How to raise a random guy's wife

"I'll help too."

Are you sure you're trying to help and not cause trouble?

“You can’t always do it,” Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll give it a try too.”

Chapter 857 The Hair Color Dispute

After eating and drinking her fill, Eriri wrapped herself in a blanket and nestled on the sofa, munching on fruit while complaining, "We shouldn't have chosen this place."

“There’s no such thing as ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t,’” Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the controller. “Options are designed for people to choose from.”

“But isn’t your target someone else?” Eriri paused, holding the strawberry in her hand, before speaking. “If you give the gift to this person here, you won’t be able to win over the other one.”

"Target?" Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her mouth and ate the strawberry from Eriri's lips. "Who said that was the target?"

"You worked so hard before it was even your goal... Ah! My strawberries!" Eriri glared at Kasumigaoka Utaha. "If you want some, take them yourself!"

“The ones you steal taste better.” Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the controller. “I don’t have a particular favorite, so I just picked one randomly.”

"Then it's pointless. We play games because we enjoy them, right?" Eriri was initially angry about having her strawberries stolen, but what angered her even more was Kasumigaoka Utaha's attitude. "Of course, we should only play games if we enjoy them. It's supposed to be an enjoyable process, so how can we approach it with a perfunctory attitude!"

“Even if you say that…” Kasumigaoka Utaha said frankly, “This kind of story doesn’t resonate with me at all, and I can only play it if I’m just going through the motions.”

"Huh? Is this the arrogance of a famous writer?"

Eriri is so angry.

After a busy year, Christmas is finally here, and I can finally take a good rest.

It's something to be even happier about... well, not that happy, just a little bit happier.

I received a gift from Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Nine years ago, on Christmas, Kasumigaoka Utaha gave Eriri a gift for the first time, which was also Kasumigaoka Utaha's new work.

Receiving a similar gift again, Eriri couldn't help but think of the past.

Naturally, I wanted to relive the feeling of playing games together back then.

I never expected Kasumigaoka Utaha to say such unforgivable things.

“What arrogance…” Kasumigaoka Utaha glared at her. “It’s from the creator’s perspective that I naturally analyze the story structure and plot arrangement. There are very few works that can immerse me in them.”

“That’s your problem,” Eriri suddenly remembered. “Wait, were you like this back then?”

“You were the one playing around back then,” Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed out the difference, “I was just watching.”

Oh right... I think I did play by myself back then, and Kasumigaoka Utaha was just keeping me company.

Yinglili was stunned.

Does Kasumigaoka Utaha remember this so clearly?

"Then let's not play this." Eriri rummaged through the games. "I refuse to believe that among so many excellent titles, there isn't one that can truly immerse you... You choose!"

"Okay~" Kasumigaoka Utaha replied somewhat helplessly, and after selecting a game for a while, she said, "This one seems pretty good."

“This…” Eriri thought for a moment, “It seems to have been collected by Sora.”

Kobayashi Sora would collect a portion of any game that became even slightly popular.

Leonard would regularly borrow games from Kobayashi Sora, and Eriri gradually developed the same habit.

If you don't like it, return it to Kobayashi Sora; if you do like it, buy another one for yourself.

How about this one?

Eriri shook her head. "I haven't played yet."

“I like this cover.” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the cover, which featured two girls in wedding dresses, seemingly two female leads, one with long blonde hair and the other with short black hair.

“Right~” Eriri hummed softly, “Blonde hair is the best.”

“Short black hair is the best.” Kasumigaoka Utaha twirled a strand of her hair.

"You didn't say that when you had long hair."

"I wouldn't have said that when I had long hair." Kasumigaoka Utaha opened the game. "Let's aim to win over the short black-haired girl."

"Blonde hair is definitely better!"

“Let’s see which one is more attractive,” Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the controller. “I hope you can persevere to the end.”

"But you, don't give away important items to someone else halfway through the journey."

The game begins with upbeat music and text appearing.

In my childhood, I was captivated by a particular story.

That was a heart-stirring love story.

In that story, a girl from outer space called out to a boy on Earth with voices full of love.

"This is Urusei Yatsura, isn't it?" Eriri noticed a sense of déjà vu.

"what?"

