“Does anyone know how to make duck at home?”
“So annoying, my newborn son is too ugly. Can I kill him and have another one?”
“I got caught cheating by my husband, and in his rage, he decided to join us!”
“The people upstairs party every night and I can’t take it anymore. I’m planning to kill him. Does anyone have advice on how to dispose of the body?”
“Planning to blow up a gas station tomorrow. If you want to share in the experience, add me: ******”
“Every time I scroll through everyone’s posts, I get terrified—then I look up and see, oh, it’s the Life Simulator forum. Never mind.”
…
Life Simulator is a simulation game produced by Stellar Ring Corporation, renowned worldwide for its extreme freedom and a dazzling array of captivating storylines.
Because the game’s freedom is so high, both the ceiling and the floor of player behavior exceed expectations. Some players rise to prominence and become legends within the game, while others, of course, push the limits and enjoy the thrill of being outlaws.
Xia Cheng was a veteran player of Life Simulator. Recently, with school on break, she had nothing to do all day. Hearing that the game had released several new expansion packs, she opened it up, ready to experience the new content.
After browsing for a long time, an expansion pack called Entertainment Never Dies caught her attention.
The setting of Entertainment Never Dies was the urban entertainment industry of the 21st century, with the main storyline naturally being to enter showbiz and become a superstar.
The birth backgrounds players could simulate ranged from “lowly trades and common folk” and “ordinary townspeople” to “scholarly families” and “powerful aristocratic clans”—a comprehensive array that truly realized everyone’s dream of “freedom of reincarnation,” letting you choose from any social class.
Life Simulator offered a high degree of freedom. Although the main storyline of Entertainment Never Dies was about entering the entertainment industry, the game didn’t force players to follow the main plot. You could even do nothing at all, lying around at home all day, and perhaps even unlock special achievements like “Starved to Death,” “Died of Thirst,” or “Slept to Death” by accident.
The expansion pack as a whole was grounded in reality while carrying a hint of glitz and glamour, offering many ways to play—whether you wanted to build a career or pursue romance.
Xia Cheng entered the game pod.
[…Life Simulator initializing…]
[Loading expansion pack Entertainment Never Dies…]
[Now creating character. Please enter your name: __]
She thought for a moment, and to enhance her immersion, she simply typed in her real name.
[Name confirmed: “Xia Cheng.”]
[Character creation complete.]
[Now drawing your family background…]
[Your drawn background is: “Ordinary Townspeople.”]
[Now drawing your initial traits…]
[Your drawn initial traits are—]
[Celestial Beauty: Your beauty is enough to outshine the sun and moon. (“Charm” attribute maxed out. Base favorability of ordinary NPCs +20.)]
[Premature Death: Heaven envies the gifted, and beauty meets an early end. In every playthrough, you have a “death date” you are destined not to survive. (“Constitution” cap -20. Increased likelihood of early demise.)]
[Now drawing your special trait—]
[Born Performer: Born for the stage, destined to die for it. Your talent in acting is unmatched. (When filming movies, your chance of leaving behind iconic scenes is greatly increased.)]
“Initial traits” were different from “special traits.” Special traits could be redrawn at the start of each playthrough, but initial traits generally wouldn’t change unless you paid real money to reroll them.
Celestial Beauty and Premature Death as initial traits, plus Born Performer as the special trait… that’s not bad. No point being too picky at the start—if I’m not satisfied, I can always pay to change my fate later.
She nodded and selected “Begin Simulation.”
[Expansion pack loaded. Setting up background…]
[Age 0: You are born into an ordinary family in City C. Your father is a company employee, and your mother is a middle school teacher.]
In City C, inside an old residential complex.
The apartment had clearly seen some years—the wallpaper was slightly yellowed—but the decor was warm and cozy.
The infant lying in the wooden crib opened her eyes, curiously watching the young man and woman in front of her, who were shaking a rattle to amuse her. She figured they must be her parents for this playthrough.
She reached out and grabbed the rattle, and the woman immediately laughed. “The baby is so cute.”
The man nodded in agreement. “Yeah, she’s even prettier than those mixed-race babies in the commercials.”
[Your beauty has earned your parents’ approval. You have unlocked a new achievement: “Could Be a Child Model.”]
