(font:"Emblema One")[(text-colour:black)[''100 Days Before Zhongkao'']]
(set: $score to 0)
(set: $pressure to 0)
(text-colour:black)[[[Click here to Begin->Introduction - 1]] ]
(text-colour:black)[[About producers->Producer list]]
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/zDn3WQ9w/2025-03-20-135744.png" width="400">
(OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Cover Illustration for a Visual Novel About the Final 100 Days Before the Chinese High School Entrance Exam, Depicting a Student Standing on the School Rooftop at Sunset. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.)
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/Bnv5SrVy/2025-03-18-174718.png"width="300" height="auto">
(text-colour:black)[You are a middle school student in China and this is your last 100 days studying in middle school before graduation... Unfortunately, your grades are the most embarrassing ”intermediate“.]
(set: $pressure to $pressure +1)
[[->->Introduction - 2]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]''(text-colour:magenta)[This game is produced by Yifan Zhong & Yueqi Yang.
Some of the images were generated by AI.]''
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Chinese Middle School Sports Competition. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Chinese Middle School Class President Looking for Volunteers for the School Sports Day. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Chinese Middle School Math Teacher Quickly Starting the Lesson After a Brief Introduction. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration in First-Person Perspective Showing a Chalk Pointing at a Mathematical Formula on the Blackboard. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Morning Traffic Jam While a Father Drives His Child to School. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Busy Morning Traffic Jam with Cars Lined Up on the Road. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Chinese Middle School Classroom with a 100-Day Countdown Banner Before Graduation. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Chinese Middle School Male Student in a Blue and White Uniform with a Backpack. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Mother Gently Knocking on the Door to Wake Up Her Child in the Morning Light. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.
--OpenAI. A Pixel Art Game Illustration Depicting a Tragic Scene of a Student's Sudden Death in a Dimly Lit Room While the City Outside Awakens. DALL·E, 17 Mar. 2025.<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/QtTfJ2gC/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-38-26-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-traffic-jam-on-a-busy-morning.webp"width="300" height="auto">
(text-colour:black)[The sound of noisy foot traffic comes from outside the car window, and as usual, your father drives you to school. Traffic jams are a regular occurrence when school is only a street away. Because you are running late, you get out of the car early and rush towards the school.]
(set: $pressure to $pressure +1)
[[->->Introduction - 3]]
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](text-colour:black)[With five minutes to go before you're late, you hurry into the classroom. Most of your classmates have already arrived and are ready for their first class, so you rush to your seat and open your backpack. Not as calm as those "good" or "bad" students, right?]
(set: $pressure to $pressure +1)
[[->->introduction - 4]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/GmwknB1M/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-36-28-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-in-first-person-perspective-showing-only.webp"width="200" height="auto">
(text-colour:black)[The new math teacher spent only five minutes introducing himself before he started teaching: "We are already behind." How did we fall behind? Why everyone is in hurry?]
(set: $pressure to $pressure +1)
[[play for a while and study afterwards]]
[[just study]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
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]
<img src=""width="400" height="auto">All games are your favorite,
and happy times are fleeting.
(set: $pressure to $pressure -1)
[[forget to study]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]"All study with zero joy makes you a dum boy"
"All stady with zero joy makes you a dam boy"
"All study with zero joys make you a dum boy"
[[sleep + study]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]This is almost like my everyday process.
(set: $score to $score - 1)
[[->->introduction - 5]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
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]I had already finished more than half of homework？Good luck today!
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[->->introduction - 5]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
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]Teacher introduce Zhongkao, and start timeline. It is the graduation exam for middle school students and the exam for promotion to high school, and how well students do in the exam directly determines whether they will get a good job opportunity and prospects in the future. Oh god, the exam countdown flipboard on the blackboard is so scary.
[[Go Back Home->After School]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【99 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/k4yHKFMp/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-31-18-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-classro.webp"width="300" height="auto">
The annual school sports day is coming up and every class is required to send their students to compete in various sports. Your class president is looking for people in your class who would like to participate in the competitions, and the rest of the students who are not competing will be in the audience cheering them on.
What is your decision?
[[You've decided to become a contestant.]]
