After Picking Up a Romance Plot in an Infinite Game

[My column, *I’m an Eastern Exchange Student at a Magic Academy*, is currently updating. The completed novel *When a Love-Struck Beauty Enters an Infinite Game*, in the same genre, is ready to binge!] Ruan Yiyi had never dared to try dating, so he bought an immersive dating game. Once inside, he was both nervous and excited, completely unaware that he had actually entered an infinite game. With a dating System in hand and no idea what was really going on, Ruan Yiyi gradually started playing by very different rules from everyone else. Everyone else’s first instance: The Haunted Castle The first instance on Ruan Yiyi’s System: The Vampire Count’s Runaway Sweetheart Everyone else’s second instance: The Mysterious School The second instance on Ruan Yiyi’s System: The Handsome School Bully Falls for Me Everyone else’s third instance: The Sea of Death The third instance on Ruan Yiyi’s System: The Deep-Sea Evil God’s Beloved Sacrifice Everyone else’s fourth instance: The Apocalyptic Wasteland The fourth instance on Ruan Yiyi’s System: The Characters I Conquered Start an Apocalyptic Battle Royale While the other players risked their lives matching wits with instance bosses, Ruan Yiyi was busy learning how to play hard to get with them. After clearing instance after instance, Ruan Yiyi finally let out a relieved shout: “I finally won him over!” Everyone stared at him in horror. “Won who over? What did he win over?!” Ruan Yiyi was secretly delighted. “So many people were competing with me, but I still managed to win over every single character all by myself!” What he didn’t realize was that every character he had won over was actually the same person: the game’s ultimate boss, the purest embodiment of evil. It wasn’t until Ruan Yiyi tried to log out that he discovered it had all been real. His lover slipped a tentacle inside his clothes and pulled him back into his arms, murmuring, “Where do you think you’re going?” [Cthulhu-esque, scheming nonhuman seme x adorable, offbeat uke who always says what he thinks] 1. The seme is split into multiple incarnations, and every romanceable character is one of them. Lots of love-triangle drama. 2. Mild horror, nothing too brain-twisting. Mostly a sweet, lighthearted romance. 3. The uke’s dating System is the biggest golden finger in the whole game, a cheating tool (not really). 4. Add it to your collection and watch an offbeat uke flirt bluntly with an evil god! Please add my column *When a Love-Struck Beauty Enters an Infinite Game* to your reading list! Blurb: Shi Chao is handsome and skilled, but he’s also a hopeless romantic who keeps falling for the wrong people. Determined to stop being such a hopeless romantic, he enters the hottest immersive horror game around to take his mind off things. But Shi Chao never expected the instances’ most terrifying ultimate bosses to be one more handsome than the next. His lovestruck little brain couldn’t help buzzing with excitement. Facing a handsome demon slaughtering people right in front of him, he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out: “Hi. Let’s get married.” Facing a dashing dragon guarding its hoard, he couldn’t help suggesting: “If I give you all my money, would you date me?” Facing the handsome evil god everyone feared, he couldn’t help declaring: “Don’t we have a child together?” His fellow players were scared out of their minds, certain Shi Chao was about to die. But after glancing down at Shi Chao, the murderous demon said: “To get married, we have to sign a marriage contract first.” The dragon, having taken human form, hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Fine, but I’ll have to inspect the goods first.” A flicker of thought crossed the eyes of the ancient evil god, whose body was covered in countless tentacles. “No, but if you want to help me have a child, I’m willing.” The fellow players, who had been beaten to a pulp by the ultimate boss, were dumbfounded. “Is this really how you’re supposed to play this game?!” The highest form of being lovestruck is falling for everyone you meet. After unlocking an unconventional way to play the infinite game and successfully winning over every ultimate boss, Shi Chao was happily preparing to log out when a tentacle pinned him down. After being thoroughly “put through the wringer” with no chance of escape, Shi Chao looked at all the ultimate bosses lined up to “punish” him next and began to regret everything. I really, really won’t be such a hopeless romantic again, QAQ! [Split-incarnation evil god seme x cheerful, lovestruck uke] 1. The seme is split into multiple incarnations. Lots of love-triangle drama. 2. Satisfying and cathartic. The uke may be a hopeless romantic, but he’s incredibly strong. 3. Not much horror or mystery-solving. Mostly a lighthearted romance. 4. Add it to your collection and watch a hopeless romantic flirt bluntly with an evil god! (Not really.) Theme: Take life seriously.