Want to be human, but cube-like

She placed a hand on her forehead, blocking the soft light, and closed her eyes.

Even the most powerful wish... wouldn't work, would it?

Even if they went back in time, they could only change the fact that they fell in love, but they couldn't make Alex truly fall in love with her.

Perhaps letting Aine forget Alex would be a good choice... but she couldn't bear to.

You can't exactly wish for Alex to fall in love with you, can you?

Aine cannot condone things that distort other people's will.

"I want to escape..."

…………

P.S. I got a friend today too! And it was actually someone from my cohort—a top student!

I am the one who is already dead

Emotional sustenance

[mygo, orange, warm daily life]

My name is Chitose Noshiro, and I only have one month to live.

The doctor said I was incurable, but now I have found a way to stay alive, which is to gain lifespan through continuous simulation.

"Everything is for... survival!"

Imitating Takamatsu Deng's sister: the innocence of childhood collapsed the moment the flesh and blood left.

Imitating Takamatsu Deng’s drunken colleague: After becoming an adult, is there anyone you can share your fantasies with?

Simulating Li Xi’s life redemption: The white moonlight taken away by others, is it still your white moonlight?

Simulating Nagasaki Suyo's daughter: Life was really a mess, until that day I found a homeless little kid on the corner.

……

When the holiday ended and Chitose Noshiro entered high school...

"Wait, don't come near me! It's just a simulation! How could you take it so seriously?"

Volume 1: Chapter 188 Game...Settings?

Without looking closely for a while, Xiangzi didn't even notice that the lower level of the Sky Island had been transformed into this steampunk industrial style.

"Amazing……!"

Holding his tray, Xiangzi followed Alex down the street and sighed softly.

"I feel like I can't understand the combination structure of these gears at all."

Looking up at the dense array of gears of all sizes all around him, spinning in different directions, Xiangzi's eyes shone.

"Alex knows too much."

She felt that all sorts of inspirations about musical theater were flowing out of her mind.

"Hmm...actually, I don't understand it either."

Then, Alex said something in a depressed tone.

"Eh?"

Xiangzi was stunned.

“Many gears can be knocked off without affecting the machine's operation, but some of them play a crucial role. I can't distinguish which gears are useful and which are not, and I'm afraid that if I knock them off, I won't be able to put them back together…”

Alex kicked the wrench she had just carelessly tossed to the ground and said.

And so, it has become what it is now, leaving her helpless.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Xiangzi decided to skip this topic, which she was not good at.

"Alex, let's have dinner first. You haven't eaten outside the Sky Island for many days."

Walking to where Alex usually rested, Xiangzi sat down, placed her plate on the square that served as a table, and said.

"Actually, it's okay if I don't eat it."

Lately, she's basically been eating a steak whenever she's hungry on the island. Apart from her sleep schedule, which is similar to Xiangzi's, she's completely lost her normal routine.

"Didn't Alex say she wanted to learn how to be a normal, ordinary person?"

Xiangzi pursed her lips, sitting there with an elegant posture, her gaze fixed on Alex. Alex turned her head to avoid her gaze, opened her mouth, and hesitated.

"It's so hard for ordinary people..."

She sat down and said softly.

"Becoming human is simply impossible..."

Alex's voice was soft, and the weakness in her tone made her even more alluring and bullying than usual.

"...!"

But these familiar words instantly captivated Xiangzi's attention. This seemingly familiar conversation unconsciously reminded her of the time she spent with another girl in the past.

Back then, there was also a girl who, with her timid tone and emotionally charged lyrics, asked herself how she could become human...

My answer at the time was to muster up the courage and shout it out.

But Alex, what she lacked was never courage.

Taking a deep breath and temporarily setting aside those unnecessary thoughts, Xiangzi looked at Alex again.

What she lacked was proper guidance and understanding.

Xiangzi knew she had to teach Alex how to distinguish these emotions.

The accident that caused their relationship to fall apart actually stemmed from Alex's lack of common sense and her inability to handle emotions.

She couldn't figure out how to deal with her feelings of affection for others, which led to Aine's misunderstanding and caused things to escalate to this point.

Ultimately, Xiangzi may also bear a lot of responsibility.

After all, she had promised to teach Alex how to live a normal life in this world.

