Lu Ye was someone who hated trouble above all else, and if he had known that increasing the affection level of the male lead would be that difficult, he would definitely not touch this game.
"That's a bit weird. I remember that the affection levels in this game increase really quickly, no matter which character you pursue. Most players can successfully build a romantic relationship with their target by the second playthrough. Among all the similar games that were released around the same time, this one is definitely one of the easiest," Ling Xiao said, his voice full of confusion.
It seems like he totally did not understand why such an easy game would be so difficult in his friend's hands.
Then, as if suddenly recalling something, Ling Xiao took out his laptop and started searching for something. All Lu Ye could hear was the tapping sound of him tapping on the keyboard. Seconds later, that sound stopped.
"Lu Ye, did you check any guides online? If you try following someone else's walkthrough step by step, then it should work out fine," Ling Xiao added.
Lu Ye fell silent. Easy…
He recalled the thirty consecutive 'bad endings' he had suffered over the past few days. It seemed like he might have made a mistake. The problem seemed to lie with him and not with the game's design.
"Wait… you just said that we can choose which character to pursue? But when I opened the game, there was only one character available," Lu Ye said.
And that character happened to somehow match my tastes perfectly, he added silently in his heart.
"Only one…?" That's so weird. Did you download the wrong game?"
"I don't think so. It's definitely the game you recommended. Isn't it called Moon Pact: Song of Destiny?" Lu Ye asked.
"What the hell is that? The game that I recommended to you is called The Rules of Love at Magic Academy!" Ling Xiao shouted.
Now, even Ling Xiao felt that there was something wrong.
Lu Ye frowned a little. How is that possible? He remembered very clearly that the game Ling Xiao had sent him was called Moon Pact: Song of Destiny, but now Ling Xiao claimed that he had never sent such a message before…
Just as Lu Ye was about to ask for more details, the call suddenly cut off. He glanced down at his phone and tried to wake the screen, but nothing happened. It seemed like he had forgotten to charge his phone the day before, and it's completely died now.
Such a coincidence… The moment he wanted to ask for more details, his phone died. It was as if everything had been carefully orchestrated.
Then he shook his head immediately. What was he even thinking? He's just a graduate student who barely has any money. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from him.
It seems like he has locked himself at home for too long; his head isn't even clear anymore. He really needs to find some time to go out and get some fresh air.
He walked towards his bedroom and planned to charge his phone, then call back. However, he accidentally stepped onto an empty plastic water bottle and fell hard to the ground.
Wait… an empty water bottle?
His body slammed heavily against the floor with a dull thud. The moment before his consciousness faded to darkness, he was recalling why there would be a water bottle on his kitchen floor.
He had cleaned the floor just yesterday!
———
BANG!
"JIANG ZIHAN! Look at your score! How could you still sleep at night with these grades?!!"
Mrs. Chen slammed the test paper heavily onto the desk.
Lu Ye groggily opened his eyes and found himself standing in the teacher's office. A woman sat in front of him, loudly scolding him about something, though he could barely hear what she was saying.
His head throbbed violently, and he pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to ease the pain.
However, in the eyes of Mrs. Chen, it looked like Lu Ye was disrespecting her.
BANG!
She slammed on the desk again, his voice rising in anger. "Jiang Zihan, are you even listening to me?!! If you continue to act like this, how is it even possible for you to get into a Hunter Academy?"
Jiang Zihan…?
Hunter Academy…?
What the hell is she even saying…?
Maybe because Lu Ye had been silent for too long, Mrs. Chen seemed to lose her mind and gave up trying to wake him up. She let out a sigh, waved her hand impatiently, and signaled for him to leave the office.
Lu Ye's mind was filled with confusion as he walked out of the office. Then he froze the moment he caught sight of his reflection in the window.
Oh my…
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING!
Half an hour later, Lu Ye stood in front of the bathroom mirror, his face still filled with disbelief.
SMACK!
He slapped himself hard on the face, snapping his head to the side. A red mark immediately appeared on his cheek. The burning sting explains to him that everything that just happened was not a dream.
He actually transmigrated.
He turned on the faucet, scooped up a few handfuls of water, and splashed it onto his face, trying to force himself to calm down. But because his movements were too rushed, he ended up choking himself.
"Cough— cough, cough—"
He coughed violently, one of his hands covering the bottom half of his face, as if he were trying to cough out everything inside him.
"Why… why… why did this have to happen to me? Why does it have to be me?" he whispered hoarsely, his fingernails digging deep into his palms within his tightly clenched fist; drops of blood fell into the sink, then immediately washed away by the flowing water.
He lifted his head and stared at the face in the mirror. It looked strikingly similar to his own appearance… but he knew that this body was definitely not his own.
Jiang Zihan…?
Such a familiar name…