"Well... never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"Yes, yes, I haven't seen as much as you." Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the controller, and the voice actress's voice pleased her.

Perhaps we can look into it and maybe reach a cooperation agreement.

Adults, like those in stories, will experience love that is both tumultuous and passionate.

I told my mother my suspicions, and she smiled wryly, saying that she would be very sad if a stranger were to steal my love away.

But what I never expected was that, more than a decade later, that kind of dreamlike love story would actually happen to someone as insignificant as me.

"Hmm?" Eriri noticed something was off. "Is this a story told from the female protagonist's perspective?"

“That’s a good angle,” Kasumigaoka Utaha analyzed habitually, “but wouldn’t that give one of the heroines too much of an advantage?”

"Stop it right now," Eriri frowned. "No analyzing the structure, just play the game."

Even if you say that...

A man wielding a massive, sharp blade is staring at me.

Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the handle, and lines of text appeared one by one.

My heart was pounding so hard I felt like it would jump out of my chest.

"The plot twist that takes you out of the story is about to begin."

He let out a fierce, powerful roar, cleaving the hay in two with a single stroke, the light shining through illuminating the surroundings.

“The background and the text description don’t match at all. There shouldn’t be such a scene in a coffee shop…” Eriri’s eyes lit up. “I know, this is a gacha game!”

I held my breath and visualized the figure of "that person" in my mind—

【Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!】

Accompanying the beautiful woman with short black hair was a mournful wail.

The phone, clutched tightly in my hand, still displays the same familiar faces of those characters.

[The male character holding the knife casually utters a fixed line such as "How about it?".]

"It really is a gacha game," Eriri complained. "Ugh~ this kind of design is the most annoying. Even though they didn't get the character they wanted, they still say those arrogant and smug lines like 'I did a great job, didn't I?' It makes me so angry every time I see it!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced sideways.

Eriri's character is incredibly relatable.

Chapter 858 Resemblance and Dissimilarity

However, to be fair, Kasumigaoka Utaha herself is quite immersed in the story.

Because the female character in the game, Hayashi Airi, is quite similar to her appearance.

They all had short black hair.

However, Hayashi Airi does not have the same broad-mindedness as Kasumigaoka Utaha.

“This female lead looks a lot like you.” Eriri also noticed this.

"The state of a budding lotus is more like yours."

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

[“Ah—it’s gone to waste again?”] Another character, Kinshino, strikes up a conversation with Airi.

"...Ugh, why...why can't they just send Kobei out...?"

[A social game where you gather historical swordsmen to form the strongest swordsman group, commonly known as Sword Man.]

[My favorite character is Kobei Akiyama, an SR (extremely rare) character obtainable through this limited-time gacha event, making him arguably the main character of this event.]

[It was as if the screen was urging me to take a gamble, to make one last desperate attempt. The message "30 minutes left until the event ends!" appeared on the screen.]

“Ah… here it is,” Eriri said with a look of disgust. “Limited-time gacha pools are an indispensable part of any gacha game, just like the ‘I’m here to rip you off’ gacha game.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't understand Eriri's point at all, "Then why are you still playing?"

"Because the chances of getting your favorite character will increase! How can I miss it!"

"Probabilities and such can be adjusted, right?"

“That’s true.” Eriri knew all too well about this. “Although it’s said to be random, there are actually patterns to follow. For example, if there’s been no shipment for a long time, the probability seems to increase a little.”

“Probability…” Kasumigaoka Utaha recalled, “Kuyou seemed to have told me that the probability of drawing cards is basically constant in the early stages. If you don’t get the card, the probability will increase exponentially, and after you get the card, it will return to the initial state.”

Eriri nodded, "That's it. After all, it really has to be based on probability. There are really people who can't get anything."

"This is basically gambling..." Kasumigaoka Utaha realized the truth, "It's all about luck and stuff."

"What are you talking about!" Eriri corrected, "You can win at gambling too."

“That makes sense.” Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the controller and browsed the text.

As the conversation progresses, the characters' personalities gradually become clearer.

Jin Zhi is Su Xing Ai Lai's childhood friend, and Su Xing Ai Lai is a hardcore mobile game enthusiast who spends a lot of money on in-game purchases.