Romantic Dating Simulator

Early in the morning at the office, Shen Yi was revising the proposal he hadn't finished the day before. Taking time off was nice at first, but coming back was like walking into a crematorium - various tasks were in complete disarray, disturbing his peace of mind.

The vacation days were scattered about, and working days were mentally chaotic, making it feel like a bargain hunt, desperately trying to piece things together.

"Shen Yi, you need to submit your proposal tonight, the client needs it tomorrow," Little Liu from the neighboring desk said casually as he walked past Shen Yi's workstation carrying some files.

Shen Yi heard him but didn't even look up, just mumbling a response. Little Liu didn't seem to mind, letting out a snicker before walking away with his head held high.

Liu Changjiang pulling this kind of stunt was within Shen Yi's expectations. The reason was simple - it was all about the time off.

The company policy stated that only one person per team could take regular time off, with special arrangements possible for schedule adjustments. Since Shen Yi had applied one day earlier, it disrupted Liu's plans, and he had secretly begun to harbor resentment toward Shen Yi.

Liu Changjiang was a petty person with a narrow mind, always keeping score and fond of tattling - your typical office troublemaker. Every workplace has one, and everyone knew what he was like, mostly choosing to keep their distance.

"Xiao Shen, the previous version needs some minor adjustments, the team leader is waiting for the report."

Just as Shen Yi had managed to push Liu Changjiang out of his mind, another voice caught his attention, and he quickly responded:

"Oh, sure, Wang Ru, I'll get right on it."

Wang Ru was a young married woman who had helped Shen Yi a lot when he first joined the company. She was generally kind to everyone, always smiling before speaking, and was quite popular in the company.

Unlike with Liu Changjiang, Shen Yi didn't dare slack off when she made requests, immediately nodding in agreement.

But just as he sat down, someone from the Planning Department came looking for him, urging him about the brand promotion draft that was due Monday.

Shen Yi froze, checked his phone, and realized - damn, today was Monday.

Recalling last week's team arrangements, this draft was supposed to be Liu Changjiang's responsibility.

The Planning Department staff waved off Shen Yi's explanations - they didn't care who wrote the draft, they just needed it from Team Three on time, everything else was irrelevant.

After they left, Shen Yi sat at his desk and realized what had happened - that bastard Liu Changjiang had taken emergency leave today, deliberately leaving this mess for him to deal with.

After gritting his teeth for a while, Shen Yi gave up. This wasn't the time to be angry - he had a huge pile of work to handle and time was tight, leaving no room for extra emotions.

Office work was strange like that - some days you're killing time browsing the internet, other days tasks pile up one after another, like suddenly remembering to do the dishes when food's already on the table, or realizing your nose is running only after it reaches your mouth.

Ten-thirty at night.

Shen Yi stood up and stretched, trying to work out his stiff muscles.

"That's it for this goddamn shift today!"

The client's proposal was done, and the team leader's report materials had been placed on his desk long ago - he could finally go home.

As for the Planning Department's draft, whoever wanted to write it could write it - he sure as hell wasn't going to. Shen Yi coldly smiled as he grabbed his bag and clocked out without hesitation.

He wasn't the type to let people walk all over him - his kindness was reserved only for those who were kind to him in return. For someone else, Shen Yi might have quietly taken the hit and helped out, but Liu Changjiang definitely didn't qualify.

Shen Yi had managed to complete his own work even after taking time off yesterday to move houses, so what right did Liu Changjiang have to deliberately dump his work on him under the guise of taking leave?

The subway stopped running at 10:50, and Shen Yi hurriedly caught the last train, finding a seat while clutching his laptop bag.

He could already imagine the team leader's fury tomorrow, but he didn't care. At worst, he'd be accused of not being a team player. After working there for over two years, he had no ambition for promotion anyway, so let them yell.

Finding a seat, Shen Yi pulled out his phone to relax with a game.

"Teamfight Tactics, let's go!"

After graduating from university, intense competitive games had become too demanding, and Shen Yi gradually started preferring casual games.

Games he could start and stop at any time, preferably with auto-play features, something he could just tap occasionally to relieve stress.

"Nice! Eat that!"

Shen Yi muttered excitedly under his breath as his composition was unstoppable, crushing everything in its path.

"Damn, what luck, how did they manage to chase me down?"

But before he could celebrate for long, another player desperately chased him down with a three-star legendary unit, sending him to eighth place.

Putting down his phone in frustration, the subway coincidentally arrived at his stop, and Shen Yi grabbed his bag and followed the crowd out.

After an eight-minute walk, Shen Yi opened his door and collapsed onto the bean bag chair, not wanting to move anymore.

This was his new home that he'd just moved into yesterday, so it still looked neat and organized, a far cry from his previous dump - the difference was like heaven and earth.

His previous apartment, though close to the company, was small and expensive. Shen Yi felt the burden was too heavy and had been wanting to move but couldn't find the time. He finally managed it during his time off, only to return to a pile of work at the office, making him even more exhausted than before.

Curled up in the soft chair, Shen Yi opened a food delivery app and casually ordered dinner, having not eaten since being busy since noon.

While waiting, Shen Yi thought about playing another round of TFT, but remembering the lucky player from before made him lose interest, like he'd swallowed a fly.

Feeling bored, Shen Yi opened the App Store, looking for a casual idle game to play.

His finger scrolled through the rankings, seeing all familiar faces - either games he'd played before or types he had zero interest in.

"These rankings are getting worse and worse..." Shen Yi muttered while scrolling down.

Just then, a pink APP caught his attention, something he hadn't seen before, sitting right at the hundredth position - the very last spot in the rankings.

"Dating Simulator, just made it to the charts?"

The rankings only showed the top hundred, so this APP had clearly fought its way up from among thousands, suggesting it must have some merit.

Of course, what really caught Shen Yi's attention was the app's icon - a pink heart pierced by Cupid's arrow.

However, unlike normal Cupid's arrows that pierce two hearts, this arrow had a string of hearts skewered on its shaft, making the whole Cupid's arrow look rather crowded and strange.

'What is this, a kebab?' Shen Yi couldn't help but joke, but his curiosity was piqued nonetheless.

With one tap, Shen Yi started the download, casually reading the description while waiting for the progress bar to fill.

[Dating Simulator! A blessing for the romantically challenged, a bible for dating novices, hurry and match with your dream goddess! Earn rewards through successful dating strategies, unlock exclusive achievements with perfect runs!]

Looking at the description, Shen Yi had a strange expression, "Sounds pretty legit, hope it's not pay-to-win..."

The simulator wasn't large, and it quickly showed the download was complete.

Exiting the store, Shen Yi decided to try it immediately, skipping the reviews as usual.

Developers these days were quite crafty with fake reviews, and there was nothing worse than getting excited by glowing praise only to find garbage after downloading.

Clicking the icon, a pleasant melody played, followed by a flash of white light that made Shen Yi's vision blur momentarily before the APP loaded completely.

His body felt strangely hot for an instant, so brief he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. Before he could think about it further, a simple window popped up, prompting him to name his character.