[[You chose to cheer for the players.]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【80 days before Zhongkao】
So you know that PE performance is also a part of Zhongkao. I thought you didn't know that.😂
[[->->focus on practise]]
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Pressure: $pressure
]【80 days before Zhongkao】
I have the good sense to take pictures with my cell phone at the "games". Thanks for the open day!
(set: $pressure to $pressure -1)
[[->->study]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/wjh7X7Jm/2025-03-18172841.png"width="300" height="auto">
The cheering of your classmates on the sports field gives you unlimited motivation, and the day of the competition has finally come. At the sound of the starting gun, you sprinted straight ahead. You took second place in the team competition, so not too rough.
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[->->Monthly Test - 1]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]I do study instead of practise. Not gonna cheat on myself.
[[->->Monthly Test - 1]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【60 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/3JY68q1Q/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-26-18-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="300" height="auto">
(if: $score >= 0)[At the parents' meeting, the teacher said to your parents that you just have the potential to get on serior high school, still hard to get into those key schools.]
(else:)[At the parents' meeting, the teacher said to your parents that you are very smart, but you don't work hard enough.😢]
[[Now I have to think|thinking]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【60 days before Zhongkao】
Now that you have some understanding of your current situation, here's your choice:
[[Study Hard]]
[[Playing with cell phones while studying ]]
[[Never review]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]I'm serious this time. You didn't peek at the other options, did you?
[[->->this test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]That's my style. It's definitely the best way to improve your learning, and I feel like I can keep learning that way.
What did I just learn?
[[->->test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You got me! YOU ARE ME.
Let's wait for the exam until it's almost over.
[[->->that test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
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]Why can I learn something new from the question?
The answer never pops up on its own.
(set: $score to $score - 1)
[[Finish all the rest questions->After Monthly Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]How come there are still questions I can't do?
Is study really useful?
(set: $score to $score + 2)
[[Finish all the rest questions->After Monthly Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]These concepts look so familiar, but who are they?
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[Finish all the rest questions->After Monthly Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Your parents sit down in front of you and tell you seriously that if you want to study abroad, they can pool the money together.
Red pill or blue pill?
[[I won't leave the cave!->Ending 1]]
[[Now I'm getting serious|Monthly Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Is it time to think about the future? To do is to be? To be is to do?
Wish I would have a choice, Do be do be do 🎶
(if: $pressure >= 4)[[Monthly Test]]
(if: $pressure < 4)[[umm...|some heart2heart talk]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Monthly test comes. You finished all the tests in that day. They are five tests including Chinese, Maths, English, Physics and Chemistry.Your classmates are already eagerly discussing the answers to the paper after the exam, but you are not interested in that and sooner or later you need to know your results. So you finish packing your things then take the bus home.
[[Waiting for results to be released]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【58 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/brYg17d7/2025-03-18-171632.png"width="300" height="auto">
After just two days, the teachers had corrected all the papers and the grades were being handed out.
(if:$score >= 2)[97!]
(else:)[75]
(if:$score >= 2)[[Go home and tell this good news to your parents->Good Weekend]]
(if:$score < 2)[[Go home and tell this bad news to your parents->Bad Weekend -1]]
(if:$score < 2)[[Go home and try to hide your bad scores->Bad Weekend -2]]
(if:$score < 2)[(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/50cVt0HP/2025-03-18-170847.png"width="300" height="auto">
After seeing the report card, your parents seem to be very happy, although they don't display this mood very visibly.The hell you had imagined countless times - the cram school did not appear as an option. At their suggestion, you have a new option for your weekend.
[[Watch a movie]]
[[Have a great meal in restaurant]]
[[Just finish your homework]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]After seeing the report card, your parents don't seem surprised. Yeah, they know your true level very well. But even so, they still think you are capable of getting better results. They have given you the following options and you have to choose one.
[[Attend extracurricular classes on weekends]]
[[Attend extracurricular classes on weekends]]
[[Attend extracurricular classes on weekends]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
] Oh, my friend. I would never choose that option if I were you.
Just as you've stepped into your house, your mom is already standing in the living room asking you about your monthly test scores, showing what the teacher posted inside the family group chat, which reads, “Remind your child to have you sign the top of all papers.”
Now you can't hide anything.
