A “Study Session” That Felt Exactly Like a Date

“How is it minus two coins again?”

He Chengxi held the controller, feeling like the game was deliberately targeting her.

Her small hands tightly gripped the buttons, nervous and aggrieved, as she bit her lower lip.

After deciding to relax, they used the TV and Switch to play Mario Party—a game similar to Monopoly, filled with many mini-games.

The controls were simple, easy to learn, and suitable for boys and girls to play together.

Each character had their own exclusive dice. He Chengxi chose Shy Guy; his six-sided dice had two sides that deducted two coins, two sides that gave five, and two sides that gave seven.

This was her third consecutive roll of minus two coins.

Not only was she unable to move forward, but all the coins she earned from mini-games were taken as tribute.

She felt this game was far too rigged.

“…Want to switch?”

Pei Du had good luck and solid gaming skills. He had collected a large number of coins, obtained victory items, and was far ahead on the scoreboard.

“That would be too unfair to you, Classmate Pei.”
“Not really.”

Ten turns later—

“Classmate Pei, can you use cheats even in single-player games?”

After switching characters, Pei Du kept rolling sevens, continuously won mini-games, and his score surpassed even his previous first place.

“Maybe your luck is just bad today.”
“Classmate Pei, let’s watch some anime.”

The game ended. After briefly taking first place, He Chengxi was overtaken by Pei Du and two CPU players and fell to last place. She didn’t want to continue this heartbreaking game.

“Is that okay?”
“Okay.”

Although Pei Du felt something was slightly off, he still agreed.

Where exactly was it off?

“This one—‘GJ-bu’ OVA. Is that okay? I really want to watch it.”
“Sure.”

Pei Du had already watched this anime, including the OVA, but it didn’t matter. If the girl wanted to watch it, he could rewatch it.

It really was quite good.

“Classmate Pei, did you join any clubs in your first or second year?”

He Chengxi leaned against the sofa, her gaze fixed on the TV.

The anime “GJ-bu” was about stories in a club activity room, which made her curious whether Pei Du had joined any clubs.

Dongzhong High had clubs and a student council, with teachers acting as advisors and helping with interviews, but third-year students were forced to withdraw.

Academic pressure was simply too heavy.

“Yes.”

Pei Du reminisced briefly about his first and second year of high school. He and Zhao Yu had joined a board game club in their second year, occasionally playing cards. Zhao Yu still had a strong board-game addiction and often met with senior students already in college to play.

“I joined the board game club.”
“A board game club?”

He Chengxi looked at Pei Du in surprise. For a moment, she found it hard to understand.

Board games were social activities. She hadn’t expected Pei Du, who didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about socializing, to enjoy them.

“What board games did your club usually play?”

She didn’t know much about board games, only that they involved cards.

Pei Du recalled,

“With a lot of people, usually Sanguosha, Werewolf, or other party games. With fewer people, Dice Throne, The Mind, things like that.”
“Other than Werewolf, I don’t recognize any of those.”
“They’re all small games, easy to understand. Did you join any clubs, He Chengxi?”

Pei Du picked up his pen again, calculating problems while listening to the anime, replying almost instinctively.

“No, but I joined the student council—External Relations Department.”
“External Relations Department?”

He Chengxi adjusted her posture, moving from sitting properly to slightly lying on her side. Her upper body leaned closer to Pei Du, and her white-stockinged feet shifted toward him.

“External Relations Department?”

Pei Du secretly glanced over and couldn’t help sighing inwardly: black stockings at 60D really were still the best.

“Yes, External Relations. I wanted to experience the atmosphere of the student council.”

At this point, He Chengxi seemed a little unhappy.

“But it turned out to be an empty department. No activities, just a title.”

High school student councils were mostly just for show.

Pei Du thought of something.

“In our second year, investment ads suddenly started appearing all over the school.”

Not just drinks—snacks, big and small carts appeared on campus with free-tasting signs.

They were supposedly sponsorships pulled in by External Relations. During sports meets, many supplies were provided for free.

“That was my dad taking matters into his own hands after hearing I joined External Relations.”

He Chengxi pressed her lips together in embarrassment. Using family influence always made her feel less independent.

Since childhood, she had tried not to rely on her family’s power, but her family doted on her excessively and didn’t want her to suffer even a little.

She felt happy to be born into such a family, yet also troubled by it.

Her dad, upon hearing she wanted to secure sponsorships herself, immediately contacted all nearby sponsors. She hadn’t gotten any chance to train her own abilities.

“Your dad really loves you.”
“Yes, but my parents spoil me too much. I’ll lose my independence.”
“That’s just showing off.”
“No, it’s not.”

The girl puffed up in annoyance. If they were closer, she might have lightly punched Pei Du’s shoulder.

Unfortunately, they were still just friends who hadn’t known each other long. No matter how close they felt, they hadn’t reached that level.

Around five, Pei Du packed up and prepared to head home.

“Classmate Pei, won’t you stay for dinner?”
“…No, I have something else tonight.”

He Chengxi wanted to walk Pei Du out of the residential complex. Pei Du said it wasn’t necessary—just to the villa door was enough.

Being true friends meant mutual understanding and courtesy. Being considerate and not burdening friends with formalities was another aspect of it.

“I was very happy today, Classmate Pei.”
“…Me too.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”

Leaving the villa area, Pei Du replayed the day’s events in his mind. He finally realized what felt off.

This was entirely hanging out under the name of a study group.

Walking, eating, chatting, gaming, watching anime—aside from studying, among same-s*x friends it was just hanging out. Between a boy and a girl, it completely resembled a date.

That said, Pei Du had to admit today was fulfilling and enjoyable.

Crimson sunset clouds burned across half the sky. Along the river, laughter from elderly people and children out on walks drifted through the air.

Pei Du understood now: the problem wasn’t today—it was himself.

He had been overly sensitive.

Doing things that brought joy—being overly nitpicky only reversed priorities. He had worked hard for so long, but his goal was future happiness. If he abandoned the present for the future, wasn’t that itself a kind of loss?

Facing everything calmly was enough. Whoever he met was fate. Moreover, he trusted himself to have the self-control to persist until the college entrance exam without being distracted.

After figuring it all out, Pei Du’s steps became noticeably lighter.

He had just been influenced by the system. Otherwise, interacting normally with He Chengxi wouldn’t feel problematic at all.

“Date completed. Does the host wish to begin settlement?”
“This wasn’t a date.”

Pei Du tried to argue.

“Does the host wish to begin settlement?”
“…Yes.”

There was no reasoning with this system.

[Calculating first perfect life partner’s affection value, satisfaction value, and expectation value…]
[Overall satisfaction: 92 (out of 100)]

“Does the host require auxiliary analysis of areas for improvement in dates?”
“No.”

How many times did he have to say it—this was a study group!

“Reward distribution in progress. Please wait.”

If you don’t give me a top-tier reward, you’re finished, System!