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

Lu Mingfei was caught in a dilemma at the bus stop two blocks away from the arcade street.

On one hand, there's the PS2 she's always dreamed of; on the other, there are the rewards from game missions and the increase in her favorability with Chu Zihang.

The former was his goal, which he had worked hard for for three years, while the latter was an opportunity that might allow him to shed his loser status and become a popular figure on campus.

Although the game hasn't told him what the rewards are for completing the missions yet, they should be pretty good.

After all, even Dao Ge's gang of thugs could unleash a skill. Chu Zihang, a top-tier human with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, could probably benefit Lu Mingfei for life just by randomly drawing one of his skills.

To be fair, Lu Mingfei's adaptability is comparable to that of a cockroach; in just a few minutes, he had already accepted the fact that "Dragon Raja: Heroic Era" is actually a visual novel.

No wonder the students at Shilan High School don't think about studying all day but about dating, and there are so many good-looking and distinctive campus celebrities.

There's even Xia Mi, whose modeling is so detailed that she seems to be on a different layer from everyone else, yet she remains unknown.

If you apply all of this to visual novels, then it's not surprising.

It's not that reality is too surreal; it's that he's been understanding the world in the wrong way.

As for the game's plot mentioning dragons, golden eyes, the power of words, and gods...

Judging from the fact that the main storyline characters Chu Zihang and Xia Mi still have the mood to go on a date before the exam, you can tell that the background setting must have been written by the game planners with their feet.

This allows couples to enjoy their romance while also incorporating grand narratives, imbuing each love story with a sense of destiny, making them love lonely and tragic.

Lu Mingfei is a semi-hardcore gamer. He's not particularly interested in games with static paper figures, but as someone who's into anime and manga, he does have some knowledge of them.

If he's not mistaken, the rich guy the system asked him to find last night should be Chu Zihang, not someone who's Zhao Menghua's lackey.

It has to be said that, despite both being wealthy, Chu Zihang and Zhao Menghua are worlds apart.

Although Chu Zihang is usually as cold as ice, he is actually very approachable and not nearly as scary as the rumors suggest.

As for Zhao Menghua... let's not even mention him!

The game is now open, and if Lu Mingfei wants to turn the tables, he'll have to try his best.

It's not summer vacation yet, so he can't find a job anytime soon. And even if he finds a job during the summer vacation, he doesn't know if his aunt will interfere.

Given her temperament, when she found out he was going out to work, her first reaction wouldn't be, "This child has become sensible and knows how to share the burden with his uncle and aunt."

Instead, she thought, "If others see this, they'll think I'm abusing my nephew. Where will that make me look?" and then ordered him to stay home and work as free labor.

As for finding a rich woman...

To be honest, if the game defines a rich guy as someone like Chu Zihang whose family owns three companies, then Lu Mingfei really doesn't think Chen Wenwen can be included in the list of rich women.

It's true that her family is wealthy, but they are just a scholarly family, not on the same level as rich young ladies like Liu Miaomiao and Xiaotiannv who can spend money like water.

Lu Mingfei felt that with his current conditions, it would be difficult to get close to the latter two, which was roughly equivalent to Satan leading the army of hell to rebel against heaven and bring down God.

And... as I said before, Chen Wenwen is the only moon in his heart!

So, let's first investigate why Chu Zihang is so friendly to me.

"System, can you make a deal with me? Can you tell me what the reward is for completing Task One?"

[Calculated based on the increase in the favorability rating of the character Chu Zihang in the storyline.]

Yes, the rewards are very flexible, and the fact that the operators have the final say is quite remarkable.

"Buying a PS2 means I can't pursue Chu Zihang, and buying a birthday present means I can't fulfill my dream. It's such a difficult choice."

Lu Mingfei sighed and decided to go to the CBD first.

It would be ideal if I could find a gift that's presentable and leaves enough money to buy a PS2 afterward.