[[Take out all the test paper]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
](set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
【57 days before Zhongkao】
Long overdue family viewing time, you had a great day watching this movie with your parents and walking out of the theater.
[[Go back to school]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
](set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
【57 days before Zhongkao】
You go to one of your previous favorite restaurants, where the food continues to please you.
[[Go back to school]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
](set:$score = $score + 1)
【57 days before Zhongkao】
Even the weekend after exams need to be carefully completed homework and you are familiar with this.
[[Go back to school]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【57 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/J4hd9kKb/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-13-32-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="300" height="auto">
That's the choice for no choices.
Extracurricular cram schools, a concept very common in China from 2010 to 2020. Both high achievers and low achievers go there, but in most cases it is the low achievers who go. Usually a teacher from an off-campus organization explains the topics and knowledge points to you, but such cramming classes work differently for everyone.
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)
[[Try to understand what teachers told]]
[[You don't think this would help you]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/26Nrjw3b/2025-03-18-171956.png"width="300" height="auto">
(text-colour:magenta)[【Special Ending 1 - Study Aboard】]
Now you really are "the hope of the whole family"
[[Go back to last check point->some heart2heart talk]]
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/nrrCt2X8/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-11-28-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-tense-moment-between-a-Chines.webp"width="300" height="auto">
Your mom is very unhappy with your grades, especially the fact that you are ready to hide them. For the two reasons above, she criticized you harshly and pointed out to you very many requirements for study habits.
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)
(if:$pressure >= 5)[[Rebuttal to your parents]]
[[Follow her instructions and attend extracurricular classes on weekends->Attend extracurricular classes on weekends]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]No! I am already exhausted from school! I have to get up at 6am every morning, engage classes from 7am till 9pm with zero rest. Can’t I even rest on weekends now? I don't mean to say, this week teachers have left a total of 20 pages of exercise books and 5 mock exam papers as homework. If I go to the cram school, it’s really impossible to finish these homework...
[[Attend extracurricular classes on weekends]]
[[Leave me alone!!!]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You did a good job of trying to master what your teacher taught you in class! Great Job!
(set:$score = $score + 1)
[[Go back to school]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Are such cram schools really useful? Although I did not openly refute her, you should know that you have been taking cram schools to learn English since you were four years old, and you have also signed up for a lot of extracurricular tutoring classes, but none of them have lasted. Although this time is urgent, how long can the sense of urgency last?
[[Go back to school]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【55 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/7LdRNWwb/2025-03-18-170436.png"width="200" height="auto">
Here we'are! Just like the previous decade, returning to school and the weekend is like an endless cycle for us. Whatever it's a great weekend, catch up on homework, go traveling or are exiled to cram school, you will eventually return to this land.
Ashes to ashes.
[[start working]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/P51215Np/DALL-E-2025-03-18-17-00-46-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="300" height="auto">
You're sitting at your desk, looking at the papers you've gotten insanely wrong, and have a whole plan in mind:
Not to go against the grain, but not to leave with regrets!
Too bad at math? → Do 15 more specialized questions every day, focusing on the wrong answers！/Chinese composition pull down? → Practice 1 essay, memorize 3 general cases per day! /Can't memorize English words? → Use the Ebbinghaus memory method to memorize 50 words every day! /Physics/Chemistry collapse? → Stop memorizing formulas, but trying to understand the application and do more papers!
[[I'm gonna do this for my whole life!]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You sit down at your desk, look carefully at the plan.“This time I'm different, I'm really going to stick to it.” Your pen begin to drip ink and carefully analyze every difficult problem you were once unwilling to face.
On the first day, you forced yourself not to touch your cell phone and completed the task little by little according to the plan. Repeatedly calculating math formulas on draft paper, reciting English words... .After doing a whole set of language reading comprehension, you finally leaned back in your chair and looked up at the ceiling. “I'm so tired ......” You muttered, but with a hint of satisfaction.
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[Life‘s go on]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/VN2KQ0SN/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-47-52-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-determined-Chinese-middle-sch.webp"width="200" height="auto">
In the next day, you still persevered. You arrived at the classroom earlier than usual, taking advantage of the morning study to go over the leaving history again. During the lunch break, you sat in the corner silently brushing up on the questions, with English listening playing in your headphones. For the first time, you feel that you really have a chance to get better. “Hang in there for one more day and try a little harder.” You say to yourself.