[Because you are simply too adorable, your parents dote on you like a pearl in the palm of their hand. Like all ordinary children, you grow up carefree, following the routine two-point path between school and home.]
[Age 15: You enter an ordinary high school.]
In the high school classroom, a girl in the classic blue-and-white school uniform sat in the second-to-last row by the window. Warm sunlight filtered through the green shade of the trees and fell upon her. The homeroom teacher at the podium was talking, his mouth opening and closing, but the girl didn’t care what he was saying.
“The teacher wants us to share our dreams for the future one by one,” her deskmate whispered. “It’s almost your turn, Xiao Cheng. Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”
【High school is a critical period that determines the direction of one’s life. “What kind of person do you want to become in the future” might be a question for others, but with your stunning beauty, you’ve aspired to become a superstar since childhood. You plan to—】
「A. Start filming short videos right away. Studying is no match for becoming an internet celebrity. (Internet Celebrity Route)」
「B. Singing and dancing on stage is my true love. Starting today, I’ll become a trainee. (Idol Route)」
「C. This face of mine was born for the big screen. The legendary Best Actress is me. (Actress Route)」
【Note: Due to insufficient initial stats in this Playthrough, other routes such as the “Singer Route” and “Model Route” are not yet unlocked.】
This expansion pack was set in the entertainment industry, and the three options corresponded to three different ways to debut. Xia Cheng found each of them interesting, but since she’d drawn the special trait “Born to Act,” it would be a waste not to go for the Best Actress achievement.
Without hesitation, Xia Cheng chose C.
“I’m going into the entertainment industry, making films, and becoming a Best Actress.”
【You answered with casual ease, yet it stirred ripples in the classroom. An ordinary person saying they wanted to be a star might be mocked for overreaching, but because of your extraordinary beauty, no teacher or classmate questioned your idea.】
【You’ve triggered a new CG: “A Maiden’s Ambition.”】
The CG showed the girl in the blue-and-white school uniform standing in a sun-drenched classroom, calmly declaring she would become a Best Actress. The classmates around her wore varied expressions, yet all of them looked up at her in unison, like sunflowers turning toward the sun.
Half of the girl’s face basked in sunlight, while the other half was hidden in shadow, as if foreshadowing an undeniable ambition about to burst forth.
Xia Cheng was delighted: Wow! It’s the classic composition of light and shadow splitting the scene! I’m so beautiful! Bonus points for the game’s cinematography!
【You’ve triggered a mission: “Legend of Film History,” current progress: 0%.】
「Your reputation has increased.」
「You’ve gained a great deal of favorability.」
「In an unknown corner, the sound of a heart breaking seems to echo.」
【You’re determined to enter the entertainment industry, become a top-tier superstar, and live the good life earning 208 a day. But your parents don’t support your decision. They believe that relying on beauty alone without resources can’t change your fate, and rather than stepping into the cesspool of the entertainment industry, they’d prefer you get a regular job.】
【You didn’t gain your parents’ support. Mood -10.】
【Although your parents don’t support you, you don’t care. You secretly become an art exam candidate behind their backs. Because you lack the energy to balance your studies, your academic performance begins to plummet rapidly. Ordinary questions look as difficult as heavenly scripture to you. Knowledge -50.】
【You’ve unlocked a new achievement: “Birth of an Illiterate.”】
Xia Cheng: Hey!
I become an illiterate before I even enter the entertainment industry?
What is this simulation about?
【Age 18: Your three years of high school have come to an end. You’re about to enter university and start a brand-new chapter of life. A good university could be a good starting point. You plan to apply to—】
The system listed dozens of options, covering nearly all art academies. Xia Cheng was too lazy to filter through them one by one. If she was going, she’d go to the best school. She directly applied to “A City Film Academy,” which ranked first overall.
【On exam day, you go to the test site alone.】
A City Film Academy truly lived up to its reputation as the most prestigious birthplace of stars. The campus was bustling with people coming and going, everywhere filled with art exam candidates chasing their dreams.
The white dress Xia Cheng wore was the starter equipment given by the system. Being too stingy to spend money, she hadn’t purchased any new skins and simply wore this “starter equipment” to the exam.
