It's just The Sims, how did it become my ideal love story?

Chapter 57 Anyone can spout platitudes (Seeking votes~)

"Why won't you listen to advice, child?"

"I've already told you, no school in Jicheng is as good as the one in the provincial capital. You were doing just fine there, but you insisted on coming back here to study. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"Now look what's happened. Your academic grades are falling behind, and your preliminary results in the competition weren't ideal. What do you want?"

"Your father and I have reached this point. If it weren't for you, we would have divorced long ago. Don't you know who I'm suffering for!"

The girl lowered her head, her eyes already glistening with tears.

But she didn't say anything; she knew she couldn't say anything.

But those invisible shackles were tightening around his wrists and neck, getting tighter and tighter until he could barely breathe.

The woman in front of him seemed oblivious to all of this.

He just kept babbling on and on in his own very familiar way.

"She hasn't said a word, it's driving me crazy!"

"What exactly do you want, Lin Jiang?"

"Why did your family work so hard to get you to practice the piano? Was it for ourselves? Isn't it for you to have a better future?"

"Can't you just give us a break? Your academic performance is bad, and now your piano skills have declined. What are you planning to do about it?"

"Alright, I'll go find your homeroom teacher right away and ask you to transfer back to the provincial capital."

As the woman spoke, she took out her phone and seemed to start dialing a number.

While waiting for the call to connect, she continued muttering to herself.

"I don't know how your father could be so irresponsible!"

"This family would have fallen apart long ago without me. I have to worry about everything. I also have to work. Aren't I tired?!"

"Has anyone considered how I feel?!"

"Why are teenagers so rebellious? They don't understand their parents' good intentions at all. Hello? Teacher Chen, this is Lin Jiang's mother. I need to discuss something with you."

Just as the woman automatically put on a smiling face over the phone, at a speed comparable to turning the pages of a book.

"I do not want!"

Suddenly, she heard a voice from outside the phone.

The woman looked at her daughter in astonishment.

He saw her looking at him with tears streaming down her face, her fists clenched, her face pale, and her lips and whole body trembling.

She paused for a moment, then her expression turned ferocious.

He seemed to feel inexplicably angry because of her resistance at this moment, as if his painstaking upbringing was not understood and was completely betrayed. That feeling of betrayal made him extremely ashamed and angry.

"You don't want anything?! Just listen to me!"

She roared those words with an almost terrifyingly ferocious expression.

The next moment, her daughter chose to rebel against her in another way.

Lin Jiang rushed out.

They ran off in one direction.

Gu Huai stood not far away, watching and listening to this scene. Whether it was due to the simulation deliberately drawing his attention to this matter or something else, he heard the conversation clearly.

He didn't take any immediate action, but instead looked at the woman.

The woman, who vaguely remembered him, was still holding her phone, looking somewhat bewildered in the direction Lin Jiang had run off to.

But instead of chasing after her immediately, she took a deep breath and spoke into the phone.

"Hello, Ms. Chen? Oh, it's nothing, it's just that I need to discuss something with you. It's about my daughter's recent situation. What's causing her decline? Has she been secretly playing on her phone in class? Or has she been getting close to any boys at school?"

Gu Huai took off running in that direction.

He didn't care whether the woman would notice his behavior.

The mere thought of what had happened to Lin Jiang, the gentle, beautiful, generous, kind, and understanding woman, gave him a reason to rush out.

What help can a teenager of this age offer? Even an upright official has difficulty settling family disputes, and you're not even an official.

You're just a kid who can't even handle your own problems, yet you want to help others? You've played the hero, but can you bear the responsibility behind it? Have those stinking rats in the sewers and goblins in the caves tried to do something that moved them?

Countless thoughts like these might have tried to stop Gu Huai from searching for Lin Jiang, but he did not stop.

In real life, Lin Jiang didn't give up standing up for herself just because she was ordinary and unremarkable, did she?
The courage we have now comes from should perhaps be returned to that person.

He chased her for a while, but luckily Lin Jiang wasn't running very fast, and it was clear she wasn't in great shape. She ran to a park not far from the school, and when Gu Huai saw her, she was standing by the artificial lake in the park.

Her whole body seemed to freeze there, and a cool breeze blew by, causing her body to tremble slightly.

Gu Huai dared not speak rashly, because Lin Jiang was too close to the lake at the moment, and he was afraid that if he spoke abruptly, he would frighten her and cause her to accidentally fall in.

It's like someone standing on the edge of a building; no one will suddenly shout at them from behind.

What should I do?
Should I call out softly? What if it sounds like a ghost and gets even scarier?

He could only think of one solution.

He moved stealthily, trying not to make a sound, and slowly approached the girl behind him, completely unaware of what was happening behind him, seemingly lost in his own emotions.