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)
[[I can still hold on]]
[[That's enough!]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【49 days before Zhongkao】
In the first few days, the change of habits was painful. You resisted the urge to touch your phone. Whenever your fingers unconsciously reached for your pocket, you took a deep breath and forced yourself to focus back... Gradually, you found that you could focus more on the questions, memorize the knowledge points faster, and even understand the teacher's content faster in class. Occasionally you would be a little lax, but whenever this thought came up, you would hear that familiar whisper:
(link:'continue...')[Oh, you really going to stay the course?
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[Of course!]]
[[Of course...?]]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【53 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/FFbXpNqS/2025-03-18-165040.png"width="200" height="auto">
However, on the third day, an invisible feeling of fatigue slowly came over you. You found that even after two days of hard work, the content you were studying was still obscure to understand. You still couldn’t answer the wrong questions, and began to forget the points you had memorized in the blink of an eye. You began to doubt: “Can I really do this?”
[[It's the time for "One for All"]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You gritted your teeth and ignored it. Time passed quickly in the tight study, you began to get used to getting up early every day to memorize words, find your own loopholes in the practice questions, and review the day's learning content at night. After the first monthly exam, your grades improved. The teacher praised you by name in class, and you felt a long-lost sense of accomplishment. But you know that this is far from enough.
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 2)
(set: $score to $score + 3)
[[Phone ringing]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You look down at your notes and eventually sigh, “I can't push myself like this.”
You decide to pace yourself and take the intensity of your studies down a bit. Not to give up, but to allow yourself to live like a normal person. You cut down on the time spent on meaningless mechanical brushing up on problems, and arranged short moments of relaxation for yourself.
For the first time, you voluntarily put down your books and went to bed before 10 p.m.. You decided to study in a more sensible way than by squeezing yourself.
Fortunately, you've never felt more alive when getting up.
(set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
[[Time to resemble]]
[[Time to take another day off]]
[[Time to give up]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Night is coming.
You looking at the spread of papers and textbooks, fingertips unconsciously tapping on the desktop, eyes gradually lose focus.
Like a string suddenly torn, like a dam instantly bursting, like a film flashing frantically to its end. Inside your mind, frames of memories emerge like they're out of control, and each scene is like a wound that's been viciously ripped open -
[[->->Memories]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You've adjusted your pace, but still stick to your study schedule, just organize your time more sensibly and stop pushing yourself.
In class, you're more focused than before, and even though the answers aren't always right, at least you're starting to participate.
You learn to balance, rather than blindly press yourself. It won't be an easy road, but you've finally found a way to keep going.
“Come on, the future is still in your hands.”
(set:$pressure = $pressure + 1)
[[Phone ringing]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
] Going to bed early yesterday really made things a lot more comfortable, so ...... you're going to relax today too?
You decide to give yourself another day off. You push away your exercise book and can't help but laugh out loud.
The time stream has sped up.
When tomorrow, literally, arrives, your hand has taken to your phone out of habit.
You haven't given up yet, but you are no longer as determined as you were at first.
(set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
(set: $score to $score + 1)
[[Your phone ringing]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You just realize you don't even have the strength to turn the textbook over.
“You don't stand a chance.”
Venom eats away at your mind, making you feel progressively more powerless.
You eventually clicked on the game, the brief thrill washing away the anxiety that comes with studying.
You go back to the way things used to be, learning what you can in class and dropping what you can't learn for now.
“At least I won't die of stress overwork.”
(set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
(set: $score to $score - 1)
[[Your phone ringing]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【47 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/9FfFKDyT/096972e9-183d-4290-980e-ab70ca1ba54d.webp"width="300" height="auto">
It's a message from one of your best friends:
📱(text-colour:magenta)[ “Come to the computer cafe! The game has a new season, we're doing a night out, you coming or not?”]
[[Forget it. I can't learn anyway. Go on!]]
[[Just go play for a while. Human can't be too rigid]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You grabbed your jacket and rushed out the door without even saying a word to your family. The night wind blows on your face, but your mind is only filled with the light of the internet cafe screen, and the sound of mouse tapping.
Familiar RGB light reflects on your face, and your friend is already waiting for you inside. You sit down, skillfully open the game, one game after another, time passes quickly.
