“Congratulations! As the first player to unlock the hidden scenario, you have unlocked the ‘Unprecedented’ achievement!”

June 9th, 2083. Shen Xin removed the VR helmet and packed her luggage, preparing to return home.

Shen Xin, the apple of the mechanical engineering faculty’s eye.

S University’s mechanical engineering faculty had always been dominated by male students, but Shen Xin had firmly planted herself at the top of the school’s rankings through both written exams and practical operations, breaking multiple records left by her predecessors and winning countless scholarships along with the privilege of living in a single-occupancy dormitory.

Despite being such a promising student, she had an incredibly antisocial personality. Ever since Shen Xin moved into her own dormitory, she rarely showed herself. She didn’t participate in class activities or group dinners, and if it weren’t for her daily attendance, the school would have practically forgotten she existed.

At first, her eccentricities earned her quite a few disses, but gradually, every teacher and student came to praise Shen Xin.

It would have been one thing for her to have good grades and outstanding performance, but Shen Xin… was exceptionally helpful.

The mechanical engineering faculty had a unique feature: an incredible amount of homework. With the right major selection, one could spend every day of university like they were preparing for the gaokao exam.

However, despite being a Straight A student, Shen Xin never hesitated to share her templates for assignments, rescuing her classmates from their academic struggles. Every year at exam time, each class would organize study sessions in large lecture halls, inviting Shen Xin to share her predictions for the final exams.

The mechanical engineering students wanted to erect a shrine for her, if only so they could worship her properly. Shen Xin was practically a living bodhisattva sent from the heavens to deliver the suffering masses from purgatory. Was the bodhisattva’s eccentricity considered a personality flaw? No, it was called seclusion for cultivation! Who would dare slander Shen the Bodhisattva? Any who did would find themselves at the receiving end of a wrench battle on the top floor of the mechanical engineering building!

After four years, Shen Xin, surrounded by the tearful goodbyes of her classmates and juniors, boarded her car.

“Thank you, Bodhisattva, for four years of protection. I definitely wouldn’t have graduated without your help, TUT.”

“Starting from 2083, the beginning of the school year, the Mechanical Institute will no longer have Shen the Bodhisattva.”

“Bodhisattva, don’t leave! Stay another year! Your juniors need you!”

The scene was utter chaos. In sharp contrast, Shen Xin’s home was icy cold.

“Finally back?” Shen the Father stopped his daughter with a stern look outside the door.

Shen Mother’s face was also stiff. “You should’ve been home yesterday. What are you doing back so late again? Playing games?”

Shen Xin was used to this kind of reception since childhood, and she retorted confidently, “I wasn’t playing games.”

Seeing their daughter’s attitude, flames of anger roared within Shen the Father and Shen Mother.

Shen Father said, “The dormitory teacher said she saw you!”

Shen Xin countered, “Do you have proof?”

Why did Shen Xin want to be the top student in the whole academy, to the point of living in a private dormitory? Why did she use assignments and exam outlines to avoid her classmates? It was all so she could secretly play games without being found out. There was no way anyone would discover her gaming hobby, not as long as she stayed away from the dormitory’s surveillance cameras.

With Shen Father’s defeat, Shen Mother took over. “Even if the dormitory advisor doesn’t see, there’s no future in gaming. You’ll waste your brain!”

“I’ve been in the top one hundred students since I was in grade school,” Shen Xin retorted. “The certificates and awards for my scholarships are piled up higher than my dad.”

Shen Mother defeated, the scene became incredibly awkward.

“We won’t listen to such nonsense! Gaming is just plain wrong,” Shen Xin’s father said, clenching his teeth. “Either way, go find a proper job outside, or don’t come back home!”

With a loud bang, Shen Xin was locked out.

She took out her house keys, swiped them to open the door, and saw her parents embracing each other as they sobbed.

Shen Xin’s parents stared, shocked.

“Oh no! Honey, we forgot that Xin Xin has a key!”

“Take it away! Hurry up and go find a job, or don’t come back home!”

With another loud bang, Shen Xin was once again kicked out.

Thus, she sat down at a nearby coffee shop and ordered an Americano, intending to stay until nightfall.

Based on her knowledge of her parents, if she hadn’t returned by 8 P.M., they would start calling around to find her.

“Good news, good news!”

The coffee shop’s electronic screen was tuned to an advertisement, and Shen Xin heard it while she scrolled through her phone.

“Coming soon, the latest romantic simulation game from top developer UOL, Shangri-La!”

“Shangri-La?”

Shen Xin looked up at the nearest electronic screen.