Xiangzi, however, seems to have never been able to properly fulfill this responsibility.

However, it's too late to say all this now.

Let's think of a way to deal with Aine's problem first.

“Alex, I’ve never heard you tell me in detail what it was like when your mother and I were together?”

She decided to start with Alex's mother, guiding Alex to find the differences between her mother and Aine, so that she could gradually clarify her feelings for Aine.

Perhaps, it can still be salvaged.

First, we need to understand how Alex usually interacts with her mother.

"Mother……?"

Upon hearing this, Alex was slightly taken aback. She pondered for a moment and began to recall her first meeting with her mother.

Or rather, it was the first time the mother created her own scenario.

"The first time I came to know myself was on a grassland..."

A hint of nostalgia crept into her eyes as Alex carefully recalled various details.

"At that time, my mother created me along with the world for the first time."

A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth; it seemed that even such a simple recollection could make Alex forget her troubles.

Were they born on the grasslands?

As Xiangzi listened to her words, he thought to himself.

No, her mother created her in a way similar to how God created mankind?

It was natural for Xiangzi to think of humans, like those in Greek mythology, created by gods who molded their bodies and gave them souls. The images in Xiangzi's mind gradually became clearer.

"She manipulated me to dig up trees with my bare hands, chase and fight all kinds of animals, run around all over the mountains and fields, and stuff my backpack with all sorts of random things..."

While Xiangzi was lost in his fantasies, Alex continued her narration.

"Back then, my mother didn't even know about synthesis, and of course she didn't know how to use a workbench. She only knew how to dig dirt and trees to build roads. Even when she encountered monsters like zombies and skeletons at night, she would panic and frantically control me to run for my life..."

Then, the more Xiangzi listened, the more something seemed off.

"Wait, Alex, did you just say that your mother... is controlling you?"

Xiangzi paused for a moment, and the warm interaction between the mother and daughter in his mind suddenly transformed into a mature and beautiful silver-haired woman pulling on strings, manipulating Alex's actions like a puppeteer.

It seems to match my expectations quite well?

Perhaps her mother created Alex as if she were making a doll for her own use?

Moreover, they are clearly gods capable of creating the world.

However, he doesn't even know how to use Alex's superpowers.

Aren't these all things that she created and gave to Alex?

Even when encountering monsters, all you can do is run for your life?

More questions arose in Xiangzi's mind.

"Yes, Mom is controlling my movements using some kind of tool, somewhere I can't see her. I can only hear her voice..."

At this point, Alex, who had never seen her mother's true face, lowered her voice again.

She didn't even know what her mother looked like.

"A place that can't be seen...?"

Xiangzi repeated the sentence with slight hesitation, the scene he had imagined in his mind shattered by Alex's words.

She recalled what Alex had just said.

"Alex, what does your mother look like?"

Suddenly, Xiangzi realized that she had never asked this question before, so she asked.

"...I have never seen what my mother looks like."

Just as she expected, Alex lowered her head and said dejectedly.

In an instant, Xiangzi recalled how he often wondered why the things in the Sky Island and Alex's abilities were so similar to those in the game's setting.

Game mechanics?!

Her eyes widened suddenly, as if she had realized something.

…………

PS: There's also a PY (personal relationship)~

The Girl Selling Food at a Street Stall, Money Never Sees Me

"If you want to get sterilized during puberty so you can focus on your studies, but your parents won't let you, will you still refuse to get sterilized?"

"You must die a horrible death."

"What if my grades don't improve after the surgery, and my parents scold me?"

Bai Jinxuan blinked and waved her little hand: "It's impossible for him to scold you, child. There are different levels! He himself can't even get many points on tests. Would he scold you for ten years?"

Upon hearing this, the female student was still a little worried.

"But...you weren't sterilized either, were you?"

"I drink 12 bottles of medicine a day, can you drink that much? Look at the second-ranked student in the grade, not only did he get sterilized, but he also takes medicine. You're so lazy, and all you think about is early romance, what makes you think you can compare to him?"

"I... I'm sure... I'll agree. How much will it cost?"

"500 yuan."

"so cheap?"

“No.” Bai Jinxuan held out her hand and spread it out. “It’s a consultation fee. I don’t do sterilization.”