Four in the morning, you rubbed your sore eyes and realized that you had been playing for the whole night. However, you don't have any feeling of regret, instead you feel that you have finally got rid of the torture of studying.
(set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
(set: $score to $score - 2)
[[Stimulation Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]📱(text-colour:magenta)[ “Just for a little while, not for too long.”]
You change into jacket and walk slowly towards the internet cafe. Friends see you coming and excitedly pats on the shoulder. You click on the game and the familiar picture comes into your eyes.
One game, two games ...... you play a lot. However, when you see that two hours have passed, you suddenly remember to study.
You close the computer and stand up, “Okay, I have to go back.”
Your friend laughs, “So soon? Only been playing for two hours.”
“Some other time.”
When you get home, you still finished the homework, just a little late than usual.
(set:$pressure = $pressure - 1)
[[Stimulation Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【41 days before Zhongkao】
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/QM9739DH/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-37-58-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="250" height="auto">
📱 (text-colour:magenta)[“Hello?”]
You froze and clicked on the message to find it was from a girl in the next class. You have a memory of her, she lives close by and you've seen her occasionally, but never really chatted.
📱(text-colour:magenta)[ “I heard from my mom that you've gotten better? Can you teach me some experience?”]
You subconsciously look out the window just in time to see her standing downstairs waiting for you, carrying her backpack and glancing slightly uneasily your way.
It was so sudden. You didn't expect at all that you would actually be asked for study advice one day.
[[I'll do my best, but don't expect me to be so good;)]]
[[Okay]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You messaged back, “Yes, I'll tell you all about it.”
She looks a little surprised, as if she didn't expect you to agree so readily. You take her to the study room, open exercise book, and begin to patiently explain.
“This problem is actually permutation, first substitute this variable for t, then ......”
After a few explanations, she nods and says, “Thank you! I didn't understand any of it before, but I finally got it this time.”
You smile and gather your books, “Well, it's okay. I've been reviewing lately, so I'll stop by and help you out.”
She would have liked to chat some more, but you looked at the time, stood up, and said, “I have to get back to studying, so next time ask if you don't understand something.”
She was stunned for a moment and smiled, “Sure, good luck then.”
[[Stimulation Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You messaged back, “Yeah, let's find a place to study together?”
She smiles and says, “Just at your house, it's close by anyway.”
You nodded and took her back to your room, you sat side by side at your desks, couldn't help but sneak a peek at her as taught her the problems. Her serious look made you feel special, and you never expect her come to you because of your progress.
From that day on, you often studied together, and slowly, you realized that she had a somewhat different attitude towards you. She would occasionally watch you dazedly as you did problems, with messy doodles drawn on your notebook; she would occasionally whisper and laugh when you were concentrating on your arithmetic, and say, “You're quite handsome when you're serious.”
You know that you have begun to fall for her.
[[I'm gonna fall on her]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You look at the messages on your phone and your heart beats a little faster. She comes to you with more and more questions, and you find yourself surprisingly no longer repulsed, and even looking forward to it a little.
You began to make a date to study together every day, go home together after school, the schoolbag is stuffed with exercise books, but you found yourself gradually no longer so focused. She would occasionally ask you with a low chuckle, “You're so serious, what if you fail the exam?” You froze for a moment, then laughed with her.
[[->->Love]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]【30 days before Zhongkao】
''Time accelerates''
The atmosphere in that exam room was much heavier than the usual classroom. The second hand of the clock in the classroom is ticking, and every time it moves, the weight of time sinks a little more. This isn't just an exam, it's a war.
(link:'continue...')[The teacher walked to the podium, holding a thick stack of test papers in his hands, his eyes swept across the class and spoke, “The difficulty of the questions in this mock exam is close to that of the midterm exam, so you'd better take it seriously.”
(link:'continue...')[“Put the book away.”
You slowly shoved your notebook into the drawer, the last vestiges of the urge to review still lingering in your fingers. But it's already too late.
(link:'continue...')[“Don't you feel panicked to rely on yourself?”
You look down, at the large headline on the paper, and your vision blurs for a moment, like your brain is refusing to process its contents. Everyone was trapped in their own little world, fighting alone, so do you.
