My Romance Life System-Chapter 65: Why?

I was about to head to my room when my phone buzzed on the coffee table.

> Nina: u home?

> Me: yeah. just finished eating.

> Nina: ooh, what did you have? another one of my five-star egg dishes?

A smile spread across my face.

> Me: nope. i cooked.

The three little dots appeared instantly, then disappeared, then appeared again.

> Nina: no way. for real? what did you make?

> Me: chicken stir-fry.

I felt a stupid amount of pride typing that.

> Nina: liar. send proof.

I laughed out loud. I took a picture of my clean bowl and the frying pan drying next to the sink and sent it to her.

> Nina: holy crap. you actually did it. was it good? be honest.

> Me: it was amazing.

> Nina: i’m so proud of you. you’re a real adult now.

> Me: don’t push it. i still can’t fold a fitted sheet.

> Nina: no one can. it’s an ancient mystery.

I smiled, my head leaning back against the couch.

> Nina: hey, go to sleep. you look like you haven’t slept in a week. you need to rest.

> Me: i will. you too.

> Nina: goodnight, kofi.

> Me: night, nina.

I put my phone down and just ran my hand through my hair.

"I need a bath."

I dragged myself up the stairs, each step a negotiation with my ribs.

I made it upstairs and went straight for the bathroom. The small, boring box was going to be my sanctuary for the next hour. I turned on the tap for the bath, the sound of the water rushing soothing to my ears.

Steam started to fog up the mirror.

I caught my reflection before it disappeared completely. The new haircut was still a bit of a shock. But my eyes were tired. I looked like the guy who just lived through the last three episodes of a really stressful anime season finale.

I leaned against the sink and just watched the water fill the tub. My brain still trying to untangle the mess of the day. And a big, knotted part of that mess was the system.

’Why didn’t it give me a mission for Thea?’

Then a question just popped into my head, uninvited. The system was all over my case about Nina. It practically forced me to become friends with her. Then it drops this ridiculous wingman mission on me for Jake, a guy I barely even knew.

Both missions had rewards, penalties. Both were about... relationships. Social connections.

So why nothing for Thea? Her situation was a hundred times worse than Jake being too scared to talk to a girl. She was getting beaten up, she was alone, her life was clearly a dumpster fire.

If the system was supposed to be some kind of ’Life Improvement’ guide, shouldn’t that have been a priority one quest?

’[New Mission: Help the Girl Who Just Got bullied].’ It should have been right there.

But there was nothing. Not a single window. No reward, no penalty. Just... silence.

’So what, it’s only for romance stuff?’

That seemed like the obvious answer. A cringey, high-school-drama-focused system that only cared about who was asking who out. It made sense, in a stupid, tropey kind of way.

But then... what about Jake? Helping him wasn’t about my romance. It was about his. The system was playing matchmaker for someone else, using me as its pawn. So it wasn’t just about my own relationships. It was about a bigger picture. Creating connections in general.

So if it’s about connections, why not Thea?

I turned off the tap. The tub was almost full. The water still and steam clinging to the air.

’Maybe...’ a quiet thought started to form, ’maybe her problem is too real.’

The system dealt in teen drama. It was all ’will they, won’t they’, ’let’s be friends’, ’help my buddy get a date’. It was light novel bullshit. What happened to Thea, though... that wasn’t light novel material.

That was gritty, ugly and had no easy fix. There was no ’Friendship Level Up’ for dealing with whatever was going on in that house. The system didn’t do gritty realism. It was strictly YA novel territory.

That had to be it. The system just... noped out when things got too heavy.

I started to unbutton my shirt, the thought settling in my head. It was a cynical, logical explanation. It fit with the whole stupid, game-like nature of my new life.

But as I pulled my shirt off, another thought pushed its way through. A quieter, more unsettling one.

Maybe the system didn’t give me a mission... because I didn’t need one.

I just stood there, my shirt halfway off.

With Nina, I was a coward. I needed the push. With Jake, I was an annoyed bystander. I needed the threat of chronic hiccups to get me to act.

But with Thea... I just did it.

There was no reward flashing in front of my eyes. No penalty hanging over my head. I saw a kid who was hurt and alone, and I just... acted. I walked out of class, ditched school, and followed her down the street not because of some cosmic game, but because leaving her alone felt wrong.

It was the first decision I’d made since this whole mess started that was completely, one hundred percent mine.

The system was silent because it had nothing to say. For the first time, I wasn’t a player following a prompt. I was just a person.

The realization hit me with a weird, quiet force.

The goddess, the system, all of it... it was a crutch. A set of rails to get my life moving. But I was the one who had to actually walk.

I finally pulled off the rest of my clothes and stepped into the bath. The hot water enveloped me, and the ache in my ribs and muscles immediately began to dull. I sank down until the water was up to my chin, the steam swirling around my face.

’So that’s how it is,’ I thought, my head resting back against the edge of the tub.

It wasn’t a romance system. It wasn’t a friendship system. It was a ’Stop Being a Useless Loner’ system. And maybe today I’d finally started to listen.

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