A gentle breeze lifted the ends of her hair just as Lin Jiang seemed to sense something and was about to turn her head.

Her slender wrist was held tightly.

"what"

As expected. Lin Jiang was startled and almost instinctively retreated, but Gu Huai, who had anticipated this, tightened his arms and pulled the girl close to him with undeniable strength, almost into his embrace.

Lin Jiang hadn't fully reacted yet when she heard the calm, gentle voice of the young man in front of her.

"Don't be afraid, it's me."

It's true that he's sensitive, insecure, and not good at expressing himself, but that doesn't mean he considers fewer things than others. Sensitivity shouldn't be a shameful quality. Gu Huai thought to himself.

Coming to her senses, Lin Jiang looked at Gu Huai in astonishment, "Brother Gu Huai, what happened?"

Suddenly she couldn't continue speaking, blushed, and lowered her head.

Gu Huai asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Then they heard the girl's soft, low voice, "You're holding on so tightly."

Huh? Oh!
Gu Huai quickly pulled her closer before letting go, "I'm sorry, I was afraid you would fall because I scared you just now."

"It's...it's okay."

Lin Jiang's expression softened after noticing the boy's thoughtfulness.

Gu Huai was trying to figure out how to start the conversation. He looked around and then suggested, "How about we sit down for a while?"

"doing what?"

"Aren't there chairs over there?"

"Oh, okay, sure!"

She seemed inexplicably flustered, leaving Gu Huai somewhat puzzled.

Lin Jiang is cute, but she's also a bit easily startled and it's hard to tell what she's thinking.

Although Lin Jiang herself later didn't know what she was thinking.

The two sat on a park bench, watching the girl with her legs bent, curled up slightly, looking very insecure.

Gu Huai pondered how to bring up this matter, while realizing that his simulation was not yet over, which was probably related to this issue.

To be honest, he was a little apprehensive. How could someone who couldn't even manage his own life try to save others? Just as Gu Huai was deep in thought, a weak voice came from beside him.

"Did Brother Gu Huai think I was going to jump into the lake?"

Gu Huai looked up at her and smiled, "How could that be? I was just afraid of scaring you."

After all, if she really jumped, how could he still see Lin Jiang later?

She looked at Gu Huai hesitantly, "What about at the school gate just now?"

Gu Huai smiled wryly, "Yes, I just happened to see it. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

The girl's visibly red and swollen eyes trembled slightly, and the tear stains on her face were still quite clear.

Wow, her skin is amazing! And that delicate, pitiful beauty... This isn't some young Lin Jiang, it's Lin Daiyu! Hmm? Is this what I'm thinking about?

"It's nothing. I'm sorry, Brother Gu Huai, you must have made a fool of yourself."

"Why are you apologizing to me for something like this? Are you alright?"

Lin Jiang silently lowered her head, placing her hands on her legs, entangled in a conflicted manner.

Her voice was low and somber.

"It's nothing, I'm used to it."

got used to?
Gu Huai shook his head. "If you were really used to it, you wouldn't yell 'I don't want to!' and then rush out. If you really get used to it, you'll become numb, just blindly obeying your parents' decisions, and then making fake efforts—efforts that make no progress at all."

Lin Jiang looked at Gu Huai with surprise, "How could you..."

Whether one thinks this way or knows it so clearly is not important; it's impossible for it to be innate.

He shook his head.

"That's not important. What's important is your own true thoughts."

Hearing Gu Huai say that, Lin Jiang lowered her head again.

She murmured to herself with a self-deprecating tone.

Does it matter what my true thoughts are? Not at all.

"Anyway, no one cares. They just keep telling me how much effort they've put into me, and that everything they did was to nurture me."

"I can't afford to show any sign of decline, I can't afford to make any mistakes in life that would displease them, I don't want to let them down, but..."

She hasn't finished speaking yet.

Gu Huai took it.

"But the more I think like this, the more likely I am to make mistakes and disappoint them. I've already tried so hard, but why can't I do it well? Why do I even feel like I'm someone who can't be expected to succeed and only disappoints people?"

"Brother Gu Huai".

She looked at Gu Huai with her eyes welling up with tears again. Her words sounded disheartening, but there was no trace of dejection on the boy's face.

He just looked at me with gentle determination.

"Don't believe the nonsense that everyone is doing things for your own good, even if your parents say it. If this isn't the lifestyle you want, it's useless no matter how wonderful it sounds. Ultimately, people have to live for themselves, and even children have the right to choose their own lives."

"You might think what I'm saying sounds like preaching or empty rhetoric, and ultimately it's all pointless. But if you yourself think that way and succumb to their ideas, doing everything they say, what about your own life? Did you come into this world just to become a puppet controlled by others?"

……

(End of this chapter)