Picking Up Fragments - Chapter 56: Treating the Match as Casual Game

Akiyo Oshima was a successful man, with wealth, status, and a perfect life. However, by giving in to the temptation of betrayal, he awakened the wrath of the one entity he should have never angered—his girlfriend, Sayuri, who turned out to be Death itself.As punishment, Sayuri cursed him. Akiyo was stripped of his identity, his form, and even his gender. In every world, a new body would be created for him, allowing him to inherit memories and a random aspect of personality. Now, he must live as Shizune Accursed. But her new existence was far from a second chance. Trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnations, Shizune awakens in different worlds, with no control over her fate. And in each of those worlds, there's always a Yandere she has met or will meet, whose obsessive love inevitably leads her to her death—whether by possessive love, madness, or simply the need to have her all to themselves.Condemned to die over and over in the arms of those who love her in twisted ways, Shizune, in an attempt to understand the burden of manipulating others’ feelings, finds herself on a dangerous path. Will she survive and break this curse? Or will she remain forever trapped in a cycle where love is uncontrollable and always leads to death?Whether in a fantasy, futuristic, or modern world, where anything can happen, the question remains: who is really on Shizune's side? Are they allies she can trust, or just more Yanderes waiting for the perfect moment to seal her fate? Among men and women, even within her own family, Shizune will need to figure out who she can truly trust… before it’s too late.

Alex, killed by the God of Darkness, was crushed by his giant sword and woke up to find himself back on the day the 'Universal Descent' game launched!Monsters and gods hadn't began to descend into Earth yet, and so this meant that Alex, along with his 10 years of experience, could now make a difference.But surprise, once he re-enters the world of 'Universal Descent', instead of awakening his normal C-Level talent, he instead awakens the SSS-Level 'Extraction' talent!He could now extract items, talents, attributes and skills from monsters!Ding![You have extracted the Artifact-Level 'Excalibur'!][You have extracted the SSS-Level 'Meteor' Skill!][You have extracted the Artifact-Level 'World Map'!]Now, there was no monster or god in this game that could stop him!

Pei Qin, upon transmigration, was instantaneously drenched in a basin of misery.The Scholar father was murdered on his way to the exams, and eldest uncle Jian Shen had two households.There was a son from the second wife, but neither grandparents nor villagers liked him, and he was also a thorn in the side of eldest aunt.Valuing sons over daughters, they wanted to sell her to buy land.Malnourished and poorly clad, her mother and siblings toiled like beasts of burden.Before she could strive for a better life, that already deceased Scholar father came back to life.He'd married a rich man's daughter? Sired two sons?Life was so hard, yet it drove his wife to her death.Pei Qin looked at her emaciated younger siblings, her hands trembling: To the mountains!!————————Lived in caves, built a hut, ate wild vegetables, gathered wild fruits.In poverty-stricken days, Pei Qin led her siblings to quietly amass wealth and silently prosper.Just as they were about to thrive, another wave of misfortune was thrown their way!Pei Qin with hands on hips: If you want to play the scoundrel, I'll make sure you're reduced to nothing!********************

The rebellious, rich second-generation Chi Xueyan was forced to go on a blind date for the 11th time. He cut straight to the chase: I have a hot temper, I snore when I sleep, and I haven’t deleted my countless exes. If you can accept it, we will get the marriage certificate on the spot.

The handsome man named He Qiao sat opposite him and was silent for a moment with a strange expression. Then he nodded and said he was a book transmigrator. He knew that Chi Xueyan was the supporting male villain in this novel role and would become the future marriage partner of the protagonist Lu Siyi. He gradually lost himself in an increasingly paranoid unrequited love, did all sorts of bad things and eventually died.

He Qiao couldn’t bear to see Chi Xueyan, who was still active and healthy, end up like that. Therefore, he proposed to marry Chi Xueyan to avoid the plot. In any case, he was a workaholic straight man who only wanted to use the information from the novel to develop his career for the benefit of the public.

Chi Xueyan heard this and suddenly realized: Use advance as a retreat and use the typical schizophrenic symptoms to scare off blind dates. This person was an expert.

He decisively remembered this trick and waved his hand to pay the bill as his token of appreciation.

Soon, Chi Xueyan ran into a handsome man who completely matched his aesthetics. Moreover, he didn’t hesitate to take the initiative to ask for the other person’s name and contact information.

As a result, the handsome man replied with an indifferent expression, “I am Lu Siyi.”

Chi Xueyan: “……!!!”

This name was too familiar.

Two weeks later, under the gazes of his relatives and friends, Chi Xueyan affectionately exchanged rings and kisses with his 11th blind date and the mysterious book transmigrator, He Qiao.

Initially, He Qiao was very wary of Chi Xueyan, the scheming and vicious villain of the novel. After the two of them cooperated to pretend to love each other and tricked their families into allowing them to get married smoothly, he planned to focus on his career and not interfere with the other person.

However, Chi Xueyan finally settled down from the chaos and started seriously studying the novel’s plot. He would occasionally come to the company to find He Qiao.

Unlike the arrogant and willful boss’ wife that the employees imagined, Chi Xueyan mostly curled up on the sofa with a small blanket while quietly reflecting on his 2D life.

Occasionally, he would raise his head and ask, “Did Lu Siyi never like me at all?”

“…Yes.”

“He has no vision.” Chi Xueyan sneered and rolled over. “How did he become the male protagonist when you are obviously much better than him!”

He Qiao didn’t know why, but the investment plan in his hand suddenly became unsatisfactory.

What a scheming villain.

On the first anniversary of their agreed-upon wedding, He Qiao arranged the most romantic dinner and the brightest roses. He met Chi Xueyan’s blank eyes and finally asked the question he had been worrying about in his heart for a long time.

“You have a good temper and you sleep very quietly so…” He Qiao seemed casual. “Is it true that you haven’t deleted any of your exes?”

Chi Xueyan: “……”

What a scheming straight man.

- Description from Novelupdates