets-girl-via-cat plot was already unfolding.

Without a word, Zhong Xu calmly accepted the cat and cradled it in her arms.

“Thanks!” the cheerful boy brushed the leaf off his head. “I’m Min Xingtu. And you?”

“Xiao Lian.”

“The cat really likes you. Next time I deworm it, can I call you? If you’re around, I probably won’t end up looking this much of a mess.”

“And what if I say no?”

Not expecting that response, Min Xingtu froze for a second, then laughed brightly: “Haha, that’s fine! But I think you should still come by — maybe seeing me all flustered will make you laugh.”

Zhong Xu rubbed her arm, her face blank. Fine — if he was going to flirt that hard, so be it.

[Game Notification: Encountered male lead Min Xingtu. Current intimacy: 10%.]

After meeting Min Xingtu, Zhong Xu kept “accidentally” running into him over the next few days.

For example, she’d pass by the court and catch him playing basketball, only to be asked to help buy water. Or she’d walk past the music room and see him playing piano — and he’d lift his head and flash her a dazzling smile just as she passed the window.

But that was it — Min Xingtu never made a move to initiate a date. Zhong Xu’s patience ran out. Curious how far this game would go, she decided to take the initiative and ask him out herself.

“Take the cat to get neutered together?” Min Xingtu was clearly surprised.

His reaction surprised Zhong Xu too — she had assumed he was a scheming type just waiting for her to make the first move. Why did he look so shocked?

“You don’t want to?”

“How could I not want to? I want to, very much!” Min Xingtu stared into her eyes and said earnestly, “This is your first time asking me out. I’m really happy. It shows you trust me, right?”

Zhong Xu felt creeped out by his stare.

What creeped her out even more was that, from just one neutering invitation, Min Xingtu’s intimacy level had skyrocketed to 80%.

If this date went through, the intimacy might reach 90%, and she’d clear the game.

But with how rogue this game had been, could it really be that simple?

At the pet hospital, after the cat was brought out of the operating room, the vet approached Zhong Xu and Min Xingtu to give some post-surgery instructions.

Zhong Xu had never raised a pet before and felt completely lost listening to it all,

while Min Xingtu gently said with a subtle tenderness, “Xiao Lian, post-op cats are really fragile. We have to take good care of it.”

Zhong Xu nodded half-heartedly. “Mm.”

“How about this cat food? It’s the one it used to eat a lot... Oh, and I’m also planning to get it a cat tree.”

Zhong Xu, who had been giving vague replies, was caught off guard. “A cat tree?”

“Yeah.” Min Xingtu smiled. “I’ve decided to adopt it, so it doesn’t get bullied by other cats at school. But don’t worry — I know you’re close to it too, so you can come to my place and visit anytime.”

At that moment, the vet chuckled and said, “Raising a cat together makes for wonderful memories. Young love is always sweet.”

Min Xingtu didn’t argue — he just smiled at Zhong Xu.

Zhong Xu got goosebumps from the vet’s words and quickly cut in, “Forget it. I’ll just raise the cat myself. You’re not suited to keep one — or even touch one.”

Min Xingtu froze. “Why?”

Zhong Xu replied sarcastically, “What if the Piano Prince’s hands get scratched by the cat?”

“Xiao Lian, I didn’t know you cared about me so much.”

“……”

Zhong Xu picked up the cat carrier and walked out of the vet clinic.

“Xiao Lian, are you really not letting me walk you home? Carrying the cat by yourself must be hard.”

“No need. I’ve got plenty of strength.”

“Be careful on the way. Message me when you get home,” Min Xingtu said finally. “Xiao Lian, I really enjoyed spending today with you.”

The whole way home was peaceful.

After settling the cat, Zhong Xu decided to take a shower.

She turned on the hot water, and when she returned with clean clothes, she immediately sensed something was off.

Fortunately, she was always alert when living away from home, so she quickly noticed something had changed — the bathroom window she had planned to close later was already covered with the curtain drawn tight.

She trusted her memory completely.

Someone else was in this house.

As soon as the thought occurred, she decisively left the bathroom.

In the living room, Zhong Xu scanned the space and fixed her gaze on two things — the fruit knife in the basket, and the keys on the shoe cabinet.

After a quick thought, she picked up the keys.

The knife was sharp, but she knew she likely couldn’t overpower a man — she might get overpowered instead.

The moment she picked up the key, a line of text appeared before her eyes.

[Discarded Key]

A useless key the lazy owner never threw away. It can’t open anything. Who would pick up trash like this?

Zhong Xu held the key in her hand and scraped it along the wall. Gradually, its tip sharpened, and she concealed it in her palm.

The hot water was still running in the bathroom, and steam drifted out through the partially open door.

Zhong Xu stepped into the bathroom again. She lifted a broom and jabbed at the ceiling panel — with a bang, one of the panels fell.

From the ceiling, Min Xingtu’s smiling face peeked out.

“Xiao Lian, I pulled the curtain for you. You can shower without worry now.”

Zhong Xu hadn’t expected him to stay this calm. “What are you doing in my house?”

“I came to check on the cat.”

“From inside the ceiling?”

“This way I can better observe the cat’s life.”

“Alright. So how’s your observation going? Want to come down for a closer look?”

Min Xingtu hesitated. “Are you mad? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shown up in your home without telling you first.”

The problem now is you’re in my house?

Zhong Xu replied calmly, “It’s fine. Come down.”

Min Xingtu studied her face for a moment, then finally jumped down from the ceiling.

He hadn’t even steadied himself when a sharp pain suddenly shot through his neck.

“Who the hell wrote this psycho male lead? Just die already.”

1. 一夜好眠 (yī yè hǎo mián) – "A good night's sleep" game’s forced rest mechanic

2. 亲密度 (qīnmìdù) – "Intimacy level" core game mechanic tracking romantic progress

3. 攻略 (gōnglüè) – "Romance route" otome game term for pursuing a character

4. 小恋 (Xiǎo Liàn) – "Little Love" protagonist’s alias, ironic given her disdain for the game

5. 钢琴小王子 (gāngqín xiǎo wángzǐ) – "Piano Prince" a mocking-title for ML, "perfect boy" trope

6. 变态男主 (biàntài nánzhǔ) – "Yandere male lead" 

7. 流氓机制 (liúmáng jīzhì) – "Shameless game mechanics" 

8. 吊顶 (diàodǐng) – "Ceiling panel" 

9. 阴阳怪气 (yīnyáng guàiqì) – "Sarcastic/deliberately cryptic tone" - the way she talks

10. 硬撩 (yìng liáo) – "Forced flirting" 

Sevyn here ~~~

New Project Yay! This will be replacing LOF update/schedule. It took me a bit to find something that was interesting. I saw the novel art, and the summary intrigued me.  What a ride for the first chapter, anyways ENJOY!!! 

I was so happy I was able to figure out the comment section problem, I decided to keep being productive and found my next project.