[[Finished whatever]]
]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Time flies, life doesn't give you a lot of choices, kid.
The simulation test score is your Zhongkao score, I mentioned once!
Finally, you got---
(if:$score >= 9)
[[I can go the best high school!->You did it]]
(if:$score < 9)
[[Haha I have some bad news...]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]The voices around you seem to become distant, some are cheering, some are regretting, but none of it matters to you anymore. You've finally proved yourself, you've finally gotten rid of the past self that only swung for the fences and hesitated.
(link:'continue...')[You look over to your parents, who are not far away, looking around in the crowd with an uneasy look in their eyes. You take a step towards them, stopping in front of your mother and whispering, “I got in.”
(link:'continue...')[Your father patted your shoulder and didn't say much, but you knew that his eyes were filled with pride.
You stood in the middle of the crowd and looked up into the sky, the sun was blinding, but you had never felt so clear.
(link:'continue...')[““The story of a waste against all odds... it's really moving.””
(if:$pressure >= 7)
[[Wake up!->Dead1]]
(if:$pressure < 7)
[[high school life]]
]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You didn't get into the high school of your choice, and your efforts, in the end, didn't change anything.
You stand still, your palms slightly sweaty, and the sounds around you become distant. Someone is whispering, someone is patting a friend's shoulder to comfort them, someone is excitedly calling their family not far away - but none of this has anything to do with you anymore.
You feel an indescribable emptiness, like the struggles of the past few months have been viciously torn apart by reality, and you desperately want to hold on to something, only to realize that you can't hold on to anything.
”The story of all for one... really moving."
''(text-colour:red)[BAD END]'', of course
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/HsgkmvmX/2025-03-18184458.png"width="300" height="auto">
You got into the best high school, the place you once thought was out of reach. On the first day of school, you stand on campus and look at the equally talented and motivated students, and you know that you're in for a whole new challenge.
“Look at you, how much you look like yourself when you first started middle school.”
【Not only a ''(text-colour:lime)[Good End]'', but also a new start!】
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Early in the morning, sunlight poured in through the cracks in the curtains, and the room was still filled with last night's unlit table lamp. Mother knocked on the door and softly called out, “Time to get up.”
There was no response from the room.
She knocked again, frowned, and carefully pushed the door open.
Her eyes landed on you at your desk, a doting smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, and she was about to call out to you again when she suddenly noticed that-
You remain in your ambulatory position, motionless.
Her smile freezes, and a hint of unease rises in her heart. She slowly approached and gently nudged your shoulder, and your body tilted stiffly, your hair falling over your laptop.
Her hand jerked back, a flash of panic in her eyes.
“...... Stop it, get up ......” Her voice begins to shake.
She shuddered and reached out her hand, touching your slightly cool skin, and in the next second, her legs felt like they had been drained of their strength, and she fell to her knees, an agonized and desperate cry escaping her lips -
“...... No...... no...... no......!”
The cries echoed in the room, and outside the window, the city had awakened, and a new day had begun. But your world, forever stopped on this night.
You got into the best high school, won everyone's recognition, your name was engraved in the forefront of the results list, your efforts were seen by everyone.
But you never had the chance to walk through the doors of that school, never had the chance to meet new challenges, never had the chance to feel the joy of success.
You fought hard, burned everything you had, but forgot to save a little strength to live.
“Don't Fear the Reaper, Cyberpunk, right ?”
(append: ?SideBar)[\
<div id="SideBar">
<h2>Attribute</h2>
<p>Fans: <span>(print: $pressure)</span></p>
<p>San: <span>(print: $score)</span></p>
</div>
]These memories, like a sharp blade, cut into your sanity.
You think about the days of trying so hard, how you forced yourself to study, how you tried to change, how you told yourself over and over again to “try harder”. You thought you could finally get rid of the past, finally change the status quo, but the reality reminds you harshly-- you're back to square one.
(link:'continue...')[“You're back to square one after all.”
[[->->Bad ending 1]]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/05LR9rwh/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-55-20-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="200" height="auto">
You suddenly feel a wave of powerlessness, as if all your strength has been drained away at this moment. You look out the window, the night is deep, the street lights flicker in the distance, illuminating the whole city, but not into your world.
