They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

An Yu, who had been curiously watching Hu Dan, widened his eyes upon hearing this, then subconsciously lowered his head, slightly avoiding Hu Dan's gaze.

Hu Dan took in the whole scene and sighed softly to herself.

"Aside from those who are already married, can the designated partner be anyone?"

"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!"

"Then I'll have to be careful not to draw it." Chen Di smiled, though he didn't seem to care.

"Then I'll specify—"

Hu Dan deliberately dragged out her words.

Normally, An Yu would look at her with the eyes of a little animal, as if excitedly shouting "Me! Me! Me!" at something interesting like this, right? But now, the girl kept shifting her gaze, glancing at Ning Ruoyu's position from time to time, her expression looking both frightened and regretful.

Hu Dan knew.

Given An Yu's personality, she would never directly and explicitly state that she didn't want to "marry" him. Unlike Qiu Luxi, who is straightforward and outspoken with everyone, An Yu is quite gentle in personality compared to other girls.

The only awkward moment seemed to be the confrontation with Li Yueyao in the library. No wonder Li Yueyao held a grudge and even developed library phobia.

To be honest, Hu Dan had already prepared herself to choose Ge Lanlan. But perhaps out of resentment, or perhaps out of curiosity, she suddenly stopped.

"...Will you marry me?"

On a whim, she asked An Yu that question.

An Yu's expression shifted from blank to panicked, but not in a shy or embarrassed way. The girl instinctively raised her hand, lowered her head, and spoke with a guilty and uneasy tone.

"Me? Me? Should I...should I think about it some more?"

Ah, I see.

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

Hu Dan smiled bitterly to herself. She didn't think Ning Ruoyu had done anything wrong. Perhaps it was because she was an outsider, but she could see that Ning Ruoyu was trying to avoid the girls' affections. He was sometimes tactful and sometimes direct, but the girls were equally persistent, and none of them gave him a chance to refuse.

"Just kidding, An'an, you don't have many assets, I won't marry you—I choose Ge Lanlan."

Hu Dan smiled and patted An Yu's head. An Yu puffed out his cheeks slightly at being told he had few assets, but his expression seemed to show relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I... I don't want to marry you either!!"

Glenlan was shocked.

Hu Dan naturally knew what her friend was thinking. Although she hadn't found a track, she was still eyeing it covetously.

But who cares? Hu Dan pretended not to hear or see Ge Lanlan's somewhat resentful look.

"Just because you're heartbroken doesn't mean you can drag me down with you, right? I still have a chance. In a way, An'an and I are on the same starting line..."

Hu Dan continued to ignore Ge Lanlan's rambling.

……

The game continued, and everyone developed many more paths on the chessboard.

After "graduating from university," Chen Di chose a career in scientific research. He did not get married, but he became "neighbors" with Ning Ruoyu, and they gave each other a 50% discount on tolls and other similar expenses.

Qiu Luxi and Chu Guyin moved into Ning Ruoyu's house together. Qiu Luxi became a "director of the entertainment company," while Chu Guyin became a "great musician." Their charging model was no longer limited to tolls, but rather a profit sharing for each round.

Hu Dan and Ge Lanlan quickly "divorced" and went on to collect rent. However, due to their failed "marriage," they increased each other's rent collection by 40%, leading to a lot of bickering.

Xiao Yin successfully drew the "marriage (harem) card." Amidst Chen Di's wry smile, she said she wasn't really willing, but quickly moved into Ning Ruoyu's house. Still young, she became the little housekeeper, taking charge of collecting rent, living a simple life of collecting tolls with her brother every day before going to university.

Ning Ruoyu's harem has reached three members, triggering a special passive effect of "gradually losing weight," meaning he suffers health problems every time he passes by his home. Although it's unclear how he manages to consistently avoid his home route when rolling the dice, the two girls who roll "pay their dues" have dragged him back several times. His assets are temporarily unaffected, but his health seems to be hanging by a thread.

And An Yu...

"come on, come on, come on!"

I don't know why, but apart from Ning Ruoyu, everyone else publicly voiced their support when they saw her drawing cards.

"..."

After pulling out a card with her eyes closed, An Yu secretly opened one eye to glance at the contents of the card.

"...Another secret card."

She let out a long sigh without any attempt to hide it.

"Let me tell you a secret about the school. Um, there's that vending machine outside the cafeteria. Once I saw a bag of snacks stuck there, so I bought a bottle of water to try and push it out, and then it got stuck too."

An Yu said with some annoyance.

"In the end, I didn't get anything. I'm so angry."

"...So you were the one who did that?" Ning Ruoyu's lips twitched.

"Huh? You all knew already?"

"Because someone posted comparison pictures of the vending machine in the morning and afternoon on the confession wall, what a fool who was greedy for small gains, hahaha..."

"…………snort."

Normally, An Yu would probably have agonized over this for a long time, but in her current bad mood, she seemed to have no such intention. She stared longingly at the deck of cards, like a puppy hoping for food to fall from the sky.

Her devout look made Chen Yin, who was standing next to her, feel embarrassed to tell her that the marriage (harem) card would be removed after it was used up, and there were only three cards in an eight-person game.

"It's my turn..."

Some skills during the game caused changes to the turn order for each player to varying degrees, and Chu Guyin, who was next in the turn, also stepped onto the grid of "fate".

"I suddenly remembered that I forgot to put this little house on the landmark. Sorry, senior."

Ning Ruoyu reached out and somewhat abruptly placed a small plastic house on the opposite side. Chu Guyin shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind.

"Are you done...?"

The boy subtly traced his fingertips across the "Fate" card, then smiled at Chu Guyin.

