Cupid On Duty

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Soul-Collecting Club (Unwilling Member)  Zhao Sera blinked. Twice. Maybe thrice. She wasn’t sure anymore. The last thing she remembered was tripping over her own shoelace—and then poof—she ended up here. Where here exactly was anyone’s guess. Around her stretched an expanse of pure white nothingness, like someone had hit “delete” on reality and forgot to reload it. There wasn’t even a chair to sit on. Or a snack. Not even a decent cup of coffee. Sera crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. “Okay, universe. What’s the deal? Am I dead? In a coma? Or is this some elaborate prank?” Then, out of nowhere, a booming robotic voice echoed through the void. “Greetings, Zhao Sera. Welcome to the Soul Fragment Collection System.” Sera jumped like she’d been caught sneaking cookies from the kitchen. “Whoa! You could’ve warned a girl.” The voice continued without missing a beat. “You are deceased due to unknown causes. To return to your original world, you must collect soul fragments scattered across multiple worlds. Each fragment is earned by successfully matchmaking the original male and female leads in each world.” Sera squinted. “Wait. Did you just say ‘matchmaking’? Like a cosmic dating app?” “Affirmative. Failure results in permanent deletion of existence.” Sera’s mouth fell open. “Permanent deletion? That sounds a little extreme for a dating game.” The system didn’t care for her sass and launched right into a tutorial mode. “Your first mission is World One. You will facilitate the romantic union between Zhao Ling, the original female lead, and Lin Han, the original male lead. Both parties are hindered by misunderstandings fueled by secondary characters.” Sera groaned dramatically. “Secondary characters? You mean those people who stir the pot and make everything complicated? Like every soap opera ever?” “Correct.” “Fantastic. So, basically, I’m a professional drama fixer. Great.” A holographic image of Zhao Ling and Lin Han shimmered before her. They were standing side by side but clearly thinking entirely different things—classic romantic tension. “Remember: Your goal is to unite them and claim the soul fragment hidden within their world.” Sera stared at the floating faces. “Got it. Play matchmaker. Easy enough. Except… why me?” The system paused, as if pondering her question. “Observation: Your humor, wit, and moderate cluelessness provide a unique advantage.” “Moderate cluelessness? You mean I’m just plain clueless, don’t you?” No response, but a pop-up appeared beside her: Hint: Use your smarts. And try not to mess up. Sera sighed. “Thanks for the pep talk.” Another notification popped up, listing the mission objectives and a countdown timer. She rubbed her temples. “Okay, Zhao Sera, you got this. If I survive this matchmaking chaos, I’ll consider it a win.” Before she could psych herself up further, the system chimed again. “Teleportation in three… two… one…” And with a flash, the void disappeared.