Don't Use a Time Machine to Skip Valentine's Day

After thinking it over for a long time and struggling for just as long, I’ve ultimately decided to take down the V tag. I’m sorry for disappointing everyone.

The root cause of why I couldn’t keep writing is that I wrote a universally adored heroine with romantic entanglements involving lots of people. But when I hit a wall, I realized I’m an incurable 1v1 true-love devotee. Writing a romance involving so many people has been incredibly painful for me...

I was genuinely falling apart while serializing this book. On top of that, the poor numbers made me blame myself for ruining a great premise, and the psychological pressure kept building until I was physically unable to move whenever I saw the document. I stopped updating and rested for two months, and only then did I gradually start to recover.

I probably won’t be able to continue this book. Rather than keep tormenting myself and making everyone wait in vain, I’d rather take down the V tag now. Once again, I’m sorry, everyone. orz

I’ve given this a lot of serious thought, and I don’t think I’ll write universally adored heroines or love-triangle battle royale stories again. I’ll stick to writing 1v1 romances or stories with no romance.

Some friends suggested writing the universally adored heroine’s relationships as friendships instead. I think that’s a good idea, but because of this book’s premise, I can’t make Time Machine work as a friendship-focused story either. (Painful grimace)

When I have time, I’ll organize and post the outline for the rest of the story.

I’m so sorry!!

P.S. I’m currently serializing a new derivative work with no romance, Rebuilding the Vongola in a Horror Game. It features a 27 protagonist and a goofy, snarky tone. If you’re still willing to trust me, feel free to check it out.

I’ll keep doing my best!

Author Beichao, March 19, 2024

Synopsis

My name is Kazami Asuka. I’m 19, a doctoral student at a Mafia university in Italy after skipping grades, and I’ve recently invented a time machine.

It was February 14, Valentine’s Day. My classmates and underclassmen kept calling to urge me to attend the Valentine’s Day ball.

I had absolutely no interest. I didn’t want to waste my energy on something so dull, so I simply used my time machine to skip ahead to the next day.

I thought I’d dodged a bullet and could finally focus on my research, but my underclassman Sawada, who is now the Tenth Boss of the Vongola, showed up and told me I’d accepted his confession at last night’s Valentine’s Day ball.

???

Wait, I had no idea that happened! And I don’t want to date anyone at all!

Sawada is usually easygoing, but he absolutely refused to break up with me. With no other choice, I used the time machine again, trying to return to the previous day and rewrite the past.

The time machine seemed to have a bug. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back on the morning of February 15.

The good news: Sawada didn’t come looking for me. It seemed the past really had been rewritten.

The bad news: Byakuran, an underclassman and the boss of the Gesso Family, came looking for me instead, saying I’d accepted his confession last night.

"..."

Help! This smiling white-haired guy is even more of a handful than Sawada!

I had no choice but to use the time machine again.

But no matter how many times I used it, I’d wake up on the morning of February 15 and meet the next person who claimed to be my boyfriend.

I’ve already had seven different ones in a row. How many people confessed to me on Valentine’s night?!

*

After trying again and again, I finally managed to fix the time machine and woke up on a morning when I hadn’t accepted anyone’s confession.

But there was more bad news.

All the people who had confessed to me in different worldlines had recovered their memories, and they’d become even more difficult to deal with.

...Help!

This is why I should never have used a time machine to skip Valentine’s Day in the first place!!

Round One: February 15 (complete)

Round Two: February 16 (in progress)

Round Three: Past Timeline

Round Four: Future Timeline

Reading Notes:

1. The main story is told in third person and is basically a single-pairing Katekyo Hitman Reborn fanfic.

2. This is an otome-style story. The heroine is a genius, beautiful young scientist and universally adored, and there are reasons everyone likes her.

3. OOC warning: many headcanons, and 27 will go dark. Please read only if you’re okay with that.

4. This is not a poly romance. Based on the heroine’s pivotal life choices, each worldline features a 1v1 romance with only one male lead.

5. This is not an older-woman/younger-man romance. She calls them underclassmen because she skipped grades and is doing a doctorate!

6. To ensure the best reading experience, don’t skip between worldlines. They’re all connected.

7. The cover features a character design of the heroine specially commissioned from an artist. The graphic designer is a close friend.

Theme: Face forward and keep moving. Don’t run away.