Lu Mingfei: Don't call me a loser, call me a hero.

Lu Mingfei spent five whole days preparing the collection of literary works to be submitted to Chen Wenwen, and he was happy to do it even though he was exhausted.

However, he avoided the invitation extended by Chu Zihang himself.

It wasn't about treating him differently; it was simply because with Chen Wenwen, Lu Mingfei could still fantasize that he was a silent, behind-the-scenes hero.

Chu Zihang's world was too dazzling. He was afraid that if he stepped into it, he wouldn't even be qualified to be a background figure, and would be directly exposed to the spotlight until his soul was scattered.

But now Dragon Raja games don't even bother with any pretense. They're openly playing a visual novel game under the guise of an open-world adventure game, and they're letting him farm Prince Chu's favor.

Moreover, this time they even posted the chain reactions that would be triggered by his choice, as if afraid he wouldn't know how he would die... or rather, afraid he would die without knowing why.

[The story character Chu Zihang has sent you an amazing birthday party invitation. Please select—]

[1. Gladly accept and prepare a gift (Chu Zihang's favorability increases?)]

[2. Deeply moved, then refuse (Xia Mi's favorability -1)]

[3. Keep them hanging (Xia Mi's affection -10)]

Lu Mingfei: (¯―¯٥)

The choice between YES or NO is fine, but why is the last one left hanging?

Do you think Chu Zihang is a sucker like me? Someone you can just pick up whenever you want?

Looking at the helpful message "Xia Mi's favorability -10" in Mission 3, Lu Mingfei can confirm that the two of them are definitely intertwined!

Moreover, he had a bad feeling that if he dared to keep Chu Zihang hanging, he would be forced to play tug-of-war with the roof beams tonight and attend Qu Yuan's party tomorrow morning.

"Senior brother, are you sure?" Lu Mingfei couldn't control his mouth when he was nervous, and a flood of nonsense came out like a burst dam:

"Your presence at my home is an honor, but my presence at yours is a disgrace to our aesthetic sense. No matter how nice the decor is, my presence here makes it look like a rural outskirts."

"A customer might walk past me and ask why I've put an unearthed artifact here."

You should know that he usually doesn't even dare to go near the bustling CBD, let alone the luxurious villa area where Chu Zihang's family lives.

That was one of the most upscale residential areas in the entire coastal area. Lu Mingfei was fortunate enough to pass by and catch a glimpse of it from afar. He could only say that the lives of the rich were beyond his imagination.

He figured he wasn't Cinderella, so how could he be qualified to attend the prince's banquet?

Cinderella's natural beauty was undeniable; with a little dressing up, she could easily bewitch the prince.

With the magic of the Fairy Godmother, pumpkins can turn into carriages, rags into gowns, and she can remain a princess until the clock strikes twelve.

Even if Lu Mingfei wore a dragon robe, he wouldn't look like a prince; at most, he'd be a fox spirit.

Not to mention he couldn't even afford a decent piece of clothing; the most expensive item in his wardrobe was a down jacket.

His aunt picked it up for him when she took advantage of a buy-one-get-one-free sale at the mall.

"Moreover, each of the school's major clubs only has one invitation, and our literary society has already finalized its representative."

Chu Zihang said he didn't care about it; he only sent the invitations because he couldn't find anyone else to send them to.

Without a second thought, Lu Mingfei asked, "What about your teammates on the school basketball team? Aren't they coming?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. The person was clearly trying to relieve his stress, but he was so stupid as to ask the question directly.

Just as he was about to make amends for his foolishness, Chu Zihang paused for two seconds before answering:

"It's been delivered."

"Pfft—hahahahaha—Junior Brother Lu, you're really funny."

Xia Mi, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but laugh as she listened to their conversation: "A birthday party is all about having lots of people to make it lively. The school basketball team only has a few people in total. Even if they all came, it wouldn't liven up the atmosphere."

And if only boys participate and no girls are involved, the party could run into big problems.

Without even thinking, Lu Mingfei blurted out, "Because they'll give speeches while drunk?"

