It's just The Sims, how did it become my ideal love story?

Chapter 33: The Male Lead's Treatment?

When Chen Pinyan saw the ball about to fly towards someone unrelated to the incident, she instinctively felt a little panicked.

Fortunately, Gu Huai reacted quickly enough. The power of his imagination, which was triggered at the crucial moment, became a reliable passive force, allowing Gu Huai to catch the basketball steadily. Although there was a burning pain when his palm touched it, at least the girl who was walking with her head down did not suffer a heavy blow.

When Gu Huai took the basketball, he found that Chen Pinyan had turned around and run away.

Good guy.

They're incredibly shameless; the first thing they do when they cause trouble is betray their teammates.

Hmm? Opponent? He was definitely a teammate during the basketball game, even though he threw the ball at him like a weapon at the end. But Gu Huai was too lazy to chase after him now. Was he supposed to drag him over to apologize to this girl?

So next, Gu Huai, who was playing basketball, turned around and looked at the girl who seemed flustered and walked very introvertedly.

To be honest, she walks with her head down, and now she seems a little afraid to look up and avoid eye contact, just like I used to be.

So this is how I was perceived by others back then?
It's only natural that they would feel some compassion.

Gu Huai gently comforted her, "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Um, me."

The girl slightly raised her head and looked at Gu Huai. Only then did the boy get a clear look at her face.

Thick, straight bangs are normal for this age. This hairstyle is a top choice for many introverted and insecure girls.

But why is she insecure?
In Gu Huai's eyes, the girl was very pretty, with perfectly proportioned features. Especially her eyes—the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed...

Wait!

"I'm fine, thank you so much!"

After the girl finished speaking, she turned around and left, almost as if she were running away.

However, Gu Huai simply moved to the side and blocked the other party's path. Of course, under normal circumstances, Gu Huai would not do such a thing.

Why do this now?
Do I know you?

Gu Huai, who had blocked the other person's path, lowered his head and asked suspiciously.

The girl became even more nervous upon hearing this.

She stared at Gu Huai in astonishment, her eyes darting away quickly, and immediately denied it.

"Is that so? Maybe it's because I look too ordinary."

"Lin Jiang?"

When Gu Huai uttered those two words.

"Uh!"

The girl seemed to have just burped and then been frozen in place, standing at attention like a guard on duty.

"Is that right?"

Gu Huai narrowed his eyes.

The girl's cheeks quickly turned rosy.

It seemed that he had never expected the other party to recognize him, and now he didn't know what to do.

It was Gu Huai who took the lead in calming the situation.

"You didn't recognize me?"

The girl, her head slightly lowered, looked nervously at her intertwined fingers and whispered, "I saw you playing ball."

Ok?
This shy and nervous demeanor is completely different from the Lin Jiang we know later.

Lin Jiang, whom I met for dinner later, was gentle, generous, and graceful. She looked every bit the mature, composed, and sensible independent urban woman.

It gives people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

Lin Jiang is acting like a socially awkward person now. And how did she end up in the same school as me? I never noticed before. Could it be that we've always been in the same school, but we haven't been in contact on QQ and haven't had a chance to talk about it?

We never had the chance to meet throughout high school, and even if we did, we would just pass each other without recognizing each other, so we never found out about it.
It all seemed absurd, and Gu Huai even wondered if the simulation had altered some memories. Was this some kind of fabrication, a distortion of the facts?
"I never would have guessed we went to the same school."

Gu Huai said this.

"Yes, yes. I didn't expect to run into Brother Gu Huai here either."

Brother Gu Huai?

A name I've never heard before!
Given the occasion and atmosphere of his meeting with Lin Jiang today, Gu Huai could even call her "Mom" or "Sister."

She can even call herself "brother"? Wow, it's so incredibly sweet and tender.

"Brother Gu Huai?"

"Hmm? Isn't that wrong?"

Lin Jiang, in her girl form, seemed a little nervous, thinking she had done something wrong.

Gu Huai looked at Lin Jiang seriously and said, "No problem, that's right. I hope you can keep calling me that."

"what?"

Seeing the girl's somewhat confused expression, Gu Huai had a strange intuition, though he didn't know whether to speak up or not. Perhaps the reason he hadn't quit the simulation yet was because of this girl.

Otherwise, nothing can be explained; it makes no sense.