The gift is about the thought behind it, not the price.

Just like the collection of essays that Chen Wenwen wanted to give to Chu Zihang, after deducting Lu Mingfei's labor costs, the cost of printing and binding alone was estimated to be only a hundred yuan or so.

But that gift contained the hard work of everyone in the literary society, and its value cannot be measured in money.

As a key member of the literary society, Lu Mingfei naturally had to follow the president's example, and the value of the gift he gave could not exceed that of Chen Wenwen's collection of works, otherwise it would embarrass the president.

With this thought, Lu Mingfei's mind suddenly cleared, and he immediately boarded the bus.

Upon arriving at the CBD, Lu Mingfei stood at the intersection between the Electronics City and Jiuguang Department Store, scanned the area, and finally decisively chose the Electronics City.

I'll keep a record of what the PS2 market is like first, and then I'll have a better idea of ​​what to get before choosing a gift for Chu Zihang, so we don't go over budget later.

After browsing around inside, Lu Mingfei had a general idea of ​​what to expect. He figured that if he bought a not-so-new slim PS2 70000 model, he could save 250 yuan from his budget.

It wasn't a huge sum, but it wasn't a small sum either; it was definitely a fortune for Lu Mingfei.

He carried his bag and walked towards Jiuguang Department Store with relatively light steps.

The moment they stepped inside, they were stunned.

The lobby on the first floor of Jiuguang Department Store is so spacious that you could run a horse there. The marble floor is so smooth that even Tom would slip on it. The air conditioning is so cold that it makes you feel refreshed and your heart soars.

Lu Mingfei stood at the door, like a stray dog ​​that had wandered into the lobby of a five-star hotel, every pore of his body screaming that he was out of place.

He instinctively shrank his neck, gripped the backpack strap tightly, and his eyes darted around among the dazzling array of shops.

However, this is completely different from the department store he imagined!

Just as Lu Mingfei was trembling and about to leave, a clear voice, tinged with a hint of arrogance, came from behind:

"Lu Mingfei? What are you doing here?"

Lu Mingfei turned around with a start and saw the little fairy walking out of the coffee shop behind him in her exquisite little leather boots.

Today she wore a white Peter Pan collar long-sleeved shirt, paired with a high-waisted A-line skirt, her long hair draped over her shoulders, and she held a cup of iced coffee in her hand. The way she stood there made her look like a cover model, blending seamlessly with her surroundings.

"Su Xiaoqiang? What are you doing here?"

Lu Mingfei was startled. His gaze first fell on her distinctive mixed-race face, and then quickly moved upward to look at the large exclamation mark above her head.

[Character Su Xiaoqiang detected]

The game notification sounded, but Lu Mingfei was already used to it. Sure enough, Su Xiaoqiang was also a romanceable character in the Dragon Raja galgame.

"This is my problem!" Su Xiaoqiang saw him staring at her head and assumed her hair was messed up, so she raised her hand to smooth it, then looked at Lu Mingfei suspiciously.

"How dare you come here all by yourself?"

She had known Lu Mingfei for quite some time; this shameless guy had been mooching snacks from her for two whole years. He was dirt poor; if he could find a ten-yuan note in his pocket, that would be a fortune. She didn't know where he got the confidence to step into the Jiuguang Department Store.

A cup of coffee here costs tens of dollars. People who can afford to shop here either have a credit card in their pocket or have someone following them to pay.

Given Lu Mingfei's financial situation, if he accidentally bumps or knocks something off the counter, he'd probably be forced to work as payment on the spot.

"Why can't I come here alone?" Lu Mingfei, carrying a thousand yuan today, felt somewhat confident and retorted:

"And you're alone too."

Su Xiaoqiang scoffed at this, taking a sip of her ice-cold coffee: "I have my dad's platinum supplementary credit card, do you?"

Lu Mingfei: ⚆_⚆?

So you're showing off your wealth?