(link:'continue...')[“None of this makes any sense at all.”
(link:'continue...')[You closed your eyes gently, as if relieved, and a few imperceptible smiles curled the corners of your mouth.
The world whizzed by in your ears, all sounds far away, memories swallowed by darkness.
(link:'continue...')[Only the test book, scratched with a red pen, remained quietly on the table, the light shining on it, still so blinding.
[You know that, it's ''(text-colour:red)[BAD END]'']
[[Go back to last check point->Life‘s go on]]
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]• After one family conferences, your mother's face was grim, “What will you do in the future if you keep this up?”
You didn't answer because you didn't know yourself.
• One time you were stung by a friend's unintentional comment, “Your grades are like mine, so let's just forget it.”
You laughed and pretended not to care, but “forget it” took roots.
• In the wee hours of the morning after an all-night game, you looked at the word “victory” on the screen and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
You have won the game, but the reality remains the same.
[[->->Memories4]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]• One late night, you lie on the table, staring at the dense practice problems, feel suffocating exhaustion.Outside the window is a brightly lit city, the world running as usual, while your world is collapsing a little.
• Before a certain exam, the teacher motivated you from the podium: “If you are willing to work hard, you can definitely change your fate!” You kept your head down, not daring to look at him directly. You don't know whether to believe that.
[[->->Memories3]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/d0Srgbxm/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-53-00-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="300" height="auto">
• You've just enrolled in your first year of junior high school, sitting in your new classroom with vague expectations. You tell yourself that middle school life should be exciting, right? You'll meet new friends, you'll get better, you'll find your own direction.
• The first time you failed a math test, you stood in front of your parents with the test paper in hand and listened to their helpless sighs. You said, “I'll try harder next time,” but you know that even if you try, it doesn't seem to be much use.
[[->->Memories2]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/VNLtHGGB/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-34-38-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-two-Chinese-middle-school-stude.webp"width="350" height="auto">
In the beginning, you did struggle. You taught her math problems, she helped you organize your notes, and you would sit in the library for hours at a time as if it was a romance of working together.
But gradually, with your books open, you did fewer and fewer exercises.
You went from taking a walk, to going to a milk tea store and chatting, to killing time at a street stall. The lights still on in the cram school not far away, but you don't have the slightest urge to go back to studying.
[[This feeling is great.->Love2]]
[[I need to work harder!->Stimulation Test]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You don't study as hard as you used to. You passed notes to each other in the library, writing jokes that didn't make much sense; you would sneak out on the weekends, hang out at the mall, sit on benches in the plaza and talk about the future and where you wanted to hang out in the future, and talk and talk and forget about time.
(link:'continue...')[“Do you remember the plans you made earlier?” She asked you one day.
You froze for a moment, then shrugged, “Like ...... doesn't matter that much anymore.”
She blinks and gives a relieved smile, “Yeah.”
(link:'continue...')[Time passes quickly, and the school schedules the simulating test that the teacher emphasizes countless times, even saying, “This score will basically determine the high school you can get into.” But just then, the cell phone lights up.
[[->->Love3]]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]📱 (text-colour:magenta)[“Don't go to your exams today, let's escape.”
]
Your finger stopped on the screen, you know, this exam is really important, but ...... can the exam be as important as her?
You stared at the chat box for a long time, and finally returned, “...... OK.”
The 100 days passed quickly.
[[->->Love4]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/cCV6xTBj/DALL-E-2025-03-18-16-34-31-A-pixel-art-game-illustration-depicting-a-Chinese-middle-school-student.webp"width="300" height="auto">
You got your final report cards, and that day, you guys didn't message or make a date to meet up. You walked home alone, the report card clutched and crumpled in your hand, your head buzzing.
You didn't get into a major high school, and neither did she.
You once thought that as long as you were together, you could leave everything behind. But when reality came like a tidal wave, you realized that you had lost the right to choose.
[[->->Bad Ending 2]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]On the day of graduation, you met one last time. She had her head down and her voice was soft, “My mom told me to go straight to work.”
(link:'continue...')[You nodded, “...... Me too.”
Once dreams and laughter, was drowned in the ear-piercing roar of the machine.