"That's right, especially since there's an art student who's repeating a year in the school team." Xia Mi looked at him with a "Wow, this kid knows a lot" look, and Lu Mingfei even heard the game notification that his "favorability +1" had been added.

Chu Zihang now realized that the two were making a joke about art students who failed their college entrance exams, and calmly reminded them:

"No alcoholic beverages will be served tomorrow, only soft drinks and juice."

Xia Mi raised her beautiful eyebrows at his words, and said with a hint of provocation, "What if I bring all the cheerleaders?"

Chu Zihang's tone remained unwavering: "That won't work either."

Lu Mingfei felt that the two of them were acting like an old married couple flirting, and he felt extremely superfluous standing there, not knowing where to stand or where to look.

It seems he'll have to join in the fun at tomorrow's birthday party.

The representatives sent by various clubs were mostly women, and he really knew what kind of expressions those two would have when they were fed a mouthful of dog food in front of them.

"Thank you for the invitation, senior. I will definitely be there on time tomorrow."

Actually, he also wanted to ask, "Senior, do you have any gifts you like? I'll go buy some later."

But he swallowed the words back down his throat.

They were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. If they were to say, "I like the latest Maybach, why don't you give me one?", then even if Lu Mingfei sold his bones and flesh, he still couldn't afford a single wheel.

Furthermore, when giving a birthday gift, the sentiment is the most important thing; directly asking someone for the answer is cheating.

Although Lu Mingfei used cheat sheets frequently during his in-class quizzes, there are no shortcuts to giving gifts, just like you can't cheat in a game.

"You're welcome." Chu Zihang nodded, thus finalizing the matter.

Xia Mi waved goodbye to him, her attitude exceptionally approachable:

"Goodbye, junior brother. Remember to dress up nicely tomorrow. I'll introduce you to some pretty girls."

Lu Mingfei stumbled upon hearing this, wanting to firmly refuse and express that he only had Chen Wenwen in his heart.

But then she thought, of the ten girls who will be there tomorrow, eleven will be there for Chu Zihang. Senior Sister Xia Mi is too busy defending the city to have time to introduce girls to him.

So this is like a relative saying during Chinese New Year, "I'll introduce you to a girlfriend later," and anyone who takes it seriously is an idiot.

"Haha, you're too kind, Senior Sister." Lu Mingfei chuckled twice. "For me, being able to attend Senior Brother's birthday party is already an unprecedented honor. There's no need to go to such trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, fearing that his overly enthusiastic senior sister might say something inappropriate, he abruptly ended the conversation, maintained an awkward yet polite smile, and left, leaving Chu Zihang and Xia Mi alone.

Watching Lu Mingfei's disheveled retreating figure, Xia Mi nudged the person next to her with her elbow: "This Junior Brother Lu is quite interesting. Where do you know him?"

Chu Zihang, sparing with words, replied: "I've met you before."

"You two seem to come from completely different worlds." Xia Mi said, her hands behind her back.

Although she didn't know this junior brother named Lu Mingfei, the aura of misfortune surrounding him was clearly visible.

When speaking, one always subconsciously lowers their head, shrinks their shoulders, and avoids eye contact, indicating that having been at the bottom of the food chain for a long time, they have honed humility into muscle memory.

Chu Zihang shook his head: "They are all Shi Lan's students."

"They are all students of Shilan. Some of them are born with a lot of romantic luck, and countless girls fight tooth and nail for an invitation. Others can't even see a glimpse of romance."

Xia Mi hummed twice and walked into the arcade with her hands behind her back.

Chu Zihang offered no comment, simply following closely behind her: "What made you decide to come to the arcade?"

"After I finish my exams, I'm going back to my hometown to see what games normal boys like to play."

Xia Mi stood in front of an arcade machine, watching the two little girls humming and laughing as they manipulated the joysticks and buttons to fight:

"Unlike you, you only know how to study and train, keeping everything to yourself, like a block of wood."

Chu Zihang did not refute, but simply looked quietly at the girl who was so close to him, her pupils clearly reflecting her slender back.

But unseen by anyone, a relentless downpour continues.