They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

Noticing the senior's actions, An Yu and the others looked in our direction. Ge Lanlan smiled knowingly, Hu Dan frowned, while An Yu looked somewhat conflicted.

"Brother Ning".

Someone tugged at my cuff.

Are you resting?

"Well, what's wrong?"

I said with a smile, and patted Chen Yin's head.

"Then, do you want to play Monopoly with me?"

The little girl said this, looking at me with anticipation.

"It's a very special kind!"

How special can a billionaire be?

However, I had just promised Chen Di to spend more time playing with his sister, and since I had nothing else to do anyway, I nodded.

Anyway, this kind of study session turning into a roast session or a game research club isn't a new occurrence. It's also quite reasonable for off-campus rehearsals to become a capitalist playground.

"Okay! I'll go call the older sisters again! Ah, please keep this game box with you, Brother Ning, thank you."

She tried to remain serious, but the smile on her face betrayed her inner excitement. She ran over to An Yu and the others.

"...This game."

Chen Di, who was standing next to me, glanced at the box I was holding and gave me a somewhat subtle expression.

"It's quite complicated."

"How complicated can a board game be? Like a Clash of Clans tabletop RPG with a car card?"

I casually opened the box and saw the "Fate" and "Opportunity" cards, feeling a pang of nostalgia.

"Aren't these all classic games we played when we were kids?"

Although I was actually playing with customers in my past life. Back then, a generous female college student even traded champagne for the "release certificate" I had.

"Let's see what fate I get. Hopefully, every player will give me five thousand."

I said with a smile, and drew a card that was in the middle.

[Marriage: Transfer your property to your favorite person of the opposite sex present at the wedding. The couple's combined assets will be split equally.]

? ? ? ? ? ?

[Next chapter preview: "Are you sure this thing is okay for kids to play with?"]

"I've got it! My part-time job is—a magical girl?"

The cat was fed for nothing, that ungrateful cat.

"...I want to state first that I really have no knowledge of this game or its content."

Honestly, I'm a little scared.

Chapter 102: I Have Too Many Marriage Potential Partners!!

(Omitted for brevity.) We are currently playing Monopoly in the attic.

The participants were everyone who came to the rehearsal, including senior Chu Guyin, Hu Dan, Ge Lanlan, Qiu Luxi, An Yu, Chen Di, and my sister Chen Yin.

I was so stupid. I should have realized something was wrong with this board game because it could be played by eight people.

Just like.

"I'm activating my Trap Card! 'University Welcome Party'! All players here must pay me 2000 for drinks, or you'll face the 'Free Price' penalty!"

Grandma said with a smile, and then showed us the card she had drawn.

I watched the horrible scene of the drunken woman being carried away by several burly men with smiles on my face, and I twitched my lips.

Are you sure this thing is safe for kids to play with?

I quickly and quietly complained to Chen Di, who was sitting across from me.

"It's really inappropriate. But Xiaoyin is almost in junior high school, and this kind of thing does have some educational value."

What kind of educational value is this? If you don't pay, you'll be carried away by muscular men and stuffed into a puff pastry—where can you find this? —Oh no, this does sound quite educational. After all, they not only specified the location and the event, but also emphasized the "price of getting it for free."

"Brother Ning, it's best to pay here," Chen Yin whispered to me across An Yu. "2000 yuan is a lot, but if you choose the 'price of free,' you'll get 500 yuan worth of alcohol, but you'll lose much more afterward!"

"Those 'free' parties that claim to be free are usually very dangerous!"

I really learned a lesson from the kids.

With a wry smile and tears in my eyes, I nodded and paid 2000 yuan. The sheer absurdity of the trap card alone meant that no one chose not to pay in this round.

—Actually, I'm quite curious about the consequences of giving it away for free, purely out of curiosity.

"Then it's my turn—well, I've moved to the career track. Since I already have an accountant major, I have to draw from the part-time track, right?"

"I've got it! My part-time job is—a magical girl?"

I looked at Ms. An Yu, who went to university at 19, changed her major at 20, and became a magical girl at 21, and my eyes were full of care.

This path is like reality being violated by dreams; in resistance and opposition, one tearfully accepts the fact that one is no longer pure.

I feel like I've never thought this way before. At this moment, I can finally understand those crazy things about #92 concrete.

"Brother Ning, it's your turn!"

While I was still contemplating the universe, life, philosophy, and what I had done wrong, and why I was here, I heard Chen Yin calling from beside me.

Coming to my senses, I rolled the twelve-sided die.

"One, two, three... nine. Ah, an extraordinary life is unfolding!"

I'm sorry, Xiao Lai. I really can't understand or comprehend any of these familiar Chinese characters from Jiuhua Kingdom.

"It's a very special grid. You have to draw a card from here—each person can only take one of these cards for the entire game. From now on, your fate, your chances, and everything else will depend on drawing exclusive cards from this set."

"Even if I don't understand, I can still just smoke, right?"

I'm starting to miss math problems. Those numbers and letters are so straightforward and concise right now. No wonder math teachers always say that math is about the beauty of simplicity. The rules of this game are like the skill descriptions of characters in a certain card game. Compared to that, math is so clean it brings tears to my eyes.

