Chapter 2: The Peeping Woman.

"I want to not focus on studying, but you didn't give me a choice! Aside from the first two options, I have no control over the rest!"

Wait. Minami Yuuki sat up and touched his chin.

Could it be that the first two options are leading to the subsequent results?

He restarted the simulation.

The previous text was the same as before, and he quickly skimmed through it, looking at the first option.

Removing the fourth option, the remaining three actually represent three activity areas.

One is school, the second is home, and the third is the street.

According to the comments, it says he didn't notice Asano Nao's existence, meaning he needs to find Asano Nao first.

First, eliminate the second option; you can't find anyone at home.

Compared to the street, it's more reliable to look for someone at school; Asano Nao might be a fellow student.

He continued to choose the first option.

[You find that there are 15 minutes left until you're late. You quickly wash your face, put on your uniform, and run to school. You enter the classroom just as the bell rings.]

The storyline changed!

Even though he chose the same option, the storyline changed.

Minami Yuuki looked at his phone. It was 8:16. He didn't expect this simulation to follow real-time.

He continued reading.

[The teacher is already standing on the podium. After you sit down, he starts the lecture. You try to concentrate, but your hunger makes it difficult to focus on studying.

[You choose...]

[1. Peek at the female classmates; 2. Peek at the male classmates; 3. Secretly play on your phone; 4. Free simulation]

Time not only affects the storyline but also the options!

Because there wasn't enough time, the simulated him didn't eat breakfast, leading to hunger, which in turn eliminated the option of paying attention in class.

Minami Yuuki looked at the panel, thinking that if this simulator is simulating in real-time and strictly follows the real world, then does it imply one thing—that the simulator can predict the future?

Can he use this simulator to foresee the future?

Lacking evidence, Minami Yuuki put this guess aside and looked at the options.

Since he needed to find Asano Nao, he obviously chose the first option!

[To alleviate your hunger, you sneak a peek at the girls in the class. You recall Asano Nao mentioned in the love simulator. Is Asano Nao hiding among your classmates?]

[Of course not. You're just on the fringes, not isolated. You remember the names of your classmates, and none of them is Asano Nao.]

Minami Yuuki was surprised. In the simulated life, he actually remembered things from the simulator?

[You stare at Ichinose Shiori all day. The girl is slender, and her wet black hair highlights her fair skin. She was the unrequited crush of your previous self, and you think your previous self had good taste.]

You should seriously look for Asano Nao!

[After school, while reminiscing about Ichinose Shiori's absolute territory, you don't forget to look for Asano Nao. You think, maybe Asano Nao is a student from another class or another grade.]

[Compared to the shyness of your previous self, your behavior is much bolder. You choose...]

[1. Shout at the bottom of the school building: "Asano Nao, I like you!"; 2. Break into the teacher's office to search the student roster for Asano Nao; 3. Post on the school forum asking for help; 4. Free simulation]

Minami Yuuki's right hand uncontrollably raised, his index finger stretched out, about to click the first option!

He grabbed his right hand with his left.

"You can't be a joker. The simulated you is still you!" he anxiously persuaded.

His right hand was persuaded, and his left hand quickly clicked the third option.

Although option two, breaking into the teacher's office to check the roster, was the most effective, posting on the forum was more stable, at least avoiding getting caught by the teacher.

[You go home, search the internet for a bunch of melodramatic stories, and carefully study them to extract the essence. Then, you log into the school forum and edit a post—"Asano Nao, if you dare do this, don't hide!"]

[Considering Asano Nao's reputation, you couldn't fully unleash the melodrama, only writing a love-at-first-sight story.]

Minami Yuuki looked at the text, and the picture of himself sitting at the table, typing quickly on the keyboard with both hands, editing the post appeared in his mind.

"First, let me apologize. I'm sorry to attract everyone with this title. I really have no other way. Can you help me find Asano Nao? She's a thief—she stole my heart."

"Last month, I was waiting at the bus stop at the school gate. She passed by with a friend. I just glanced at her and fell for her. She had some magical poison on her that followed my gaze and poisoned my heart. She made my whole body heat up, my heart race, and my eyes uncontrollably look at her."

"By the time I realized it, she was already gone, but I heard her friend call her Asano Nao. Does anyone know this name?"

"It's been a month. I think about her while eating, while sleeping, while in class, and even call my friends by her name while chatting."

"Please, help me!"

Minami Yuuki shivered. The post was too cheesy.

[After the post is published, countless netizens are moved by your sincerity. They discuss and spread this post within the school, launching a vigorous campaign to find Asano Nao.]

[Asano Nao is not a student at the school. The campaign lasts for a few days with no results. The heat quickly dies down.]

Even with this, you can't find her? Do I have to post on the city forum? But such a big forum doesn't get popular just with a little essay. Moreover, in urban times, people's connections are scarce, making it very difficult to find someone.

