Closing Remarks.

Afterword.

The main story has concluded.

There will be additional side stories to follow.

I could write a hundred thousand words of side stories.

These side stories will likely return to the silly and joyful daily life on campus, and fill in some remaining plot holes, such as the Go event, Xuan Ying's birthday event, and others that weren't fully resolved.

(Actually, saying it's 'finished' isn't entirely accurate. You can understand it as the conclusion of another volume. However, due to certain reasons, this book had to be wrapped up (primarily due to low revenue). I heard there are recommendations after completion, so Su Cheng and I reached a consensus to adopt an extreme and misunderstood approach.)

To the friends who followed along chapter by chapter until now, you've worked hard; to the new readers who binge-read to this point, you've also worked hard.

This work was born from ideas I had after watching many youth-themed stories in recent years. Thoughts like, what would it be like if the heroine from work A competed against the heroine from work B? If they had a contest, who would have the last laugh?

Thus, under various circumstances, this text came to be. When initially designing the story, influenced by the last work I had watched, the plot leaned towards a farcical style. But as the story developed further and the characters' images and interactions gradually evolved, my own thinking began to shift. Ideas like "this character would absolutely do this in this situation" became more and more frequent.

(To put it bluntly, it felt like the characters 'came alive,' and my limited skills couldn't quite keep them in check.)

This book started on August 20th, 2022, and today is August 1st, 2024—nearly two years of writing.

(The reason it took so long is purely because I frequently took breaks.)

It's now close to 2.5 million words. This is the first time I've written a work of this length, and to be honest, I simply couldn't manage a story this long on my own.

Being able to write this much is inseparable from the support of all you readers, especially 'Landlord's Cat 12', 'Fan Ruoruo Ming', 'I Am Taotao', 'Master of Giving Up for Free', 'Deng Buyi', 'A Little White Dust (Pure Milk)', 'Xue Yihe', 'Ye Xiao from the Ancient Mists', 'See No, Hear No, Speak No', 'The Self-Tormenting Single Dog', 'Flying Cherry Blossoms Like Rosy Clouds', 'Zhou Tong from the South Snow Archipelago', 'Electric Massage', 'Shibuya Rin s', 'Traces Pass'...

There are too many to list, I can't thank everyone enough.

Writing this, I realize there doesn't seem to be much else to say. So, I've decided to kowtow to all the readers who have made it this far. Without you, I could never have written this much.

Now, let's get back on topic.

Please, close the book here.

There will be opportunities later for you to open the cover again.

Please allow me to lay down my pen for now.

(Actually, I just want to rest for a bit before updating the side stories.)

(While updating the side stories, I'll also be brainstorming a new book.)

(The new book will still be published here.)

— Anime is the best.

It actually requires a thousand characters to publish this, meaning I still need to pad about two hundred more words to successfully post this concluding note. Let me think, what else do I have to say...

………………

After the Afterword—

Darkness before the eyes. Silence in the ears. No scent to the nose. No sensation on the skin.

Is this what the end of the world looks like?

Is this the afterlife?

If so.

Then surely, I am already in hell.

Otherwise, why would I be deprived of all five senses, left only with the torment of consciousness? Though I don't understand what sin I committed, I'm not surprised by this outcome. Perhaps, unbeknownst to me, my heart had already prepared for it long ago.

Even so.

Even so.

A feeling seems to linger deep within.

Someone is calling for me.

Who?

Calling for what?

"Time to wake up."

Wake up? Wake up where? To do what?

"Waking up means a new day."

"Someone is waiting for you."

Who is it?

Is it...

"Pop!" A sound was heard, a crack was seen, and light streamed in.

What lies beyond the crack?

"It's hope."

"A new day, a new hope."

The cracks multiplied, the light grew stronger, and in an instant, it flooded all perception.

"Su Cheng!"

Different locations, the same name.

Gu Ruoxue, Ji Qingyi, Li Guanqi, Liu Qingyue—though lying in different places, they assumed the same posture. As if by prior agreement, they reached out a hand, trying to grasp something.

"Is this... Su Cheng's home!?"

"We're back..."

"But the rings are gone!"

The girls quickly grasped the current situation and the change, and unanimously made the same choice.

They rushed out of their rooms.

In the living room, near the kitchen.

A familiar aroma and the clatter of bowls and plates reached their senses.

Then, a familiar figure, one they thought they had lost, walked out.

"Good morning. A new day, a new hope."