"Huh? Why are there so many mentions of me in the QQ groups?"
After closing his browser, Chen Xiao noticed a 999+ badge on QQ. He tapped it and found a pile of messages tagging him, from both local friends and classmates.
Oh, right.
Because of his decision to stop attending school, he had turned on Do Not Disturb for a while, so he hadn't seen any of those messages.
With that, Chen Xiao lay down on his bed and began slowly scrolling through the group chat history from the beginning.
The earliest mentions were all people urging him not to do anything stupid, asking whether he had run into trouble or someone was threatening him.
Only after Lin Qi stepped in to explain that this was Chen Xiao's own choice did everyone believe there was no outside cause. Then they started roasting him for "cutting off" his own future.
They acted like they were looking at [Shenzhou's last eunuch].
Next came last night's wildly viral Black Rock Shooter video, which everyone kept sharing back and forth. Even comments like "We've sampled enough. Take it away" couldn't stop the other group members from reposting it again and again and again.
"I don't even know if getting famous is a good thing or a bad thing."
Chen Xiao muttered to himself.
Could this world's "script" include a behind-the-scenes mastermind story, not just Urban Supernatural?
He spent a dozen or so minutes reading through the recent chat history. Once he saw that no one was still making a big deal out of his decision to stop attending school, he finally relaxed.
If even his childhood friend couldn't talk him out of it, everyone else really was out of options.
"Making money..."
Setting his phone aside, Chen Xiao looked toward the enormous display cabinet nearby. His gaze swept over the familiar figurines before finally settling on several heroines from romance anime.
"That's it! Novels! Why didn't I think of that?!"
Most people who transmigrated into modern settings made their first pot of gold by copying wildly popular works from their previous lives-in other words, plagiarizing.
But since Chen Xiao's family was far wealthier in this life than in his previous one, he had never considered making money that way.
What reminded him now was that those figurine girls were all writers!
"The most obvious choice is Utaha Kasumigaoka. She was practically the workhorse of anime crossover fanfiction for a while, too. With her help, I should be able to..."
"No can do."
Before Chen Xiao could finish, the lovely upperclassman in black stockings materialized in front of him on her own and shook her head.
"Why not?"
Chen Xiao looked utterly baffled.
Isn't this a little out of character?
Utaha Kasumigaoka actually refusing to write a novel?
"Honestly... have you forgotten what kind of novels I write?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed, then raised a hand and poked his chest with a faintly aggrieved expression. The slightly ticklish touch, coupled with the beautiful upperclassman voicing her grievances at such close range...
Made Chen Xiao's heart race for a moment.
"I-I think they were romances-"
Halfway through, Chen Xiao realized he couldn't quite remember. After all, even in his previous life, Saekano had been an old anime to him.
"Love Metronome! A romance light novel with a literary bent. Do you really think it would do well in this world's webnovel scene, Xiao?"
With that, Utaha Kasumigaoka lifted her right foot and nudged his calf with her gorgeous, black-stockinged leg, somewhere between a teasing caress and a kick.
Only after making Chen Xiao shudder did Utaha Kasumigaoka turn back into a figurine, looking as though she hadn't quite had her fill.
"The current webnovel scene, huh..."
After hearing Utaha Kasumigaoka's explanation, Chen Xiao picked up his phone again, searched for a popular fiction site, and gave its bestseller rankings a quick scan.
"It's all wish fulfillment."
Chen Xiao let out a long sigh.
Without exception, the plots involved protagonists awakening superpowers, showing off, humiliating their enemies, and building harems. To Chen Xiao, this wasn't even a revival of old trends-it was a return to prehistoric times!
"Heh-heh~ In that case, it's time for me, Elf Yamada, to take the stage!"
A blonde elfin girl in a pink Gothic Lolita dress materialized in front of Chen Xiao, planted her hands on her hips, and spoke with absolute confidence.
Writing wish fulfillment? That was her specialty!
"As long as you don't start fighting with Black Cat again."
Chen Xiao muttered under his breath.
He wasn't some guy surnamed Lü who enjoyed watching women pull each other's hair.
"If that girl's writing were remotely decent, she wouldn't even lose to a certain little sister at it."
Elf Yamada delivered that sneer with a look of disdain.
Wow, now that's a critical hit!
Granted, that was something from the original Oreimo and had nothing to do with the Black Cat figurine Chen Xiao had made.
"You pointy-eared demon in an elf's skin!"
But Ruri Gokou, who couldn't take that as anything but mockery, immediately flew into a rage. She materialized and lunged at Elf Yamada, taking Chen Xiao down with them.
"Stop fighting, you two! Stop... get off me already!"
Two beautiful young girls pinned Chen Xiao beneath them, wriggling back and forth nonstop until he could barely stand it!
His physique had become stronger than before since his superpowers awakened.
But that also created a problem. Frail girls like Ruri Gokou and Elf Yamada could get hurt if he used even a little too much force, so he couldn't simply push them off!
"Master, do you need Ram's help?"
Ram, who had been watching all along, quietly approached and asked him.
"Yes, yes, yes! Hurry and pull them off me!"
Delighted, Chen Xiao said yes three times in a row.
"Very well. Afterward, please reward Ram the same way you rewarded Rem, Master~"
Ram even winked at him when she finished.
Chen Xiao: ...?
Ruri Gokou: -?!
Elf Yamada: -?!
What kind of excuse is that?!
But Chen Xiao was afraid of hurting the two girls if he acted himself, so he could only leave it to Ram.
"Wait..."
Ruri Gokou and Elf Yamada had only just started to speak when Ram stepped forward and took action.
"Young ladies, please stop tormenting Master like a pair of squabbling alley cats."
As she spoke, Ram easily pulled both of them off Chen Xiao.
And just as Ram had said, the two girls' tussle on top of Chen Xiao had accomplished about as much as a pair of alley cats fighting: nothing but tangled hair and disheveled clothes.
"Alley cats?" ×2
Ruri Gokou and Elf Yamada turned displeased looks on Ram. In that instant, they set aside their differences and stood united.
"Phew..."
Having straightened his clothes off to the side, Chen Xiao immediately caught on when he saw that.
Wait...
You two have your own little schemes, too?!
Using your rivalry to start a fight on purpose, then climbing onto me to wrestle!
That way, you get to press yourselves against me as much as you like, huh!
Are all my figurines lovesick perverts?
No, they can't all be... it should only affect ordinary people or slightly stronger figurines when I create them. Truly powerful ones won't act like this when they materialize...
Chen Xiao reassured himself.
Then he saw Ram close her eyes, tilt her head up slightly, and rise gently onto her toes, offering her soft lips.
"Hah..."
Chen Xiao was at a loss, too.
That rule about cross-dressing really did apply here: after the first kiss came the second and third, then countless more.
Even when he reached out and rested his hands on Ram's shoulders, he no longer felt the resistance he had before when she forced a kiss on him!
Meanwhile, the other two, reduced to third wheels, absolutely exploded at the sight.
Ruri Gokou/Elf Yamada: No kissing!!!
Before you continue