Minami Yuuki was troubled.

[You wait for a week. The post has completely stopped receiving replies. You choose...]

[1. Give up; 2. Post a bounty on the dark web; 3. Change the investigation area; 4. Free simulation]

Posting a bounty on the dark web? What the heck!

However, that seems like a solution. Minami Yuuki rubbed his chin.

He raised his hand and chose the third option.

Although posting a bounty on the dark web had a high success rate, he didn't have enough money for a bounty.

He could only choose the third option.

[You remove the school from the investigation list.]

[If she's not from the school, where else could she be? Could she be from the old home? You call your sister, asking her to ask your parents about Asano Nao. Your sister asks what your relationship with this woman is, and you brush it off.]

[An hour later, your sister calls back. She has asked around and no one knows Asano Nao. Your sister then asks who Asano Nao is, and you fail to brush it off. Facing her persistent questions, you hang up the phone. Your sister is very angry.]

[Asano Nao is not from the old home? You fall into confusion again.]

[You analyze: Not from school, not from the old home, so what's left is someone from society. But your previous self was very introverted, rarely going to the convenience store. Where did he come into contact with Asano Nao?]

[You decide to try your luck. You choose...]

[1. Report to the police saying Asano Nao molested you, using the police to find her; 2. Investigate the usual convenience store; 3. Investigate the apartment building; 4. Free simulation]

Minami Yuuki tightly held his right hand.

Hold back, don't choose option one! That option surely leads to a bad ending!

He quickly clicked the third option.

[You think, the convenience store staff are generally average in appearance, not matching the simulator's requirement for high-quality women. You usually go to the convenience store late at night, rarely encountering other customers. Your interaction with Asano Nao shouldn't be at the convenience store.]

[You remember there's one more place you frequently visit—the apartment building.]

[You live in a newly built apartment building, with a total of 13 floors, 9 rooms per floor. With so many rooms and residents, investigating one by one is troublesome. The most convenient and effective method is to get the resident list from the manager. But the manager won't divulge resident information. You've seen the manager; he's difficult to deal with.]

[Abandoning this approach, you find a potential shortcut—investigating nameplates. In Japan, it's common to have a nameplate on the door with the surname. You just need to check for the surname Asano.]

[You immediately start the action, first checking the nameplates on the usual route, then the whole building. You still find nothing; none of the doorplates have the name Asano.]

Reading the text, Minami Yuuki felt like he truly experienced the entire search process.

Initially, he thought success was near, and he was highly enthusiastic. After checking the frequently passed doors and finding no Asano nameplate, excitement disappeared, and fatigue set in. After checking all the doors, the soreness in his feet and the frustration in his heart struck him.

Minami Yuuki sighed; it really wasn't that simple.

[You didn't get discouraged. Your method of checking nameplates wasn't wrong. You expanded your search area and finally found the Asano family in a detached house next to the apartment building.]

[The Asano house is a two-story wooden residence. You walk around the house and discover that a window at the back of the house faces the alley you walk through every day to go to school.]

Finally found it!

Minami Yuuki clenched his fist in excitement. This feeling was like solving a puzzle in a game that had stumped him for a long time.

He reread the text, shaking his head in amazement.

"The window at the back of the Asano house faces the alley I walk through every day to go to school," he chuckled. "This explains why I have no memory of Asano Nao, but she knows and has a crush on me."

"There's only one truth-Asano Nao is a voyeur!"

"She peeks at me every day through the window as I go to school, and this voyeurism has turned into a unrequited love. Tut-tut-tut, I don't even know her, what a perverted woman!"

He grew more excited.

"What will happen next in the story? Since she's a voyeur, it might escalate to stalking, then to coercion, and even kidnapping, right? In the simulation, when I checked out her house, did she notice? If she did, would she do something drastic?"

"For instance, on a dark, windy night, she could wear a hooded jacket, corner me in a garbage-filled alley, and threaten me with a utility knife to obey her!"

"Or even further, she could ambush me on my usual route, cover my mouth with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief, knock me out, and put me in a suitcase to take me home, locking me in a dark basement with just a single light bulb, venting her twisted desires on me every day!"

Just thinking about it made Minami Yuuki slap his thigh in excitement!

Though encountering such a pervert in real life would be terrifying, this was just a simulation!

Pain is never truly empathetic. As a spectator, Minami Yuuki eagerly anticipated the simulated him falling into such an entertaining predicament.

After all, it was just a simulation, not reality!

Wait.

Minami Yuuki's smile gradually faded. He touched his face, the sensation of his fingers pressing against his skin sobering him up. He thought, using his right hand to support his chin.

It seems... the simulator simulates according to real-life conditions? Meaning, in reality, there really is a perverted voyeur fixated on me?

Not good, not good, not good, this is a huge crisis!

He definitely didn't want to have a utility knife pressed against his throat, nor did he want to be locked in a basement with a single light bulb!