Name: Xie Nianzi
Class: Rogue
HP: 21/21
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 16
Proficient Skills: Sleight of Hand LV1, Stealth LV1, Disguise LV1.
Special Ability: Mage Hand (Creates a spectral hand using mental energy to manipulate objects or interact with them.)
……
……Aside from the Charisma stat, where are the attributes you’d expect in an otome dating game?
And both Strength and Intelligence are odd numbers… Given the class and special ability, this seems like a D&D-inspired system, meaning only even-numbered stats actually count. Two stat points wasted—can I just reroll?
Nianzi silently grumbled as she stared at her character sheet. If the system hadn’t explicitly told her she was bound to a mission—to romance specific characters and complete their personal storylines—and if she hadn’t woken up as an ordinary high school student in a Japanese school setting, she’d have sworn there was some mistake.
What was the point of these default skills and abilities? Was her backstory supposed to be some phantom thief like Kaitou Kid, Saint Tail, or the Cat’s Eye sisters?
It all started a week ago. Without warning, she’d woken up inside a game called Love & JOJO, her memories from before the transmigration completely gone.
She couldn’t recall who she used to be or who she’d even transmigrated into. All she knew was that a system had appeared, informing her that she had to complete the main storylines of her designated romance targets to clear the game and go home. Nine characters in total, plus one hidden route. The terrifying part? She still had no idea who she was supposed to romance. Maybe she just hadn’t met them yet—the portraits in the "Romance Targets" section remained pitch-black, labeled only with "???."
After a week of mechanically attending school and investigating every classmate, she’d found no one who triggered the "Romance Target" prompt. The school was just an average public high school—no elite "F4" clique or sports anime heartthrobs. Then, near the end of the month, the system suddenly alerted her: Insufficient funds for this month.
Turns out, her current character was an orphan (literally), squatting in the attic of a relative’s café—a former storage room she’d spent three sleepless nights cleaning just to make it livable. No rent, but no allowance either. Her only income came from part-time work at the café during breaks.
That’s right! This damn game mirrored real life—money was a necessity, and there was no way to escape it. But worse than that, Nianzi had begun to realize something was seriously wrong with her mind.
Horrifying thoughts kept surfacing.
Her character was a beautiful high school girl with naturally high Charisma, but her destructive impulses were disturbingly intense. When noisy children annoyed her, she’d imagine ripping out their tongues. Stray cats and dogs made her want to kick them. Even when she saw injured people or animals, she felt no empathy—just an urge to "help them meet their end."
Every time, it took all her willpower to suppress these instincts, as if they were hardwired into her DNA.
She suspected she might be a sociopath. Was this her true self, or a side effect of the transmigration? The sinister thoughts crowding her mind likely explained her default name, Xie Nianzi ("Wicked Thoughts"). If the system hadn’t insisted this was an otome game, she’d have guessed it was horror or mystery—nothing about her stats or personality fit a romance setting.
Recovering her memories—both her pre-transmigration self and this body’s past—seemed crucial to the main story. But for now, she had no leads… and survival was becoming an issue.
After another glance at her skills, Nianzi checked her wallet: 350 yen left. She decided to grab some discounted food after 8 PM, then hunt for a higher-paying part-time job. For now, she just had to survive high school.
She had a nagging feeling she’d already taken college entrance exams once. Did this game have a time limit? Would it end after one year, or would she have to keep grinding through post-graduation? The thought exhausted her.
Sighing, Nianzi headed downstairs, still in her school uniform, and stepped out of the café. This world felt indistinguishable from reality—except for one bizarre detail. Every day, without fail, she’d spot some old creep at the street corner, trying to pick up young girls with "daddy allowance" offers.
"I can pay 50,000 yen. I’m not a weirdo, I swear—"
"…Too low. Raise it."
She wasn’t sure if it was the same guy each time—she never bothered memorizing their faces—but the script never changed. After hearing it so often, she could recite their lines verbatim. Disgusting, but not illegal enough to report.
They’d make great company at the bottom of Tokyo Bay…
Another dark thought surfaced, but she quickly reined it in. Then, remembering her skill set, she paused.
Though her mind felt broken, Nianzi believed she’d once been a good person. She still understood societal norms, right and wrong, and basic morals—which was why she kept resisting these urges.
But today, she decided to act on something that definitely wasn’t wrong.
She stealthily circled behind the man, crouched low, and activated:
Skill: [Sleight of Hand]
[Pickpocketing Successful!]
"How about 60,000 yen— Wait, where’s my wallet?!"
Casually, she transferred every item listed on his UI into her own inventory before slipping away unnoticed.
"No way, it was just here—"
"Quit wasting my time, you gross old man!"
"There’s a thief around here somewhere…"
As the salaryman frantically searched, the girl he’d been harassing shot him a disgusted look and walked off.
…Not very otome-game-like, but these skills had their uses.
She loved this. If stealing was an option, she’d rob every NPC blind. Otherwise, this was just Japanese Life Simulator—what was the point of transmigrating for that?
Still, her sheet listed one "unawakened" special ability. Was there a supernatural element? No way to know yet. All she wanted was to identify her romance targets ASAP, pick the easiest of the nine, speedrun their route, and go home.
Her lost memories remained a mystery, but she hoped to remember who she was—soon.
Nianzi sighed as she took a shortcut to the supermarket, planning to buy some food and drinks for the next day. However, as she passed by the back entrance of the Tang Nightclub, she noticed a baby carriage parked there, with what seemed like a child curled up inside, softly sobbing.
Who would abandon a child in a place like this? Nianzi frowned instinctively and glanced into the carriage. Inside was a beautiful little boy with black hair, around 2-3 years old. The moment their eyes met, he suddenly quieted down, staring at her without making another sound.
Options:
A: Scare the child by saying, "Your mommy doesn’t want you anymore."
B: Report the irresponsible parents to the police and buy candy to comfort the child. (Money -150)
C: Ignore it and walk away.
D: Attempt theft.
Before every action, the system always gave her a few suggested choices—though she could also act entirely outside these prompts. The downside was that it might ruin the mission. But theft? No matter how far she’d fallen, she wouldn’t stoop to stealing a baby carriage.
Just as Nianzi was about to ignore the situation, she suddenly noticed that the fifth character slot—previously marked with "???"—had lit up, revealing a character card for someone named "Shiokawa Shunan."
Without a doubt, this was a genuine target she needed to romance in this otome dating game.
…Except he was a two-and-a-half-year-old infant.
"…?"
Seriously?