"Brother Ning, what did you draw?"

I glanced at my card.

[Harem protagonist: You bastard, you womanizer! Or rather, being an enviable heartthrob—it's incredible luck, but it also harbors the most terrifying crisis.]

"..."

I glared fiercely at Chen Di across from me.

"I haven't said anything yet," Chen Di laughed.

Your eyes said it all!

Qiu Luxi, who was sitting on my other side, nodded in agreement.

As expected of me, who's always been so good to you, kitty, you're definitely on my side in times like this...

"It's a very suitable card for Ning Ruoyu."

"You're not allowed to come to my house for meals next week."

The cat was fed for nothing, that ungrateful cat.

Qiu Luxi looked utterly astonished, as if the sky had fallen. This guy really's treating my house like a cafeteria, huh?

“Qiqi and I will go hungry. You can’t be so cruel as to abandon me and the child.”

"Take back your strange statement! Qiqi can come, but you're not allowed. Go order takeout yourself!"

Qiu Luxi immediately looked like a kitten with its tail drooping.

"Because Brother Ning drew the 'Harem Male Lead' card, the next chance cards will include some special cards targeting the 'Harem Male Lead'."

Chen Yin stuffed some cards into the various special card types and then placed them in the middle.

"Ordering takeout is unhealthy, you're going too far, meow."

Even though it was Qiu Luxi's turn, she was still muttering to herself. What strange things is this young lady who likes to try fast food saying?

"Ah, I want to draw a stage card."

[Marriage (Harem): You unfortunately became one of the male protagonist's concubines and entered into marriage with him. All your belongings are merged with his, and you can both use them together—although unfortunate, please work together to manage your little family well!]

[P.S.: After getting married, please choose a pet name for each other. Neither of you may refuse.]

...Qiu Luxi puffed out her chest slightly and looked at me with a smug expression.

"Hmph, now you can't kick me out, can you, honey? Meow~"

In that instant, I felt ice and fire intertwined in this damned game. An Yu on my other side had his gaze fixed on the stack of opportunity cards, his eyes burning with an intensity that drew attention; while Chu Guyin, the senior student next to Qiu Luxi, subconsciously gripped the cards in her hand, looking at Qiu Luxi beside her as if she were lost in thought, and a chill ran through her.

Even Hu Dan and Ge Lanlan fell into an eerie silence.

"...I want to state first that I really have no knowledge of this game or its content."

Chen Di moved his lips but didn't make a sound, but I could understand him.

Seeing that things were going badly, the kid immediately distanced himself from the situation.

"If you have any conscience at all, you'd better figure out a way to end this sooner..."

Chen Di wasn't very good at lip reading, so I tried my best to make sure my mouth shape conveyed the correct meaning. But at the same time, I saw Senior Chu Guyin accidentally drop the dice on the ground. When she bent down to pick up the dice, she silently flipped the 10 to an 8.

"Eight o'clock..."

After placing the dice on the table, Senior Sister Chu Guyin, without changing her expression—of course, I've never seen her change her expression—said this to everyone.

With mixed feelings, I watched her walk to the chance slot and draw the [Marriage (Harem)] option.

“…That’s great.”

The fact that two people in a row drew the same card makes one wonder if the only remaining card in this pile of opportunity cards is the [Marriage (Harem)]. But Senior Sister Chu Guyin didn't care about the gazes of others at all, and instead spoke to me in a soft voice, mixed with a slightly unpredictable emotion.

"We... got married too..."

"As for how to address me... darling... is that alright?"

If I felt intense heat just now, I now see a kind of resolute determination in An Yu beside me, as if I were facing certain death.

Honestly, I'm a little scared.

—Do we really want to continue playing this game?

[Next chapter preview: "Yes. This board game is very open-ended. Even if my brother draws the marriage (harem) card, he still has to obediently become Ning-gege's harem member!"]

If Ning Ruoyu weren't here, would you still say the same thing?

"...So you were the one who did that?"

"The game is so hard, I want to get married too."

Interlude: The Strange Lives of Many

"Ah, it's a marriage card."

Hu Dan pulled out a card and spoke in the same tone as usual.

"...Hu Dan has also become part of Ning Ruoyu's harem? It's a bit hard to imagine."

Ge Lanlan, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed.

“I’m telling you, it’s a marriage card, not a marriage (harem) card.” Hu Dan sighed, but seemed much more relaxed. “It’s just an ordinary marriage card, the kind where assets are combined and divided equally.”

"That's great, the assets are safe." Ge Lanlan said with a smile, but her words always seemed to have a hidden meaning. Hu Dan glared at her.

"A marriage card is for use with a specific person."

Xiao Yin explained to Hu Dan, "Unlike the marriage (harem) card, you can choose any person to marry."

"Then, in that case..."

Hu Dan seemed somewhat hesitant, her eyes unconsciously glancing in An Yu's direction.

"However, if you get married, any more cards of this type will be invalid, unless you draw 'divorce' and become single again!"