“We are selecting twenty players to participate in our closed beta tournament. The ultimate winner will receive a prize of three million world currency and an opportunity to be our ambassador! Registration is open from May 20th at 12 P.M. to June 10th at 6 P.M. at the provincial branch office of UOL in the Central Province. What are you waiting for? Sign up now!”

After a light and breezy jingle, the advertisement cut to another commercial.

Shen Xin had been busy these past few days sorting out graduation procedures (and gaming achievements). She had no idea this competition even existed.

She quickly checked the date: “June 10th, 1 P.M. today is the last day… Hello! Can I get an Americano to go, please!”

UOL Corporation.

More than a dozen young men and women waited in the main hall, awaiting their turns to be called by the staff for the qualifying examination.

“Number 3402.”

“I made a mistake! Please give me another chance!”

After the player’s testing session ended, the security robot mercilessly escorted them out of the company.

Xiao Zhou, the staff member, once again reminded everyone, “Everyone here has passed the first round of qualifying, which means you have the foundational ability to compete in the tournament, but—” he emphasized “—please remember, you only have one chance to take the test. Only the top ten scorers will be able to enter the official competition.”

“The top ten?” Shen Xin had arrived at UOL five minutes before registration closed, and upon entering the building, she heard this statement, leaving her somewhat confused. “I thought it was twenty.”

Every person who came to register asked this question. Xiao Zhou sighed without answering Shen Xin’s question, instead opening up a device at the front desk. “Have you passed the online qualifying exam?”

“No.”

“Then please fill out this form: name, ID number, game account…”

Shen Xin filled out the form, and after her identity was verified, her personal gaming history populated a few dozen pages, many with a gold seal.

Xiao Zhou was stunned, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Upon seeing her gamer ID, he gasped in shock.

“You’re the ‘Mom and Dad Don’t Let Me Play Games’ god?”

“Shh!”

There was quite a distance between the reception desk and the seats. The curious competitors peeked over, and Shen Xin whispered to him, “Keep it down, this is a secret.”

“I’m a big fan of your strategies! Can you please sign my poster?” Xiao Zhou’s face turned red from excitement. Afraid that Shen Xin would draw more attention, he hastily scrawled his name on the poster.

“Can we take a photo together?”

“… I’m sorry, no photos.”

This “Mom and Dad Don’t Let Me Play Games” god was known for her playthroughs and strategy guides of single-player games. She always managed to beat the games using unexpected methods, creating explosive content for her viewers. Her presence was virtually unparalleled within the community.

Aside from her exceptional skills, this god was also shrouded in mystery. She never showed her face in her video guides, clearly used a voice-changing program during her live streams, and on top of that, no one had ever managed to invite her to an offline event.

As a result, countless rumors circulated about her.

Some speculated that she was ugly, others guessed that her background was complicated, and some even speculated that the “Mom and Dad Don’t Let Me Play Games” persona didn’t actually exist, and was instead a massive studio operating behind the scenes.

The truth was far simpler—and simpler than Shen Xin’s ID alone could explain.

Mom and Dad didn’t let her play games.

So Shen Xin played in secret.

As long as she kept her alt account under wraps, she could deny ever having played the game.

“Understand, understand. Gods are indeed as aloof as legends say.” Xiao Zhou handed Shen Xin a number without regret. “God, your number is 3412.”

Shen Xin took her number and sat down in the last row of the contestant seats. In front of her was a pretty young woman, who turned around to chat with Shen Xin. “Hey, are you a celebrity too? Why was he so excited to see you?”

Shen Xin made up an excuse on the spot. “His wife gave birth.”

“What’s exciting about giving birth these days?”

“Quintuplets.”

“Wow! Amazing!”

Xiao Zhou, who received this admiring line of sight, stared in confusion.

Shen Xin asked her, “You said ‘also’ a celebrity earlier; what did you mean by that?”

The young woman gave Shen Xin a knowing look. “Are you a student? Girl, adult waters are deep.”

The Land of Peach Blossoms was a massive project. On top of the 3 million yuan prize money, UOL had also spent quite a sum on inviting celebrities, influencers, and streamers to participate in the closed beta. Twenty of the spots were reserved for these special guests, leaving only ten for the general public.

“This is some inside info I’ve heard, but this round of beta testing isn’t just a competition; it’s going to be streamed live! UOL sure knows how to calculate their profits. With this stream, they’ll easily earn back the prize money and more through advertising!”

“See those people up front? They’re all pros, the highest-scorers right now. Everyone who scores lower than the tenth place guy will be out, and I don’t know what exactly they’re testing for.”

The girl rambled on, allowing Shen Xin to piece together the general outline of the situation.