Why did this happen by sheer coincidence? Why did it have to happen that I had to find out about this now, and then I just happened to run into Lin Jiang today? It's hard to call it a coincidence, but it also gave Gu Huai a chilling feeling. If this wasn't a coincidence, then the capabilities of this simulation system, and what it was doing behind the scenes, were a bit too outrageous. It was practically reshaping his entire life, influencing both reality and the simulation.
"By the way, are you hot?"

Gu Huai suddenly asked, seemingly puzzled.

"I'm fine."

The young girl, Lin Jiang, answered timidly, not understanding what the other person meant by asking such a question.

Gu Huai said with a hearty smile, "Then let me treat you to some water. It's so hot outside. After all, we've been apart for a long time, so we should celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

"Yeah, it's been so long since we last met, shouldn't we be happy and celebrating? Don't you want to see me?"

How could he possibly utter such narcissistic words? If he were facing Lin Jiang later, Gu Huai certainly wouldn't dare speak like that. But facing Lin Jiang like this, well, there's a certain allure that makes you want to bully her at will.

Oh no, I'm probably at the age where I'll become a creepy old man.

"No, no, it's just that I'm making Brother Gu Huai spend too much money."

"What are you talking about? It's no trouble to spend money on a drink of water. Let's go."

No matter how arrogant he was, treating it as a simulation rather than reality, he couldn't actually hold the other person's hand. So Gu Huai led the way, occasionally turning back to see if the girl would slip away halfway.

On the way, Gu Huai learned that Lin Jiang was a student in the first year of high school, one year below him, and was also an art student at the school, studying piano.

The Lin Jiang we see now doesn't have the same aura as the one we see later. The Lin Jiang of later years, needless to say, exudes charm in every move that makes you feel like she's an artist. The Lin Jiang of now looks like someone stolen from Vietnam to be a concubine.

Of course, her looks and features are still quite beautiful, but it's not as obvious because of her current introverted nature.

"By the way, you said you saw me playing basketball earlier?"

Gu Huai asked curiously.

The young girl, Lin Jiang, nodded cautiously, then stole a glance at Gu Huai, and said, "Mm."

"How was the performance?"

"Ah, that's really amazing."

"I remember when we were little you were quite adventurous, always following me through mountains and rivers, and always getting into mischief. Why do you seem so timid now, and even your voice is so soft?"

Gu Huai said in a joking tone.

He's been through this, so he knows exactly where these people's sensitivities lie. Asking them seriously might hurt them, so using a joking tone would be more appropriate.

However, Lin Jiang still looked away with a hint of helplessness.

“I, I don’t know either.”

Do not you know?

It's probably because the 'affection level' isn't high enough to unlock certain truths.

Is it possible that I'm mistaken? Is the key to not exiting the simulation really with her?
But even if she's not there, I still need to talk to her.

He was curious how the young Lin Jiang had transformed into the Lin Jiang she became. The contrast was too great, absolutely astounding.

"Okay, speaking of which, are you still using QQ?"

"QQ? I don't have much time to play it."

"It looks like they have a lot of practice to do."

"It's alright. It's just that I haven't been practicing very well."

"Really?" Gu Huai glanced at the girl who seemed quite 'heavy' all over and casually remarked, "Are you putting too much pressure on yourself?"

"I think everyone experiences some pressure in high school."

"That's true, but you can also try to take a break and relax during your busy schedule."

"okay."

Clearly, such an answer lacked sincerity, but one cannot expect the other party to change their mind based on a simple sentence from one's own words.

The core issue right now is that we've just met and recognized each other, and the foundation for our relationship isn't quite there yet.

So Gu Huai could only patiently continue the conversation with the other party. He never thought that one day he would become such a caring older brother. But when he thought of Lin Jiang's temperament and appearance when he met her today, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Does this mean the offensive and defensive strategies are different?
Just as Gu Huai was talking to the girl Lin Jiang and leading his men to the convenience store.

Sudden.

"Gu Huai? What are you doing?"

A strange voice rang out, and Gu Huai looked up to see Cai Yan holding a half-melted popsicle, staring intently at him.

The girl next to Cai Yan was looking at her with an expression that said, "Wow, this is going to be interesting."

Then he turned to look at his side and saw Lin Jiang, a girl who was staring at him nervously, as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

Weird.

What is this? A battleground?

What kind of treatment does a male lead receive?

……

(End of this chapter)