Chapter 18: The Patients’ Gathering-Huh? This Isn't a Dating Sim?(Mouth with three corners)

Inside the room, the four of them sat down, pulling their chairs together in a close circle.

This scene… Why did Wen Nan find it so familiar? Ah, right, wasn’t this just like his old routine—support group for fellow patients!

Wen Nan adjusted himself into a comfortable position on his chair and glanced at his three roommates, whose sitting postures were each more peculiar than the last. Taking the initiative, he asked, “So… how did you all end up… unclean?”

The three exchanged glances, finally revealing expressions of such bitter complexity that words failed them. They heaved long, miserable sighs.

The term “unclean” in this game referred to players who had been reverse-conquered by the female ghost boss. Yet, when it came to Fatty, Specs, and the Athlete, it didn’t quite fit—after all, none of them had chosen the female ghost boss. Their targets had been neutral NPCs.

But who could have guessed a neutral NPC could be so terrifying?

The Athlete, sitting across from Wen Nan, was the first to speak:

“I’m an athlete, and I maxed out my agility. I figured, with this kind of body, playing a game with my chosen guy shouldn’t leave me at a disadvantage, right? The guy likes singing and dancing—how good could he be at basketball?

“But what happened? Sigh…

“I got absolutely thrashed for three hours straight!

“The worst part was, in the last five minutes, my full-agility buff expired… I almost didn’t make it back in time.”

The Athlete tugged at his tattered sportswear as he spoke, his eyes reddening, tears brimming and threatening to fall.

Fatty glanced at the Athlete’s ruined clothes and let out a long sigh. “That’s nothing. Look on the bright side—you only lost your clothes. At least your rear isn’t in shambles like mine.”

Hearing this, the Athlete cast a deep look at Fatty’s backside. “You…”

Then, as something dawned on him, the Athlete’s face lit up with sudden comprehension. “So, the wailing from the teacher’s office earlier—that was you?”

Fatty shot a resentful glance at the Athlete and poured out his woes:

“My test only scored a 9. I was so scared that, before heading to the office, I quietly changed the score with a red pen to 69.

“I didn’t dare change it too much, just enough to barely pass. Who knew… the full score’s 150! Even 69 wasn’t enough!

“In a fit of panic, I blurted out the truth… and the homeroom teacher snapped right then and there…”

As he spoke, Fatty stretched out his arms, measuring, “The pointer was this long! She beat my behind with all her might!

“I’d maxed out my defense, but it still hurt so much I kept twitching, counting on my fingers how much longer it would last.

“Just as five minutes remained, who could have guessed… my newbie package expired!

“These neutral NPCs are scarier than those female… female classmates! If I’d known, I’d have picked the school beauty! I’d rather be bitten to death by her than beaten to death by the homeroom teacher…”

Fatty’s tale ended in sobs, his cries echoing through the dorm like a pig being slaughtered.

On the other side, Specs appeared calm, sitting rigidly in his chair like a statue, seemingly unruffled.

But a closer look revealed it was all a façade. His empty eyes brimmed with despair, and the slight trembling of his body betrayed the terror he felt within.

“I’m a fool, truly…”

With just that simple opening, Specs instantly won the unspoken contest of misery—the others fell respectfully silent. In their probing, sympathetic gazes, he forced a tearless, pained expression and continued:

“That guy handed me a bar of soap and invited me to the bathhouse, and I already knew things were going south.

“I knew I couldn’t dodge this, but I thought, with my maxed strength and this muscular body—clearly built from two years at the gym—being on top shouldn’t be a problem, right?

“Who knew… in their circles, the better built you are, the more likely you’ll be the one lying flat… mm.”

Here, Specs couldn’t go on. He clamped a hand over his mouth, a whimper escaping his throat.

Fatty patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. “Look at it this way, at least only your chrysanthemum suffered. My whole rear end got its fair share.”

Specs looked at Fatty with deep resentment. “How about we trade places?”

Fatty shook his head at once, deciding on a different approach to comfort him. “You’ve endured the worst, but at least you two had a… pleasant night, right? Your task scores and target affection levels shouldn’t be low. Unlike me—my progress is nowhere in sight.”

At this, Specs began to whimper anew. “I thought, after sacrificing so much, I’d at least satisfy him, maybe earn some affection. But… in the last five minutes, I lost everything.

“My newbie buff ended, and I reverted to my original form. He took one look at me, cursed ‘skinny dog!’ and walked away… just left!”

Fatty reached over to console him again, but found himself at a loss for words. His own backside still ached—he hardly had the mood to say much more.

At last, all three turned to Wen Nan, seeking comfort. “Didn’t you choose five targets at once? Don’t you have anything to share with us?”

Wen Nan wanted to “fit in,” but as the others had shared, he realized he had nothing comparable to say.

Now, facing their eager, expectant gazes, Wen Nan cleared his throat and recounted his two hellish encounters.

When he finished, an eerie silence descended on the dorm.

The three stared at Wen Nan in disbelief.

“That’s it?”

Wen Nan wanted to say this was already the embellished version, but the other three refused to accept it.

“I don’t buy it! You soloed five at once, and it went that smoothly?”

“You must’ve used a safety bubble and hid in a restroom the whole time, never even showed up for the dates!”

“There’s no way you gained any affection like that! Or completed the main quest!”

“Come on, man, settlement’s coming up—you’re still trying to act tough? No matter how you spin it, once the system tallies the scores, you’ll be exposed!”

Wen Nan was a little stunned. “But I really am telling the truth.”

The others were about to gang up on him again when, above their heads, the countdown on the light screen reached zero.

[Main quest settlement phase commencing]

[All contestants, return to your positions]

…