(link:'continue...')[One day, you picked up your cell phone in between jobs, looked at the chat records, remembered those afternoons in the library, remembered the infinite possibilities that you once thought you had, and remembered the exercise book that you would never turn over again.
(link:'continue...')[“Love can't replace hard work, sweetness can't resist the weight of reality, you get it now, don't you?”
''(text-colour:red)[BAD END]'', maybe?
[[Go back to last check point->Phone ringing]]
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]The day the results were announced, the entrance to the school was packed. Parents crowded around the bulletin board, students' palms sweated, their eyes glued to the densely packed list. You stood outside the crowd, took a deep breath, and slowly walked forward.
Your name appeared in the top few spots, next to a total score that was higher than you thought it would be.
You did it!
[[->->I can go the best high school!]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/8czCMjCD/2025-03-18183750.png"width="200" height="auto">
Early in the morning, sunlight poured in through the cracks in the curtains, and the room was still filled with last night's unlit table lamp. Mother knocked on the door and softly called out, “Time to get up.”
(link:'continue...')[There was no response from the room.
(link:'continue...')[She knocked again, frowned, and carefully pushed the door open.
Her eyes landed on you at your desk, a doting smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, and she was about to call out to you again when she suddenly noticed that-
You remain in your ambulatory position, motionless.
[[->->Dead2]]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]Her smile freezes, and a hint of unease rises in her heart. She slowly approached and gently nudged your shoulder, and your body tilted stiffly, your hair falling over your laptop.
(link:'continue...')[Her hand jerked back, a flash of panic in her eyes.
(text-colour:red)[“...... Stop it, get up ......” Her voice begins to shake.]
(link:'continue...')[She shuddered and reached out her hand, touching your slightly cool skin, and in the next second, her legs felt like they had been drained of their strength, and she fell to her knees, an agonized and desperate cry escaping her lips -
(text-colour:red)[“...... No...... no...... no......!”]
[[->->Bad Ending 4]]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/d0K7xQ1P/2025-03-18-184307.png"width="300" height="auto">
The cries echoed in the room, and outside the window, the city had awakened, and a new day had begun. But your world, forever stopped on this night.
(link:'continue...')[You got into the best high school, won everyone's recognition, your name was engraved in the forefront of the results list, your efforts were seen by everyone.
But you never had the chance to walk through the doors of that school, never had the chance to meet new challenges, never had the chance to feel the joy of success.
(link:'continue...')[You fought hard, burned everything you had, but forgot to save a little strength to live.
“Don't Fear the Reaper, Cyberpunk, right ?”
''(text-colour:red)[You died suddenly.]''
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
]
]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
](text-colour:magenta)[【Special Ending 2 - Lost direction】]
You accidentally fall into the back room, with dimly lit office rooms and tattered carpeting in front of you, nothing inside the endless space, and you're completely disoriented.
[[Go back to last check point->Rebuttal to your parents]]
[[Go back to Menu->Game Menu]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]You run out of the house as fast as you can, it doesn't matter what's going on outside the house, all that matters is that you've escaped the “cage”. Suddenly, you realize that you have lost the support of your feet. You have fallen out of the world!
[[Check your surroundings->Ending 2]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/vTHBg0PB/2025-03-18231859.png"width="300" height="auto">
You walk out of the school, it's five in the afternoon, and you decide to...
[[Get some snacks]]
[[Go straight home]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/hjprdP8q/2025-03-18-232812.png"width="350" height="auto">
The street-side grilled sausage stand filled the air with a tantalizing aroma, and many people gathered around it. The owner of the store has recently added fried chicken tenders to the menu, and they are also sold for only 10 RMB a piece.
[[Open Your Wallet]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]A lot of students had already gathered at the bus stop, and with fifteen minutes to go before the next bus came, so an ordinary day was almost over.
[[Start a new day->Sports Meeting - 1]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/R0VFsS5F/958c02c6-4a6a-451f-88a7-fa1ee99d8c77.webp"width="300" height="auto">
You buy a fried chicken fillet, it's so flavorful, the owner skillfully adds seasoning to the top of the chicken fillet and hands you the paper bag, then he goes to work on the next one. You take the paper bag and eat it as you walk, then get ready to go home.
[[Go home->Go straight home]]
(append: ?SideBar)[\
Pressure: $pressure
]