At least there’s a chance to enter the competition, right? Might as well try; if I don’t get in, I can just go home. If I do, I can play games for a while, and if I’m lucky, I can win three hundred thousand yuan…

Shen Xin sipped her iced coffee slowly. By the time she finished the last sip, a staff member called out, “No. 3412.”

The girl who had been talking to her walked out of the testing room, glanced at her score, and shrugged helplessly. Seeing that no other contestants were around, she waited for Shen Xin to finish, hoping to complain about the competition with someone, maybe even carpool home.

Each round took about ten minutes to complete. The girl had just taken out her earbuds, preparing to watch some drama, when Shen Xin walked out after only a few seconds.

The girl stared at her in disbelief.

“Hey, don’t give up on yourself! At least try to finish; you have to make a good faith effort—”

Shen Xin pointed at the score board above her head. “I made it in; no need to waste more time.”

The girl stared at her in astonishment.

She looked up to see that her No. 3412 had perfectly bumped the previous tenth-place finisher off the ranking.

“Fuck!” The young man who had occupied the tenth spot cursed, glaring at Shen Xin before leaving the building with his girlfriend.

The competition results were announced, and Shen Xin followed the other contestants into an elevator, which took them to a mechanical-looking meeting room.

Ten people were already seated inside, most of them covered from head to toe, especially their faces, in protective gear. Just looking at them made Shen Xin feel hot and suffocated.

UOL Company’s game operation department director, Zhong Suwen, lifted his head, noticing that the newly arrived contestants were quite good-looking, and smiled brightly.

In this day and age, the entertainment industry had reached a new peak, and competitions must have a new appeal. Thus, the company decided to reallocate most of the spots for celebrities who could bring viewership to the show.

These celebrities were typically famous and eye-catching, but the most important factor was their appearance had to be on par with the expectations of their fans.

That’s right, everyone wanted to watch beautiful young women and handsome young men fall in love, so the planning team meticulously arranged for this outcome.

If Shangri-La didn’t become popular, Zhong Suwen would personally eat the four-meter-high outdoor display screens!

“Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the competition stage of ‘Paradise Found’!” Zhong Suwen gave a few more instructions before announcing the scoring system.

“The final ranking will be determined by two parts: 70 percent of your in-game scores and 30 percent of the audience’s votes, which will be added together to give you your final score.”

A few players whispered amongst themselves.

“Are there any celebrities among us? We’re going to get totally screwed over by the audience’s votes…”

These words reached Zhong Suwen’s ears, and he responded firmly, “There are also professional gamers who have made it through multiple rounds of selection. Why don’t you also say that they have an advantage in terms of scores? Besides, the point of a dating simulation is to match the right personalities. It’s not like a celebrity can necessarily play a lovestory to completion. Please trust in our rules. Of course, if you are unsatisfied, you are free to withdraw from the competition now; we do have reserve players.”

With these words, the disgruntled contestants held their tongues.

With no objections, Zhong Suwen summoned the staff.

“Everyone, have you already contacted your families or employers? After you sign the contract, please follow the staff to our gaming capsules. You may turn off your personal electronic devices and leave them beside the capsules. For the next two months, you will be completely isolated from the outside world, and under normal circumstances, you are not allowed to drop out of the competition. Nutrition and medical services will be provided by our company…”

Two months?

Shen Xin hadn’t expected the competition to last so long. She thought for a while, then sent a message to her parents before turning off her communication device.

After signing the contracts, the twenty players were led by the staff to individual gaming capsules.

Shen Xin’s parents were average workers; she had never used a gaming capsule before, only headsets for full-fidelity holographic games.

As she lamented about how money allows one to do anything they want, a dissatisfied voice rang out beside her. “Tsk, I’m supposed to use this thing? Can’t they just send my personal gaming capsule here?”

“Young master, to ensure fairness in the competition, the board requested all competitors use the same model of gaming pod.”

“Can’t you just give everyone the top-of-the-line model? Why must I suffer with this inferior one?”

The company had already provided a very high-quality model, one used by professional gamers.

The amateur contestants didn’t complain, and after the tantrum-ing young master finally entered the game, the players donned their equipment and waited for the game to begin.

Zhong Suwen swiftly made a call to the board’s chairman, who was in charge of investments, and handled the sudden accident with ease. After saying a few words, the young master begrudgingly entered the gaming pod. Once the staff confirmed everyone was ready, Zhong Suwen pressed the start button, and the players closed their eyes. A burst of white light later, twenty players successfully entered the game.

At the same time, the major streaming platforms’ home pages were all updated, featuring a new, eye-catching option at the top:

【 Click to watch 】 Paradise: The Love Game That Will Surprise You!