Japan, Saitama Prefecture.
In a Japanese-style room, the boy lying on the futon on the tatami mat suddenly shivered twice before sitting up, clutching his forehead.
"Where am I?" the boy mumbled, still dazed, his hand pressed against his forehead.
The scene before him was both strange and familiar—strange because, in his twenty-odd years of life, he had never experienced such an environment.
It was familiar because he had seen this kind of scene more than once in anime.
The sunlight outside the window slowly crept over the windowsill and shone in. There were clearly a few drops of mist-condensed water on the plant leaves on the windowsill.
The boy got up, stood straight, examined himself, looked at his surroundings, then walked to the windowsill to gaze at the distant scenery.
"Japan..." the boy muttered.
Then a thought flashed through his mind, and it became clearer and clearer, causing his eyes to grow brighter and brighter.
His name was Akira.
A normal university student at Saitama Prefecture University, his parents had passed away, and he usually lived alone, returning to the countryside to visit his grandfather during holidays.
Akira patted his forehead to calm himself. Sighing, he muttered, A classic transmigration plot...
But what kind of world had he transmigrated into?
If it was just a normal rebirth as a Japanese university student, that would be fine; he'd be young again and wouldn't be worse off than before his transmigration.
But if he'd transmigrated into a world with superpowers... well, that would be disastrous!
He clearly hadn't received any news of a cheat system yet!
"According to the rules of transmigration, the world one transmigrates into is usually related to one's actions in their previous life."
"And if I remember correctly, before I transmigrated, I was reading novels and chasing manga! Especially My Dress-Up Darling and Komi Can't Communicate, with their agonizing plot progressions."
"Oh my god, I'm so frustrated! I haven't finished reading the updates!" Akira thought, slapping the windowsill.
Immediately after, he began searching through the memories in his mind: Komi Shouko, Kitagawa Marin...
Found it!
Kitagawa Marin! Gojo Wakana! And they were his classmates!
The world of My Dress-Up Darling—and a world where a good the male lead existed!
But it was no longer a high school setting; it had been changed to a university setting.
Akira's heart instantly grew excited! Marin Kitagawa!
Excited heart, trembling hands!
After a few moments of excitement, Akira's heart slowly calmed.
Putting aside whether Kitagawa Marin had fallen for Gojo Wakana, what ability did he have to compete with Gojo Wakana for his Kitagawa wife?
He couldn't possibly rely on his kindness, which was actually useless.
When he first started watching the anime, he envied Gojo Wakana for being liked by Kitagawa.
After following the anime, he envied Kitagawa for being supported by Gojo Wakana.
The male lead is serious about his work, has ideals and ambitions, is highly proactive, gentle and meticulous in his actions, and is also presentable; where can you find such a good man?
Moreover, he handles material procurement, costume design, sewing, styling, makeup, and even post-processing himself—truly a one-stop service, a genius in the fashion industry.
The female characters just need to show up; Kitagawa, you've truly found a treasure!
If I were a girl, I'd totally like Gojo Wakana!
But he wouldn't be bad once he slowly grew either.
Akira comforted himself, then got dressed and walked out of the bedroom.
After washing up, Akira yawned and walked into the kitchen. Since he lived alone, he made both his breakfast and lunch bento himself.
Although he had just transmigrated, his muscle memory was still intact. Combined with the memories in his mind, Akira's cooking skills quickly transitioned from unfamiliar to proficient.
He made himself an omurice for breakfast, and at the same time, a message popped up in his mind.
The information appeared as clearly as a memory, as if he was born with it.
[Cooking Lv3: 8/100]
[Beginner: The path of cooking is endless. Do you want to fill your own stomach, or others' stomachs?]
Akira was puzzled for a moment, ignoring the additional information that appeared below.
According to the first message, what he had gained should be a cheat system that could improve his skills through experience points.
How difficult is the journey of life? How many people struggle in the sea of suffering, working hard in pain, simply because their efforts see no reward?
If life were like a game, and one's growth and efforts could be displayed in data, life would probably be a bit happier.
Akira was happy for a moment, but his hands didn't stop; he still had to prepare his lunch bento.
Having lived again, although it wasn't a familiar environment, the clear mind and robust physique brought by his youthful body always made him feel joyful.
Whether he had a cheat system or not, it wouldn't affect him living a happier life in this new world.
Akira went about his routine, unhurriedly preparing lunch, but the information in his mind didn't appear after he finished one dish; it only popped up a new message after the entire lunch was prepared.
[Cooking Lv3: 9/100]
[Beginner: Use your cooking to capture the heart of the person you like!]
Akira smiled when he saw the additional message; he didn't expect this experience system to be a bit playful.
Now, he felt like he did when he was in school in his previous life, doing exercise books. Although it was incredibly painful, the little tidbits of knowledge and jokes at the bottom of the page brought him a different kind of fun.
Sitting at the dining table, slowly eating breakfast, Akira explored the experience system in his mind.
The system's judgment was not that every time he cooked, experience points would increase, but rather that experience would only increase once his cooking experience reached the expected level. The ways to increase it might not be limited to observing and learning, hands-on cooking, or personal tasting.
Of course, even if one eats for a lifetime, they cannot become a chef, but a chef certainly has excellent food appreciation abilities.
At the same time, the system also unlocked Akira's personal panel.
[Intelligence: 8 (10)]
[Physique: 6 (10)]
[Charm: 7 (10)]
How to put it, although he wasn't incredibly handsome, he wasn't ugly either.
In this slice-of-life romance world, the maximum for ordinary people is 10, so his various stats could only be described as passable.
Akira organized the information on the panel.
First, his intelligence was clearly of the smart type, but the specific degree it represented still needed further study.
According to his memory, the original Akira's grades were already in the top 10 of his year in college, belonging to the top tier of students.
His physique stat was 6, probably because Akira didn't really like exercising before, so although his body was well-proportioned, his rating wasn't very high.
As for charm, it was probably an overall evaluation of a person, and he couldn't analyze much from it.
Overall, his current situation was: apart from being a little handsome, he was a normal Japanese university student with good grades.
Moreover, due to the transmigration, he might not even have any skills!
After finishing his meal and washing the dishes in the kitchen, Akira picked up his school bag, changed into his outdoor shoes, and pushed open the closed front door.
"Alright, starting today, a brand new life begins!"