There were too many people on campus. She found a random NPC with a blurry face and asked for directions: “Hello, could you tell me how to get to Test Site No. 3?”
Jiang Fan was an art exam candidate majoring in broadcasting. Today, he’d come with his friend Song Yu to take the school exam.
He’d just finished his exam, and because his live performance hadn’t been great, he was in a bad mood. After leaving the exam hall, he’d been reviewing his performance with his friend.
Although Song Yu kept reassuring him that he still had a chance—after all, he had solid fundamentals and good looks—Jiang Fan knew very well that while his performance today might have been enough at other schools, at A City Film Academy, a top-tier dream destination that never lacked applicants, his chances were slim.
Just as he was wallowing in regret, his shoulder was suddenly tapped lightly, and a clear, pleasant voice sounded: “Hello, could you tell me how to get to Test Site No. 3?”
Because he was in a bad mood, Jiang Fan felt somewhat impatient when someone asked him for directions. But the moment he looked up and saw the person in front of him, he froze.
“Hey, what are you spacing out for…”
Song Yu beside him tugged at him, then followed his gaze and also froze in place.
As art exam candidates, from the moment they decided to take this path, the two had seen countless handsome guys and beautiful girls at various training institutions. Even they themselves had been frequently confessed to as “class heartthrobs” and “school heartthrobs” since childhood—otherwise, they wouldn’t have had the courage to come take the exam at A City Film Academy. They were all “star reserves” now. Most art exam candidates here had long become immune to beautiful people, and it was already hard for anyone’s face to truly astonish them.
But the young woman before them was different.
She was clearly wearing only the simplest white long dress, with no trace of makeup, yet every inch of her skin was fair, lustrous, and flawless. She could practically stun everyone who saw her into losing their souls the instant they laid eyes on her, completely robbing them of their ability to think.
…Is this for real? Can a carbon-based organism even possess beauty like this?
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
The young woman seemed completely unaware of their thoughts—or perhaps she noticed but didn’t care. She maintained her perfectly composed smile: “Excuse me? Do you know how to get to Exam Room No. 3?”
“Huh? Oh, go straight ahead and then turn left, and you’ll be there…”
Jiang Fan said dazedly.
Song Yu beside him couldn’t help but speak up: “Hey, are you also an art exam candidate here for the school exam? Would it be… would it be convenient to exchange contact info?”
[To smoothly reach the exam room, you randomly asked two unimportant passersby for directions.]
[Your beauty stunned the NPCs.]
「Unimportant Passerby A’s favorability toward you has greatly increased.」
「Unimportant Passerby B’s favorability toward you has greatly increased.」
[“Passerby B” has proposed exchanging contact information with you. Will you accept?]
Huh—?
Xia Cheng was somewhat surprised. This game AI was pretty smart—NPCs could actually take the initiative to add players as friends.
But… she flipped through the two’s profiles and found that although these NPCs had decent modeling, their ratings were only the most ordinary R-Rank Cards, with no room for future upgrades. She immediately lost interest in them.
Although players were all fickle playboys, R-Rank Cards of such mediocre quality didn’t deserve to enter a player’s pond!
The player thought coldly.
[You refused Passerby B’s request to exchange contact information.]
「Unimportant Passerby B felt somewhat disappointed. Mood -20.」
「Unimportant Passerby A felt somewhat disappointed. Mood -20.」
They looked a bit pitiful… but Xia Cheng didn’t care about the feelings of R-Rank Cards.
[While you stopped to chat with the passersby, you attracted the attention of certain people.]
On the campus path, the white-dressed young woman with features as beautiful as a painting tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, seemingly a little embarrassed from having just rejected someone. A gust of wind swept by, and falling petals kissed her cheek before being carried away by the breeze.
A reporter who had been interviewing other art exam candidates happened to look up and caught sight of this scene. He stared dazedly at the young woman under the tree, seemingly forgetting to breathe, yet he hadn’t forgotten his instincts as a journalist.
He instinctively raised his camera, aimed it at the young woman, and pressed the shutter.
Click—
[You have unlocked a new title: “Most Beautiful Art Exam Candidate.”]
「Your reputation has increased.」
「Media attention toward you has increased.」