A casual girlfriend,why

Absolutely! Here's your revised version w

Mia stood at the gate, peeking into the courtyard. "How are you so happy plowing dirt all by yourself? Is farming really that fun?"

"Yep. Farming makes me happy," Ethan replied without missing a beat.

"Seriously?" Mia raised an eyebrow and laughed, only to fall silent mid-sentence. Her expression froze in disbelief.

"Wait a second… what happened to you?"

She stared at him, eyes wide, like she'd just discovered he was secretly a superhero.

Ethan tensed. Did she notice something? Even though he had already shifted back to his normal appearance?

"What's wrong?" he asked casually, trying to play it cool.

"You've got this… vibe now. Like, this aura. You look... classy. Cool. Like a main character in a comic book or one of those brooding anime guys with secret powers. You totally unlocked a cheat ability, right? Come on, Ethan, fess up—I've seen through your act!"

Ethan burst out laughing.

After spending enough time around this walking sitcom of a girl, he'd gotten used to her absurd imagination. No matter what he did, she could turn it into a conspiracy theory.

He gave her a light flick on the forehead. "My dear girl, you've been watching too many dramas. Try hallucinating a little less."

Mia rubbed her forehead with a pout. "Really? All in my head?"

For now, she seemed to accept his response, though it clearly didn't stop her from being suspicious. She quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, aren't you bored out here? Want to hang out sometime? Maybe… go on a date?"

Ethan blinked. "A date? Wait—are you serious?"

"Duh." Mia hesitated just a moment, then lifted her chin proudly. "So… what happened to your ex? The pretty one?"

"We broke up. We were coworkers. I had to quit after getting sick, and we went our separate ways."

Mia's face softened. "That's… actually really sad. You got a terminal illness, lost your job and your girlfriend. Now you're just sitting out here alone, farming and waiting to die. Tragic."

She paused. "I can be your girlfriend."

Ethan choked on his apple. "Are you... pitying me?"

He had pitied himself once. The diagnosis had ripped his life apart—his future, his success, his dreams—all crumbling into dust. But now, with the sandbox and Hive Mind technology, he had hope again. Even with cancer, time inside the sandbox moved differently. Months of life outside translated to millennia inside. He had time.

"I mean, yeah, I do feel bad for you," Mia admitted, her voice softer now. "But this is also my childhood dream coming true. You were my idol, remember?"

Ethan blinked again. "Wait, what?"

"I'm serious! I've thought this through. I'm helping you and fulfilling my fantasy. I'll make your last days warmer, happier, less lonely."

She started counting on her fingers. "I'll cook for you. Go shopping with you. Keep you company. Basically, I'll be the best casual girlfriend ever."

Ethan stared at her, speechless. "You're serious? You're ready to take on all the girlfriend responsibilities?"

Mia immediately backed away, covering her chest in mock horror. "Whoa there! Let's keep it PG! Just because you're dying doesn't mean you get to steal my first time!"

Ethan: "…"

So that's what all this food delivery has been about.

Girls really were something else these days.

"Anyway," Mia continued cheerfully, "no one said we can't be casual boyfriend and girlfriend. And unless you object, I'll take your silence as a yes."

"…Fine," Ethan said, resigned but amused.

He didn't have any strong romantic feelings for Mia. She felt familiar, comfortable, almost like family. But if she wanted to play house and it made her happy, then sure. Why not?

"Oh! Speaking of," Mia said, eyes lighting up, "can you come with me to my high school reunion?"

She twirled her fingers bashfully. "You're handsome and cool now, and if I show up with you, everyone will totally envy me!"

Ethan gave her a deadpan stare. "So feelings don't matter as long as I look good?"

"Exactly!" she chirped. "Let's go shopping and get something fancy! I want to make everyone there regret their life choices!"

Ethan sighed. "You've only known me as a farmer, and now you want to go on a shopping spree?"

"You've been saving money this whole time, right? Come on! Let's blow it all together before you die! Live a little!"

Ethan just stared at her.

He was being scammed.

Scammed by a girl who wanted designer clothes and a good-looking trophy date for her high school reunion.

...

Later that day, Ethan found himself riding pillion on Mia's scooter into town.

After budgeting carefully, they each bought an outfit—her a beautiful dress, him a decent suit—at three hundred yuan each. They wandered through nearly every shop in the district, completely exhausted by the end.

"Unexpectedly, I have a casual girlfriend now," Ethan muttered with a chuckle.

Or maybe just a part-time caretaker who liked cosplay.

Though Mia was a bit of a scatterbrain, she enthusiastically brought him meals every day, sparing him from having to eat greasy takeout—something that was especially important given his stomach cancer.

Back home, Ethan returned to the sandbox to check on the "Evil Eye" species that had evolved earlier. While he had stomped the original player to death, the bizarre creature still lingered in the ecosystem.

But it wasn't doing well.

Of course it wasn't.

When your eyeball is two-thirds of your body and sucks up all your nutrients just so you can see slightly better—you're not exactly built for survival.

"Does this thing even have potential?" Ethan asked.

The Hive Mind responded, "Yes. Despite being grotesque and intellectually primitive, the species possesses unusually high psychic potential—likely due to the size of its optic organ."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

So, ugly and dumb, but with freaky powers?

If left alone, the species would probably die off. But like the Bugapes, maybe they just needed a head start to reach their potential.

"Let's give them a fighting chance."

He decided to move the species to the large sandbox. But first, he'd need to create a new biome—a swamp.

The current terrain was too basic. No swamps. No deserts. Way too much grassland.

He began preparing a 10-square-meter swamp area. To the ant-sized creatures inside the sandbox, that was practically a continent.

"And how did this new terrain form?" Ethan muttered. "Well, after the Great Flood, pools of stagnant water would've turned into marshlands. Totally natural."

He needed fertile, muddy soil. And for that, he needed fertilizer.

His first thought?

Farmyard fertilizer.

The kind made from… well, poop.

But the mental image horrified him. He didn't want future intelligent species exploring some black swamp, unaware that it was just a giant toilet.

Nope. Human feces were off the table.

Instead, he walked next door to Mia's house and asked her mom, Mrs. Li, for some more traditional manure—chicken and cow dung.

When he returned, shovel in hand, he got to work building the swamp. The sandbox had a new zone—and with it, a new chance for this grotesque, psychic eyeball species to survive.