"Um, sorry to interrupt you, please continue, senior."

"It doesn't matter..."

"Draw a card..."

“Hmm, ‘Courage’...to take the initiative...to do something...that you want to do but...don’t have the courage to do.”

"Things I don't have the courage to do... ah."

Upon hearing the effect of the card, Qiu Luxi, who was sitting on the other side of Ning Ruoyu, glanced at Ning Ruoyu and then reached out to gently poke his waist.

"...What are you doing?"

Ning Ruoyu glared at the cat with dirty hands.

"Heartbreaker Radish".

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Then I want you to conjure up a copy of 'Courage' for me."

"I won't change, and you'll use it to do bad things."

"No way! ...Maybe meow."

The whispers between the boy and Qiu Luxi were probably only unnoticed by the somewhat dazed senior, Chu Guyin. Chu Guyin seemed lost in her own world, then picked up her phone and stared blankly at the contacts on it once more.

“Poke.”

The boy glanced at An Yu beside him and saw that her face was also flushed, as if she had something difficult to say and wanted to discuss it.

"Could you... change one for me?"

An Yu pointed to the marriage (harem) card that had been removed from the field, "The game is so hard, I want to get married too."

"...Don't you want to listen to what you're saying?"

[Next chapter preview: ...Chen Di's sister is terrifying.]

Wow! The live music party was so much fun!

...I'm a gloomy shut-in who wants to go home whenever I'm in trouble.

Please, don't tell me what happened. All I want to do right now is go home and hide in my wooden bed.

Chapter 103: Defeat CG Settlement

Great, just a little bit more.

Seeing Senior Chu Guyin looking at Wu Yuehua's contact information on her phone, everyone else, like me, was patiently waiting. Even Xiaoyin, who didn't know what was going on, was very sensible, sitting quietly in her seat and quietly counting my properties.

...Chen Di's sister is terrifying.

The bet with the landlady—no, with Chu Qingya—didn't turn in my favor just because things were improving. To try and win over this island girl, and to say something that would infuriate any musician—I'm not a musician. While my senior's piano playing touched me somewhat, I can't really expect a few magical healing spells to descend from the heavens.

Set up a stage, hold a live performance, a few people play a few songs with all sorts of instruments, and suddenly they're all united and at peace? No way, no way, no one really believes that kind of thing, right? — Ah, I'd love to believe it, but I'm always a bit gloomy and cautious.

Even specialized counseling couldn't completely resolve the interpersonal problems. This tension, temporarily suppressed by the atmosphere, always leaves a sense of unease, a feeling of impending explosion. So-called final music therapy should be the decisive blow, not the clarion call to attack.

Therefore, getting the senior student and the student council president to reconcile is a necessary step. I have favors to both of them, and since avoiding them is unrealistic, I should at least avoid awkward encounters with them.

I'm the kind of person who actively changes things if I can't avoid them! Very good, very good, Senior Chu Guyin finally made up her mind to make the call! As expected of a senior who is very disciplined in games except for rolling dice!

Wow! The live music party was so much fun!

"...What do you want?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was so cold that it created an awkward silence. It was hard to believe that the person on the other end was President Wu Yuehua, known for her uprightness, seriousness, and impartiality.

"Um... I wanted to..."

"Sorry, I'm very busy right now. If there's anything else, please send a message or let's talk later."

What a blunt rejection! I'm not even this cruel when An Yu bombards me with text messages.

"Um...Okay..."

"Okay, I'll hang up now. Goodbye."

From Wu Yuehua's side, a dial tone sounded.

Well, you can't say that Senior Wu Yuehua's conversation was particularly impolite, but her apparent lack of intention to communicate made the atmosphere around us feel suffocating and frozen.

...I'm a gloomy, shut-in type who just wants to go home whenever I'm in trouble. Seriously, please don't tell me what happened, I just want to go home and hide in my wooden bed right now.

—The steel plate broke a few days ago, and there were signs of human damage, but I couldn't find any conclusive evidence.

Even though the call had already ended, Chu Guyin held the phone to her ear, looking somewhat lost in thought.

"...Senior."

An Yu called out to her with some reluctance, while the cat beside her looked at her with concern. Chu Guyin seemed to have just woken up from the scene and put down her phone.

"I failed... Is there a penalty...?"

Wow, that's so tragic. Even if it really happened, no one would have the heart to say it out loud, right?

Even a little girl like Chen Yin knows to secretly move the rulebook to the side.

"It seems to be written on the back of the rulebook here."

Who?! Who didn't keep an eye on their cat and let it run around causing trouble for others?!

I quickly covered Qiu Luxi's mouth, and after a brief moment of stunned silence, she nestled into my arms, looking content and pleased with herself for being praised after doing something good.

"You rascal!" I said, not bothering to punish the silly cat.

"Well, since you've already tried it, I don't really think it's necessary..."

"It's okay... it's just the rules... we have to follow them..."

Chu Guyin shook his head, then took the rulebook, glanced at the related punishments, and froze.

As the culprit who switched the cards, I also felt a little guilty and went over to take a look.

[Failure in "Courage": Without courage, you can't hold onto most of what's in your life. Remove the life stage card from your life. Your life needs a fresh start at this stage.]

Life stages? I glanced at it, and "Musician" is a career card, so life stages are actually...

Senior Chu Guyin silently picked up the book "Marital Relationships," which had been carefully hidden in the lower right corner with funds and real estate, and handed it to Chen Yin, who was acting as both a bank and a service hall.

"that……"

Chen Yin, that little girl, had never seen anything like this before. She could only instinctively realize that this was not a situation where the card could be taken away casually. She looked up at Chen Di and me with a helpless expression.